"In Soviet Russia"

[FlindianaJones]

No, this isn't just a continuation of a past its prime meme, it's the title to my remix of the Communist theme in "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine."

Here is the link to the song: Click me for Listening

This has been in the works for weeks, would like to see what some remix experts think of it. In case you want to know, I use Garage Band 3.0.4, on OS 10.4.11

[Rozovian]

No source link, no source comment. But at least you specified what source it is. I'll comment on that later, don't have time now.

Synths are a bit noisy, you could work with the cutoff more. Their release tails are a bit annoying too. There's also some clipping. Bassline could be more interesting, but it's functional as it is. Flute doesn't sound very organic, probably because at the beginning of each note, you've still got the expression automation of the old note interfering; try moving the automation back just a little.

I'll comment more on this when I have the time. It's certainly worth developing.

[FlindianaJones]

Doh, sorry about lack of source. Here it is: Fifteen seconds of source material

[Rozovian]

Post +1 for me, and so far it's just as useful as Glitch's post.

Aside from Logic, I've got GB2, not 3, so I can't talk app details that much. Still, a few production pointers for you.

Arrangement - Source is there, but it's verbatim. Listen to this remix, much of which are just different takes on the same part of the source. There's so many different melodic and rhythmic combinations of a few notes, so pick a mood and force the theme into it. The mood might not end up what you planned it to be, but you'll have adapted the source, not just inserted it or built a track around it. The progression you've got is fine, imo, but it could use some variation, some deviation from the bassline. Also, consider adding drums to give the track a bit more defintion especially in rhythm.

Writing - Not very good, sorry. It's simplistic, not that interpretive, and not very expressive either. Think of adding voices, backing melodies, variations of the theme, new chord progressions, a more developed bassline. Speaking of which, the rhythm of the bass is a little jumpy, and I keep wondering if it's a bass drum or a bass synth.

Instrumentation - A strange mix of synths and sampled instruments. While I enjoy the sound of the synths, they don't fit that well together. You should have a AUGraphicEQ 10/31 band graphic EQ among your audio units (if not, get it). Use it to check what frequencies which instruments use, and make sure they're not crowded in the same range. Most instruments leave a lot of lows that can muddy up a mix, and those frequencies aren't really needed anyway except for drums, bass, and other stuff with low-range writing. The harpsichord-like instrument could use an EQ cut in the mids/highs, a few dB in the right place could make it far less annoying.

Instrument settings - Learn to use the ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release). Not all voirtual instruments have those, some only have "Duration". Use Google or Wikipedia if you don't already understand adsr. Also, check out Cutoff and Resonance, and what they do. You can enrich as well as... unrich... synth sounds with those. Not sure you've got those on GB's sampler, but if you do, see what you can do with it. Anyway, the second synth that comes in (ie the first that isn't bass) has a kind'a slow attack, high sustain/long decay, and a long release, making it interfare with itself when the next note is played. The cello in the end could use a little more release and a shorter attack - now I'm starting to wonder if you used automation or jsut slow attack for it. Anyway, use automation.

Mixing - Well, it's not bad, but it does clip at times like 1:40-2:10, and you could balance the parts out a bit more. This is an EQ thing, too, where you gotta make sure each frequency range is covered (lows, highs, and mids). The lack of hihats/shakers make this a bit empty in the high range, and while they're not encessary, you should compress the higher range using the AUMultibandCompressor to boost it. Using a multiband compressor is very useful otherwise too, it gives you a bit more control over the balance of the final mix.

There's some chunks of useful advice, opinions, hints, suggestions, criticism, and other comments. Good luck.