Psychog13 Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey, even though I always seem to get hated on here I thought I would post you a link to this new cover I just completed. It was a request from a friend of mine, check it out if you want. The song can be found here at www.myspace.com/xcriticalstrikex and should play automatically. Hope this time someone actually like's something Ive done... Cheers xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Production is a bit weak, but the arrangement I really like. Source is \m/. edit: arrangement is like, really good IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychog13 Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Production is a bit weak Everyone seems to say that, dont understand how to improove, but i think its sounding better than my other ones where all the sound levels are too high... Thanks for being so kind, and glad you liked it xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Very nice mix. It would be a fun addition to the DT Moon remixes already on the site. This one adds a good deal of complexity, layering, and dynamics which the others lack (though they are excellent in their own right). I love the surprising ending. Nice work, xGx. Cool graphics on your page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSneak Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 My concerns with quality may be because it's playing through the MySpace player. I've got 5.1 Surround and my other speakers don't play at all using that player, it's just the stereo and bass speakers. I would like to hear some fullness in the bass, it would really add to the ambiance and immersion of your mix. Even in my headphones, it feels a little empty in the low end. Like Glasfen already stated, I think when compared to the other Moon mixes already on OCR, this one certainly holds its own. But it's hard to feel like it has the depth of some of the others when the low end is so understated. Further, I think some of your samples may be contributing to a low-quality production "vibe". The string and brass samples, specifically, trail off like MIDI samples and it unfairly cheapens your mix. I like your tech and drum samples, and the piano's not bad. Overall, I love this track and it was a good listen, but it may need to be strengthened in a few areas before it gets by the judges. Also, I like your take on the Sonic2 Air Chase Zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Stop using myspace for this! We have a thread with some suggestions for hosting. Myspace compresses the file. What's worse is that the music player doesn't load for me, making listening a bit difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychog13 Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thanks glasfen! Im glad someone mentioned my little music box at the end i love that haha. Cheers Mr sneak that is some intresting advice, yes i have noticed that the bass end in this is a little weak but it seems my program doesnt enjoy bass too much, still trying to get decent bass sounds without getting crackling sounds and distortion. I shall have to look into this 'vibe' problem you've mentioned, this is not something i have noticed. Is it created by the way i have written the parts to play or a result of the intruments im using needing some tweaking in say their cut off time or something? Judges have never said anything about my pieces other than 'not original enough' I care little for their opinions now. Im glad you liked Skychase, although its a little dated now, the drums especially haha. Sorry Rozovian, i do also host them on Myyearbook which has better sound quality but cant be linked to and you have to be a member and then search for me... so thats why i didint bother to mention it. Maybe I shall try one of these other sites you suggest in that other thread. But thanks for trying to check it out. xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmr Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Like others have said, you need to ditch the Myspace player pronto. It's kinda hard to judge the sound quality when it's being butchered: on the myspace player, everything gets re-encoded to 96 kbps / 22 khz. Use a host that allows us to download the file. Personally, I like Tindeck. Overall, in terms of arrangement, I think you've got something good here. I was a little worried when I heard the section from 1:00-2:08 (and again at 3:50-4:09), which are nearly the same as the source, save for a few small embellishments (a few small changes to these sections wouldn't hurt in my opinion). Apart from these segments, the arrangement is great. I especially liked the intro. Some of your samples, however, leave much to be desired. A lot of them are only a hair better than general midi grade. Your drum sequencing in paticular seems held back by the lack of more realistic samples. There's plenty of free stuff available online if you're willing to look around a bit. In short: nice work on the arrangement, but you really need to beef up your samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychog13 Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 the first thing that catches my attention there is the comment about the drums, they ARE real sounds.... cant really make them much better than that... perhaps some reverb might give them some colour but i like them kinda flat as they are... True some of the samples are kinda like a total 'midi rip' but I like to just breath life into old tunes and keep them pretty much cannon and not butcher them with originality cause overwise its not the same song hence why ocr isnt really the place for me and the judges plain out hate me haha. Yes my samples could be better i'll get it right eventually. There seems to be only so much you can get out of cubase xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmr Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 the first thing that catches my attention there is the comment about the drums, they ARE real sounds.... cant really make them much better than that... perhaps some reverb might give them some colour but i like them kinda flat as they are...Yeah, some extra verb might do the trick. You could also try varying the levels and timing slightly to give it a more human sound. True some of the samples are kinda like a total 'midi rip' but I like to just breath life into old tunes and keep them pretty much cannon and not butcher them with originality cause overwise its not the same song hence why ocr isnt really the place for me and the judges plain out hate me haha.The thing is, I think you've already got a pretty good arrangement. I'm no judge (heck, I don't even have a remix on OCR!), but I think with a little more polish, you could have a passable, OCR-quality arrangement without "butchering it with originality" as you put it. (The samples themselves, though, are a completely different issue.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Myspace's player works for me now. But I can hear the quality loss, and it ain't pretty. Strings, especially the high pizzicato ones don't sound very realistic. Panning is a little weird too, with the strings panned left, it leaves the right channel kinda empty. Drums are kind'a weak, you should compress them, give kick and snare a bit of a boost somewhere in the 50-150Hz area, perhaps for the toms as well. Some of your synths don't really match the overall sound of the remix, it's kind'a normal most of the time, but then that trance-y synth comes in, and it's just... disruptive. As for the arrangement, it's better than the samples, that's for sure. I think this arrangement has some chance of getting posted (and I'm loving the ending), but it'll take some serious overhauling of the sound. I vaguely remember something you did way back, and I think this is an improvement. Can't recall it, tho. This is pretty promising, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychog13 Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 Thank you very much Rozovian, you have clearly listened very hard to this, yes the panning is still an experimentation, not really sure what i was doing there haha. as for compression on the drums and stuff and those numbers i dont have much a clue how to do that, I can add more bass middle or treble... I need to look into that a bit more. Seems a few people critisise the trancey synth, i personally love it and its kinda my sound so im going to stick with it ^-^ i like the whole graduation of intensity. My samples are weak but im working with midi and vst - not audio, so i think for the most part im doing a fairly decentISH job, audio takes me months to get right and stuff and in the end it feels more like a chore and not fun, which is why i dont record guitar anymore. But i am really happy with this mix and it seem others are too so I shall hopefully improove upon it once i am a bit more practised Thanks allot for your feedback I think the previous disaster i posted was Euphoria in slyvarant, and yes now i realise the sound levels on everything were way too high, its just my sound system is awsome and it sounded great, but then i tried headphones.... oh the pain... bit of a fuck up there i think haha. These notes shall be saved for later, for the time being ive moved onto wonderboy (which atm sounds like shite and its totally stressing me out) haha ^-^ xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychog13 Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 P.s. On the same site i just updated my Skychase zone, i added reverb to the drums as people have suggested i should do to my tracks, is that the sort of thing you mean i should do to my tracks, because even though that adds an airy sound kinda breathy and stuff and it works imo for that atmospheric track i dont think i'd like to add in that rubbish sound in EVERYTHING i do i think if anything it slightly ruins the sound slightly i'd rather just have it nice and flat and imo perfect for hearing but its worth a try anyways so erm have i done it right? check from about 30 seconds to the first minute of skychase for my effort xGx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Okay, this'll turn into a general drum mixing tutorial. I know how to mix them, but not how to find good drum samples. Or rather, I can't afford good drum samples and can't find 'em for free. Reverb is a tricky thing. Don't think of it as adding an effect, think of it as change the shape of the room the drums are in and the material it's made of. Drums tend to work well with a faint room reverb, which is a short one. If you go for a stadium rock sound or something else, you should obviously use other reverb settings, but use a faint room reverb for now. Additionally, compress and EQ each drum individually. Snare, kick, hats, crahes, toms, cowbell... Or group them into groups of similar instruments, like kick, snare, cymbals, and toms. The kick wants to break through the low range, so give it a boost around 80-150 Hz, the snare somewhere a little higher than the kick. it always depends on the samples. Cut the lows and drop the mids of the cymbals. Give the toms a similar treatment as the snare, but be more mindful of the different frequencies for each drum. Compress the drums, too, and this is where it's really important to have separated them onto different tracks (or never have put them on the same track to start with). Compression drops the volume when it reaches a "threshold". If you have a loud kick on the same track as you've got hihats, those hihats are gonna drop in volume whenever the kick is struck. This makes the whole track really annoying to listen to. You need to mix the drums well and make sure to control their individual volumes, or you'll need a multiband compressor on the master channel to combat this. Using a multiband compressor is a good idea in any case. Can't tell you what values are best to put into the compressor, but zircon's guide might have something on that, and if none of the guides do, check google. The order of the effects play an important role in the sound, but I haven't worked enough with drums to be able to tell you what's best there. Experiment. One thing I can tell you, and that's it's usually not a good idea to put the reverb before the compressor. Try it, and you should hear what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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