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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 'Riding in the Mole Mobile' (Boss theme)


Psychog13
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There may be nothing wrong with your page, but many of us, myself included, will not click on a link to myspace to give feedback. We're giving you feedback to help you. Be kind to us as well and respect that we prefer a proper music hosting service. We're not trying to disrespect you or your page.

But, today, I decided to click anyway and give feedback.

Most of the instruments could really use a quality boost, but I know that might be the best you have. You can work with low quality synths, but they sound best when played along side better synths (or at least ones that don't pretend to be real instruments), like you do later in the song. The whole orchestral beginning doesn't sound good to me until maybe 0:48. And then I stop liking it again at 0:55 when the horn comes back. It gets a little better of 1:02, when the music picks up. This is also when the song feels fuller. Up until then, it's a little empty.

Later when it becomes more techno, it's fine. Nothing I really feel like complaining further about.

I think having more digital elements sooner will help mask the quality of the synts.

I hope this helps.

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Thanks :D i know my orcestration isnt brilliant but im really trying to work with them allot so get better at using them, i know the brass sounds really weak sometimes but i thought i pulled off something that was semi decent.

Its a good idea to put more tech at the beginning maybe but i kinda wanted that cross over effect from no tech to heres-the-tech if you know what I mean :P Maybe i could try and slap in some more other intruments at the start :P I DID try a harpsichord but couldnt write anything that sounded remotely good so was replaced it with the solo violin that is there which I thought I did a decent job of...

thanks for taking the time mighty -SplinterofchaoS- ^-^

final irelevant note/rant...

Myspace may nerf the quality a little (almost unoticable to me), but all i care about is thats its free hosting for multiple songs that I can link anyone to easily. People who think something along the lines of "its myspace so I wont go there because" and keep hating on me for using it is a just a myspace-hating-nazi or something like that imo. :P A stupid amount of artists put there stuff on there for a reason, its good. :P

xGx

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No. A stupid amount of artists use it because there's people there. The quality is significantly cut, the music player doesn't work with all browsers, the loading of the page is annoying and the stuff that's on it can be distracting. Some pople want to download the file and run it through their various spectroscopes and other emtering to see if tehre are frequencies missing or whatever.

Don't go saying "everybody uses it so it's good". The majority of everybody are stupid.

If you want quality feedback, have a look at the other free hosts that host the _file_, not just stream it through some random player. We want the file in full quality so we can hear what's wrong with it.

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At this stage Im more intrested in my actual writing/structure than the overall sound of my work concidaring as many people tell me over and over the program I use sounds like shit anyways apparently so there probably is every missing frequency that can be missing.

xGx

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Ok so you dont like myspace, i fucking get it already, just forget it. But i would like to say...

missing frequencys? what the heck, thats like hardcore. Im practically using midi and your wanting to check for frequencies? If you cant hear it then what does it matter really? At this stage Im more intrested in my actual writing/structure than the overall sound of my work concidaring as many people tell me over and over the program I use sounds like shit anyways apparently so there probably is every missing frequency that can be missing. I dont even know what your on about when your talking about frequencys and for the time being until i can actually WRITE the music I pretty much dont care, that time will come... unless you think it is actually very very important then i guess i need some direction into what frequencies i should be looking for as i dont have a clue to be fair...

xGx

Frequencies are important because on various players (assuming you want to eventually do something with this besides letting people play it at reduced quality while having to go to a myspace page, like on an MP3 player or something), this will make them sound worse. If there's something missing, it makes it sound that much worse on other players. We're not asking things to be dicks, we're trying to help. I used to do this too, until I realized it was ultimately hurting me more than helping.

Now that that's over with, if you're only looking for composition so far and not mixing:

The first minute or so is very... interesting. It's hard to listen to and imagine what it's supposed to sound like with better samples, but I'd suggest very strongly trying to keep certain aspects more constant, like the use of the cellos and bass. Also, consider introducing a timpani for punctuation earlier in the song, like when it still matters for the orchestral section.

Even if you're using Midi or some sort of soundfont applying device, I'd strongly recommend paying more attention to panning. That might just be myspace dicking you over, but it doesn't feel like most of the parts are panned enough once the synth kicks in.

Speaking of which, do you feel the synth section does something in the song that the orcehstra wouldnt've been able to do? Honestly, it kind of annoys me. I lied, there is no kind of. It doesn't work in its current context. I'd say to introduce something synthy earlier on, or consider lowering the focus on the synth considerably.

It's WAY too repeatitive. Break it up some once your synth comes in, or it's easier to close the tab with your page on it and not go back.

It's a cute attempt. I will not give further feedback if it does not move to a different service.

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Thanks allot of that makes sence, ill definatly look at what the synth is playing and see if I can mimic it in somway in the early stage so that its not a totally random surprise at the end, but to be fair both the orcestrated part and the lead are following the same source which is only 2 parts and even though the synth mainly accentuates one tune and the orcestra the other i didnt really want to bring in the synth tune eariler cause then it wouldnt have that hitting effect.

As for repitition, yes it is, i really rushed the end... whoops.

Thanks again Thehands

xGx

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At this stage Im more intrested in my actual writing/structure than the overall sound of my work concidaring as many people tell me over and over the program I use sounds like shit anyways apparently so there probably is every missing frequency that can be missing.
I understand your viewpoint, but in my opinion, both sound quality and arrangement are equally vital. I've listened to some of the stuff on your myspace page, and you already seem to have a bit of a knack for the arrangment aspect of things. I don't really see the point of examining the 'missing frequencies', but that being said, I also don't see the point of needlessly reducing the sound quality by using myspace, especially when there are other free alternatives available which are much better suited to sharing wips here in this forums.

Now, as for your track: overall, 'tis good, but a few places could use a little more work. The transition at 0:30 is a little jarring; it's almost as if you're stopping one song and starting another. The 0:47-1:30 section is probably my favorite out of what you've got here. After this, it gets a tad repetitive, but there are still a few great ideas. I especially liked the Sandopolis reference at 2:13-2:27, but I could do without the section before it (1:59-2:11).

As I mentioned in your Duck Tales WIP thread, your samples need a lot of work. There are some great (and FREE) soundfonts available, if you know where to look. (Some remixers artists have pages with the soundfonts they use, you might want to check them out.) The synths, while not bad, kinda border on being, well, generic sounding to me. I'm not sure what the software package you're using allows you to do, but I'd recommend toying with it and coming up with some more original sounds.

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Ok its me again, i got another one kinda finished already. I only started this yesterday but Im just awsome haha, my only personal feelings are that its maybe too short, i just ended it prematurely but check it out :)

and yes im sorry its myspace again... i like my page :(

www.myspace.com/xcriticalstrikex

xGx

I love your works at VGmix ;), very sexy remixes too.

Anyhoo, Nice interpretation of the source here. Except the trumpet melody at 34 seconds is kinda corn-ballish :P, the part where it plays 3 repetitive notes in a row is off key I think. It sounds weird in any case. Nice build up to the electronic part :D. Good arps too. I think the samples and the atmosphere need a bit of compression (or just better quality) though.

Not a bad start.

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CheersHoboKa, nice to hear from ya ^-^ Im pretty sure that trumpet part is fine, it maybe just sounds crap as its a crap trumpet sim haha :( And yeah i was aiming for cheese :D Always working towards better quality, at least its better than that euorphoria in syvarant eh? :P

xGx

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No source link, no source comment.

Bass sounds ok-ish, but the strings legato are a bit too synthy in their dynamics. Brass is terrible, as is panning. You need reverb on your orchestral elements, I'm not sure there's much of that, if any. Drums sound weak.backing strings melody mwhen the drums start playing is pretty cool. Trance sound, once again, doesn't quite fit in.

Not sure what you were thinking here, orchestral->rock influence->trance->etc? Doesn't make a cohesive track. I suggest leaving out the rock part and working on blending the remaining genres better.

Anyway, the orchestral elements need more dynamics, and your electronic parts need a more clear mixing. EQ and compression are the tools to use there, compression to keep stuff from peaking and pushing the master compression, EQ to make sure the all frequency ranges are covered and loud enough. Read up on them in zircon's guide.

The arrangement isn't bad, but the sound is, both samples and mixing. It'll take some detail tweaks to get stuff to sound good, so I suggest focusing on a track that's just a single genre - at least until you've gotten better at mixing. Try listening to some random background element in this, and you'll hear how messy it is. Mix it better!

Like I said in the ducktales thread, I think you're improving. Good luck with whichever of your tracks you choose to focus on.

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You need reverb on your orchestral elements
I dont actually listen to much classical these days so I had no real comparrison to a realistic sound but reverb is an excellent pointer.
Trance sound, once again, doesn't quite fit in.
Ill make it fit dammit :(
Not sure what you were thinking here, orchestral->rock influence->trance->etc? Doesn't make a cohesive track. I suggest leaving out the rock part and working on blending the remaining genres better.
My idea is exactly that, i actually listen to a lot of metal / hardcore but as a child i was influenced by classical but I also like the sounds of tech stuff happyhardcore / jungle and much in between but dont listen to it as almost every song ive ever heard from the geners are shit haha. I wanted to try and mash everything I like together. Something like Rhapsody/Dragonforce vs Enter shikari vs Frazzbass vs Postmortem Promises vs Holst or something (how totally random lmao), Although imo everything ive done needs more knoledge of the orcestra and definatly guitar to actually finish it but as the latter takes so long for me to record and to actually play the parts well I havent bothered. This is my sound and I want to make it work. Just because it doesnt nessacarily stick to one genre doesnt mean it cant work. And eventually it shall... I hope :P ... one can dream
The orchestral elements need more dynamics, and your electronic parts need a more clear mixing. EQ and compression are the tools to use there, compression to keep stuff from peaking and pushing the master compression, EQ to make sure the all frequency ranges are covered and loud enough. Read up on them in zircon's guide.
Dynamics I did try to add a bit but not much. I shall have a look at this guide because to be frank everything else you just said was like reading double dutch to me and its clear this is whats bringing me down...
The arrangement isn't bad, but the sound is, both samples and mixing. It'll take some detail tweaks to get stuff to sound good, so I suggest focusing on a track that's just a single genre - at least until you've gotten better at mixing. Try listening to some random background element in this, and you'll hear how messy it is. Mix it better!
Ok right now im working on a wonderboy tune which all i have atm is the techno element/genre, I was going to add the orcestral stuff afterwards which is the oppisite to what i have been doing but I guess this is a good place to start by leaving it all tech. However I do spend a whole lot of time with each intrument by itself with everything else muted to try and get it to sound good, but im still not sure of what you mean by Mix it better, like i said im going to look at that guide and hopefully ill get a better idea. I assume it has something to do with certain intruments not sitting well together with each other...
Like I said in the ducktales thread, I think you're improving. Good luck with whichever of your tracks you choose to focus on.
Your a good person, thanks allot for helping me with this sound advice. Much respect.

xGx

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