Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games '400 Meter Rimix'

[l.fist]

I have just finished making a midi version of a remix I would like to improve upon. I'd like to get some suggestion on how to improve my song if it's not all it's cracked up to be. Also, is it required to have any instrumental hardware available to make this happen? If so, I'm at a lost.

Original version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GovlF-Dr6D0

Midi Remix: http://midishrine.com/midi/25223.mid (song is about 5 minutes long, so skip ahead if you can't stand repeatitive)

[l.fist]

Seeing as I'm not getting any responses, I decide to bring this up to let you guys know that I messed around with FL and came up with another beta. Please tell me what you think.

[Rozovian]

Awesome source. Nintendo's gone 80's with their sports titles, it seems, there's was something like this in WiiSports too, tho not quite as cool.

One of the reasons you haven't gotten any responses could be that people don't know what this is. Is it a midi transcription of the source, is it a sound quality upgrade from a midi, is it a remix, are you gonna try to make it fit OCR's standards...?

Anyway, the pitch drop synth is pretty annoying, and the ostinato backing is (albeit a bit Tangerine Dream-ish) pretty annoying. One of your leads is also shifting from one octave to another, which is pretty annoying, plus it could use some cutoff, the high sustained notes are pretty annoying.

You could cut the 1:57-3:02 bit and not really lose anything. Also, repeated iterations of the "chorus" part could be dropped, at least if there's no apparent change in them, like between the one around 2:00 and the one after 3:00.

So... what do you want from the WIP board? Feedback on how to make this closer to OCR's standards?

As for your question about hardware... Nope, you don't need it. In some cases, you geta betetr results, but it's by no means necessary. Decent samples/synths and a decent DAW is enough, and you've got FL so you've got at least half of that covered.

[l.fist]

Awesome source. Nintendo's gone 80's with their sports titles, it seems, there's was something like this in WiiSports too, tho not quite as cool.

One of the reasons you haven't gotten any responses could be that people don't know what this is. Is it a midi transcription of the source, is it a sound quality upgrade from a midi, is it a remix, are you gonna try to make it fit OCR's standards...?

Anyway, the pitch drop synth is pretty annoying, and the ostinato backing is (albeit a bit Tangerine Dream-ish) pretty annoying. One of your leads is also shifting from one octave to another, which is pretty annoying, plus it could use some cutoff, the high sustained notes are pretty annoying.

You could cut the 1:57-3:02 bit and not really lose anything. Also, repeated iterations of the "chorus" part could be dropped, at least if there's no apparent change in them, like between the one around 2:00 and the one after 3:00.

So... what do you want from the WIP board? Feedback on how to make this closer to OCR's standards?

As for your question about hardware... Nope, you don't need it. In some cases, you geta betetr results, but it's by no means necessary. Decent samples/synths and a decent DAW is enough, and you've got FL so you've got at least half of that covered.

I thought I did state it. Guess I wasn't asking specifically what I wanted out of this topic. Sorry. But, you pretty much answered most of the questions I did state in this topic, as well as gave me feedback on the remix I'm working on it. Thanks.

I would like some feedback on how to make this closer to OCR's standards without actually having to cut the song(I'm fine with the length). But, I'm still not very good with the technical stuff since most of the instruments I choose were already presets. Advice?

[Rozovian]

There's a few different ways of using presets. One is to use them instead of good mixing and good arrangement, make a nice and interesting soundscape and not really write anything interesting. Another is to experiment - write a part and then sift through the presets until you find something that works (or find something that works and then write an interesting part for it, the order doesn't matter). A third is to decide the kind of sound you want, find a preset that's close, and modify it. Only the first one is newby.

Once you get better at working with the synth settings, you'll be making your own presets. I've noticed that making music is so much faster when Ive got my own presets that I know and can choose from.

When you start working with the actual mixing - stereo placement, loudness, frequency balance (using pan, reverb, overdrive, compression, EQ, and such) - you'll start learning the technical bits.

Same goes with the synths. Once you start understanding what the sound really is, you sort'a know how you can change it. Even if you don't, once you've screwed around with the settings long enough, you'll get a feel for what they all do. You'll learn faster by consulting wikipedia and our handy tutorials.

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As for the song, the length/repetition is one of the things that's gonna get it a NO (or keep it from even getting on the panel). You'll find that most ocremixes are in a constant state of change - progression. They're progressing, they're moving towards something, heading somewhere, not circling around. That's one of the more theoretical (or even abstract) things that you need to learn in order to get something on ocr. Even if it repeats, there needs to be something new, something different in it.

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lol I just realized I used the term "pretty annoying" four times in a paragraph, referring to four different things in my previous post.