Dr. Mario "Fever" rock remix

[thomas_kresge]

A couple months ago I arranged a small rock group version of the Fever tune from Dr. Mario. I foolishly submitted (I realized minutes later that I shouldn't have done that), it eventually got rejected preliminarily, and now I finally decide to post it up here from some much-needed, personalized critiquing.

The arrangement was rejected on the grounds of being too repetitive and too poorly sequenced. The repetitiveness I've addressed overtime, thought there's still more work I think I can do on that. The sequencing quality, though, is a bit harder for me, since I'm not very good at that, and I've yet to obtain that proper tools for that (though I plan on getting Sonar soon so my sequencing doesn't have to be through Sibelius).

Basically, I just want to hear everything that can be improved for this on any front.

File is here.

P.S. Sorry the file's in WAV format. I'll change that soon.

[Xenon Odyssey]

Well, first off, Sibelius is a notation program, not a sequencer. If you've made sheet music for this, you should probably attempt to get some live players on this, as it would help it drastically. And since Sibelius only uses MIDI sounds, there's your 'poorly sequenced' aspect right there.

Arrangement-wise, there is still a good bit of repetition. Try adding an original section of your own, or doing something that adds some variety in.

Remember, you don't have to emulate the source verbaitum. I've had a couple of mixes do that and they fell flat. It's arranging, not orchestration.

[wouldntyouliketoknow]

Problem loading page... Wah.... I've been waiting forever for a Fever mix.

[RemixedT]

Now, I'm very new at remixing, and I'm not liable to understand some terms, but arrangement-wise, this is very good.

Sound quality seems good enough.

However - this seems like it comes from SSBM. Don't worry though, it's okay.

[hewhoisiam]

I like ett! Rock rock on! Still an OCR nub, I think this'll be like my 10th post, beware:<

Old school intro reminds me of early rock, esp with that walking style bassline. Very vintage and works like a charm. Then, it's right into jamin with the good Dr.

I can't believe I managed to miss Dr.Mario back in the day, ah well...

Likes:

INTRO! MMMM!

Feel and energy! This is just a lot of fun to listen to.

half-time at 0:30-0:41 leading to the walking line 0:41-0:52

triplets at 1:10

1:21-1:22 What is that noise? I need to steal that for mine own...

The end? TRICK END! I like the trick end.

Criticisms:

This is more of an observation: the solo over guitar with frequent breaks can disrupt flow. The bass line really pulls things together and it works well here.

I like the kit you've chosen as far as snare/kick/cymbals, but the toms come across to me as being very same-ie, esp at 0:11 and 1:15.

0:53-0:59 Something seems off, but I can't put my finger on it:?

2:10-2:13 This drum solo/fill is very simple, too simple for my taste in a song like this. If simple is what you want to go for, try putting a tom hit or two with your bass drums.

Suggestions:

The tempo changes at the end are lots of fun. At 3:12 after your first slow down, you return to your old tempo for one last go on that bass, before your second slow and end. Consider going faster than your original tempo just in that little bit, to really drive the point home. Reminds me of Dream Theater TBH

The L and R panning is fun at the end. I want to play with something like that in surround, but I have no idea how I alwalys like the feel of moving slowly around rather than R L R L R L. Just my preference though, I'm a surround sound geek.

[thomas_kresge]

Thanks for the comments so far!

hewhoisiam, thanks for the in-depth break down. I try out some of your suggestions.

RemixedT, this remix is partially inspired by the Smash Bros. version of the song, so it sounding a bit similar to that isn't surprising to me. I should probably go in and mix up the start a little so it doesn't sound as similar.

Also, I don't know if anyone really noticed this (nobody actually commented about), but I also mixed a lot of the riffs from Dr. Mario's other in-game BGM, Chill, at different points in the song.

[Rozovian]

Too conservative, methinks. The arrangement seems to be the same as it was in SSBM, at least for most of the first minute.

The guitar is fakey. The remix is really bass-heavy, and needs some serious EQ fixing, some levels fixing. Could also use some additional tracks to cover some of the empty mid range stuff. Definitely needs more high frequencies. The bass writing is great, and I'm sorry to say that's the great thing in it. Some nice solos in the middle, but most of the track has a midi rip feel.

Put it in a playlist along with some recent ocremixes, you should hear a difference in the sound. That should help you with how to mix and EQ it. As for the arrangement, I don't know what to suggest. If I understand the OCR standards right, this is to close to source. Too similar.

There's a lot in here that's promising, so don't let these crits get you down. Good luck.

And post an mp3 next time.