Liontamer Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Submission link: Source track link: - Also on YouTube, (0:38)Contact Information # Your ReMixer name - Skummel Maske # Your real name - Thomas Bullock # Your email address - kordeth@hotmail.com # Your website - http://home.hibu.no/~124408/skummelmaske/ # Your userid - 21629 Submission Information * Name of game(s) arranged Gradius III * Name of individual song(s) arranged Crystal Labyrinth * Your own comments about the mix This was my first entry to the Dwelling of Duels competition back in May '08. I hadn't really listened to the music of the Gradius games before this, so I scoured Youtube and websites looking for a track that had a nice, strong main lead. The result is a guitar-driven rock track with some sweet guitarmonies playing around an already interesting lead. After the DoD contest, it took half a year to get around to do some proper mastering on it, but it was worth it. --------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for providing a copy of the source. Seems exclusive to the arcade version. Gradiua III - "Crystal Labylinth" The guitar tone was a bit weak, and the mixing wasn't not balanced. I always harp on snares, and this one didn't bring the power. It was too quiet, but also didn't have enough oomph in the tone. The lead guitar didn't sound like it was fully in the foreground; the supporting guitar was also too quiet. During the soloing from 1:18-1:36, you could barely hear the source tune in the background. The guitar performance should have been tighter, but was still pretty capable. You've just gotta get the sound louder, fuller and more cohesive. Solid base here, Thomas. This was actually my first time really checking out your stuff in depth, and you've definitely got the potential here to get something posted as you continue to improve. NO (resubmit) P.S. Gimme your digital camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Cool source.. I need to check out more shmup-music! The production is really bringing this down. It's very muddy and filled with bass. The bass basically takes up all the low/low-mid except for the compressed kickdrum. The guitar tone was decent but you could really hear the compression with the sustained chords, they sound really unstable every time the kick hits. The lead guitar was also a bit too far back in the mix. The drums were quite muffled too, especially the snare lacked punch. The arrangement was pretty close to the source. Chords and melody were almost identical both in how the arrangement was laid out and how they were handled. The solo and the part before that were good additions though so you have some stuff going for you. I felt some of the counter melodies clashed a bit but it was minor. The performance is a bit on the loose side, a tighter re-record would be very nice. Overall this shows some promise but needs more work before I can comfortably pass it. I've never heard anything by you in the past but it's good to see some forumites are capable remixers too! Keep at it man! NO(resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Yeah I think this is arcade-only. I don't remember this level from the SNES version. But then again, I wasn't that good at the game. It started off very similar to the original, with some slight mods to the guitar melody. I didn't like that the supporting parts and structure followed the original so closely. After the second half, you added a lot more originality to it, which made up for the first half. There was some cool soloing, and new chords. It would have still been nice to see some changes to the bass once in a while, but arrangement-wise I like it. The production is really muddy and has to be fixed before we can pass this. Use EQ to cut down the low regions on everything but the bass and kick. You should hear some some presence there in the other instruments but not as much as you've got going. You also need to let some of those high frequencies back in, because everything sounds muffled. It will help your lead pierce through and overall give a more balanced picture. I like what you've got so far. If you can fix the production, I think this could go up. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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