Kamekaze Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Hello, over the months I've began remixing the OST of Megaman & Bass. This old school gem has next to no remixes available at the time. So I brought it upon my self to do this task. I have 2 tracks done as of now, I am working on a third as well. Anyway I made this topic for critique and comments. Here are the first two songs. Groundman's Chill Drill- http://club-syndicate.net/kamekaze/groundmanremixV2.zip Coldman's Frosty Rave, ft. Jewelman- http://club-syndicate.net/kamekaze/Coldman.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Well, as M&B doesn't have very many mixes right now, so kudos to doing this one . I know the sources well enough, but I'd post the sources in the thread somewhere for those that don't... Groundman Coldman Now, listening to the Groundman's song, it sounds just like... well, Groundman's song. It's a neat arrangement, but that's just what it is, an arrangement, not a remix. If you plan on getting accepted on OC (I'm not sure, but it sounds like your plan according to your post) they want some more original interpretation of the source. Coldman, on the other hand sounds more like what they would look at in terms of arrangement vs remixing (perhaps a little too much so - read below for that). The mixing on Groundman is very clean (which is good ), but the soundscape seems empty (which is a bad thing). You need something to fill the mid range better, and the bass needs some more attention as it's interesting but quiet right now. The use of the bass/piano is also very repetetive; my ears are quite tired of them by the end. Now, about the Coldman song I said before that it feels more like a 'remix' than your other song. However, for a rave it doesn't have nearly enough power behind it. The bass drum is weak; it needs some more 'oomph' behind it (Listen to bLiNd's works to get an idea of what I'm talking about). The pads used drone on throughout the piece. Make them at least sound more interesting using EQ fluxuations or something; their dry and uninteresting right now. The source takes some time to come in. Now, I'm totally for saving the source, except there isn't enough happening before it to keep me happy (not to mention that it disappears again right after). Obviously the harmonies from the source are playing, but it sounds like it has the opposite problem Groundman has - it doesn't sound enough like the original source. Now, for both the songs, they sound too repetative right now. The use of the instrumentation is also stale throughout the two songs, too, so I'd look into changing up how things are used throughout both the songs. These aren't terrible mixes, for sure - You've got a nack on the production quality. It's just some of the 'remixing' elements that your lacking at the moment, so I'd go out and listen to some of the remixes on this site, listen to some of the WIP music and read the critiques given to help you with your own music . Good luck with remixing the M&B soundtrack - it had some gems in there that we're sorely missing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 Groundman: Yeah I wanted to use a better guitar, unfortunately that's the best I got. That's the second version of it, which IMO sounds much better than the first and judging from your feedback, there will be a third. I also meant for it to be a modern arrangement but I ended up saying remix cause I forgot. Coldman: What do you suggest I add to make sound more like the original source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 To add to the Groundman topic (this applies to Coldman, as well), the samples used are pretty low quality. Personally, I don't care too much (especially since my music uses out of the box samples, as well), but OC does terribly. In the Coldman song the only source theme is from 1:24 to 2:12. Out of 5 minutes of music this comes out to roughly 1/6th of the song having the source. If you want a rule of thumb, there should be roughly 50 - 70% recognizable source material with the rest being interpretive. Of course there are exceptions, but that's a good estimate. Now, what would I do with Coldman? The buildup from 0:00 to 1:24 doesn't have enough activity to keep the listener interested; either cut it shorter or make changed in the structure of the build up (perhaps use the second part of the song's harmonies at 0:47 - that'll be a good change for the listener). It's not what to add, but what to cut... One of my teachers told me that the most important tool to a composer is the eraser, not the pencil. From 1:24 to 2:12 the four repetitions is boring. I'd cut two of the repetitions completely. 2:12 to the end... Repeat after repeat after... Well, playing a part twice without variation can be done, but it drives the listener nuts if the song is repeating THAT much... not to mention that other than the harmonies there is no source in there. Personally I'd rewrite the rest after that point completely and use repetitions much less. I know that my suggestions were simply to cut, cut, CUT... but sometimes that's a necessary part of writing. When revising, you should back up what you've got so you'll always have it stored just in case you don't like the newer renditions. After cutting it much shorter (it'll probably be around 1 minute long after the cuts), start writing more sections with the melody being the centerpiece and not the harmonies, and make your sections shorter. Use fragments of the melody so the theme isn't stale. Vary the harmonies under the source melody. Use a different theme over the same source harmonies. The list of what you can do goes on and on... It's tricky to figure out what to do musically with the source, but take your time. Don't be discouraged; you'll get it soon enough . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj Mokram Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Hello, over the months I've began remixing the OST of Megaman & Bass. This old school gem has next to no remixes available at the time. Glad someone noticed! Rockman & Forte needs some support. As a matter of fact, I'm currently remixing the Intro stage. I've listened to your renditions: there could be some improvements, and Gario did a big part of the work in pointing them out. Anyway, I'm following this from close range. If you're really planning to get the whole soundtrack done, that would be quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 I havent forgot about this thread, here's an update on Coldman's Remix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I havent forgot about this thread... Neither have I... bwahaha. The intro is shorter, thank you for doing that for us. It gets us into the meat of the material a bit quicker. Now, I'll add that the last two repetitions of the source really have no variation a all, so it makes me bored. Cut instruments, add textures or simply change a few notes around in the other two repetitions. I still don't hear enough source in there, though in general (although coming back to the source at 3:19 helped a lot). You don't use the melodic material from the second section - try introducing that in there in some places. Better. Still not enough source, and still a bit too much repetition, but a lot better than before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj Mokram Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Neither have I... bwahaha. And I'm next in line! Allright, so nice tuning here and there. Now it really reminds me of Megaman Network Transmission. Namely, music from Quickman & Starman stages. This remix needs some more source material! The sound is all over the place, but it's overwhelming. The drum pattern need some cuts & more variations. Also, try to polish your mixing a little bit more. Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 I still don't hear enough source in there, though in general (although coming back to the source at 3:19 helped a lot). You don't use the melodic material from the second section - try introducing that in there in some places. There isnt much in the second time around that is noticeable beyond slight variation in the melody which i did add. Unless you mean the bridge, which I could add something in. However, I saved the second variation of the bridge for the ending of the song anyway. This remix needs some more source material! The sound is all over the place, but it's overwhelming. The drum pattern need some cuts & more variations. Also, try to polish your mixing a little bit more. Lol. last time I was told it felt empty, so I added. Now I've added too much it seems. The drums do have variations during the bridge but I see your point. I had certain sounds panning before but for some reason the pan just wont cooperate in my FL6 anymore. Feedback appreciated all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 http://club-syndicate.net/kamekaze/Coldman.rar changes: -more bass -less distortion -more variation -new bass line on the bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I'd love to help and give critiques, but the link doesn't work. By the way, why do you zip your music? It's generally easier for the people to listen to your stuff if you post the Mp3 file on a music host such as these. Repost it and I'll try to give you feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 Sorry for the very late responce, my finals were going on and now they are over. http://club-syndicate.net/kamekaze/Coldman's_Frosty_RaveFV.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 I know it's also been a long time since I updated this thread. But I have been hard at work on 3 more arrangements when I had time. Here they are: DynamoMan's Stimulating vibe - http://www.mediafire.com/?bmwjyctlon0 This was made back in January, I wanted to have a kind of rock like appeal without it sounding too much like hardcore rock. TenguMan's Calm Zephyr - http://www.mediafire.com/?d4yyyzdtqzo This was made around the same time as my groundman and coldman arrangements, but I wanted it to sound more real since Jazz is my native genre of music. AstroMan's Solid Orbit - http://www.mediafire.com/?m2zy2tzhinu This is the newest one, so I especially want feedback for what I can do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorgMan Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 First of all, I'd upload my files to here for teh time being; makes direct listening a lot easier. Second, your Coldman Rave isn't responding, seeing as the site that hosted it is gone; could you re-upload it please? So... Dynamoman. It sounds a bit empty at the start, a thing you fix a little bit later on, but I can't shake the feeling that the track misses a certain depth. Next to that, the guitar still feels "fake" and I think that a different soundfont would certainly benefit this track. I like the track, but the buildup itself feels rushed production wise; can you fix that? Of the three new mixes, this one is my favorite... Tenguman is relaxed, but again it feels empty. Here, a voice would seem the most appropiate thing to add, to give it a real jazz feeling. I think you can throw away the drums if you can let the bass in the background be more creative. The trumpet kind of... fails... Look into what a sax could do to give it more complexity. Astroman's source doesn't give you much to work with, but I think that in this case an intro with the original source would spice your remix up a bit. The use of the hi-hat to break-up the main theme is,,, awkard, IMHO. At 1:33 you add an extra instrument which is nice, I think the remix lacks such an addition to the "background" before the 1:33 mark... which I think is actually true for the rest of your mixes as well. All in all... you've got some stuff to work on, as was said by others too, but I think that in time and a bit more learning on your side, you can finish off a pretty decent remix album Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamekaze Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 First of all, I'd upload my files to here for teh time being; makes direct listening a lot easier. Second, your Coldman Rave isn't responding, seeing as the site that hosted it is gone; could you re-upload it please? Done, So... Dynamoman. It sounds a bit empty at the start, a thing you fix a little bit later on, but I can't shake the feeling that the track misses a certain depth. Next to that, the guitar still feels "fake" and I think that a different soundfont would certainly benefit this track. I like the track, but the buildup itself feels rushed production wise; can you fix that? Of the three new mixes, this one is my favorite... The solo guitar, the main guitar, or the guitars heard on the bridge? As far as the build up goes, I was pretty much following the source. Tenguman is relaxed, but again it feels empty. Here, a voice would seem the most appropiate thing to add, to give it a real jazz feeling. I think you can throw away the drums if you can let the bass in the background be more creative. The trumpet kind of... fails... Look into what a sax could do to give it more complexity. That IS a saxophone. There are no trumpets in the song. And by voice what exactly do you mean? I had a different saxophone in it that sounded much better but I lost it ._. Astroman's source doesn't give you much to work with, but I think that in this case an intro with the original source would spice your remix up a bit. The use of the hi-hat to break-up the main theme is,,, awkard, IMHO. At 1:33 you add an extra instrument which is nice, I think the remix lacks such an addition to the "background" before the 1:33 mark... which I think is actually true for the rest of your mixes as well. The general way I start off the songs is to build up into it, because most remixes I hear do that. Which is why all of my remixes tend to do that. All in all... you've got some stuff to work on, as was said by others too, but I think that in time and a bit more learning on your side, you can finish off a pretty decent remix album Feedback noted and appreciated. Forgot about this one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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