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Final Fantasy 4 IV Boss Battle Remix


jabond23
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This also happens to be the music for the Culex battle from Super Mario RPG. Its funny cause i meant to do the Mario RPG version as my main remix, but somehow completely forgot that's originally from FF4!! Oh well, at least i remembered, i must've been pretty damn tired when i decided to do this remix! lol :)

Anywho, here it is: http://tindeck.com/listen/hhvi and its in 320kbps. Or from http://rapidshare.com/files/214159727/NintenJoe_64_-__Final_Fantasy_4_IV_Boss_Battle_.mp3 which is also 320kbps.

I think i got everything, but we all miss things sometimes. I'm not quite sure what to name this remix, i was thinking Final Breath, but i'm not sure how i feel about that. Also, i used a different drum kit entirely for this project so let me know how that sounds. :)

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Alright, the idea and intent was good, but it suffers from a lot of problems.

First thing is that the rhythm is all messed up. You start out with a gallop, then due to the rhythmic problems is becomes a reverse gallop. Your melody adds an extra beat somewhere in there.

The production is the second thing that catches my ear. The mixing is terrible, at the moment. The melody is drown in the rhythm and drums. Bring the melody up and the rhythm down (I think the drums are alright). Listen to some common thrash or death metal music (Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Death, etc.) - Listen to how they deal with leads and solos. The melodic parts stick out above the rest of the music.

The pitch is very off in many places (namely whenever the second part of the source is involved). Study the source better and figure out what's going on.

In it's current state it's hard to make out what you wanted this to sound like (thus I can't comment too much on the structure of the piece). This needs some serious cleaning up.

I will add, though, that this particular song could make for a great metal mix if done properly, and I commend your effort (actually playing an instrument for a remix deserves respect). The effort, however, is very messy. Clean it up, fix it up and put it back up here and we'll get into more of the details.

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Just about everything that Gario said. It started strong but got off-kilter. I didn't get a sense of direction or theme either. I'm sure you'll straighten it out in no time, though, considering how quickly you perfected the LoZ mix.

Still, killer guitar work. I like the feel around 3:20 and the very raw ending. This will be awesome when the kinks are worked out. Kudos on the choice of source material!

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Yeah, i kinda realized all that after i finished the song. I am gonna go back make some big changes to it. Unfortunately right now, i can't get my damn gearbox program that i use to play guitar on the computer to work like its supposed to, i can't hear anything i'm playing.

When i get it going again, i can fix the song! :)

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Well, i finally got around to my FF4 boss battle remix! Bout time i suppose! I meant to get to it sooner, but i had to install vista x64 cause windows 7 x32 was being a pain in the arse.

Anyways...I made A LOT of changes to the mix. For starters i shortened it up a lot from 3:53 down to 3:19 so it wasn't so repetitive. I also brought the leads and melodies up front a lot more so they stand out better. Also, i messed around with the drum track and cleaned that up as well. And i haven't added a bass track yet. Mostly cause i don't own a bass so when i put a bass track in my songs i use a vst.

I hope these changes make the track a lot more enjoyable! :)

http://tindeck.com/listen/mfml

or

http://rapidshare.com/files/216103812/NintenJoe_64_-_Final_Breath__FF4_IV_Boss_Battle_.mp3

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Nice work tweaking things around. The only critiques I have are that the synth which harmonizes in places like 1:19 sounds a little off (maybe it's just me) and the drums at 2:15, 2:25, and 2:45 could use a little more variety (the rhythm is good, though). I love the breakdown at 1:25. Good update!

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I messed around with the drum patterns and i really like the changes. Each section now has a new ending drum pattern. I also tweaked the synth strings to them stand out a little more.

http://www.tindeck.com/listen/qmkj

or

http://rapidshare.com/files/217534487/NintenJoe_64_-_Final_Breath__FF4_FF2SNES_Boss_Battle_.mp3

Let me know if there's anything else i should do? Also, should i keep Final Breath as my original title for this song? Thanks :)

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  • 1 month later...

Update: http://rapidshare.com/files/238608503/NintenJoe_64_-_Final_Breath__FF4_FF2SNES_Boss_Battle_.mp3

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?4tmh3zmqrnq

I added some big stuff to this mix. I made an orchestrated intro with violins, choirs, keyboard, and the like. I also added an interlude after the guitar solos, but i'm not sure if i'm gonna keep the drums for that part or not, i think i might do a fully orchestrated section instead. I just gotta find the time to sit down and write it out. I realize when listening to this in my car that the bass drums have a ton of bass, which isn't terrible though.

I wanna sub this mix after my Zelda labyrinth mix i've been working as well. I'm hoping this is almost up to the OCR standard for remix. :)

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I wish you wouldn't used rapidshare (Waiting 15 min between files to compare changes sucks), tindeck is fine, or you can use my wip uploader (ocrwip.fireslash.net)

The biggest thing that stands out to me is at 0:45, the guitars and drums don't line up at times. I think it's probably due to the drum pattern against the guitar, but perhaps someone can better explain it.

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The biggest thing that stands out to me is at 0:45, the guitars and drums don't line up at times. I think it's probably due to the drum pattern against the guitar, but perhaps someone can better explain it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the melody adds an extra beat to the theme at that point, shifting it an additional beat foward while everything else stays in 4/4... it sounded strange before, now that you've added so many cool things to the music it sounds terrible now.

The mix is miles ahead of where it was before, though. Other than the rhythm part mentioned before, the biggest problem is that you harmonize the melody in a very... um, avant guarde sort of fashion. I can't really get into what you did with the harmonies and such - there's just too much dissonant clashing between the harmonies and the melodies & counter-melodies, throughout. I don't know what I can suggest to help you with that, sorry for my unhelpfulness...

I saw this at R:TS and I noticed the tag for it said 'Metal, Wierd'... I sort of agree with them, there - the harmonizations and such make it sound wierd, for me.

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Wow jabond23

Notes and things from everyone here on this piece... :-o

(listened on Fri May 29 '09)

As a musical piece (forgetting the OCR for now). Really not bad. I felt the song was a little too much fingering and not enough "catch for the ear," but that is just artistic preference.

As a music piece there are moments when you shift your song from one "area" to another; I love these ideas and they really help the song along, but the tailing on the moments needs... love, time, work, help.... something. You might not be a big fan of delays or reverbs (at least not the way Trance artists are) but they would help with the tailing... The part I most noted is when you break the whole mix down into a square wave again (starts at ~2:04 ends at ~2:19) this part can be sooooo sick if it didn't sound like quick fades from one "area" to the other. I can suggest some engineering ideas to achieve this but that is your call, plus I'd need to know what your DAW is. This feeling is also true in the very beginning when we go from orch to guit... one should soomthly lead into the other instead they shift like a rickety rollercoaster. The open hat sound seems a bit harsh in the mix too; it should be present but not noticable... well it was noticable :-P.

[Edit]

As for the radical harmonies and what not, consider using another type of instrument. And if you really want to stay within the realm of the guitar sound try going back into your plug / amp and making different guitars sounds for different harmonies... like a different singer for a harmony rather than a dub of the same singer. But mostly find a way to give us different sounds to follow in the melodies/harmonies.

As an OCR track... :roll: I would just listen to the comments made by others. They would know what makes for good OCR before me.

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Surprising opening! I was thinking, "there's supposed to be a raging electric guitar here...". It works nicely, in my opinion, and the change in mood is an added surprise.

Chorus and strings could come in a bit stronger at 2:40. They get really washed out by the loud guitar before (drums too). Either that, or you could have them fade in after the guitar cuts out. From what I've heard, the Js like it when you expand and toy with the "soundscape". Very nice piano after 4:13. Good job bringing that theme in too.

I can't speak to the technical side of things but I think rig1015 did a great breakdown. It's got what it takes for a ReMix. Just needs some polish. Good work!

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Update: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ytm4n5wzfm2

I took advice from just about everyone and applied it to this update. I know a couple peeps mention that it sounds like there is an extra beat in the galloping part of the song, but i can't really hear it. I think maybe they're right about the guitar not completely syncing up with the drum beat in places. I'll have to go back and focus on that part more.

I tried to create a better lead in towards where the drums and guitars come in. Its a newly orchestrated section that i wrote to try and build the tension and mood up til the drums. It took me a while to get it to sync up with the first part of the intro. When you hear you'll see what i'm talking about. I really like it so far, i tried to shift the mood from soaring to dark ambiance to fit in with the drums. Hopefully its not too much, but heads in the direction i wanted it to. I also tweaked around the interlude after the solo. The orchestras/choirs sound fuller now.

I hope its somewhat of an improvement thus far. :)

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Uh, it says there is an error with the file download. Might be the same thing Nubioso ran into with your MM3 mix...

Update: http://www.mediafire.com/?oen44onunzz

And if it still isn't working, try: http://rapidshare.com/files/239247575/NintenJoe_64_-_Final_Breath_FF4.mp3

Try that one instead.

Yeah, i thought i fixed that problem. The MM3 mix had the file set to private for some reason, but this one wasn't. It says people have been downlaoding it, but i've reuploaded it so it should be ok now, hopefully. :)

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Ya'Know I'm still listening to it now... on my laptop speakers... and let me tell you jabond23, loads better. Even on my MacBook Pro little crappy built-ins I can hear every instrument clearly- JUST had the breakdown I ask for you to fix, SO MUCH NICER!!! *got me hyped*

Okay SO much is better (Thank you).

Few ideas to throw at you:

Piano instrument at 3:26... I wanted uhh ... well, a more engineered moment with that. I don't know what would work for the session... maybe playing all the notes IN-sequence backwards and bouncing out a copy of that sound, then reversing it to play correctly... When in doubt reverse the piano for fun effects, but just an idea.

I felt a lag, too, at the beginning... I feel foolish saying this but now it sounds too orchestrally long at the beginning. You had the right legnth I just didn't like the transition from orch to guit... the transition in the newer version is audibly a lot nicer.

All and all it seems you have it all falling into place. I'll listen more at the studio and see if I can't get more ideas or critiques; but damn I like how it's shaping up.

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Yeah, i spent a lot of time tweaking EQs and volume levels for thie version. Which is probably what i should've done in the first place. :D And i'm glad you like the breakdown now.

I'm thinking about cutting each of the 2 sections in the orchestrated intro in half, and that would shorten up the intro. I kinda thought it was too long anyways. Also, i replaced the piano part at 3:26 with some strings and i kinda like the way it sounds better. I'm also thinking about replacing the orchestrated part after the breakdown/guitar solos with either some keyboards solos or splitting it with keyboard solos and orchestras.

I'll upload a newer version a little later on.

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After listening to in the studio I had one idea to aid in the intro. You wouldn't happen to have the kick drum from your drummer isolated... (?) 'cause I was thinking you could do a kick-roll-intro to build tension right before you have the guitars hit at the beginning. Also maybe some sort of cymbal roll or wash effect right before we hear guitars.

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Alright, i did some tweaking on the track and came up with this:

stats.png

I took out the first part of the intro, the more soaring part and orchestrated part and kept the second part of the intro before the guitars come in. I tweaked the second part around a lot so its more orchestrated and well written. I added a kick roll for 2 measures before the guitars come in, and i really like the way it sounds. It helps build tension before the rock begins. I figure that with the orchestrated part after the solos is the same as the beginning, so its kinda like i moved it instead of just omitting it altogether anyways.

I also mentioned before that i changed the break after the solos/orchestrated part from the piano to strings. I backed that up with some strings and an orchestra playing the chords the lead strings follow. Some other minor changes i made were to some of the volumes on the tracks, mostly the leads. I made them a little louder cause they kinda fell into the background at points.

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I really like most of what is done here. The beginning flies pretty well with me, and so does most of the rest of it...

...except for the part where the guitar actually starts in. Every time it does that, it really adds in an extra beat somewhere along the way, so my ears have to adjust and redo it in my head. I shouldn't have to do that at all.

Otherwise, I went ahead and listened through the earlier mixes of this. This has come a long way, and fixing that little problem would be a huge step forward to letting the rest of the site hear this.

Keep up the good work, man!

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I really like most of what is done here. The beginning flies pretty well with me, and so does most of the rest of it...

...except for the part where the guitar actually starts in. Every time it does that, it really adds in an extra beat somewhere along the way, so my ears have to adjust and redo it in my head. I shouldn't have to do that at all.

Otherwise, I went ahead and listened through the earlier mixes of this. This has come a long way, and fixing that little problem would be a huge step forward to letting the rest of the site hear this.

Keep up the good work, man!

Thanks for the comments. Ya know its funny. Your not the first one to comment on the guitars being a off beat a little somehow, and i still can't hear it. I'm gonna go ahead and just re-record that part anyways i suppose. It'll help anyways. :)

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