Liontamer Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Remixer: Dr. Manhattan Submission information: Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Song: Hidrocity Zone Acts 1 and 2 PS1: I didn’t changed the tags i used for DoD, hope that’s ok. PS2: I'm having some connection problems, so i apologize if you reveice more than one e-mail. Thanks! --------------------------------------------------------------- http://project2612.org/download.php?id=61 - Hydrocity Zone 1 & Hydrocity Zone 2 The brass samples were hurting in terms of realism, although the brief stuff at 2:39 sounded pretty solid. I've heard really fake brass in ktriton's "Hyrule Wimbledon", so I can co-sign on a track where a key instrument is blaringly fake and there's a quality disparity. In the case of "Hyrule Wimbledon", the rest of the instrumentation sounded really good, and the brass sequencing was OK even if the samples weren't. This would be the same case, except the textures here were on the sparse side and definitely could have used another element to prevent the brass samples from being so exposed, and also flesh out the background. I've heard your Ys 3 mix, "The Freak Winged Boy", so it's obvious you can create a track that really fills out the space effectively, but this one didn't do the same IMO. We'll see if the others feel the same way. Arrangement-wise, I'm loving the interpretation. The bass work was pretty low-key, but really cool to focus on; great stuff there. Right now, the background created by the drums felt too empty for much of the track, and some of the simpler drum patterns didn't give enough energy to rest of the piece. I'd love to hear you tweak this with one more instrument added, some sort of effects, or just pushing up some other background elements to better fill out the soundfield, so I'll go conditional YES on it. Otherwise, fun stuff, so I hope we see this on the site in some form. YES (conditional) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Great stuff, very fun arrangement. It was a little on the empty side and the brass wasn't quite there realism-wise, but I didn't think it was at a lack for energy, and for the most part the production was solid. Maybe I'm going a little easy on the production since Larry thought it wasn't strong enough, but I felt the arrangement really made up for any shortcomings there anyway. Kudos for the clavinet stuff going on at 2:03, which was a great reference to the original Genesis sounds that also fit the song like a glove. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 This is really cool. I like the arrangement a lot. My main issue is with the mixing. The samples aren't great, but I'm not going to hold it against you. However, there's an overwhelming feeling that the samples are separate..there's no shared ambience. The bass feels too scooped..it's a bit boomy, but also thin on top. There's tons of string noise, but it really needs more definition around 1-2 kHz. As for the ensemble sound, I might add some chorus to the non-lead horns to give it a little size, and maybe don't pan them quite so hard. or just share a reverb. The drums could use a bit more meat too, try compressing that snare a bit. I really love your arrangement, and I hope you tweak the mix a bit and resubmit. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I don't really see where Larry and Jesse are coming from on this one. The samples are definitely not the worst I've heard, I thought they were quite nice and we've passed way worse IMO. More importantly the sequencing is well done and that's true for pretty much every element in this track. The production is crisp and clean. I thought the lack of "wall of sound" was pretty minor. The bass could be a little bassier and the backing elements could have some more meat to them but nothing really hurts the track. The arrangement is terrific. Personalized, great part-writing and performance too. I said it before but I'll say it again, the sequencing is really well done here. These are some of the most varied drums I've heard in a while. Yeah, this is an easy pass for me. You could probably make it sound even fuller production-wise but it's not holding the track back when the overall production is good and the arrangement's this rocking. Great stuff! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 While I agree with the others that the brass samples won't be fooling anyone about their realism, they do have a certain charm, and they blend well into the track. A/Bing it with some somewhat similar style tracks, like old school Chicago or Earth, Wind, and Fire, the scooped bass sound is actually pretty authentic, and though i'd prefer it a bit phatter, I can totally roll with it. As for mixing I just wish that the organ in the background was brought up a bit. Otherwise it's a good clean sound that does't try to smother; it's all about jammin' rather than face melting, though there is a solo section where things do get pretty sizzling. Playing is very strong throughout, and the variety of sections and flow really gives everything a chance to shine. There is a lot of excellent personalization, and the small add libbed runs are hot. Arrangement emphasizes all the good things about the source and adds even more. This is nice stuff. yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Classic funk style right here; it reminds me a lot of virt's arrangement and production style. I agree that the brass is the weakest production link, though I thought the drums were on the bland side also. However, the brass writing (including the solo) was solid enough to pretty much make up for it. I do wish the drums were more intricate, as the backbeat was quite simple the whole time. When I think "funk" I think breakbeats and more intricate fills, which I wasn't hearing in this mix. I also would have loved to hear the clav come in earlier, or at least a rhodes/EP or something. If the arrangement and guitar performance weren't so good, I would probably NO this one. However, those elements are really strong, especially toward the end of the piece, so I think this one is just over the line. On future subs, I'd love to hear more keyboard/synth work, more intricate drums, and a bit more attention to sample realism. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 This is a great track. Great adaptation and performance of some awesome source tunes. There is no way I can see the production as a deal-breaker here. I think it's a bit nit-picky to do so. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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