*NO* Chrono Trigger 'Magus and His Cathedral'

[Palpable]

Contact Information:

ReMixer name: kage49

Real name: Khalifa Almarri

email addres: kage49@gmail.com

Website: www.soundcloud.com/kage49

Userid: 30302

Submission Information:

Name of game(s) arranged: Chrono Trigger

Name of individual song(s) arranged: Magus Confronted, Manoria Cathedral

Comments about the mix:

A little over a year ago I decided I would try out orchestration, inspired by some great albums like Yoko Shimomura's Drammatica and the 2008 Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Write) Orchestra.

I knew nothing about music; I had to learn about music theory, orchestration, sequencing, mixing, and virtual instruments. I decided I would choose Magus Confronted because I love it and I knew I'd stick with it until it's done. I used this arrangement as a learning project, and now, 1 year and more than 10 versions later, I guess it finally is.

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Magus Confronted, Manoria Cathedral

[Palpable]

There are some subtleties to this, but for a while it comes across as a standard orchestral performance of the big Mag. The Manoria Cathedral section is handled more creatively IMO, with some rhythm and writing changes that set it apart without losing the feel of the source. That point was when this really started to come into its own and offer something new. When you returned to Magus later, there were some bigger liberties taken and I liked that. I will say 3:34 was a weak section, where the writing started to overlap and became harder to hear - should have shifted something there up or down an octave.

Not the most realistic orchestral production we've had, but most of this was sounding good. Strings sounded slightly too far forward, volume jumps were too quick sometimes, the choir had a slow attack - those were the biggest issues I noticed.

Overall, I'd say it passes. Some things you could have fixed up on the production side, but nothing derailing this. Nice work, Khalifa, hope to hear more.

YES

[Vig]

The best orchestral samples will sound cheesy and unrealistic when they are the only instrument playing. These are not the best orchestral samples. They might be perfectly acceptable blended in a lush orchestration, but there are too often solo string or horn parts which really kill the believability of the tune.

The arrangement is certainly not bad, but it's certainly not groundbreaking. There are conflicting harmonies around 2:10. You should probably fix that up. Honestly my attention could not stay off how exposed those string lines sound. You might consider at least bringing up the harmonies against the melodies.

NO

[DragonAvenger]

I was worried at first when things started off like an orchestral cover of Magus' theme, but once the Cathedral set in things got much better. The writing in that section to the end showed a lot more variety and arrangement as well as some counter melodies that added a nice touch. I wish the opening 2 minutes had done the same. The transition at 3:12 was a bit rough around the edges, especially given the smoother lead back to Magus' theme only a few seconds before. I will agree with Vinnie that around 3:34 all the sounds are clustered a bit too close together and some of the clarity is lost. Look for ways to help keep things more balanced so that the sounds that need to be heard the most are clear.

For the most part the mix has a nice balance, and there is good coverage in the soundscape. The writing on the orchestration is believable as well, which lends itself to the mix feeling more natural. What's hurting this mix the most is the samples overall. There are issues, like the slower string and chorus attacks, that are distracting from the overall arrangement, which is unfortunate. This would be quite a different piece if it were live, but who has an orchestra in their back pocket?

Not everyone has access to great samples, and it's all in how you use them, which is what Jesse brought up. Despite that, however, I think this is an enjoyable mix, and I am willing to look past the sounds themselves. I'd say this is a close call, though, and I wish you luck on the rest of the voting. YES (borderline)

[The Orichalcon]

I'm kinda concerned that the Magus part is almost a note-for-note cover of the original, made orchestral. It sounds good, but it's not a remix, it's an attempted upgrade of the source.

The remix starts when we have the cathedral music come in. And I'll admit it sounds pretty good, it's enjoyable to listen to and it's an interesting reorchistration of the theme.

The samples are questionable. They can be used more effectively. If it was just the samples that I had issue with, I'd probably pass this as it's not that big a deal. But I can't get past how note-for-note the first couple of minutes were. I think you've played it too safe there, and I'd like to that part changed or ditched altogether. This can either be a great remix, or a great cover. The choice is yours. But it can't be both. NO

[OceansAndrew]

I really enjoy this, but I do think that the Magus section is distinctly too close to the source. There are some minor additions, but otherwise it is a straight sound upgrade. Things get more interpretive as they go on, and you reach a nice balance of material, so it's clear you have the chops to arrange.

Some samples were exposed, and I often heard just the violins and violas, but no lower string support. It ended up sounding a bit unnatural, so i'm not sure if you don't have parts for those instruments or just aren't having them present enough.

There's a lot of good critique on this already, and from the YES's you can tell you are close, but I think a little more work is required for this to pass the bar. Please don't get discouraged from the NO's, but take the advice to really finish this up.

no, please resubmit

[CHz]

Guess I'll slide in a quick vote, because that's all I have to add here.

NO (resubmit)

It's the combination of arrangement (very long, conservative Magus intro) and production (exposed samples, poor balancing in the busier parts). Not a bad start, just keep working on it.

[Liontamer]

It's the combination of arrangement (very long, conservative Magus intro) and production (exposed samples, poor balancing in the busier parts). Not a bad start, just keep working on it.

Yep.

Some of the opening string articulations sounded unrealistic. The brass could have sounded more natural as well, but was serviceable; the strings ended up sticking out more. Nice dropoff at :44.

When the buildup climaxed at :56, the string lead was getting obscured, IMO. At 1:33, all you really heard was the rumbly drums; again, I'd change what was more upfront vs. in the background. The high string articulations at 2:34 again stuck out as unreliastic and not smooth enough.

Arrangement-wise, the Magus theme was more of a cover, but even then the supporting writing has some new ideas to personalize the arrangement, so I was more OK with it than the other NOs. Melodically, there could have been more going on though, so do think about that level.

As for the samples, what's there is perfectly fine and above the bar. They sound perfectly serviceable to me, you just need to refine the articulations so that they sound more natural in execution; you don't need to obtain higher-end samples, and I don't like the implication that you need to.

CHz summarized where the other NOs are coming from, and that's ultimately where I'm at as well. However, this is better than most of the stuff we reject, so definitely don't be discouraged. See if you can polish this up, tweak the volume of some parts and I think this would be ready for prime-time. Keep at it on this one, Khalifa, this is a very solid track right now and just needs that extra push.

NO (resubmit)