OoT Remix - Gerudo Valley

[Malheureusement]

Just joined OCRemix because I thought it was an amazing site where people could share awesome remixes. Here's one I've done. Hopefully it's well-liked.

http://tindeck.com/listen/nmcn

--

EDIT:

Final, revised track found here:

http://tindeck.com/listen/geqe

[No Escape]

I guess I'll be the first to review. This track is very solid. I enjoyed it considering it's not my genre of music at all. Production wise, I have little to say. You kept everything well balanced. The choir effects at 2:57 caught my attention especially. Really, nothing bites (sounds like shit) through the whole track. I didn't like the lead setting at 0:50 all the way through to 1:17; I would change that setting to something a little more epic/sustaining. For a first post, this is very impressive and I would switch your thread to "Mod Review" (done by editing your first post and going advanced) Good luck!

[DarkSim]

Hi, welcome to OCR!

Decent first effort, it's a classic source and I like where you're going with it - I do think there's room for improvement though before a mod review. Certainly that first lead synth sounds a bit harsh in the mix, and I'm not a huge fan of the fast claps at the start (they sound a bit too "artificial" - try playing with velocities on them). Not sure if you're familiar with bLiNd's work on here but he's the trance master so I'd suggest listening to his stuff and taking a lot of inspiration from that. Then again, the tempo in this track is a lot higher that bLiNd's usual stuff so it makes it sound a bit more like Eurodance or something.

The last part of the mix is my favourite, as it has more stuff going on in the mix and there's a nice bit of improv with those delayed synth chords starting to come through.

I'd say if your target was getting this mix posted, you'd need to do a lot more embellishment on the source as it's pretty conservative at the moment. I'd also try tweaking your instruments to make them sound a bit more varied - try adding slight phasing to the final lead synth, and definitely some sidechaining is also needed (look this up if you're unsure how to do it in your program, but check out the remix Chemixtrixx by PrototypeRaptor for an example of how it can make a track really bounce).

Nevertheless, good start, and keep improving

[Malheureusement]

Wow! Great comments! I love this type of response!

Firstly, Thank you for taking the time to listen! You are awesome!

Secondly, what is mod review exactly? I'm sorry I'm kinda n00b and I don't take the time to read posting guidelines...

Thirdly, again, you guys are awesome. Glad to be a part of OCRemix!

[WillRock]

Hey there, welcome to OCR.

A mod review is when a mod reviewer on the forums (either Emunator, halc, or Nutritious iirc) critiques your track to see if its worth subbing to the judges panel... this is to try and decrease the judges panels job of sorting through a lot of remixes that obviously don't hit the site guidelines.

So... review.

To start of with, I think your intro is fairly weak... that guitar sample doesn't sound quite realistic, however, you could get away with that as the idea of starting with a similar sound to the source will increase the nostalgia factor. Then the clapping starts, which sounds pretty newbish, no velocity changes there, sounds very static and midi-like.

However, things to get better when the kick and bass come in. It doesn't sound brilliant, but you have a strong kick, however the tone might not be right, I think the kick could do with more bass, really get a big bass presence there.

Your synths don't sound amazing, but I have heard alot worse. It seems to me that your weak point is sampling... the guitar sample is very midi-ish and doesn't quite suit the style anyway... I'd opt for a real guitarist there or a completely different approach for that, the guitar atm just doesn't cut it. You do have some pretty cool synth lines tho, I'd work on them, just get rid of that sampled guitar.

Stuff does start to get a little muddy at busier sections (when the lead comes in at 1:39) i'd consider bringing up the highs of the lead slightly or maybe move up the pitch an octave .

That lead sound also sounds pretty generic and bland... I'd opt for changing it up a little over time... maybe automate the filter envelop or something... it sounds much better as a polysynth than a lead - for example at 2:15.

2:15 onwards is by far the best part of the remix, the leads are pretty good (use leads like this at 1:39) and everything starts to click here. Sure its not amazing, but its pretty strong material that shows some promise. Production isn't great tho, it lacks some needed punch in the bass frequencies, and the polysynth and leads occupy similar frequency ranges.

I think you should consider getting rid of the guitar, with the exception of the beginning and end source motif - that's a good nostalgia moment.

As for the arrangment, its not bad but I think you'll have to do a little more to pass at ocr - more variation would be nice (the last minute is a good example of what you need to do variation wise to pass at ocr, do more of that) a change up of the chords perhaps, and i'd love to hear a breakdown somewhere with some source motifs scattered around somewhere ^-^.

This shows alot of promise atm, but its going to need a bit of work to get on ocr.

Nice Work!

[Malheureusement]

@WillRock,

I can't thank you enough--this is really great!

SO I've kicked the guitar out and put in a different one, as well as knocked off the guitar parts at the beginning.

What I'm looking for is how to get that super-slicy metallic soaring trance/techno sound. I just educated myself on side chain compression and mixing, but I'm a little confused as to what the difference between a lead and a polysynth is.

I'm going to redo the bass/kick lines with some side chaining and pump the bass and kicks really high and hope it does some wonders. What do we think about the very ending?

Glad to see that everybody loves the last minute or so of the mix. I worked on that trance line for quite a while! lol

EDIT: Oh, and production. I have no idea, you lost me there. What is that all about?

[WillRock]

Well Polysynths are basically synths with which you can play more than one note at the same time with - hence the term poly.

On the other side, you have monosynths, which if you play one note, and then press another at the same time, the note will glide or just switch to the most recent pressed note instead of playing them both at the same time. These are best suited as lead sounds as a result

monosynths tend to sound more thin than polysynths... there are exceptions to this rule but the more fat polysynth lead sound didn't quite seem to fit in the case I was saying imo.

And the production is basically the way your mix sounds... the mixing (volume/panning/EQing/effects etc) and mastering which is the final polishing of a master track at the end.

[Rozovian]

Choir, acoustic guitar and the clap in the intro suck. The rest is good enough for ocr, just needs to be mixed better. Lead synth is a bit too loud so drop its volume a bit. It's also kind'a bland. One of the comping synths isn't that great either. Experimenting with their settings (remember to keep backups of the old settings) could yield more interesting and fitting sounds Bass drum needs to punch through more (side-chain and/or boost its 100-200Hz are). I like the legato synthlines you're using in the background. Cutting lows from the higher-range tracks would clean up the low range for the bass and bass drum more. There's also some compression issues with the track overall, whatever compressor you're using needs to act faster, so faster attack and release on that one. You might want to lower the bass' volume as well so as to not keep pushing the compressor with it.

Arrangement is pretty straight-forward, with diminished takes on the sources, occasional breakdowns... Nothing awesome, nothing terrible. Looking at bLiNd's work here on ocr could get you some ideas on how to shape your arrangement overall. Same goes with a lot of others' as well, even if they don't even do electronic music at all.

For a first post, this is impressive. Nice work.

[Sbeast]

It's certainly a good start and shows promise for decent dance style remix of one of Kojis better pieces (imo). I agree with a lot of the comments about samples, the claps and guitar stick out the most and they could do with some humanization (velocity, timing randomization). The last minute is the most interpretive and a good variation on the source material. You could even add a key change, or a half-time section to make it more your own. Looking forward to hearing the next revision.

[No Escape]

LOL I guess I'm the only one who was alright with the clap (Aren't trance tracks supposed to sound sequenced?). And Roz- Don't you talk about that choir effect like that! But really, It's amazing that all these guys can find things in the mix that I didn't even notice when I listened. Some true audio professionals on this site... Impressive.

[Malheureusement]

Yes, there are definitely some epic listeners on here who really know what they're talking about. I've done so much research and read many things on this site that I'm very happy with. I have learned so much already in just two days! My new track is so different from the first one it's like they're two different songs, lol. But it's getting there. I'm implementing a lot of what was said here. Oh, and I changed the claps. I liked them too, but I think I like what's there now a bit better. Almost done with v2.0.

[dbrown1986]

Before I say my piece, let me just say that I myself am right there with you Malheureusement. I've just started out here at OCR (it's been a while since I joined but I'm still learning A LOT), and I'll go so far as to say that you're doing VERY well so far. I myself know next to nothing about music and OCR is helping me to discover my talents every day as well as experiment with music in ways I never thought possible.

All in all; this is a decent track. Your approach in arrangement is very suitable, you've done a good job there, and while I agree with what WillRock; NE and SBeast are saying; I also noted that production wise, it sounds like your using stock synths and stock VSTi's (FruityLoops; if I'm right) that came with the program.

Now; using stock VSTi's (or audio plug-ins as they are more aptly called) isn't necessarily a bad idea; or a bad thing, but from the sound of this track, it sounds like you used a few of the templates that they include with them. If you want to get better sounding synth effects out of VSTi's such as Toxic Bio-hazard, Sawer, SynthMaker or Wasp; as a general suggestion, I say play with it a little bit. Get a feel for how the plug-ins work, solo out the part your working on and fine tune it until it feels "right" then see how it compares to the rest of the arrangement and production.

If you need a good polysynth and ROM-Sampler for trance/techno/club try NeXus

If you need a good Drum Sampler (for all around genres), try Addictive Drums

DON'T FORGET! Once your done with everything, MASTERING the elements of your arrangement is the KEY to SUCCESS.

Now; I'm certainly not made of money, and I can't predict how other people are financially, but if you want the plug-ins I mentioned above, get 'em any way you can. I wont go as far as to say how I got them (ahem, *cough *cough)

As an example of both, here's a track of mine (which I will hopefully submit after Mod Review) which uses both NeXus and Addictive Drums: Click Here to Listen

Here's a video of me goofing around with NeXus:

And a Fuego96 cut with NeXus when I first started using it:

And an orchestra demo:

LOLZ... Sorry... Not trying to sell NeXus, it sells itself. It's really THAT good.

Also, VGAnxiety, from YouTube; made a

remix (from Mass Effect 2); using NeXus and Addictive Drums, and it's quite a killer cut. These are the advantages of having premium VST plug-ins as well as using EQ / Panning and mastering to uplift and tone down each channel so that they all sound very well together and don't blend too much or sound too mushy.

Good Luck!

[DjMystix]

Pretty much everything is covered already; this track needs some serious mastering and level adjustments. Some samples should be replaced or enhanced with some eq/reverb. I also didn't like the claps in the beginning. You really don't have to put them in; replace them with something else. Since it is a dance track, you can also easily replace the guitar sample with a synth element with similar arpeggio patterns; But first, make the whole thing sound razor sharp. You won't believe how good it will sound with a little brightness and loudness applied.

Gerudo Vally is my favorite Zelda music of all time. In fact, just the other day I was thinking of doing a complete acoustic guitar version of this track in flamenco style, which is the only style no one has attempted yet

Keep up the good work. You chose a great track and I believe no one can make a bad Gerudo valley mix. Best of luck!

[Rozovian]

"mastering" lol

newbs.

[Malheureusement]

@dbrown1986

LOL I already have NeXus and like ten expansions! Every sample you hear is straight from a Nexus preset. lol. I love nexus, I use it all the time! I've changed quite a few things, so hopefully you'll like the samples on the second track.

[dbrown1986]

Well you do now; but the mix from the first post on the first page sounded nothing like NeXus.

What I was trying to get at; is how to make NeXus sound really good. If you need any tuts, feel free to send me some PM's or Google 'em.

On a side note, your Lost Woods track sounds brilliant.

[Malheureusement]

Who's up for round 2?!

I must thank all of you for your comments, and I'm looking forward to getting a few more!

Here's the the new, hopefully improved track:

http://tindeck.com/listen/yfpw

@dbrown1986,

Thanks for listening to Lost Woods! Glad you liked it! That one was fun to make.

[DarkSim]

Oh. My. God. I love this... amazing to hear such a massive improvement over a couple of days. Ain't OCR great?

Small criticism on the main melody - I think your sidechain is just a little too harsh on the melody when it comes in, but that's easily fixable, just raise the threshold on the melody track. There is also some clipping from 0:58 onwards until the slowdown. I think your bass frequencies are too crowded there.

After that though, the part after the tempo slowdown is just genius... I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't listened yet, but it just kicks ass. Seriously adds to the arrangement side of the remix and really livens up what was shaping up to be a predictable, cheesy dance track. The buildup out of that again is great, although I kinda wish it was a bit longer, then again I just downloaded the track and noticed that it comes in at 4:11 - was it really that long?! It felt shorter, which is always a good sign.

Listening for a third time right now - this just gets better and better, I don't even know what to say. Superb.

On another note, this thread seems to have got quite a lot of attention, not sure whether it's due to the source or whatever, but it's good to see you taking on comments and suggestions so enthusiastically, putting them into practice, and then pulling something like this out of the bag. All I can say is keep improving, and good luck with submission, this is my favourite Gerudo Valley mix I've ever heard, and it's not even finished. Wow.

[WillRock]

Very good improvement! Alot of the crits have been addressed well

I'm going to be somewhat short here because its late and I should be in bed. I might come back tomorrow and give it a more in-depth listen.

I totally get what you are doing with your build up but be careful not to have too little source... OCR needs 50% source minimum to pass a track, and just the chord sequence won't cut it so make sure you have enough source in your track

I also think you might have overdone it a little with the sidechaining there... particularly when the lead comes in, the lead shouldn't sound over compressed like that. Nice idea, but execution needs to be improved

I also like the breakdown, again, I think the source might be lacking here, and that transition seems a little sudden.

Everything seems clear enough... good job on the mixing. Next, I'd try and bring out the stereo width of your track with the stereo imager on the master, will really create a huge and dynamic sound if you are successful

I suggest you go and listen to bLiNds remixes if you haven't already, he does a very similar style to yours and is one of the best trance remixers on the site.

Finally, I think those last three chords could use a little less delay on the synth there, they bleed into each other slightly and the track cuts off at the end.

Very nice improvement tho, keep at this and I reckon you could get this posted

EDIT: wasn't as brief as I expected

[No Escape]

Hmmmm... I just listened to the revised track, and I gotta say, there are a few changes I wasn't diggin. Changing the leads to swells felt off when I heard it. It was like the track lost it's drive when I heard it (without the attack of the instrument, there was no real lead feeling, and the riff is sweet, so there's no reason to take it away). I much more enjoyed the original way. I miss the original piano rolls as well. Also, the major tempo change is prob a trance no-no. Pretend that you were in a club, and that tempo drop happened and lasted as long as it did. Dancing would certainly be awkward (Unless the tempo was cut exactly in half and we were left with enough beat to keep a 4/4). Admittedly, these all seem like personal gripes as I read my own post, but I'll leave it as something to think about. I don't really have any production complaints. I think you're doing a great job on that end, and honestly, if I heard the original track with this amount of production value in a club, I would not assume it was some random dude doing a remix. So keep up the good work!

[Malheureusement]

I can't thank you guys enough. I made no mistake in joining this site. I love all the comments and constructive criticism I'm getting, and the reception is absolutely amazing!

What I'm focusing on now is releasing some compression on the leads when they first come in at 1:16. I'm also doing more research on stereo imaging. I really want to get a nice, wide sound for this mix. Any ideas on how to do that? Specifically in FL Studio?

Thanks again, you guys ROCK!!

[WillRock]

halc, who is a wip judge/mod on this forum uses FL and a stereo imager is a core part of his sound. iirc, his stereo imager is an FL default plug-in so I can ask him for you or if he sees the thread he can tell you himself

[DarkSim]

I also like the breakdown, again, I think the source might be lacking here, and that transition seems a little sudden.

He's added the Spirit Temple intro in the breakdown part which I thought was a touch of genius. Don't know what the general feel about that is, I know the judges don't like "medley"s, but this isn't strictly a medley, it's just a break with a source close to Gerudo Valley in it. Anyway, I liked it for reasons I explained before. I do agree the transition is a bit sudden though.

Is there any way you could incorporate the breakdown without a tempo change, just do it at half-tempo without a kick or something? Might make the transitions and the track feel more cohesive.

As for sidechaining, I don't use FL but in Ableton you can put the sidechain compressors on each track and tweak each one individually, I imagine there's a similar thing in FL.

[Sbeast]

I think taking other source material from the same game is perfectly acceptable. As an example Zircon did this in his "Monstrous Turtles" remix. The pumping effect is great but the the synth lead should be seperate to it, as its hard to distinguish the melody (I see this has already been mentioned). The break down part adds a nice contrast and added nostalgia but the transition could be a bit smoother. Your making good progress.

[halc]

re: stereo imager, try messing around with Fruity Stereo Shaper. the 'Stereoize 2' preset has a particularly nice effect, but I'd recommend using it as needed and tweaking for individual FX channels as opposed to the master track