djpretzel Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 First the link: My name is Robby Huang, aka Phatcorns. This is a remix of the song Robo Gang Johnny from the game Chrono Trigger. The saxophone, trumpet and drums are all real instruments performed by real people. The organ, bass and guitar were performed by myself on my keyboard. The recording was done one part at a time and the credits are as follows; iFUSiON - Saxophone, The Juica - Drums, JHockett - Trumpet. Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoy it! Phatcorns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny B Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I applaud you for the recording of these parts and syncing them together effectively. If you did this on your own, and not at a studio, i'm particularly impressed. So, it's needless to say that sound quality is largely not a problem on this track. However, it's not to say this track isn't without its problems. The drums are simple, and that in itself doesn't bring the song down. However, they are mixed rather low, and seem to have no EQ whatsoever. I should be hearing a crack on the rim knocks, when all i'm getting right now is a paltry thud. So basically, the set sounds like it was layed down to tape and left alone. If it was a 2 track recording, that's understandable, but it still needs more presence in the mix. The artificial components are very similar to the original. The sound quality is marginally improved over the original, most notably the organ. However, the bass has no life to it, it's a super-quantized, undynamic robot bass. The guitar has a very MIDI quality to it, I actually thought it was another organ the first couple listens. The saxophone solo is probably the highlight of the mix. It's a little bit more staccato than I think it needed to be. It could have used a lot more expression in many sections. There are also some questionable notes, and tuning problems. On the run up the scale in the second part of the sax solo, around :57, there seems to be one or two brown notes. The solo also is very rudimentary in what it does. But not nearly as much as the trumpet. The trumpet solo takes very little risks, and contains several obvious mistakes. Mostly bad articulations. However, like the sax, the solo itself consists of a verbatim iteration of the main melody, followed by excrutiatingly simple patterns that dwell on the same note and occaisionally jump to a fifth. There are, of course some variations from that formula, but they aren't anything i'd call difficult for the average high school student. Not to mention some of the rhythm issues present, most notably the trumpet lagging behind the beat. It's a solid track, for sure, but the performance and arrangement leaves a lot to be desired. Get a more rehearsed recording of the sax and trumpet, and maybe throw down some originality on arrangement. Until then - NO -D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Gotta agree on with Danny B. That trumpet solo makes me cringe. JHockett, change it up! The range displayed in that solo is so weak, and there are notes that are flubbed that even I could play cleanly after 3 years of inactivity. Sounds like you're trying imitate Lee Morgan's solo style (Sidewinder, anyone?), but it comes across as very uninteresting because the articulation is messy, the rhythms are repetitive, and the range is so low compared to what a trumpet is capable of reaching. Anyway, sorry to harp on the trumpet solo; I used to play a lot of jazz trumpet back in high school, so speaking from experience, I really think it could be a lot better. As far as the rest of the mix is concerned, it's a solid track; however, I really feel it lacks the intesity it could have. There's some attention being paid to the articulation and accenting of the notes in the head, but I think you should bring that out even more. The bass and guitar are also very boring. Gotta work on that. I know it seems like I complained a lot about this piece, but it actually is pretty solid; I just think that it could be a LOT better. NO, but go for the resubmit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 i'm more or less in agreement. the recordings were clean, the solos were alright..nothing special. the muted guitar bothered me, as did the robotic bass. my biggest problem is that the arrangement is under-exploited. the harmonies in the end work. maybe do more of that. it also could have used a B section. doesnt have to be anything fancy, but anything to mix up the rhythm section a bit. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Pretty laid back, but like the others have said, the execution is lacking. The bass sounds pretty exposed and too artificial. The whole effort is laid-back, but too dry-sounding in the delivery and lacks in sound balance to me. All of the sequenced material (organ, guitar, bass) is dry. The sax and drums (but not the trumpet) needed more presence, as the sequenced material was louder than the live work most of the way through. The arrangement was decent I suppose, but took no risks. Prime material for a resubmit. No sarcasm intended, but OneUp Studios' fans would certainly enjoy this laid back, mostly-live work. It shows a great deal of effort and promise. Hope y'all give this another few takes to spice up the delivery on the live instruments, try and address the sound balance issues, and possibly add some more rearrangement ideas to expand the scope of the track. Hope you hear from you again. NO (refine & resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts