Nutritious Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Nope, not a resub of my previous attempt several years ago. Started this one a couple nights ago. It's still pretty rough and subject to MUCH change (synths, sections, possibly vocals, etc), but this gives the general idea: EDIT, NEW Final Version: All previous versions (v3 & on): http://ocrwip.fireslash.net/?a=Nutritious OST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pFBWAMvo4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewhoisiam Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Ah boss! Let me check out yours while I take a break from mine. You know, I read somewhere it's 10,000 hours to be really good at something. But for me I think it's taking longer. Anyways, letszeewhatchoogot. MMM, I happen to be working on a DnB thing of magmoore caverns, so this is actually right up my ally. Drums - A touch on the repetitive side and could use some humanizing. I used to think 'well, that's just the genre' but it doesn't have to be. The genre often throws in breaks and makes slight change ups (an extra bass drum hit for example) It's the little things in a track like this that'll really make it shine. That being said, those little things are usually about the last thing on my list of stuff. For me it's more like 'get it done, then make it good' Sadly my track record not that good The intro cymbal part is neat, but if you really want to make it shine, it needs some accents, establish that THUMP that you're going for before you start in with the heavy bass sounds. Also, drummers can roll on the bells of cymbals which can be very cool. (drum nerd, but flams, swiss army triplets, ruffs, and rolls totally underutilized by... well the world) Synth Leads - These can sound a little bit thin at times. I like the main lead in this, but the one near the end feels kinda hollow (detuned saws) Around the 1:15 mark there's a neat effect. I either want more of it, or don't want it all. Cause. It just kinda stands out there and I'm mixed on it, could go either way. Synth Bass - I love wub. Let me say, I'm bias on that point, I like my bass to wub a little bit at least. This is a real think powerful bass, but I'm not really hearing any modulation. I think a little would help. Also, the bass seems to uh. Stop? Late in this. It is powerful, so it's fine if you wanna tank it out. But it might need something in it's place that's more subtle or just some polish. As it stands, it just feels empty without it there at the end. Anyway, hope that helps. Ima get crackin on mine today and maybe put out the WIP before 2012 -H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Cave Story? Nutritious? I'm sold already, and I haven't even listened to it yet. Alrighty, let's see what we've got. Not a bad start - I like the atmosphere you set up, here. There's a whole lot of anticipation for somethng that's going to blow me away with that string/woodwind combo which normally anticipates 'EPIC' in movie soundtracks. Then that pretty weak synth cramps the climax. I see you anticipate that the synth(s) will need some work, and I'm here to emphasis that they need work . They're generally far too thin and simplistic, for the buildup that you gave. The synth at 1:44 would be a pretty awesome breakdown if the synths before it were thicker and had more punch behind them. The drums work sonically, but the pattern is bland. I'm sure they're filler, right now, so I'm guessing you know that already. The snare doesn't mesh well with the rest of the track, in my opinion. It seems to take too much of the mids and leave too much space in the highs, I think, 'cause it seems to be cutting into the track a little. The overall soundscape is a little thin in the low & high area. This'll probably be fixed when you fatten up the synths, though, so it'll most likely fix itself. Be aware of it, though. Great source, and I hear some sweet potential in it. Best of luck to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Wow, I didn't expect such detailed crits so quickly. Yeah, you guys have mainly highlighted stuff I'm aware of and am working on. I probably should've held off on posting 'til I was further along, but I wanted to share. I do appreciate the feedback, though . Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 After thinking about this, I've decided to post incremental versions on this mix, as well as keep older copies availble for listening. I'm hoping this will help any interested mixers see how my progression and writing process progresses. I'll be updating the latest version, but also keep a link in the first post which should allow access for all versions. Ok, did some work on this last night: New: Improved some synths Added sections A little drum variation Placeholder vocals To do: New sections and rearrange sections (for example, last section is placeholder) Additional synthwork Drum work & variation Orchestra additions/improvements More vocals/replace placeholders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewhoisiam Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 @ Sharing too early: Well. IT IS good to take these things in steps. If it was perfect right off there'd be some sort of awesomness overload. A-My-Head-Asplode sort of thing. I tried to do the incremental thing, but I don't really have a solid foundation in my DAW or much of a musical background. This me to have musical adventures, which usually consists of combinations of google and wikipedia to figure out what a certain sound is, and how to make it. So my work is painfully slow. (GETTING BETTER mind you:-D) Mmhokay, lets see vat ve gots. Is MOAR! A valid critique? Been a 12ish hour workday for me, so when my review is all goofy-like with made up words in it, that's why. samophlange! New 'lead' synth sound: At first I really liked it, but a little bit later I was sort of mixed. Let me explain: I'm crazy! Erhm, let me explain in more useful terms: First thought: It sounds a lot like a synth guitar. While I think it's got a neat sound. It doesn't really have the 'life' that a real (or sampled) guitar might there. Second thought: that sort of lead to me kinda makes the repetitive nature of that part stand out, overpowering the early lead sounds. (this at 1:10) The other lead is a much better match for this (at 1:32) But later in the piece, this sound comes back in a lead position again right after the vocals. So in short, I guess you could say I like the sound, but not the role... Or not such a large role? Then again, crazy. Take with grain of salt. Placeholder vocals: Yeah, placeholders. Honestly I don't like lyrics cause to me having to understand words takes away from the awesome that is music (I never listen to lyrics when I listen to music, true story) I think these add a lot in their role now, so I can't wait to see what that do if you get some more refined stuff in there. My other thought though is you might want to back off the drum track a bit there, just the volume of the snare a bit of the bass hits prolly. It'll give some contrast to the whole drum track. Also... er. New section below now that we're talking about drums. New drums: Also (cont.) The neat cymbal bell thing is great in this. You can re use that idea here. (vocals section) Not the whole thing, but if you were looking to further change up the beat. You're already taking off some bass hits to not cramp up the vocal section with off beat bass hits. Fill the off beat 'feel' in a more subtle way with bringing back a reference to that cymbal thing. Other improvements sound like a good step in the right direction, not harping on much here. Placeholder end thoughts: This new sound kinda satisfies my earlier complaint about missing lows when the bass 'left' the piece. It's a full sound that occupies those ranges well in the absence of the synth bass. I also feel like it sounds good with that higher bit at the end, much better than the last synth, prolly cause it does the lower ranges better. so that's pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thanks, as usual, for the feedback Ok, so this is very much a transitional wip. The structure is starting to come together more (less pasting random ideas together). For example, the strings just before the vocoded vocals are the rough outline of a verse-type section. Still, there's a lot more to do here. Also, I'm slowly refining sections like the strings, some synths, drum parts. Mainly, though, I'm working on getting the structure how I want it and some specific lead melodies/textures right. Anyway, I'm not really looking for crits on this one; just trying to give a bit of a look into the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewhoisiam Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Anyway, I'm not really looking for crits on this one; just trying to give a bit of a look into the process. But you'll need SOME SOMETHING or you'd double post and then the WIP mods would be... Well okay, you might have a loophole for the whole mod thing. EDIT: This also totally gives me an idea for mine that I'ma steal. THANKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Ok, big update today: New: -Structure fleshed out, just about final -Most vocals recorded -Some vocals processed To Do: -Vocal processing -Flesh out unfinished sections -Write ending -Flesh out intro more -Variation in drums, synths, etc -Moar synths Known issues: -Vocals too hot, reverb tweaks -Bridge vocals/backing track sparse (2:51), I know it doesn't sound good yet -Misaligned ending vocals But you'll need SOME SOMETHING or you'd double post and then the WIP mods would be... Well okay, you might have a loophole for the whole mod thing.EDIT: This also totally gives me an idea for mine that I'ma steal. THANKS lol steal away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 awesome stuff, justin. i guess i'm a little partial to electronica (lol) so I was happy to hear those synths and beatz kick in. great blend of synth and orchestra, love the vocals too. really ambitious stuff, can't wait to hear the finished cut, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Taradien Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I'm actually gonna come out and asy I actually love the way the vocals are slightly off at then end. It's probably just me, but I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thanks for the comments/feedback guys New version 8: New stuff: -Worked on intro a little -Lots more processing done on vocals -Filled out Bridge 1 more -Varied up beats some more To do: -More work on bridge 1, not happy with it yet -More transition work (esp. don't like transition to beat kicking in) -Write ending -More work on intro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockos Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Wow. I'm DnB listener and this one is AWESOME. No problem with any part. I hope it'll come soon on OC ! ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Thanks, dude . Nearly done with the track now. Pretty much just need to write the ending, which is a placeholder right now. New version: Done: -Tons of tweaks -Transitions To Do: -Fix placeholder ending -Tweak dry/vocoder levels again -???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Briggs Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 oh shit this is fucking awesome fix up that ending and you've got a winner imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Lead seems a little quiet after the vocoded bridge at 3:10 (maybe consider adding a bit of high reverb to that lead too?), and overall it seems a bit quieter than most of my other songs, but I guess that's something you can crank up once the mixing's done. Other than that it's a proper bangin' choon. Love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockos Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Wow. Just wow again. I got something for you: you should check out at 0:22, you got a click noise from left ear. I love the cymbal 'humanization' from the first kick-in. Maybe you should Keep a little bit more of your real voice. Maybe not I don't know. It won't hurt for the genre. It sounds so much like Pendulum. Definitely love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenogu Labz Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 It sounds amazing; the only thing that I keep feeling needs to be pushed is right after your center vocals. If possible, make that next section bigger somehow. It adds strength to the vocals when you can break out of them with power. At least, that's how I hear it. Can't wait to see it finished and on the front page! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Thanks again for the comments, guys Just wrapping things up now. Done: -Rendering glitch at :22 gone now -Layered in lower octave lead synth for section after vocoded bridge (thanks for pointing it out -Raised dry vocals a bit more, dropped vocoded down a bit -Ending -More and more vocal processing - I think that's enough now To Do: -Submit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans, this is damn good. YES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d2k5000 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Wow, nice mix! To my inexpert ears, things sound great production wise. However, it sounds like it might be slightly over compressed, and the mid range seems a little weak compared to the high and low ranges. I don't listen to a lot of drum and base, so I don't know if that is a style that you are purposely going for. The vocals are very nice, but I am not usually a fan of vocals in video game remixes. I know its just personal preference, but would it be possible for you to release an instrumental only version when you complete the song? Thanks for making such an epic song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockos Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 AWESOME Too much for my ear. I'm going crazy and insane. 11/10 score even if it is impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 It's time to call this one finished! I've only made a few minor changes since the last version, mainly eq and mastering stuff. Here's the final link I'll be posting here: To Do: Choose a name! In case anyone is curious, here's a link to the OST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pFBWAMvo4 Also, as mentioned before, I'm leaving up previous posted versions of the mix in case anyone wants to hear how it's progressed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Wow, nice mix! To my inexpert ears, things sound great production wise. However, it sounds like it might be slightly over compressed, and the mid range seems a little weak compared to the high and low ranges. I don't listen to a lot of drum and base, so I don't know if that is a style that you are purposely going for.The vocals are very nice, but I am not usually a fan of vocals in video game remixes. I know its just personal preference, but would it be possible for you to release an instrumental only version when you complete the song? Thanks for making such an epic song. Good observation here. It's probably a combination of the style I'm trying to achieve and also imperfect mixing . As it stands, though, I'm satisfied with how it turned out. Also, I wouldn't be opposed to an instrumental-only version. Only problem is, though, certain sections would sound pretty empty without the lead "instrument". I'll definitely render it out at some point just to see how it sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 This is full of win! I love it! I thought of "Cave Climax" as a title for this mix when I was listening to the earlier versions. I thought you might want to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Title suggestions: Speleology (spee-lee-ology - it means the study and exploration of caves) Ultrasound Echolocation Sort of a bat-type theme with the last 2. I actually like Ultrasound as a title best, although it's probably been used before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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