Mega Man 6 and 9 - Plug into the Order of the Groove

[Xarnax42]

Newest version here:

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Original Post

Pretty (brand) new here as a contributor, but I found the site about two years ago, and have been waiting for the day I had the time, motivation, and computer power to actually put something up in this sub-forum. The Grand Robot Master Remix Battle 2011 was a great chance for me exercise both the discipline and ambition to really get something done.

I've gotten a good variety of feedback so far just from the voting stage - some appear to genuinely enjoy it as is, others offering constructive criticism, and those who have nothing nice to say have been nice enough to say nothing at all. (Actually, even if you hate it, I'd like to hear why.)

I have lots to learn, especially about production, so I opened this thread for anyone who's willing to offer detailed feedback on ways to make this better.

Thanks!

Sources:

Mega Man 6 - Knight Man

Mega Man 9 - Plug Man

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Previous versions:

v1 May 30 http://tindeck.com/listen/jiou

[Nabeel Ansari]

(Actually, even if you hate it, I'd like to hear why.)

I HATE IT BECAUSE... it's... hateful?

Haha, just kidding. Good entry.

The sonic space was really lacking in fulfillment though. Make sure you have strong chords, with a bassline following the chords to the rhythm of the drums and the lead sitting nicely on top, pulling them all together to give them something to support. It's key in this type of music.

Also, you really need to work on the timing of the notes. It sounds like you recorded it without any real experience with performing and you just used a keyboard for note entry. That's all fine and dandy, but if you do that, you need to actually edit the MIDI data to make sure things fit the beats a little more, or it'll sound really sloppy. Timing issues are a HUGE turn off when listening to music.

I do everything by mouse, but I also don't humanize my electronica synths unless I want something expressive. When I do, I make sure to make sure every note if the way I exactly want it to be.

[Xarnax42]

Finally got a chance to spend a little time on this...lots more to go, I know. I didn't touch the arrangement at all, but I plan on fleshing that out a lot, and looking again at some parts with wonky timing. Really, all I was going for today was filling out the space a bit and thickening up the synths. I especially like the extra layer on the bass. I also threw a little reverb on the drums...although I'll probably end up replacing those samples as well.

Here's the update:

I agree with pretty much everything you said, Neblix.

Still to do:

1) Add additional layers (harmonic and/or counterpoint) throughout the arrangement.

2) Revisit sections with wonky timing issues and rearrange the glitchy section.

3) Complete overhaul of the final section when Knight Man's theme returns. (I plan to scrap this and do something mind-blowing.)

4) ??????

5) Profit!

If you've heard both versions, is there anything I changed that should be left as it was? Thanks for listening, and special thanks to anyone who drops in with some feedback.

Oh, I'm also open to changing the title. If you've got an idea, lemme know.

[fredrikd]

This song really fascinates me. It's so weird, and I hope all those odd bits are intentional, because that means you posess a talent for making very original music.

The tempo change is a bit unwelcome as it is, but with proper transitions, it can be a nice dynamic effect, as I'm sure you have pictured it. Especially how it grooves up everything when you go back to the original tempo

As Neblix says, some of the notes are played in a way that sounds unfinished. The piano roll, and quantize is your friend in tidying up midi recordings! (Not saying you should always quantize. It depends on how "human" you want your track to sound Neblix explains it pretty well)

0:42 - 1:09 Like I told you during the votings for this entry, that bassline is insane! My favourite part of the whole track.

Overall, if you can increase the production value, you'll give justice to the creativity you're clearly showing. Like Neblix, I'd recommend that you spend some time on filling out the sonic space of your track. This doesn't necesarry mean adding instruments (though it often does). There's a lot of monophony and few instruments in your track. Minimalism can sound really lacking when not done right. Have a listen at 1:06 and you can feel how the song just sounds a bit more right when the chords come in. I'm not saying you should shower your track with pads/organs etc. Not saying you shouldn't either To compensate for lack of instruments, you can focus on what made you decide to have few instruments, and what possibilities it offers. It opens up a lot of space so that each sound can be heard in its full glory, so be sure to start out with some amazing sounds that can stand on their own. From here fiddle around with eq, compression, panning, effects like reverb and delay and make your sounds fill out the sonic space, while not masking each other too much.

Also learn how to make silence in the sonic space a part of the song, as opposed to when it just feels like there's a lack of instruments. Not really sure how to do this myself, so If anyone could tell in here, I'd be interested in learning the trick myself

If I should guess I'd mess around with reverb/delay, and add some frequencies far from where the main frequency action is in the track (i.e. high frequencies for a bassy track)