SuperiorX Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Final (3/22/12): Supersonic Stardust - Final Update (2/22/12): Supersonic Stardust v3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ So over Christmas I found Sonic CD on the PSN for $5 (5 bucks!?!). This was a game I missed out on growing up because my family never had a Sega CD. I played all the Genesis Sonic games to death, so I'd always wanted to try out Sonic CD. I played through the game with the Japanese soundtrack and I was pleased to hear some awesome tracks. My favorite was Stardust Speedway, in all of it's cheesy jazz/hip-hop 90's glory. I knew I wanted to try a remix of that song so that's what we've got here. The arrangement and style are pretty similar to the original, but I mainly wanted to make a spiced up, jazzier version of the track and then do some of my own improv with the melodies & backing stuff. Plus it gave me the opportunity to use my large collection of brass hits, vocal clips, and DJ scratches that I never thought I'd get to use This is still a work-in-progress, but I wanted to hear what you guys think. The arrangement is pretty much done, but I plan on switching out the crappy brass sample that you hear throughout much of the first half of the track with either a better brass sample or a different instrument altogether. If I switch the instruments, I'll compliment that with some additional brass hits (like in the second half of the song). I recorded the piano myself too FYI, which was fun. Source is all Stardust Speedway (JP - Present) with a tiny itty bit of Hydrocity thrown in there for kicks. Tell me what you think, thanks! My Mix: Supersonic Stardust v2 Source: Sonic CD - Stardust Speedway (JP - Present) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garpocalypse Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I really like what you have here so far. I know it's a WIP but some of those vocal clips are waaaay too loud. Also the piano sounds a bit too loud as well. Try kicking it down 3 or 4 db and see if you can still hear it take the lead. Now for a more philosophical question. Did you really go straight to the Japanese soundtrack for your first time through this game? Poor Spencer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumajoBelmont Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I really like what you have here so far. I know it's a WIP but some of those vocal clips are waaaay too loud. Also the piano sounds a bit too loud as well. Try kicking it down 3 or 4 db and see if you can still hear it take the lead. Now for a more philosophical question. Did you really go straight to the Japanese soundtrack for your first time through this game? Poor Spencer... Agreed. But I'm still assuming because it's a WIP, that he hasn't really touched the vocal clips yet in terms of mixing, and yeah, the piano is a little bit loud, but I've no doubt that will be addressed. The WIP as a whole is awesome, and I can tell that you really enjoyed the source, because it still contains a lot of my favourite hooks from the original track. Loving this And good for you for going straight to the Jap/Euro soundtrack first The creativity and variety in that versions soundtrack still blows me away to this day, and each and every track is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROTO·DOME Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Can't comment on the production as I'm listening through laptop speakers, but damn dude, some awesome stuff going on here. Piano is weaksauce at 1:12 though; that whole section isn't brilliant. Sounds fake and hollow, a complete contrast to what you had going before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I agree with everyone. Piano + Vocal samples are waaay louder than everything else. Piano also stands out as being a bit dry - could do with a bit of reverb/processing to place it in the mix - maybe it's mostly a volume thing though. Pretty cool source, i've never heard any of this stuff before! You've got a whole bunch of stuff to keep us interested throughout despite the fact that the material is quite repetitive. Although I do feel like the piece kinda goes nowhere in a way. There's no big structural definition in my mind. I'm not a huge fan of the end as well to be honest. I feel like the piano sounds a bit weak and exposed at the end and the drop-out thing felt a little clunky to me. I get that the outro was kinda winding down but i felt like a track with that much energy could have done with a powerful ending. That said, this was pretty awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Cool! I'm glad everyone is liking it pretty much! Now for a more philosophical question. Did you really go straight to the Japanese soundtrack for your first time through this game? Poor Spencer... Well the Japanese soundtrack was the default and I didn't realize I could switch them, so the first playthrough was with the JP soundtrack. I started a 2nd with the US soundtrack, but haven't gotten all the way through yet. So far though I have to give the edge to the JP soundtrack. Agreed. But I'm still assuming because it's a WIP, that he hasn't really touched the vocal clips yet in terms of mixing, and yeah, the piano is a little bit loud, but I've no doubt that will be addressed. Yeah I EQed and mixed most of the other instruments, but I haven't adjusted the piano or the vocal clips yet. I think some are fine, but others definitely need adjusting. Piano is weaksauce at 1:12 though; that whole section isn't brilliant. Sounds fake and hollow, a complete contrast to what you had going before. I actually recorded the piano myself with my MIDI keyboard in an attempt to make it sound more natural, but yeah that part sticks out a bit to me too. It's weird cause where that part repeats at 2:44, it sounds fine (in my opinion) because there is a lot of other stuff going on, so I think it's just where it's exposed it sounds a bit weak. Or even more importantly, I think the left hand part is making it sound bad. I was trying to do a bit of chord playing there, but I think since they overlap nearly identically it sounds kinda off. When it's just the right hand part playing (1:36 - 1:44, 3:00 - 3:33), I think it sounds ok. I'll take another look at it though. I'm not a huge fan of the end as well to be honest. I feel like the piano sounds a bit weak and exposed at the end and the drop-out thing felt a little clunky to me. I get that the outro was kinda winding down but i felt like a track with that much energy could have done with a powerful ending. I like the piano at the end, but I'm going to try to clean it up a bit and adjust the bass drop out a bit more, cause that feels a bit awkward to me too. I'll play around with a few things though and see what else I might come up with. Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm having a lot of fun with this source! It's been making me even more excited to get my Sonic Remix Compo started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I agree with the other's feedback, so I won't bother repeating it. I want to say that I'm really enjoying what you have so far. The bass is interesting throughout and the lead synth has a nice sound. I look forward to your next version! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondellonoya Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 am enjoying this one, cool..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Update: Supersonic Stardust v3 So I did a number of things with the new update here: Lowered the piano & voice clip volume throughout Replaced the old synth brass sample that plays the melody in the beginning with a square synth (similar to the one that plays the little Hydrocity melody later on) Added some more brass hits to the first half to make up for removing the synth brass instrument. I'm not sure how I feel about the new square synth lead in the beginning. It sounds better than that crappy synth brass sample, but I'm not sure it fits 100%. I might need a punchier instrument, but I've been having trouble finding something I like a lot. Thoughts? I still need to do a bit more tweaking with the piano and I want to add a bit more variation with some of the percussion patterns, so those updates are to come. What do you guys think about this version? Particularly on the areas I changed? Thanks, I appreciate everyone's feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 After a few more listens, that new synth (the one that enters at 0:24) doesn't stick out as much as it did before. I think there are a few too many falls (buuaaaaaah) though, so I'm going to take some of those out. I went a little crazy with them in the beginning I'd like to hear what everyone thinks though! My box.net accounts tells me statistics, so I can see you guys previewing and downloading my track (and not leaving feedback) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Nice job dude, I like the changes you made. Everything seems to fit to me, though after a while that wah wah synth starts to rub me the wrong way. It sounds nice, but it seems to stick out a little bit too much, maybe it's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I feel like you should reduce the bass boost on the bass whenever it reaches really low notes so that the actual notes can be better differentiated when it's playing by itself. Also, the piano feels like it could be humanized with a bunch of velocity edits. Even though you played with a MIDI keyboard, you may not have played it exactly how you wanted it. Here's your chance to edit it! If you want a very dynamic piano plugin, try to get 4Front TruePianos if you can. The parts with lone claps seem... low quality. Try layering the claps with something else; I usually only have claps as a high frequency layer to my snares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 The mixing sounds like it's cluttered - everything seems to be occupying the same area frequency-wise in the first minute or so, which makes it lack clarity. My ears could be playing tricks on me, but it also sounded like at times the left side was panned harder than the right side for at least one instrument. Overall, the arrangement is ok, although I feel it's too short (as I often do). I hope this helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Nice job dude, I like the changes you made. Everything seems to fit to me, though after a while that wah wah synth starts to rub me the wrong way. It sounds nice, but it seems to stick out a little bit too much, maybe it's just me. Parts of it bug me too, but I think it's just the too many falls. I've tweaked those on the version I'm working on now. Also, the piano feels like it could be humanized with a bunch of velocity edits. Even though you played with a MIDI keyboard, you may not have played it exactly how you wanted it. Here's your chance to edit it! If you want a very dynamic piano plugin, try to get 4Front TruePianos if you can. Hmmm... I've done a lot of velocity edits on the piano already. The parts that stick out to me still though is where the melody is doubled up on the left & right hands (at 1:12-1:36 in particular). Are those the same spots that sound bad to you, or do you notice other sections as well? Thanks! The mixing sounds like it's cluttered - everything seems to be occupying the same area frequency-wise in the first minute or so, which makes it lack clarity. My ears could be playing tricks on me, but it also sounded like at times the left side was panned harder than the right side for at least one instrument. No, everything should be pretty centered. I've panned a few of the backing instruments in an attempt for some stereo separation. The electric piano is panned 10% left and the one backing synth that plays during the piano sections is panned 10% right, but all the leads are centered. Is there any instrument in particular that you're noticing so I can take a closer look? That helps! Great stuff! Thanks! Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Ok, so here's the "final" version: Supersonic Stardust - Final I tweaked a few things on the new lead, the piano, and percussion overall. I think this one is about finished up. I'm kinda tired of tweaking and am ready to move on. This was intended to just be a fun little song anyway, and nothing I was serious about trying to sub... so enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Anybody have any final impressions or feedback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magellanic Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Simply amazing! Loved it. Very slick and full of life. My only comment would be on the ending. For me, it would be better if the piano and claps stopped before the bass, so leaving the bass to end but that's personal preference. This is awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rukunetsu Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Very nice work here. Dynamic, crisp, and professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Greatly improved and it sounds good to me. Some of the vocal shouts still stand out as a bit too loud and dry for me! I think it's mostly the female "Oh yeah" which stands out. It's pretty solid overall though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Thanks for the comments everyone! Glad you enjoyed it! I wonder if I should try subbing this... I didn't really think it was up-to-par, but now I don't know... hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaphist Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ok I fucking love this XD XD XD But I think the vocal samples are a bit corny. I suppose you were going for that given the source. I also downloaded CD not too long ago and was completely blow away by the 90's awesome-ness. I think it's worth subbing just to see what they'd have to say. I agree it might not have quite the polish it needs, but it's just too fun not to like IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phonetic Hero Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Wow man, it's been a while since I've listened to this... you've come a LONG way since the beginning of the WCRG Once things kicked into gear, I couldn't help but smile. LOVE the scratch breakdown at 2:00. I'd say this one's certainly close... I haven't heard the source in a while either though, and I'm feeling a bit lazy to listen at the moment haha. The only thing is I feel like the end is a bit weak; you should go out with a bang with such an upbeat track! I'll take a more serious listen when I get some headphones, I'm listening on big boomy speakers in the studio on campus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ok I fucking love this XD XD XDBut I think the vocal samples are a bit corny. I suppose you were going for that given the source. I also downloaded CD not too long ago and was completely blow away by the 90's awesome-ness. I think it's worth subbing just to see what they'd have to say. I agree it might not have quite the polish it needs, but it's just too fun not to like IMO. Hah! The vocal samples are 100% corny! Creating an over-the-top tribute to early 90s awesomeness was entirely the point. I'm glad I succeeded And yeah I may sub it just to see what the judges say. I agree, I may be biased, but this thing is infectiously fun. Wow man, it's been a while since I've listened to this... you've come a LONG way since the beginning of the WCRG Once things kicked into gear, I couldn't help but smile. LOVE the scratch breakdown at 2:00. I'd say this one's certainly close... I haven't heard the source in a while either though, and I'm feeling a bit lazy to listen at the moment haha. The only thing is I feel like the end is a bit weak; you should go out with a bang with such an upbeat track! I'll take a more serious listen when I get some headphones, I'm listening on big boomy speakers in the studio on campus Thanks Pete! A few other people commented on the ending, so I'm a bit torn. A more upbeat ending might be more in line with the rest of the song, but I also really enjoy the current ending with each of the instruments dropping out over time. It's kinda meant to go along with the last vocal clip "Drop it", referencing that stuff is winding down, plus it mixes things up a bit IMO. Maybe I'll mess around with it and see how it sounds another way, but I'm kinda ready to move on to something else now. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingTiger Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'd say go ahead and submit this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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