Sonic The Hedgehog 3D Blast (Genesis), Rusty Ruin - Enigmatic Melody

[Arceace]

This has been a project that I have been working on for quite a while now. In fact, I first started working on it when I bought FL Studio. This remix has been changed around many different times (about 6 different re-makes to be exact), and I have finally given it the sounds I want.

Of course, there are still probably things that I have missed, so I would appreciate all feedback. Feel free to be super-ultra-picky and tell me even the smallest problem. I want this song to be at its very best when I submit it.

I hope its a pleasure to listen to!

Source

Remix (No longer works)

http://soundcloud.com/arceace/enigmatic-melody-v-2

[Jean Of mArc]

Hey Arceace!

Thanks for posting this: it's pretty cool! I remixed this song myself many years ago, but I can safely say that yours is better and more interesting.

I like the atmosphere of this piece, the whole time it really feels like you are in a place rather than just listening to a piece of music, and that's a compliment.

Starting with a rain sound effect certain has been done a lot, but it works really well here (unlike other uses I've heard!)

I really like that you gave it a swing feel. That's pretty unique for this kind of mix (in my opinion) and it works really well. Good job!

I really like the way you integrated a lot of the pieces of that song in a way the original never did.

The drums are never quite where I wish they were at the beginning, either not providing enough swing, or not delivering enough punch. I don't mean that it should have heavy techo drums, but something with a bit more emphasis would be my recommend for the middle part.

I really like the piano parts; fits in really well, sounds nice, and is complemented by the more synthy sounds of the rest of the piece.

The ending part sounds like a summary of the previous few minutes, without really adding much to it... Not sure if this was what you were going for, but it was just an observation.

Anyway, thanks, that's a nice mix you've got there!

[Zach]

I genuinely like this. Starts out nice and ambient, then builds up a nice electro-swing feel. Pretty cool!

I feel like its missing some build or something though. Maybe make the part around 3:13 a little more hard hitting? I'd also work on getting the snare to cut through the mix a bit. All in all pretty good, I think this has potential.

[Arceace]

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate hearing your opinions.

I agree that the drums sounded a little flimsy at times, so I made sure to bring them out more. I have also filled the more empty sections to make them much more interesting. Finally, I balanced the volume and frequencies of everything, and I feel that it sounds more clear than before.

Ordinarily, I would be submitting this to the judges panel for evaluation. However, I would like to put it up for mod-review so that if I missed something, I'll hear about it much sooner.

Link to the remix:

http://soundcloud.com/arceace/enigmatic-melody-v-2(No longer works)

Link to the source:

Thanks for the help!

-Arceace

[MikeViper]

Pretty good remix man. The atmosphere is good and the mix is overall very clean.

[Rozovian]

I'm getting a DKC1 vibe from this source. That's never a bad thing.

mod rev:

What weird rhythm is th... yay, 6/8! The low range could be cleaner, bass and kick kind'a fight over the same space there. Side-chain the bass away from the kick, or separate with EQ. This isn't a loud dance kind of thing, so you don't have to worry about making everything ultra-loud, which should make the process a little easier. The track could be a bit louder, but it'll do better as a soft track than as an overcompressed one, so don't try too hard to fix that. You could raise the levels on everything but the drums and bass, tho. You could also shorten the kick drum slightly, it feels a little long and heavy for a light track, and the rest of the instrumentation doesn't make this a heavy track.

The drums end rather abruptly. The arrangement is a bit boxy, as is clearly visible in the soundcloud display. Some variations and fills to the drums could break that a bit, as would lead-ins on the other instruments, and occasional appearances like the 1:18 bell lead forewarning. Seems like the drums stay in intro mode until 1:50 when they go into verse mode. Not to tell you how to write your tracks, but that seems a little weird, structurally.

There's a lot of nice background stuff going on here, filling up the track nicely. The sounds are a bit vanilla (the ones that don't quite fit the extra simple chiptune aesthetic, thatis), but that's not a problem most of the time. That one rhythm synth that filters into existence around 0:53... idunno, I don't quite like it. Can't put why in words, tho.

Lots of suggestions and nitpicks.

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION

? Too conservative - I'm having trouble committing this source to memory, so I'll leave this open for another mod to sort out. The style is different, of course.

PRODUCTION - nitpicks, mostly

- Too quiet - but not by much

- Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range) - just the low range, tho

STRUCTURE

- Pace too plodding - the drum writing gives this a really long intro

- Too repetitive - the boxy arrangement makes it feel worse than it is

I'd place this in NO, resub territory. That means you're doing something right.

[Skinner3D]

I like the new take on Sonic. It just sort of bounces along and tells the world to take its seriousness elsewhere.

[Arceace]

Time for another take with this song. This was rejected quite a while ago from the judge's panel, and I wanted to wait a little bit until I tried another go at this arrangement. The only problem that I seem to keep running into is that my sounds don't mix very well. As a result, that is what I focused on the most this time around. I focused on giving a better sense of atmosphere, and I attempted to make the sound-scape more lush and full.

Enjoy!

Remix: https://soundcloud.com/arceace/enigmatic-melody

Source:

[Arceace]

*Bump*

I'm getting ready to send this one in, but I still would like a little feedback on the mixing for the track. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, this is now the only thing holding my track back, and I would like to do my best to correct this mistake that has been bringing it down this whole time.

Remix: https://soundcloud.com/arceace/enigmatic-melody

Source:

[timaeus222]

Sounds pretty good so far. Here's what I found:

The intro might be too long, but I'm not entirely sure. It's 2 minutes long out of a 5:30 track, which is about 36% of the track. You might want to look into that.

The bass is louder than the saw wave arp, so raise the volume of the arp a bit, and lower the volume of the bass a bit, then add a bit of treble frequency to the bass to get it to pierce through (or layer on a simple detuned saw wave). Then you might hear that 8-bit arp more.

Nice automated low pass filter on the kick.

2:16 - You should look into the drum rhythm. It feels weird there, and I was expecting a kick on that first beat. Instead, it's on the 3rd beat out of 6.

Maybe you can make the bass less staccato. Longer impact, more power.

You could benefit from changing the snare, both in general and over the course of the track as well. The bitcrushed snare isn't working as a constantly-used snare.

The arrangement is, as people here say, "plodding". You're going to have to change up the rhythm at some point to pump up the energy to more than just a swing-like feel. It's be great to hear new, more expressive sounds later on in the track too.

[SuperiorX]

Hey, I've been giving feedback on Sonic songs all day for the Sonic CD project, so what's one more . Cool source too, and this is definitely a fresh take on it (after hearing a bunch of them from Amphibious in the SZRC)

I'll agree - the intro feels like it goes on for toooooooo long. It's cool to establish the atmosphere but at 1:40 it feels like a bit too much. I like the water sounds and the little hints of the main melody that appear in the intro. I think it works, but maybe just trim it up to around 0:45 max and then kick into the part at 2:04 earlier. Once we get there though, I'm digging it. You have a lot of nice, interesting textures. The instrument at 2:15 is particularly cool. The whole soundscape has a nice lush feel to it between the arpeggio synth, the piano, and the bass in the 2:15 - 3:15 section. I think the pads could be boosted a bit though to help fill out the section even more. And I agree the bit-crushed snare seems a little out of place there between 2:15 - 2:44.

3:15 is a nice change of pace. I love the piano there and the arpeggio synth there. The new lead synth at 4:20 is a lot of fun too. Nice textures. My only addition would be that after 4:45 the rest of the song feels like it meanders. That lead synth at 4:45 sounds like a good place to wrap up. It's sort of the climax of the song. I think doing a few more of the run up arpeggios at 4:45 and having them echo/reverb into the background over that falling pad and then maybe bring back in those water sound effects like you do at the end would be a nice way to end the song.

A really fun track though. I love the overall ambient/chill vibe I get from it. I think just tightening up the intro and ending would do wonders for the song, because everything you have in-between is very enjoyable. Nice job!

EDIT: oh mixing sounds really quiet overall too. Soundcloud switched over to a new song and I realized how much I had turned up my speakers to hear your song clearly. FYI.

[Arceace]

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate the advice you guys have provided. Perhaps this may be the time I get past those pesky judges!

[Garrett Williamson]

Hardly have read what anyone else has to say about this mix, but overall, it's nice.

I think that the drums could've come in with a much stronger presence. In meaning of maybe a bigger fill and then some crash cymbals or something? Not sure. Just something to make the drums go "Hey look I'm in the song now". The drums can totally change the direction of the song, and you're off to a good start.

I'll admit, I was sorta hoping for a more half-time beat. Saying this practically changes the direction of the mix, if you were to try that out. I wonder if you could have that double-time beat going on for some time later in the mix, but begin with a more heavy, half-time beat? Not sure. I just felt it was needed at the beginning there.

The synths sound great, though. I wonder if maybe a bit more low end on the EQ for the bass synth? If you were to do that, though, the beat would have to match of with it. Because, you know, bass and drums are like best friends.

Great mix overall.

[Rozovian]

Droplets sfx is too loud.

...then to the 6/8 rhythm of the track. Yay!

Superbirght and loud hihat. Loud bass drum, which makes the otherwise soft track kind'a weird. its especially jarring during the piano section. The rest of the drums sound like you've filtered out not just lows but also their mids. Snares usually need some mids. None of the other instruments seem to contribute any mids, so consider adding something to fill that range.

3:19 transition is a bit hard. It's not breaking the track, but it could be better.

Your voice synth stuff are also really bright and shrill. Careful with your highs.

Ending works well.

Frequency balance is your biggest problem with the track. The pacing of each part of the arrangement could be better as well, which should make the track flow a little better. Source is there, no problem there.

Needs work, but in a pretty good place to build form.