*NO* Mega Man 3 & 6 'Smooth Operator'

[OceansAndrew]

Greetings DJP & Judges!

I've got a mix for you! It's a song I made for The Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011 and then cleaned up afterward. It's called "Smooth Opeartor" and it features Pete Lepley (Phonetic Hero) on drum sequencing! Details below:

My Contact Info:

My ReMixer name: SuperiorX

My real name: Matt Keller

My userid: 28286

Pete's Contact Info:

ReMixer name: Phonetic Hero

Real Name: Pete Lepley

Userid: 44763

Submission Info:

Games arranged: Mega Man 3 & Mega Man 6

ReMix Name: Smooth Operator

Songs arranged: Needle Man (Mega Man 3) & Mr. X Fortress (Mega Man 6)

Comments:

So like I said above, this was originally created for Darke's Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011. For the compo I choose Needle Man as my Robot Master, mainly because there is a severe lack of Needle Man remixes anywhere, and his theme is pretty cool. The stage I got matched up with that week was the Mr. X Stage from Mega Man 6. It ended up working great with the smooth jazz style I ended up going with. Whenever I try to make a remix it always seems to end up being some sort of funk/jazz fusion mix, and this is no exception My fellow teammate, Phonetic Hero, offered to sequence drums for me after hearing an early WIP, so I let him go to town. I think his percussion adds a lot of swagger to the mix, so I really appreciate his contributions! Overall I'd have to say this is the best mix I've made to date. I learned so much from participating in the compo, especially in the areas of production/mixing and sound design (I did a lot of work on the lead synth in this song), so I definitely want to thank my teammates, Phonetic Hero & Rozovian, for all their tips throughout. They've helped me improve so much, as well as everyone who gave me feedback in the WIP afterwards. So yeah here it is, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Thanks for listening!

Here is a source usage breakdown:

0:00 - 0:15: original stuff written around Needle Man's F# minor chords.

0:15 - 0:31: original melodies with Needle Man bass

0:32 - 0:50: Needle Man melody A on lead, Needle Man bass

0:51 - 1:06: combo of Needle Man A and Mr. X Fortress theme A melody on lead, Needle Man bass

1:07 - 1:38: Mr. X Fortress A melody, Needle Man bass, Needle Man intro on electric piano at 1:22-1:38

1:38 - 2:09: Needle Man B&C melody liberal solo, Mr. X Fortress bass and electric piano

2:09 - 2:25: Mr. X Fortress melody B lead

2:26 - 2:41: Mr X. Fortress melody C

2:42 - 2:58: Needle Man melody A on lead, Needle Man bass

2:58 - 3:14: combo of Needle Man A and Mr. X Fortress A melody on lead, Needle Man intro on electric piano,

3:15 - end: Fade out with original melodies built around F# minor.

[DragonAvenger]

Definitely not enough Needleman, although I can see why he'd be less mixed. I think you're approach here works very well with both sources, and I think the transitions between the themes are really well done. The intro and outro also work really well in my opinion, they set up the funk quite nicely. The arrangement itself is also good to me.

Production is definitely on the right track, although there are some nits to pick. The bass itself is pretty expansive, and I think it's a little bit much for the rest of the soundscape you have going on here. Pulling it back a notch or two would work nicely. The synths themselves sound nice in combination, but they get a bit same-y after a while as well, although to be a bugger, I'm not at all a fan of the synth at 2:09 for a lead. Just doesn't handle the weight very well, IMO. I think more variation on your soundscape would keep things from getting to locked in, and can be really worked to your advantage with the arrangement.

I think it's really close overall, but the finessing will definitely put it over the top for me.

NO (resubmit)

[DarkeSword]

That squawking lead is awful. xD

Arrangement is pretty good; great melding of themes all throughout, really creative. Drum sequencing is great, but the rest of the soundscape isn't anything to write home about. Something about your sound choices really kills the energy in this piece for me. The lead is also a weird sound choice and not expressive enough. Sounds like it's going through the motions.

Not bad, needs work. NO, resub

[Emunator]

Wow, this is actually closer of a call than I expected it to be based on the other votes. This is a really catchy, interesting song with some great textures. I feel very chilled out despite the fact that a lot of the rhythms/melodies are rather active.

I feel like your background writing is pretty much solid, it's got a kind of choppy, futuristic jazz sound to it that I enjoy very much. I don't agree with Shariq about the sound choices/soundscape personally, I think this accomplished exactly what it set out to.

The only sore spot, like Deia and Shariq mentioned, is the lead, which is not carrying its weight. The articulation on the synth doesn't really allow for much expressiveness, and the writing itself feels like it's on autopilot to be honest. I think revamping the lead synth line would do wonders to this track.

In addition, the bassline is really cool but it's mixed a little too loudly.

Last thing, I like the drum writing a lot but the sequencing could still be improved, particularly during fills where there are numerous snare/bassdrum hits in a row, it sounds like the timing is too rigid. The same goes for the ride cymbals, they sound pretty static in the velocities.

This is really enjoyable but I think there's some fixes that need to be made first.

NO (resub!)