Zelda 2: The Adventure of ERROR

[MtM]

So, this is my short little beginning of a remix of Zelda 2's Temple Theme. I was listening to my iPod while walking to class, and LaRux's Temple Trippin' remix came on. I started hearing wubs behind it for whatever reason so I decided to throw my ideas at my computer to see what stuck. This is the result thus far. Any feedback? What can I improve?

I do realize there's a really obnoxious click right at the beginning, and I'm sorry. That will be smoothed out in future renderings.

LATEST

Fourth Draft:

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-fourth

Third Draft:

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-third

Second Draft:

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-second

First Draft:

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-first/s-2D4gi

[Brian6330]

To be honest I don't really like the remix.

Reason?

The instruments and how they go in the beginning and how the whole song is mapped out. BUT, the music may just not be for me.

What do you plan on changing, since this is still a draft?

P.S. The little pauses don't really fit in the song imo

[overwhelmed]

Funny, I thought the click at the beginning was apart of the mix, I actually liked it (considering I've grown tired of "fade-in" remixes). So perhaps utilize it in some way like having a tiny melody play before fading in the rest? I also like it because it helps me identify the song immediately instead of waiting for the volume to get high enough to be recognizable.

It reminded me of another of my favorite Zelda dubstep remixes (prepare your speakers, it's loud)

Overall I like where it's going. At about 1:18 where you get that extended note, I'd love to see some more bass pulled out of it and the ones like it.

Perhaps where the song cuts off, you go back to about 0:21 so our ears can get some rest before picking back up for a more epic ending.

The "I am ERROR" part is something I'm unsure about only because it isn't related to Zelda (if it is though let me know). This is my favorite build up to a one-liner in a remix (starts the buildup at 1:57). I can't quite put my finger on what makes me unsure about yours, perhaps the short build up arcade-ish noise could be built upon. There's nothing really wrong with that spot, I just feel it could better... in some way...

Of course the song uses a lot of the source without too much interpretation, which I'm perfectly fine with, but OCremix may not be if you're planning on submitting.

And I'd also point out that I'm not expert and that I don't make music myself, I just listen to a lot of video game remixes and am just letting you know what I personally would like to see to make this song 5 Stars on my iTunes, a definite feat. And the only reason I go through this trouble is because I like it as it stands and can't wait for another revision.

Edit: Since people are bringing up the pauses (which I forgot to comment on), I say I kinda like them, but as always there's probably more you could do to them to make them more interesting. Maybe not a pause, but something else deviating from the norm Zelda style music.

[Zerothemaster]

I dig where this is going. I'll give some more comments when I get to my good headphones, but I love the glitchy instrumentation in the beginning. Though I do agree that those pauses might not be necessary.

EDIT: After listening in my headphones... mmm that bass :3 it makes me happy inside.

I love the trashy lo-fi-ness of the intro even more now. I still think that the pauses might not be necessary, but I really like this right now. The synths are really nice and glitchy with that meaty bass :3

[MtM]

Thanks for all of your feedback, guys!

To be honest I don't really like the remix.

Reason?

The instruments and how they go in the beginning and how the whole song is mapped out. BUT, the music may just not be for me.

What do you plan on changing, since this is still a draft?

P.S. The little pauses don't really fit in the song imo

I'm planning on changing the pauses, maybe taking them all out. I'm also probably going to rework the beginning, make it a little more interesting.

Funny, I thought the click at the beginning was apart of the mix, I actually liked it (considering I've grown tired of "fade-in" remixes). So perhaps utilize it in some way like having a tiny melody play before fading in the rest? I also like it because it helps me identify the song immediately instead of waiting for the volume to get high enough to be recognizable.

It reminded me of another of my favorite Zelda dubstep remixes (prepare your speakers, it's loud)

Overall I like where it's going. At about 1:18 where you get that extended note, I'd love to see some more bass pulled out of it and the ones like it.

Perhaps where the song cuts off, you go back to about 0:21 so our ears can get some rest before picking back up for a more epic ending.

The "I am ERROR" part is something I'm unsure about only because it isn't related to Zelda (if it is though let me know). This is my favorite build up to a one-liner in a remix (starts the buildup at 1:57). I can't quite put my finger on what makes me unsure about yours, perhaps the short build up arcade-ish noise could be built upon. There's nothing really wrong with that spot, I just feel it could better... in some way...

Of course the song uses a lot of the source without too much interpretation, which I'm perfectly fine with, but OCremix may not be if you're planning on submitting.

And I'd also point out that I'm not expert and that I don't make music myself, I just listen to a lot of video game remixes and am just letting you know what I personally would like to see to make this song 5 Stars on my iTunes, a definite feat. And the only reason I go through this trouble is because I like it as it stands and can't wait for another revision.

Edit: Since people are bringing up the pauses (which I forgot to comment on), I say I kinda like them, but as always there's probably more you could do to them to make them more interesting. Maybe not a pause, but something else deviating from the norm Zelda style music.

The "I AM ERROR" thing is actually from the game, there's a character whose only dialogue is "I AM ERROR."

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-am-error

But as for the song itself, I've started not liking the pauses too much either. I may have it pause just once, and I'll put some kind of little effect in to make it more interesting.

Not having a fade-in sounds like a good idea, actually, I have heard a bunch of mixes where it just fades in. I may start out with some drums or something, I'll play around with it.

And where it cuts off, I'm definitely going to take it down, but not back to near the beginning. I'm going to add a C section (lol) and build it up to a more epic finale. I just haven't had time to play around with it yet.

The build-up is starting to feel weird to me too, the more I hear it. I'll tweak it a bit. Expect a version 2 later this week!

I'll check out those songs once I've got my good headphones. Thanks!

I dig where this is going. I'll give some more comments when I get to my good headphones, but I love the glitchy instrumentation in the beginning. Though I do agree that those pauses might not be necessary.

EDIT: After listening in my headphones... mmm that bass :3 it makes me happy inside.

I love the trashy lo-fi-ness of the intro even more now. I still think that the pauses might not be necessary, but I really like this right now. The synths are really nice and glitchy with that meaty bass :3

Hahaha I'm glad! I definitely spent most of my time on getting the bass sounding just right. Again, I'm probably gonna take out at least some of the pauses.

[Phonetic Hero]

Personally, I think the intro is fine. Around :38, my ears were BEGGING for some harmonic tension. Then when the meat kicks in after the "I am error" sample, I felt like it could be just absolutely HUGE with more layers to the synths and some enormous drums, and probably not just layering the individual drums, but the kits as well (like having some filtered, moving stuff on top with some big kicks and snares over top on the big downbeats). The snare you're working with is great as a layer, but doesn't quite cut it (no pun intended...) when it comes to the soundscape. It should punch through, and knock the wind out of me

I think keeping one pause for effect would be great, but I agree that three may be a little excessive.

My main gripe is that the song doesn't hit hard enough. It's got the potential for some really dark, awesome harmonic stuff to happen. Check out PrototypeRaptor's dungeon mix from the first Zelda for some possible inspiration

Hope this helps, good luck!

pH

[MtM]

Personally, I think the intro is fine. Around :38, my ears were BEGGING for some harmonic tension. Then when the meat kicks in after the "I am error" sample, I felt like it could be just absolutely HUGE with more layers to the synths and some enormous drums, and probably not just layering the individual drums, but the kits as well (like having some filtered, moving stuff on top with some big kicks and snares over top on the big downbeats). The snare you're working with is great as a layer, but doesn't quite cut it (no pun intended...) when it comes to the soundscape. It should punch through, and knock the wind out of me

I think keeping one pause for effect would be great, but I agree that three may be a little excessive.

My main gripe is that the song doesn't hit hard enough. It's got the potential for some really dark, awesome harmonic stuff to happen. Check out PrototypeRaptor's dungeon mix from the first Zelda for some possible inspiration

Hope this helps, good luck!

pH

Awesome, thanks so much! I've been working on some of that. Here's my second draft. I still haven't added another section or anything, but I changed around some of the sounds I was working with.

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-second

[Zerothemaster]

Two things come to mind when I listen to this:

Around what is kind of the third part of the main wub part (I'll map a specific spot in your soundcloud) the lead sounds really weird. some note lengths seem to be screwed up, and it confuses my ears when I hear that part. Probably some editing of that part is necessary, but just to fix it.

Also: bring back the drop out when the voice clip drops in. Without the dropout, it doesn't have the same feeling as it would otherwise. The starkness that it had was really good, and I think it should come back. It really accentuates the drop more as well.

[Phonetic Hero]

Yeeeaaahhhh this is sounding a lot better already. The mixing is getting pretty muddy now though; make sure you're EQing unnecessary frequencies out of the bass and the lead particularly, and the intro might be a little harsh in the highs (not sure though, I'm not used to the speakers in the studio on campus). The lead is mixed reeeallly quiet after everything drops in, and I agree with Ztm's comment about the melody in that one spot. If the lead is brought up, everything'll sound a lot more abrasive and in-your-face, as it should, and you might even experiment with layering another lead on top of it to alter the timbre and make it cut more

The bass drum seems pretty loud in the beginning, maybe bring it back a little? It might just be the timbre of it, but it seems a lot louder than the snare in the intro right now. The drums aren't *quite* punchy enough during the meat of the song, compression and overdrive can help with that (be REALLY careful on the overdrive though; a lot of times just the default setting should do it).

Stereo separation can also work wonders for clearing up the sonic space, don't be afraid to experiment. A lot of times I even create two separate channels for background instruments like pads etc., make them 100% stereo and then pan the channels completely opposite. It's amazing how much cleaner and thicker the soundscape becomes. While I'm thinking of it, glitching would be a wicked sweet addition to the soundscape, especially given the name

Out of curiosity, what program are you using?

Nice work so far, keep it coming. I'll be following this one

pH

[MtM]

Yeeeaaahhhh this is sounding a lot better already. The mixing is getting pretty muddy now though; make sure you're EQing unnecessary frequencies out of the bass and the lead particularly, and the intro might be a little harsh in the highs (not sure though, I'm not used to the speakers in the studio on campus). The lead is mixed reeeallly quiet after everything drops in, and I agree with Ztm's comment about the melody in that one spot. If the lead is brought up, everything'll sound a lot more abrasive and in-your-face, as it should, and you might even experiment with layering another lead on top of it to alter the timbre and make it cut more

The bass drum seems pretty loud in the beginning, maybe bring it back a little? It might just be the timbre of it, but it seems a lot louder than the snare in the intro right now. The drums aren't *quite* punchy enough during the meat of the song, compression and overdrive can help with that (be REALLY careful on the overdrive though; a lot of times just the default setting should do it).

Stereo separation can also work wonders for clearing up the sonic space, don't be afraid to experiment. A lot of times I even create two separate channels for background instruments like pads etc., make them 100% stereo and then pan the channels completely opposite. It's amazing how much cleaner and thicker the soundscape becomes. While I'm thinking of it, glitching would be a wicked sweet addition to the soundscape, especially given the name

Out of curiosity, what program are you using?

Nice work so far, keep it coming. I'll be following this one

pH

haha yeah, I noticed the mixing right after I had already uploaded it, so I decided to fix it on the next draft. Which is here!

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-third

I added another section, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'll probably end up tweaking it quite a bit more. I also brought back the drop-out with the voice clip and added some little effects to it. Let me know what you think. I tried to punch up the drums a bit, as well, and I cranked the Lead up a bit too.

btw, I'm using FL Studio. Because it's what I know. XD I know a lot of professionals don't like it, but it's what I learned on and it's what I'm most comfortable with.

[XPRTNovice]

Dude this is really cool! I have near zero experience with anything other than live instrument recording, so I can't really offer much here.

I LOVE the "I AM ERROR" dropout part there at 0:51

I do have to say that between 1:15 and 2:00 I started to feel a little bit of ear fatigue because I heard a lot of repetition, but I don't have the musical patience for dubstep like a lot of people do, so that could just be a matter of taste.

Solid beat, though. I like.

[GravitySuitCollector]

Nice. It's getting a lot better. There are a few things that didn't quite work to me:

- The lower synth at the start of each measure about 0:56 feels a bit muddy or boomy to me (not quite sure of the difference). Someone please tell me if that's just me. If it isn't, then if you could

- The new section falls a bit flat for me due to the first note change in the second measure of it. I'd recommend adding in the higher note that's normally in that melody line over the top of what you've got and see how it sounds. As it is, though, it just feels somewhat uninteresting, even though it is fairly good. I also feel that the melody doesn't come out enough from the rest.

- Try just having the melody in the first two measures of the new section. I thing it might help with the buildup, maybe not. Like with what you have now at the voice, "I am ERROR," (pretty awesome, by the way) it might do it good to have some extra space to start with.

[MtM]

Thank you guys so much for all your feedback. You've been incredibly helpful. Sorry this has taken me a while to update, but exams are coming up... You know how it is. I actually did this while procrastinating doing a Physics project due today...

But anyways, here is my fourth draft! I decided to go in a different direction at the end. I think this sounds better. Let me know your opinions! I'm not really sure where to take it from here, so it may be a while before I update again...

http://soundcloud.com/mtm2/the-adventure-of-error-fourth

[imazi643]

From 0:53 - 1:18, it seems a bit repetitive. I suggest you add some sort of variation (countermelody or harmony), and change it as it continues on.

[Phonetic Hero]

Yay, big drums are big, and cool glitches are cool. At 2:10, I recommend putting another synth with the melody, to make it more recognizable, while keeping that odd wonky feel to it.

The drums are really mucking things up right now, are you compressing your snare* and BD? and how are things EQ'd? Also, make sure things aren't clipping (or at least not clipping a lot) without the limiter; that extra gain + a cutoff at 0 dB can cause a lot of pumping like you're getting in the meaty section, and that waveform is lookin pretty thick

*Snare is more important to clean than the BD atm

pH

[MtM]

Yay, big drums are big, and cool glitches are cool. At 2:10, I recommend putting another synth with the melody, to make it more recognizable, while keeping that odd wonky feel to it.

The drums are really mucking things up right now, are you compressing your snare* and BD? and how are things EQ'd? Also, make sure things aren't clipping (or at least not clipping a lot) without the limiter; that extra gain + a cutoff at 0 dB can cause a lot of pumping like you're getting in the meaty section, and that waveform is lookin pretty thick

*Snare is more important to clean than the BD atm

pH

I actually added another melody synth when I was working on it yesterday. XD

Yeah, the levels and EQ are kind of a challenge right now, I'm working on getting it right.

And I recently added some good compressors to the Kick and and Snare, like, yesterday. So those already sound better. That'll be included in the next draft as well.

From 0:53 - 1:18, it seems a bit repetitive. I suggest you add some sort of variation (countermelody or harmony), and change it as it continues on.

That's a good idea. I actually just got a MIDI cable, so I'll play around with my keyboard and see what I can come up with. I did notice it was a bit repetitive there.

[Phonetic Hero]

Haha, sounds like great minds think alike

[MtM]

So, my computer decided to crash today and I lost everything I had gotten done. So I don't know how long it'll be before I get this rebuilt, if I even do that. I probably will, but it'll take a while. So yeah.

[imazi643]

Ouch. Sorry, man. Hope you get everything back together.

[tesselode]

I'm not sure I really like the dubstep feel of the track, but I like some parts near the beginning. I think if you focused on the fast percussive sound effect that you had at 0:40 more it would make the song sound pretty cool. That's really just my personal preference though.

[timaeus222]

0:00 - 0:18 ~ the bell-like sound that comes in is only slightly high in the 1.6-2 kHz range. Try EQing that down a bit. Just a tiny bit. It's not an irritating ratio, but with my headphones it's borderline "slightly", so maybe someone else might have said something eventually. I dunno.

The snare sound could be better. It sounds like you took an acoustic snare and stretched its waveform a bit. Try looking for a high-end snare and add some nice reverb to it. If you use FL Studio, it's kind of like DNC_Snare_3.wav.

The triangle wave that comes in at 0:27 could be a bit more expressive. Try adding some vibrato either manually through the note sequencer or through the plugin. If possible, I recommend you route it through an envelope and give it a ~0.25sec attack.

The saw wave that comes in at 0:34 is a bit annoying with its detuned nature and should be fixed. It feels like it's ~20 cents flat.

From 0:52, it does seem that the snare has too much tail, so that's another spot I recommend fixing the decay on it. I also think putting the dubstep wub through a notch filter and slightly accentuating the ~200-300Hz, ~1300-1500Hz, and ~6000-8000Hz ranges would make it shine more.

I'd say 1:18 - 1:31 is where the focus shifts to your dubstep idea. Go all out there with the wub variations!

At 2:07 - 2:09, I suggest using a wub as an introductory sound for the next section. That would be pretty cool.

But really, I have no idea what you're doing after 2:09. It seemed kind of random there for me.

You might find this as some good inspiration:

Good luck!

[Chimpazilla]

So, my computer decided to crash today and I lost everything I had gotten done. So I don't know how long it'll be before I get this rebuilt, if I even do that. I probably will, but it'll take a while. So yeah.

Oh dude. Sorry. Ya know, I see posts like this one waaaay too often. I've become super diligent about backing up my stuff... I now back up my current file EVERY DAY. When I sign off my computer, I turn on my external drive and spend the 4.2 seconds to copy just the one file I'm working on over to there. Everyone should get into this habit!!!! Still I'm hoping somehow you can recover your stuff. *sympathies*

[timaeus222]

I recently started backing everything up on mediafire, box, and two thumbdrives. xD