djpretzel Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 The remix I am submitting: Dark Castles Contact Info: R.j. Dwyer rjdwyer@lycos.com http://rjdwyer.tripod.com ReMix Info: Game ReMixed: Super Mario World Song ReMixed: Castle Theme The song is a remix of the original Castle Theme from Super Mario World with a rock-like edge to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/smw.rsn - "Sub Castle BGM" (smw-15.spc) Very basic rock cover. The performance is decent enough where a typical fan would appreciate it, but the recording is of poor quality with noticeable hiss and an overall dull sound. The lead guitar has no power and the whole track sounds sluggish on the performance. The timing on everything needs to be tightened up. The sequenced drums were repetitive and had those lousy cliched cymbal shots in there. Make the percussion more creative. The arrangement was verbatim as well, though you tried to throw some personal flair in there via the performance style. Not enough though. If you're going for just a cover, expand the instrumentation substantially to even have a shot, but I'd advise you to throw your own compositional ideas in there as well. Get more fan feedback from the Works forum and find out how to improve everything about your performance and production from the ReMixing forum before you submit material in the future. zyko & Vig seriously need to give some tips here. Haven't seen you around Dwelling of Duels, but register at The Shizz and get some concentrated feedback there as well from other serious guitar enthusiasts in the scene. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 there are several issues here... there is very little energy here. the recording is horribly distant and on those huge hits in the source, you have to bring that out... the wah sounds awful... the arpeggiated runs are sloppy and jarring. your lead tone is very weak, you should bring it out in the mix also... no point in mentioning the drums. i forgot they were there the first two listens. that should tell you enough. the track you should hear is tackle's interpretation of the same theme... give you an idea of how powerful this should come across as... i can tell you were trying to be so telling me you meant it that way isn't going to convince me. i do like your use of effects for the ambient stuff... namely in the beginning. this sounds a lot like my earlier stuff so i know that you're on the right track and that most of this is a matter of what you use and not the creative process behind it.... but you need to solidify your ability to convey your ideas using what you've got because otherwise, you have a piece that sounds and feels empty and dull. keep working on this and visit our remixing forums and soon you'll be able to realize more of your ideas. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 The two major problems have already been mentioned: the recording quality and the performance quality. Aside from the audible recording hiss, I think a better mixing job would give this mix a much more solid feel. Even with the slight panning, everything sounds right up front which in part creates a sound jumble during the fuller sections. Any number of things can help in this area but reverb, delay and more extreme panning are some basics that might help to better balance this mix. I’d especially focus on more effectively reverbing some of the dry guitar leads. I like the distorted lead that first enters at 0:12. It abruptly cuts out at 0:20 and 0:39 for some reason, but I think it’s one of the better leads nonetheless. Also enjoyable is the clean guitar run at 0:52. After that though, the arpeggios come in and the mix is lost from a performance perspective. Those must be cleaned up or eliminated, especially if more reverb or delay is to come into the picture. You might want to try sequencing something in its place. The drums need a lot more power. They are in fact the only things that sit back in the mix. Once you give them the punch that they deserve with a little volume and EQ work, make sure to vary the sequencing and keep their pattern interesting. What you have isn’t bad for this type of cover (and unfortunately the arrangement is a cover), but the steady stream of crashes starting around 1:30 sounds amateurish and I’m pretty sure you’re capable of more creative stuff than that. Practicing your performance is the best thing that I think you can do right now (or anytime really). Not only will pieces like this sound a lot cleaner as a result, but your improved skills will broaden your range of creative possibilities. Aside from that, practice your mixing and sequencing skills and don’t stop churning out the tunes. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I agree with my fellow judges here. The playing is on the sloppy side and needs a lot of tightening, as do the other song elements. Either invest in or search for a less overused drumset too - surely you can find something a bit more natural and acoustic in nature. What you are using now is very electronic in nature, and it's being sequencing in a pretty mechanical way. The overall interpretation factor is low as well, you say yourself this is basically a cover. We really look for RE-arrangements of stuff. Add your own material, add variations, mess with the harmony or rhythms, do things to make your remix your own. My main advice now would be to work on your playing and timing, as well as some of your production values to get that guitar to have a little more edge (without overriding everything else). NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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