Final Fantasy VI - 'The Gestahl Empire'

[jnWake]

I've been working on a "metal" remix of the theme of the Gestahl Empire for zircon's FFVI contest.

This is my first remix so any comments/suggestions are really appreciated.

Link: http://soundcloud.com/jnwake/empire-of-metahl .

Source:

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The arrangement is pretty much done though I'm always open for any advice!

[jnWake]

Finished version is up now!

http://soundcloud.com/jnwake/empire-of-metahl

Hope you like it. Any criticism is welcome.

[Magellanic]

Just had a quick listen. I can really hear what you're going for. The arrangement would definitely work in a rock/metal style but you really need to get some real guitar in there. There isn't really a substitute. If you can't get a guitarist or are unable to record it yourself, ShreddageX is definitely the perfect choice (okay, there is a substitute).

The lead definitely needs to be something thicker and fatter. Its kinda just there and not really drawing the listeners attention. The drums for metal and rock (more specifically the snare and bass drum) need to be heavy and kinda in ya' face. Its good stuff, you just need to up the sample quality/EQ some more

[jnWake]

Thanks for the input!

Yeah, I'd kill for a real guitar instead of the not very good free sample I used. I feel it isn't that bad, but a real guitar would make it sound really powerful. What's ShreddageX?

For the drums I had a similar issue, using free samples. Also, I made the mistake of mixing all the drums into one track, so using EQ to enhance bass drums/snare got a bit tricky. I tried separating them but Reaper started crashing so I dropped that idea

Lead you mean the guitar or synth one? I like the synth but it could be a bit more notorious, I have to learn how to make good leads with the VST I have... I liked the guitar lead but maybe the small bit of reverb I added makes it feel a bit distant.

Anyway, thanks again.

P.D. If any real guitarrist reads this and would like to aid me, just send me a PM!