*NO* Chrono Cross 'Dreaming by Your Side' *RESUB*

[Liontamer]

Original decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=64519

I've worked alot on Dreaming by Your Side now, I've been egged on alot to resubmit, so I wish to do so please.

I don't believe anything else could be done to it and I'd like to resubmit please.

Thanks. - RoeTaKa

[The Orichalcon]

Okay, to start with this mix sounds a little too loud for the type of mix presented here. I think the strings and the drums in particular could afford to be gentler. The drums have a powerful sound to them that just isn't necessary in a mix of this stature. The string sample kills most of this mix for me. The attack on the mix is too slow at times to make the fast note changes, and yet it's too fast for some of the longer notes. Some more clever volume automation on those probably would have done wonders for the sound of the lead strings. I think the sharpness of the strings also detract from the overall gentle sound of the mix. They could afford to either have a little reverb over them, or to be accompanied by another string instrument, like perhaps a cello.

However, these are my only real problems with the mix. The sound of the mix is generally quite good. The accoustic guitar is programmed relatively well to sound realistic enough, while some of the strumming sounds out of pattern for your typical strumming rhythm, it's not too much of a distraction. The piano could probably have been a little less sharp so as to not distract from the guitar and strings.

The arrangement when compared to the original has some creative differences. The accoustic guitar is the most obvious example of this. I believe the strings could have been a little more complex than the one-and-two-note-at-any-given-time melody line we get through most of the mix. The key shift a little after halfway through this mix sounds quite nice and came out of the blue to surprise me here as well.

Overall, the sound of this mix is pleasing to the ear, but there's always those little demons saying that this could be better. I think in it's current form it's just passable, however this could easily be a lot better than it is right now. I'll approve it through for now with a borderline pass, but I wouldn't be too unhappy if either this was rejected or if Roe himself took the initiave to address these issues to a further extent.

YES

[Liontamer]

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 107 "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World"

Good intro with the piano. There some improvement here, but this still needs some work. The volume is still a bit on the loud side, but that a more subjective issue here. The sample usage still sounds rather artificial/synthetic. Some of the string movements are noticeably too jumpy going from note-to-note. The acoustic guitar sample sounds dry and also very robotic & exposed at times (e.g. 1:01-1:02, 1:13-1:14).

This isn't ear-breakingly loud, like some of Alex's past work, which is good. Shows a lot more reservation. I think with the strings handling the melody, the volume is good, but the acoustic guitar he's using to accentuate things is too loud at some points (e.g. :51, 1:11, 1:13-1:14, 1:55, 1:58).

The drums sound too loud and really out of place and need to be reigned in. Such a thick-sounding snare doesn't seem to mesh with the rest of the instrumentation. Plus the patterns play for too long without enough subtle variation. The bassline could use more presence to fill out the soundfield a bit more.

I liked the changeup at 2:03, though the acoustic guitar again sounds too artificial. I liked the tambourine on support though the pattern shouldn't be looped for so long. It's relatively minor, but it drags out. The production is kind of off in that the combination of instruments doesn't have that great of a texture. It's not locking together well with these thick drums, reverbed strings, and dry acoustic guitar.

Some of the supporting instrumentation needs to be scaled back or panned around the soundfield. Feels like the piano, strings, drums and acoustic are sometimes fighting for the same space, rather than complementing each other, especially during the last section from 4:27-4:51. There's still too much overlap without harmony and it gets messy. It's been remedied a lot from the last time around when Shnabubula and zircon cited those issues, but it's not totally eliminated and it shows.

Even though I felt the guitar was too loud again, I liked the subtler sections like 2:53-3:38, where I felt the percussion and strings helped accent the background rather than crowd the foreground. That's more of the kind of sound balance that's actually working well here.

Good ending. This was a genuine improvement, but needs more refinement for a pass from me. It could sound a lot more cohesive by way of the instruments being made to sound more complimentary and not so loose. Touch up some of the string and acoustic guitar work, tone down the drums in some spots, and use volume and panning to separate the instruments more.

NO (resubmit)

[zircon]

I'm pretty much in total agreement with Larry here. Some of the issues I brought up were addressed, and this is defintiely an improvement, but it's not quite to our bar yet. I felt that this had some good emotional energy to it that was ruined by the ridiculous over-compression and saturation. The strings were harsh and sharp, more like strings in a dramatic trailer than expressive, soft ones. The drums continue to be way out of place, being loud and abrasive, more like big beat drums than anything else. Everything has "punch" to it that shouldn't be there. You want punch in a dance mix, not something like this. This seems to be a consistent problem with you.. you really have to put more time into your execution. You can't approach every song the same way (saturate, compress, volume way up).

NO

[GrayLightning]

I really like the arrangement in this one. All the sounds are pleasing. The style and the vibe is great. I never thought someone would finally do this theme justice, and I think Roetaka has.

My main beef here is some of the sloppy stuff going on, particularly during the busier sections, things sound just a bit off. Secondarily, your ritartandos are a bit ify. These are two things that could be addressed.

I'm going with a borderline YES, mostly cause I think the arrangement is really powerful and outweighs the flaws, however, I can see why others will NO this. Keep working at it.

[Vig]

Wow...that string lead is very loud. too loud. It just sounds harsh right now, and it exposes the weakness of the sample. Later around 2:30 the sample sounds really bad because it doesnt have a fast enough attack for the part it's playing. When the strings and the guitar are playing similar parts, the guitar is drowned out.

I'm also not thrilled about the drums. They are kept in the background, and the rock groove doesnt fit so well with the more mellow instrumentation. The drums sound like an afterthought. I'd consider doing something simpler with the drums, like using a hand drum sample and keeping it simple.

The arrangement is pretty good; I feel like it could be a minute or two shorter.

It's pretty good; Mainly those few mechanical things need fixing.

NO

[analoq]

i never heard the first version, so i can't say whether this is an improvement or not.

all the instrument sequencing seems to fit in the extremes.. either overly quantized or over-humanized.

or maybe just the latter, i'm not sure but a lot of this feels strangely sloppy.

as for the sonic area this remix resides in.. it feels not all the parts have respected boundries.

-- which i suppose iss just a longer way of saying it's kinda cluttered.

let's see some better balancing/eq/processing work.

there's contrast, the arrangement builds and unbuilds, and that's good.

i think the execution just needs a bit more work before i can give a yes.

no