Tranquil Reef (Arrangement/remix of Lava Reef from S&K)

[Kc1336]

Hey guys, I'm fairly new here so go easy on a newb like myself.

So one day I was playing around with 3 simple chords and at the same time coming up with a melody, it sounded way too familiar.. Lava Reef! (One of my favourite tracks from the Sonic Genesis games) So here I am now posting this arrangement/remix.

Tranquil Reef (Soundcloud)

Tranquil Reef (Youtube)

Feedback is much appreciated! Thanks.

[Spi.der.men]

I thought it was really good. 1:04 gave me chills! I always loved that part in the original. I also liked how you did your own thing with the song and built the original around that.

[crypto_magnum]

I'm digging your interpretation of the melody; there's a fair amount of original writing here, and that makes your song interesting. Yet, it's also familiar enough that I never get lost or forget that I'm listening to Lava Reef. I think you've struck a great balance here between recognizable and original, and that's often the hardest obstacle for many new remixers.

Reverb may be a touch high, though if you're going for something atmospheric, reminiscent of the cavernous abyss that is the Lava Reef Zone, I can't say it's artistically incorrect... personally though, I'd dial back the reverb if only to unmuddy the mix a bit and give all of the instruments a little more room to breath and be heard.

This is a good start. Thanks for sharing. =)

[timaeus222]

I agree, the reverb is very high. It makes everything blend a little too well, and it sounds excessively ambient. Reduce it some; it sounds like every single instrument is in one poorly constructed auditorium, kind of like a high school's gym, if you know what I mean. ;D

Otherwise, sounds great.

[Kc1336]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll take the reverb tip on board and reduce the amount and see what results I get, I may post back here with an updated version when I do! Thanks again for the tips.

[Magellanic]

Sounds pretty good. On my laptop atm so can't give anything detailed but the start is great. The amount of reverb would be fine if it stayed with the initial texture but as more instruments come in, it gets a bit too much. You can still have that big auditorium feeling without having everything heavily reverbed, just a choice few instruments.

The sound choices are nice but the strings really let it down. They're far too wooden and harsh against the softer textures you've already created.

Tweak the reverb a tad and alter the strings and you got a crackin' remix on you hands. You perhaps need to get some harmonic variation going towards the end as it gets a tad repetitive but regardless, nice stuff, so keep it up

[Pumpkin King]

I like the arrangement! When I was listening I was hoping you'd take it in a another direction, and you did it well in the middle at 1:04.

A few things, yeah the reverb is a bit weird. And the mix is very centered. It sounds like a mono mix, but the pianos are spread to the left and right channels. I'd say experiment with different instrument panning. Maybe spread out the cymbals a little. You could also try out some slight delays. Maybe try it out on the pianos and give it just a little bit of reverb... Just some ideas. What DAW did you use?

Other than that, I liked it. With its consistency it could do well as some kind of rap, with some melodic vocals here in there (definitely some harmonies in the middle of the song). Imo

[Kc1336]

Man, you guys are good! I've only been composing for a few months now and it shows I have a lot to learn.

@Magellanic: About the strings sounding 'wooden' and harsh, this maybe because I was trying out a different type of reverb and looking at the mix, I used far less, going to play around with this now.

@Pumpkin King: Right on the ball there too with the panning on the pianos on the mono track, basically I wanted to widen them out so I duped the main piano track and panned about 50percent each way. I'm also gonna play around with some panning now. Oh and I used Pro Tools for this.

Again, I appreciate the tips a bunch, you guys are really helping me become a better composer/producer, thanks again! Also, I'll update the thread with a newer version very soon.

[Kc1336]

I've taken everything into consideration, listened back a few times and done another mix session, this time with about 20% less reverb on the pianos, which in my opinion, makes everything sounding less muddy and much better. I also added about 40% more room reverb on the strings and panned them along with piano, hihats and cymbals.

Here's the results:

[Kc1336]

New update:

Soundcloud (Updated)

This time I've added a part before the ending with more strings to accompany the piano (dynamics too!). Some more minor tweaks too to the panning. I think I'm close to actually finishing this now.