Super Metroid - Red Brinstar remix

[ncocs]

Oh my gosh, this place hasn't changed one bit

I have had the opportunity to work in school on some music, and that just so happened to result in me remixing the Red Brinstar theme from Super Metroid, which has always been one of my favorites.

Please critique harshly--although I've been playing with FL for a long time, I'm still a beginner and would love to know what I could fix to make it better.

(also Rozovian if you still frequent here I'd love to hear your criticism )

Remix: Silt Disposal

Source: Red Soil

[Argle]

Can't go wrong with Red Brinstar as a source.

Beginning synth feels exposed. Some more atmospherics would be good.

Synth at 0:36 feels very loud and exposed. You need something more here, and turn the lead down a lot. Part at 1:06 feels quiet and weak compared to the loud synth that comes before, when it should punch you in the gut.

Would like to hear more bass freqs in the center. Your synth bass is spread out very wide. Just my personal feeling, though.

Lead synth on the whole doesn't feel very expressive, some vibrato could easily take care of that.

I feel overall you could beef up the track with more layers. As I noted earlier parts of it are too sparse.

Just my impressions. I think this has the makings of a good dubstep-ish type track once you finesse it.

[ncocs]

Beginning synth feels exposed. Some more atmospherics would be good.

K, I'll definitely try to add some of those.

Synth at 0:36 feels very loud and exposed. You need something more here, and turn the lead down a lot. Part at 1:06 feels quiet and weak compared to the loud synth that comes before, when it should punch you in the gut.

Okay, so yeah I'll turn down that synth for sure. Do you think just that would help the contrast between :36 and 1:06? Or should I add/change something else?

Would like to hear more bass freqs in the center. Your synth bass is spread out very wide. Just my personal feeling, though.

I'll try playing around with all that, see if I can make it sound any better.

Lead synth on the whole doesn't feel very expressive, some vibrato could easily take care of that.

I never really thought of adding anything else to that synth, but now that you mention it, vibrato could be a nice touch. I'll definitely tweak that.

I feel overall you could beef up the track with more layers. As I noted earlier parts of it are too sparse.

Can you like name all those sparse parts? Knowing me and my personality I'll probably start seeing the okay parts as being to sparse and I'll end up changing things that are okay

Just my impressions. I think this has the makings of a good dubstep-ish type track once you finesse it.

Thanks so much! I'll take all your criticisms into consideration when I go back to edit it next.

[timaeus222]

I agree, the beginning sync lead needs more reverb and delay. It feels dry.

The synth at 0:36 is really loud compared to the rest of the instruments and it's overpowering everything. Set its volume to 0 and raise it up again until you just hear it loud enough. It's also dry and lacks expression. There's no reverb/delay or any vibrato.

The arrangement as a whole is extremely repetitive. Some sparse sections include the gaps in the intro, and the spots 0:35-1:05 and 2:44-2:48 are the most obviously sparse sections. The entire track is actually sparse because I only hear a bass, a lead, a really, really, really quiet arpeggio, and the drums, which are ultimately overpowering everything. That's probably why you think your lead needs to be so loud. It doesn't. It just needs to be heard well enough to sound like it's leading.

[Rockos]

I really enjoyed the mix. Despite the kick and snare from basic pack of fl and hi hat a little bit too loud, I really love what's in there. It could definitly be a nice dubstep mix.

From 2:07 until the end, it is awesome and well made. Need a little bit of fill-in drums and this is ready to go.

The start feel a little bit quiet and needs more synth.

Seriously this is nice work. If you need help PM me. We could collab or I could fill you with very good advice.

[ncocs]

So I'm playing around with the vibrato and can't seem to make it sound natural enough to bother with it? Can someone help me out there? I'm using Sytrus in FL, cause I'm cheap and can only afford the default VST's xD

I was just using a tiny lfo on the volume, and then I was like 'oh my god this isn't working' and kinda added that same wave on everything out of rage xD So, tips?

So, the volumes of each of the instruments aren't in sync with one another for a good mix--I'll work on that tomorrow.

And then I need to work on making each synth more expressive with vibrato, reverb, and delay--got it.

Thanks so far, guys!

[Argle]

Vibrato is pretty irritating to do in Sytrus, so a picture is worth a thousand words. Basically follow those steps then just mess around with the start time, depth, speed, and lfo fade-in until you get the sound you want. I don't think you can tie vibrato to the mod wheel in Sytrus.

[hewhoisiam]

Mhookay, I got a strange itch to come back here after my extended absence, I work 7 days a week, don't quite get ends meat. But hope that all changes soon.

This track has got the epic going on. But the transitions in my opinion are sloppy.

You're intro is just a volume automation. When the hi hats enter, they're vary strong. Give them some life! Work with the hits of each of them.

Then onto your main synth. It's strong and there, and not terrible. It's the same level as those hats! Too strong to start out with, ease into it.

The drums are an artist's deception. I'm not a huge fan, but there will be those that are for this style, there really isn't much wrong here other than timing.

I honestly like what I heard after that. Could use a bit of mastering (and that might just be me) but otherwise good.

[Rozovian]

Writing is raw. Mixing is terrible. Sound design is surprisingly good. I'd say that all the sounds here fit well together, they're all rich and just... a good fit. Nice work on that.

Writing is lazy. Maybe the arrangement works, there's clearly some ideas here that would, but the raw writing doesn't flow smooth enough. It's like you had the raw pieces and just slapped them together without taking the overall dynamics into account. I would expected it to kick into something a lot bigger at 1:34, but instead we get a clunky rhythm atop the same writing as before. The source C-part is another drop in dynamics. Drops in dynamics can be cool, whether they're breakdowns (0:36) or just quick drops (2:35 and 2:45), but when it happens with every other new part, the arrangement doesn't work. I've had this problem with a mix I'm working on, and I had to cut a few of my cool breakdowns out of it in order to make the arrangement work.

On that note, the arrangement is probably too conservative for ocr. With the right touches, it might be made to fit, but worry more about making a good mix than making it fit ocr.

The writing also doesn't quite fit the sounds you've got. You've got something DnB- or dubstep-ish going with the sounds, but the writing suggests something more atmospheric. You've got loud, piercing lead synths on sustain, and I can clearly hear it ducking under the compression whenever the bass drum hits. Overall, the track is too loud, and the instruments don't give enough room for each other. Start with dropping everything 6dB and mix that well with just track levels. Then use reverb and EQ to separate tracks, and then worry about levels using compression (side-chained where necessary).

It's definitely a step in the right direction. Nice work.

[ncocs]

See, when it comes to writing it all--I can hear it in my head, but I lack the knowledge of how to make it sound how I want.

I'll watch some tutorials or something and see if I can't replace the parts where you're like "NOT THIS AGAIN" with something less repetitive. c:

Expect an update late today or late tomorrow.

[Rozovian]

See, when it comes to writing it all--I can hear it in my head, but I lack the knowledge of how to make it sound how I want.

I'll watch some tutorials or something and see if I can't replace the parts where you're like "NOT THIS AGAIN" with something less repetitive. c:

Expect an update late today or late tomorrow.

Repetition isn't a bad thing, and your track isn't repetitive, it's just raw. Let's look at the first 35 seconds:

0-11 - The writing here is ok, but the sound only changes in level (volume). You have what sounds like a quarter note lfo controlling a sync synth patch. That's cool. If you can make the lfo depth sensitive to velocity, or make the synth filter the whole sound based on velocity, you could have a growing sound instead of a static one that only changes in level. Obviously, you'd have to edit the velocities for this effect, but it's realy just a slope from low velocity to normal velocity.

11-23 - This part here is repetitive. Some development in automation or velocities would be cool. Perhaps the bass could be filtered and open up so it isn't fully open until somewhere around 30 seconds in? Perhaps you have a different crash you could use for every other hit?

23-35 Hihat comes in, and signals that the track is growing. Then comes the reverse crash, which foreshadows a change in the track. This part works well, structurally. This change could be emphasized further with a different and a little more intense fill towards the end. Now you're just looping the first 6 seconds of this part on drums. A new fill would signal a bigger change, and take you away from that lazy kind of writing I've been hearing.

This kind of stuff applies everywhere in the track, you just gotta figure out the specifics of what you can do to improve the stuff.

As another example, let's talk about the next part, 0:35-2:05. Throught that part, you have the same loud, piercing lead synth, and from what I can tell, also the same 6-note backing pattern with the same sound through (buried under other sounds). Let's quickly go over that one, iteration by iteration:

0:35 - Works well. Again, there's a level automation rather than something more interesting going on on the 6-note, and the lead is too loud.

1:05 - New rhythm practically replaces the 6-note, so I don't get why I'm still hearing the 6-note underneath. Just lose the old one and run with the new one. lead is the same as before, and because the instrument is loud and piercing, this is especially annoying. First change the sound, then figure out how to change the melodies... if you still need to. Drums coming in here works well.

1:20 - Hihat comes in, but that's the only change. The previous part could have a little less drums, and this part have more, and there are other changes you could make for a little more sense of development, but the core idea here works.

1:32 - You're adding this weird new measure at the end of the melody. In the other parts, it keeps throwing me off, but this particular one works well because it's foreshadowing a significant change in the track.

1:36 - Still the same lead. You dropped out the replacement for the 6-note, which works, but you brought back the same 6-note as before, where you could have done something new with it, either a new instrument or a new take on it. There's a sound in the background, like a high-pitch choir-like synth. That's a good sound, and it adds to the development of the track. Keeping the same drum rhythm here, however, holds the track back. Do something new, something bigger, something more intense in some way. Otherwise it's just repetition towards another breakdown.

There's my thoughts on the track, in detail. As you might be able to tell, it's not actually the repetition that's the problem, but the lazy writing it's a result of. When you build up towards something, know what you're building towards, and how long it should take to get there.

So basically, always know where each part is heading and build towards that. The structure isn't that repetitive, it's the details that are.