Jazz Jackrabbit - Tubelectric

[lazerblade]

While this is my first post and first serious remix, I think music would be a better introduction than anything I can write.

This is a remix of one of the first videogame music tracks I fell in love with, from a game OCRemix surprisingly does not have in its game archive, Jazz Jackrabbit.

Here is the original:

Here is my current remix version(link always kept up to date): https://dl.dropbox.com/s/n6ybmmgfxd4nrka/Cybernetic%20Acid%20Groove%20-%20WIP13.mp3

I need some harsher, higher standards critique on this, especially on the mixing/mastering side. This is mostly because I've been working on this track for enough hours that my ear for whether it's mixed properly or not is gone.

[timaeus222]

On the contrary, there is one Jazz Jackrabbit 2 OCRemix that I know called Jazz Castle Adventure.

I like this source, I've tried remixing it before. Well, here's what I could hear:

The initial bass is too loud. There's also some unnecessary delay. Try not to stick to what the original does.

The snare is weak; try layering some snares that add up to the all the characteristics of a strong snare: low end punch and high end snap. Same with the kick. You need low end punch and high end thwip.

Not much happens until 0:41. See if you can have something there that progresses to build it up.

The 3o3 arpeggio that comes in at 1:18 has an envelope that isn't having an intense enough effect on it, so it feels like too long of a sustain between notes. The decay of the envelope creates the main sound of the 3o3 (the "eoh" sound of it), and the envelope mix (the extent to which the 3o3 is low-passed during each note) is too little. Because of that, it sounds louder than it might actually be, and it's distracting.

You should also see if you can find new leads. Right now, the brass-like leads you have are pretty static and not more meant for backup or something. Try doing some research on sync leads, and see if that gives you an idea.

The mix as a whole also sounds really close to the original; see if you can write it without an imported MIDI.

Not too bad so far, keep it up!

[lazerblade]

This is NOT written from imported MIDI. I will try mixing up the arrangement a little more though, as now that you mention it it is pretty rigid to the original.

I meant the original Jazz Jackrabbit isn't in the library and has no remixes, the sequel is there.

The envelope problem you mentioned was right under my nose but I couldn't put my finger on it until you mentioned it. I know what a sync lead is, so I'll give it a try and see if it works. I kinda like the funky retro brass sound, but it isn't necessarily the best for this mix.

[timaeus222]

Alright, cool. I'm not saying I don't like it though. It's a good start. Good luck!

Oh yeah, and the JJR2 being in the library was a half-joke.

[lazerblade]

This track is coming along nicely in my opinion. Here is the next WIP:

(outdated link removed)

I have most of the content and mixing done, but I'm a little unsure of the intro and ending. It's also pretty short(2 minutes, ten seconds) because the original did not have that much material to draw from.

I'm thinking after I get critique from this I'll do one more WIP before moving on to "finished" status and adding the final touches.

[timaeus222]

Source length shouldn't be an issue; you can expand on it if you're really inspired. I've managed to make a remix combining two sources, that are 1:04 and 1:13 long respectively. One 1:51 source shouldn't be too difficult.

I have an idea. Maybe you can rewrite the intro, and start with an arpeggio, then add a bass, then go for a hardcore dance/electronica song? Your sounds seem to match that. Sort of like this but not exactly:

Hm... Or maybe my old (kinda bad) remix of this will inspire you?

I like the kick and snare. Maybe decrease the predelay on the snare reverb a little bit.

[lazerblade]

I've been looking for an opportunity to give my own take on Organic Electro in music form, mainly because I discovered it after dubbing a very similar genre I created as "Epic Cyberfunk." (I have since embraced the name Organic Electro instead;) However, I wanted to take the direction of this remix more toward classic Acid, since I love it so much but haven't had a chance to really use my skills in it yet. Something more toward modern Dance Electronica and Organic Electro is not out of the question, but I'm not sure I can maintain my inspiration that long since that would be the fourth reinterpretation and refocus of the same remix of a track I already made the mistake of overlistening to.

I think you're right about extending it. I just need to start carrying a voice recorder with me, because all of my awesome ideas come while I'm doing something random away from my studio. Especially the arp thing, since I've kind of been noting that this sound is missing something that an arp would probably fill nicely.

[timaeus222]

You're not alone, I get a lot of my ideas away from my studio too.

The sounds are nice, but the writing seems to make their frequencies clash a bit.

[lazerblade]

Version 6: (outdated link removed)

In this new version, I created a sound I've been looking for an excuse to use and added it in. It gives it more of an industrial or technologic feel in my opinion, which is good because that reinforces the feelings of the original. The mixing and FX still need a bit of work to make it fit properly, but I'm thinking it fits in pretty well instrumentation-wise. Yes, it's still not a very long track(it's about 2:40), but I'm kind of wanting to keep this one to ~ 3 minutes. And ideas for penultimate adjustments or notes of significant problems before the finishing touches stage?

[timaeus222]

Well, your ideas are pretty good, you just need to get some better sounds. See if you can find some more expressive synth sounds to use, or even more aggressive sounds.

[lazerblade]

more expressive synth sounds to use, or even more aggressive sounds.

Could you elaborate on that a little? I'm not above hunting down samples and presets or researching new synth programming techniques, but I usually build the sounds in a track myself.

IMO the mix kind of lost power at some point, but as a result of the FX and mixing not blending the existing instruments in a powerful enough way. Any suggestions for that?

BTW, I have a idea for the name now: Cybernetic Acid Groove.

[timaeus222]

Could you elaborate on that a little? I'm not above hunting down samples and presets or researching new synth programming techniques, but I usually build the sounds in a track myself.

IMO the mix kind of lost power at some point, but as a result of the FX and mixing not blending the existing instruments in a powerful enough way. Any suggestions for that?

BTW, I have a idea for the name now: Cybernetic Acid Groove.

By expressive, I mean, for example, more vibrato where appropriate, or a more dynamic, modulated synth sound. You gotta pull out all the stops and make each and every note sound like it has feeling, if you get what I mean.

Aggressive is like dirtier, more powerful, mind-blowing stuff. Kind of like this, but in the context of your remix (because there's no way you or I can do this kind of stuff at this moment):

@ 11:30 and 12:01

[lazerblade]

Ah, I can definitely see your point on making it more expressive. I'll see what I can do. However, I'm not going for a newer "agressive sound," like DnB, Dubstep, Electro, or other more modern dance genres, although I know exactly what you mean. I have no quarrel with those genre's, but that isn't really where I wanted to take this track. Perhaps the problem lies in my needing to communicate more clearly within the track how exactly it is to be perceived. Maybe the drop should seem less like it's trying to be that type of drop and failing and more like it's supposed to be what it is.

I know a bit about creating glitch-step and I know a bit about composing orchestral parts, so I wouldn't say there is no way I could do it. I've never done it before, so I would have to put a bork-ton of work into it, but it would be possible. Again though, that's not really what I had in mind style-wise for this track.

[timaeus222]

Ah, I can definitely see your point on making it more expressive. I'll see what I can do. However, I'm not going for a newer "agressive sound," like DnB, Dubstep, Electro, or other more modern dance genres, although I know exactly what you mean. I have no quarrel with those genre's, but that isn't really where I wanted to take this track. Perhaps the problem lies in my needing to communicate more clearly within the track how exactly it is to be perceived. Maybe the drop should seem less like it's trying to be that type of drop and failing and more like it's supposed to be what it is.

I know a bit about creating glitch-step and I know a bit about composing orchestral parts, so I wouldn't say there is no way I could do it. I've never done it before, so I would have to put a bork-ton of work into it, but it would be possible. Again though, that's not really what I had in mind style-wise for this track.

Of course. I'm just saying beef up the sound!

[lazerblade]

Alrighty, I'm going to call the structure, arrangement, and instrument selection complete. Now I'll be adding finishing touches to the mix and considering the mastering. I usually use mastering in extreme moderation, but anything that anyone thinks is essential should be mentioned.

(outdated link removed)

Any show-stopping problems or needed final touches?

[timaeus222]

Just a few minor things.

- Sidechain the kick, since I can't really hear the kick. If you have already, try finding a few kick samples to layer on there, to get the kick to be more audible. Layer the snares too, or increase the volume on the snare.

- Add some compression on the kick and snare to give them some "glue" (so they'll be heard for longer, presumably, is where the term came from).

- Add an EQ module on the Master and high pass out everything below 35Hz. You will never need that, since when you turn up the volume enough, you'll get a sub bass frequency in there somewhere.

- Check to make sure no reverb is unnecessarily on an instrument (like a kick in a non-ambient track).

- Check to make sure reverb is on things that should have it, like leads, arps, etc. (not most basses), and see if you can create a reverb that sounds right for each instrument. i.e. A really excessively long decay on the lead will be horrible. ;D

- EQ out any unnecessary frequencies on certain instruments that have clashing frequencies (like leads vs. arps, or similar). You could even notch filter (band stop/reject) the bass where the kick is to be extra careful.

- If you happen to have a favorite compressor that somehow ties things together really well (like the "summing" preset on Density MKIII), use it. Just evaluate how it sounds with and without it, and if it makes enough of a difference, use it.

[lazerblade]

Sounds good. Reminds me of various mastering checklists I've read, but still good advice. About the hipass though: what if I have a woofer?

[timaeus222]

If you have a subwoofer, I'm sure it'll still give enough sub bass. Generally, things below 35Hz aren't really that audible, and subwoofers allow you to feel it; hearing it is difficult without isolating it.

[lazerblade]

(outdated link removed)

Plausibly done IMO. Time to up the status to mod review. The thing I am the most unsure about is if the lead instrument too loud. Other than that, it sounds good to me. That might just because I've spent so much more time on this track then I usually do trying to make it perfect that I got used to all of its flaws.

[timaeus222]

Cool, the arrangement sounds good. I think the mods might still say something about the sounds you use, though.

[Gario]

MOD REVIEW:

Nice sound design on this one - I'm enjoying it the old school synths used throughout. I can understand the complaint that the synths may be too vanilla/retro, but in this context I feel they're well used. The arpeggio in the beginning was particularly effective.

The production on this one is really hot, though - it sounds like the lead synths and bass are heavily limited and loud, which really makes the overall mix a mess. I recommend removing limiters and compressors and re-mixing the overall track to find a better balance to the mix, then use very little limiting to boost the volume a little, if needed. Work with it at a relatively quiet level where there is no clipping in the track, and boost the levels once you get it sounding cleaner and more crisp, overall.

The arrangement doesn't hold my attention very well. The stacking textures style of arrangement works well enough in longer tracks, since there's time to build the track, but in a track that's less than three minutes with a one minute build up there's just too little time left to spend on developing the themes and material of the source. That forces you in a position where you need to be pretty conservative for the rest of the track, just to lay the original themes out there. The source is 1:52 minutes - with the minute of build up you have, that leaves you with barely enough time to just relay the original source to the audience and end the track (which is what it sounds like you do, for this track).

I like the sound design, though, and the track overall sounds full, and is fun to listen to. I just don't think this one would be accepted on the panel, and since the issues are with the structure of the track itself and how it forces the music to be too conservative, I can't say it'd be worth trying to make it work for OCR, either. Save for the loudness issues, this is a good track - just not one that I could see OCR passing due to the site's policies.

[lazerblade]

It has been awhile, but I spent a lot of the time benefiting from the awesome critique. I decided to out the time constraints and free the track to spend as much time on the progression and structure as I felt necessary. The mix has been greatly improved because the mention of removing the compressors led me to go back over them and see that I had somehow left the makeup gain way too high on all of them. The main things I'm unsure of now are the performance, (I tweak all parameters live) and the structure esp at the end.

(outdated link removed)

[timaeus222]

The lead is overpowering the drums quite a bit. Notice how whenever the lead plays, you can't really hear the kick or snare. The hi hats somehow seep through.

I think aside from that, the production is sufficient, for the sounds you're using now. If you want it on OCR, though, you'll need to think about how to broaden your sounds and find more sounds to add to your pool of instruments and use more than just a few instruments throughout the entire song. I think I counted a kick, snare, cymbal, hi hats, 3o3 acid arp, saw arp, white noise with an automated thin-Q bandpass sweep, pluck arp, saw lead, bass drop, and a pitch bended poly saw (drop transition). From there, you stopped introducing new things. I think if you put in more instruments and rotate them to give your song a certain progression, it'll keep more people's attention than it could now. When I write remixes, I tend to have more than 10 instruments or sounds. Usually I land around 30-50. I know that's a lot, but about 1/3 of them are usually drum samples, and those are usually layered as one drum sample instance, at least for me.

[lazerblade]

I think you might be putting undue emphasis on number of sounds as opposed to composition. However, in a progressive track like this, especially one where the arrangement is starting to get old during the jams, more instruments would probably help. Besides, you gave me an idea I wanted to try.

Anywho, this version contains better mastering, better lead vs. kick mixing, jam tweaks, an extra lead instrument for some parts, improved dynamics on a few sections, and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.

(outdated link removed)

[timaeus222]

I think you might be putting undue emphasis on number of sounds as opposed to composition. However, in a progressive track like this, especially one where the arrangement is starting to get old during the jams, more instruments would probably help. Besides, you gave me an idea I wanted to try.

Anywho, this version contains better mastering, better lead vs. kick mixing, jam tweaks, an extra lead instrument for some parts, improved dynamics on a few sections, and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/j13pts706v38vu6/Cybernetic%20Acid%20Groove%20-%20WIP10.mp3

Nah, I just meant you needed more different sounds in general to make the song not sound so much "the same" throughout as just a "consistent feel" throughout. I'm trying to get you to create a track with a more complex and rich atmosphere, not necessarily more packed with filler sounds or super high quality with awesome sounds. The ones you had were fine, just expand the amount of instruments a bit more to create more distinct sections to the song.

Listening again, I hear these things:

The waveform looks good, I think the mastering is great.

At 0:25, the plink-like arp that comes in might be panned too far left, I'm not entirely sure. I hear more of it on the left than the right, and it's kinda awkward. Maybe do some automated panning?

I'm not sure what's at 0:53. If it's a sudden white noise transition, it'd be great if it came a bit earlier.

For some reason though, at 1:01, when the lead comes in, it's still too far in front. The snare and kick are being obscured. Try turning up the volume on the kick and snare all the way, and using a good quality compressor to keep them from hitting the limiter too hard. Then try lowering the volume (just a bit) of everything except the drums by the exact same amount. Maybe then that'll leave headroom for more ideas.

At 1:55 - 2:39, there are actually too many instruments there in the same frequencies, so it sounds muddy. I know I said add more instruments, but I meant fill frequencies that are kinda empty. Maybe it's time you did some more instrument-hunting, to find more resources than what you have right now. I'm still staying aware of anything interesting these days.

I also expected the lead to stop at 2:24, so maybe that's a good time to put in a transition into a new section for the song. This time, try breaking away from the feel you've had going for the rest of the song and changing the rhythm. I'm not sure what you could have in mind, but maybe a breakdown section of some sort could help. Taking away the drums, changing the time signature, using a new drum rhythm, or anything like that could make this work.

Maybe another thing you could do is automate EQ bands to lower the frequencies that would have overlapped if a new instrument came in. That way, that instrument has room to breathe, and things aren't clashing as much.

Sounding a lot better, keep it up!