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Mega Man 5 - Stone Man Remix ("Boulder Breaks")


Tekkaxe
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Yo All,

Thanks for all that game this a listen and especially those that offered feedback.

I made a bunch of production fixes and I hope that you find this to be a more solid

listening experience. Feedback is still welcomed, of course. And a special thanks

to Phonetic Hero.

The new audio is up on a soundcloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/tekkaxe/boulder-breaks-mega-man-5

-GK

-------

First pass:

http://youtu.be/fJDBUwhXy6Q

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I'm digging those tension building chords, and you really made the track progress in a different fashion than the original does, which is cool. I can't seem to hear much bass (particularly ANY kick if it's in there), and the arrangement kinda meanders after a little bit.

A lot of the instrumentation is also a bit bland; what software are you using?

Nice start, and very excellent source choice. Always dug MM5 the most :D

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Thanks for giving it a listen, Phonetic. I used FL Studio 10, a NES styled soundfont, some sytrus patches and drums/bass via directwave.

To your note about the overall bass in the track, I was a bit concerned about that, as I did notice that the particular sample I chose didn't have a huge oomph-to it on lower frequencies yet I hoped that it would still come through. Perhaps that's something that I should revisit, along with the kick-selection.

Thanks again for the feedback!

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Thanks for giving it a listen, Phonetic. I used FL Studio 10, a NES styled soundfont, some sytrus patches and drums/bass via directwave.

To your note about the overall bass in the track, I was a bit concerned about that, as I did notice that the particular sample I chose didn't have a huge oomph-to it on lower frequencies yet I hoped that it would still come through. Perhaps that's something that I should revisit, along with the kick-selection.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Awesome, I use FL10 as well, so I can be kind of, sort of helpful :D

If you're looking for actual chiptune synths (as opposed to "chiptune styled", which can be quite different), I have a couple of suggestions: first is magical8bit. It's free, and all the waveforms are sampled directly from the NES, plus you get an easy to use amplitude envelope. The other resource I use quite often is Adventure Kid Waveforms. These are again sampled directly from the NES, and aside from the fantastic 8 bit waveforms, there's a plethora of other great waveforms you can plug in to the 3x Osc (which is how I did a ton of my synthesis for a while), or Toxic Biohazard (how I do the bulk of my synthesis now), or Harmless, or Sytrus, or... you get the idea, FL/Image-Line have a VERY wide selection of hugely customizable synths to choose from.

So, drums. They sound pushed pretty far back into the soundscape. I think they could be brought up further without detracting from the rest of it fairly easily. How are you with EQ and compression? Also, drum selection is going to be important.. I think in this case, a kick with some more bite (meaning more audible attack, and more in the higher freqs as opposed to just lows) would be more appropriate, and the snare could use some more punch (meaning a bit more in the low freqs; most snares typically have a sweet spot somewhere in the 300-650 hz range, which should be pretty easy to see if you slap a "Fruity Parametric EQ 2" on there). My drum chain usually looks like this:

Fruity Parametric EQ 2

Compression (I HIGHLY recommend BLOCKFISH, which is part of the Fish Filet Series you can get for free here)

Fruity Blood Overdrive (just default on the OD does the trick to fatten up the freq spectrum a bit)

I'll delve just a bit into the other instrumentation, but I think I've given you enough to chew on for a bit. The square arp reminds me of the GM squarewave that Finale uses (which I have a love/hate relationship with, the instruments being under the "hate" category), and so I personally don't like it. I'd go with a delayed pluck square (which you can make in m8b really easily; low sustain, no attack, tiny bit of decay), and then for the held notes, plug a 3x Osc into the same mixer track with the Adventure Kid sampled NES squarewave. This way, the two will sound cohesive together, but they'll have a distinct characteristic.

The bass instrument could be brought forward as well without affecting other stuff much, you can look at the EQing on the low frequencies (although it does help it cut if there's a bit in the highs)

As I'm listening through again, I think the mixing could be more carefully handled as well. Everything seems to be kinda fighting for my attention, and I'm not sure what you WANT me to be paying attention to. Things like lower volume + stereo separation on arps will make sure they're still heard without fighting other stuff for attention (I'd also recommend some reverb and slight delay for fuller saturation). Just listen to what you think should be up front and what doesn't NEED to be consciously heard. Bring things up and push things back as needed, and this'll be sounding a ton better in no time.

I really like all your interpretations, and I'd like to see this pushed further! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. Good luck :D

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@Melodius: Thanks a ton!!!

@Phonetic: Whoa.... awesome resources. Thanks for the thorough tips and whatnot. EQing and Compression are areas I continually seek to improve in. I'd say that I have a decent understanding, but certainly theres much more room for growth. I will definitely be taking a close look at the track with your feedback in mind.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Gah, man I'd love to give you some more in-depth feedback, but I'm kinda swamped atm. Hopefully I'll be able to get to it tomorrow, but tonight I gotta work on some other stuff. I did listen through, definitely sounds a bit better.

Couple things off the top of my head, heard a sour chord around 1:15, snare could pop more (a bit more compression, if you're using BLOCKFISH, try turning up the output and then lowering the volume of the mixer track so it squashes the waveform a bit more), sometimes the rhythms with the hats sound kinda weird in the beginning. I also think the melody would REALLY pop if it were up an octave, with some verb and a bit of delay. Really love those extra flourishes though, especially toward the end. It sounds like it wants to be more of a drum n bass track, which would be really bitching man :D

Like I said, hopefully I'll be able to get you some more crits tomorrow or the day after, but I gotta get back to work on some other stuff for the night :S

Oh hey, just had a thought; try sending a project file and I'll see if I can open it and take a look. Might not translate perfectly, but it's worth a shot, right?

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The snare sounds a little weak, so try compressing it with a low threshold, a high gain, a fast attack, and a kind of fast release. That way, the snare is punchy, but not overcompressed; it'll be compressed for a short enough time that it is just more powerful.

That lead works for me, but change the lead a tad throughout, and you can make it even more interesting! :) Maybe give it a slightly resonant filter and some vibrato, or some portamento sequencing? WillRock might give you some inspiration on making that lead more expressive.

Great track so far, the drum writing is pretty active and exciting. Just remember to add an ending. :P

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