"Come What May" (Journey, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix)

[Quart de Carton]

Here's a remix I've been working on for a while now.

And I most certainly need some feedback.

https://www.box.com/s/bguiu35eb8um6c5dcrv5

The tracks is untitled "Come What May", the remix includes parts from :

- Journey's soundtrack main motif (if I had to give a specific track, I guess I'd say "I Was Born For This", composed by Austin Wintory, which inspired me the idea of the remix)

=>

- Final Fantasy XIII-2's "Yeul's Theme", composed by Naoshi Mizuta

=>

- Final Fantasy VIII's "Blue Fields", composed by Nobuo Uematsu

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- Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix/Birth by Sleep's "Fate of the Unknown" (I feel like associating the track with Birth by Sleep would me more logical and meaningful though)

=> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMC7qtC_G4w

I made it with FL Studio and a few free soundfonts I found here and there.

And... well I think that's all the relevant stuff I can think of !

EDIT :

v2 : https://www.box.com/s/jbwf5vt58cxczrjw4gx1

v2alt : https://www.box.com/s/myz27mdo923t5fb65h7e

... =/

Edited March 23, 2013 by Quart de Carton

[timaeus222]

It could be louder.

A lot of the instruments are very dry, so it doesn't really sound like they're in an acoustically realistic room. Also, it seems like every note or many notes are the same velocities; try making it more human with some phrased velocities.

2:08 - violin or something sounds really fake, especially with the weird portamento.

2:28 - odd harmonies/clashing?

2:34 - really muddy, so watch those low frequencies. Try a steep high pass at 35Hz?

3:03 - near a good volume, but everything is still too quiet, even here.

You'll also need some better samples than that, because although they're good for free soundfonts, they're not realistic.

Edited March 21, 2013 by timaeus222

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Can't comment on production really, since I don't know much of anything when it comes to mixing and all that.

However, there are some issues composition wise. You have this nice, fairly soft orchestral stuff going up until 2:24. That part sounds out of key to me. It could work, but you need to make the transition into and out of it much smoother.

As a whole, the piece feels very empty. Try adding more counter melody and more instruments contributing to the implied harmony in the more "epic" sections toward the end. Just don't add too much, you want to make sure every instrument serves a purpose. Definitely look at adding some more, powerful percussion too.

[Quart de Carton]

Thanks for the feedback !

timaeus222>

I'm still really unexeperimented when it comes to sound mastering and this kind of stuff, so it might explain some of what you pointed oud. I'll try working on that aspect though.

For 2:08, it's actually made on purpose. Does it sound that bad ?

2:28 > Same thing, I wanted to announce the break by using "strange", unnatural harmonies.

2:34 > I'll see what I can do !

For the volume thing, yeah, I see what you mean.

I actually made the track while using my "hyper bass" headphones, when I listened to the track normally afterwards, it did sound very low, and some instruments can barely be heard sometimes.

I was also planning on working on the velocity. I did a few things about it here and there, but it was quite a superficial change.

The only real issue would be the soundfonts I guess. I think/hope the piano is good enough, but the strings do sound really synthetic... I was thinking of using a plugin, but most of the free ones aren't that realistic sounding either...

I'll see if I can do something about it.

EDIT : AngelCityOutlaw > Sorry, I posted before I noticed your post.

I also think adding more percussions would be a good idea ! As for the emptiness, I'll definitely look into it. It was one of the things I really wasn't that happy about, too.

Thanks for your help !

Edited March 21, 2013 by Quart de Carton

[timaeus222]

Thanks for the feedback !

timaeus222>

I'm still really unexeperimented when it comes to sound mastering and this kind of stuff, so it might explain some of what you pointed oud. I'll try working on that aspect though.

For 2:08, it's actually made on purpose. Does it sound that bad ?

...

The only real issue would be the soundfonts I guess. I think/hope the piano is good enough, but the strings do sound really synthetic... I was thinking of using a plugin, but most of the free ones aren't that realistic sounding either...

I'll see if I can do something about it.

...

Thanks for your help !

Haha, oud. Gotta love typos that spell a new real word.

Yeah, the "violin" at 2:08 sounds like some sort of thin-sounding synth lead badly emulating a violin. Or maybe it was sampled from a bad violinist.

Yeah, without good realistic reverb, free orchestral soundfonts are pretty much kaput.

[Quart de Carton]

Haha, oud. Gotta love typos that spell a new real word.

Woops x)

So, since I couldn't find better free violin soundfonts/vst, I tried changing the instruments, in a way that their synthtetic nature would not interfere too much with the track.

Overall, I think I kind of screwed up... plus I only now realize that one the soundfonts I used was badly recorded (there's a bit of white noise, mostly at the beginning).

I tried adding a few things here and there, too.

Anyway, here's the new version :

https://www.box.com/s/jbwf5vt58cxczrjw4gx1

I'm heavily considering the possibility of simply letting that one go and move on to a new project though :S

EDIT : I'm encoding another version, with different filters and EQ parameters. It sounds quite different and seems to be somewhat better, but maybe it's just me.

I'll upload it when it's done.

EDIT2 : There it is : https://www.box.com/s/myz27mdo923t5fb65h7e

Edited March 23, 2013 by Quart de Carton