*NO* Lufia 2 'Standing Tall'

[DragonAvenger]

Link to the remix:

Your ReMixer name: Ivan Hakštok

Your e-mail address:

Your userid: 43292

Name of game(s) arranged: Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals

Name of arrangement: Standing Tall

Name of individual song(s) arranged: Battle #2 (also known as the boss battle theme)

Link to the original soundtrack:

IMPORTANT: This is a remix for the Lufia 2 album project, so if it's passed don't post it until after the album's release

Your own comments about the mix: I first heard this theme when Bahamut put a public call for someone to remix it, and I liked it a lot, though I didn't claim it or started remixing it until I realized that someone might claim it before I even get the chance. That led to a WIP done in one afternoon, which in hindsight was a bad idea since it was poorly mixed and had poor guitar playing, but apparently it was enough to get me a spot on the album. However, trying to build on that WIP turned out to be a little hard, and after hearing some suggestions I decided to do it from scratch. The new version was so much of an improvement upon the previous one that it basically gave me enough inspiration to work on it for hours and hours each day, and I completed it in about a week (even though I had some exams during that week. But you'll be glad to know that I've passed those exams ). This was my first time recording something this fast and heavy, so I spent tons of tries and failed attempts in order to get a well-executed guitar performance. The rhythm guitars were much harder to record than the leads. I blame those damn triplets! I'm never again writing triplets at 180 bpm in my songs! XD

I suppose a source breakdown is in order, though I don't think source usage will be a problem:

0:00 - 0:26 = guitar chords based on the 3rd part of the source

0:27 - 0:50 = piano playing the melody from the 3rd part of the source

0:50 - 1:01 = some guitar+drums

1:01 - 1:22 = lead guitars play the 1st part of the source

1:23 - 1:28 = short interlude

1:29 - 1:50 = synth lead playing the 2nd part of the source followed by the lead guitars

1:50 - 2:00 = another short interlude

2:00 - 2:22 = 3rd part of the source played on the lead guitars

2:22 - 2:43 = organ solo

2:43 - 3:05 = guitar solo

3:05 - 3:25 = synth and guitar playing the 2nd part of the source

3:26 - 3:48 = lead guitars playing the 1st part of the source again

3:48 - 4:03 = piano plays the 3rd part of the source

I hope you enjoy listening!

Edited October 10, 2013 by Liontamer

[Vig]

Great arrangement, but the mix is holding this one back.

Right off the bat, the guitar sounds nice, if a bit too much reverb, but the piano sounds like garbage. Add some presence (2-4kHz) and reverb! The guitars are badass, but the lead guitar is a bit forward for the genre, as is the sparkling pad. Aside from that, the mix is slammed, and it audibly pumps at every kick. Your arrangement is really cool, but the mix needs some significant, though not overwhelming tweaks.

NO

[OceansAndrew]

lol @ the name and the game. Funny coincidence.

http://remix.thasauce.net/song/RTS0030/

edit: can't believe this was done almost 7 years ago.

[Liontamer]

Great arrangement, but the mix is holding this one back.

Right off the bat, the guitar sounds nice, if a bit too much reverb, but the piano sounds like garbage. Add some presence (2-4kHz) and reverb! The guitars are badass, but the lead guitar is a bit forward for the genre, as is the sparkling pad. Aside from that, the mix is slammed, and it audibly pumps at every kick. Your arrangement is really cool, but the mix needs some significant, though not overwhelming tweaks.

I disagreed about the piano sounding like "garbage," personally, but Vig was dead on (including the specific piano advice) about everything else. All those kicks sounded lossy and were very obviously muddying up the soundscape, and the lead guitar needs to be pulled back.

I'd also argue that the synth at 1:28 was too dry and upfront; the timing of it sounded too rigid and its placement in the mix made that issue stand out too much; I'd use a softer synth sound there that more complimentary when trading off with and doubling the guitar.

One other small detail that stuck out like a sore thumb was the audible hiss that showed up at :03 when the guitar came in. If the hiss is unavoidably part of the recording and you can't get rid of it, at least fade it in so it doesn't just plop right into the soundscape like that. Get rid of it or at least smooth out its arrival. It just feels like a lack of attention to detail the way you notice it come in. You hear more light hiss during the final guitar section at 3:50, and at 4:03 it fades down very quickly.

Anyway, great arrangement otherwise; wouldn't change a thing about that. Even though this is a NO as is, you could definitely tweak this and get it passed. Like Vig said, all this needs is some production adjustments, and you'll be in the clear. Always good to hear your submissions, Ivan; they're always very creative, with great energy.

NO (refine/resubmit)

[Fishy]

Yeah, the mix is killing this one a bit.

Listen to those crash cymbals when the kick hits, they're getting trashed by the compression. If you have compression on the drum bus, reduce it. And try not to brickwall the whole mix on the master limiter so much.

The synth sounds never really fit the overall sound, especially the lead at 1:27, it sounds like an awful trance lead rather then a rock synth solo patch. Lead guitars are way too loud, a bit too much highs and not enough mids. Also you missed the lower bend at 2:19 really badly.

On the pluses, the arrangement is pretty sweet. I really enjoyed the 12/8 twist at 1:22, cool stuff. Don't get the impression that we don't like the track, the mix is just letting it down at the minute!

NO, plz resub