Metroid D&B Remix

[DJZaGa]

More of an update of the nostalgic title theme from the NES Metroid, I figure someone might enjoy a listen.

ZaGa - Metroid (D&B Remix)

[Rockos]

The intro is pretty interesting. There are little glitches.

The first part imo is a little bit too much but then 1:04 comes in and it's different and well sounding.

1:29

The drum themselves are good. But I think the snare got too much low frequencies on it.

Ending

[timaeus222]

Yep, the snare has too much low frequency content. It's not that it shouldn't have low frequency content as that's where the power is, but there's certainly a problem showing, with the sample(s) used.

0:38 gets really muddy really fast. The intro lead also needs to change, as it gets pretty irritating playing alongside the wobbles. It's also good to change it so people won't get bored with the same instrumentation throughout the whole song. I'm also not entirely convinced the timbre of the wobbles are matching the rhythm or timbre of the drums, nor the other way around.

1:04 brings in some pads, but the bass is still extremely prominent, and things are just too hard to distinguish. You need a better bass that covers a smaller frequency range, though just as effectively.

1:28 doesn't have much of a leadin other than a white noise sweep, maybe. It's also a great moment to change up the soundscape to something less aggressive. 1:44 was not really expected, so it would be jarring to some people. Try thinking of a smoother transition. Tapestops are really hard to make work well.

And of course a lot of ocremix listeners seem to be biased against explicit, constant Dubstep (if it's poorly made), so it might possibly be better if you put it slightly in the background of more ear-pleasing instrumentation. It'd be a good idea to check out these tracks for guidance:

http://soundcloud.com/isworks/shreddage-2-nuclear-dubstep-by

http://zirconstudios.bandcamp.com/track/augment

Edited May 17, 2013 by timaeus222

[Kanohi]

And of course a lot of ocremix listeners are biased against explicit, constant Dubstep, so it'd be better if you put it a bit in the background of more ear-pleasing instrumentation.

I'm not sure that sweeping it under the rug is a good approach, why not just let the people who enjoy this, enjoy it and let the people that don't like the genre just not listen to it ^^'

Most of the mixing and such has been addressed by the others. I'll note that the Snare definitely has too much low-end and not enough crack to it. Cool track to be sure, but it can still use some work to be a little more solid

[timaeus222]

I'm not sure that sweeping it under the rug is a good approach, why not just let the people who enjoy this, enjoy it and let the people that don't like the genre just not listen to it ^^'

Most of the mixing and such has been addressed by the others. I'll note that the Snare definitely has too much low-end and not enough crack to it. Cool track to be sure, but it can still use some work to be a little more solid

Don't worry, I still like dubstep, and some others would too, even if it's exposed, but IMO, mainly when it's done well. Do notice though, that so far, in many raw dubstep mixposts in the past, on youtube there's been an imbalance in likes/dislikes.

For the benefit of the OP, here are some dubstep mixposts that were:

Reasonably liked on YouTube:

These ones received fairly good reception:

Given an unfair glare on YouTube (none others come to mind, actually):

Just something to be aware of. If you have wubs, they "must" be awesome wubs or people will be all

". Edited May 17, 2013 by timaeus222

[Kanohi]

I realize what you're getting at, I just think it's not very productive to one's own creative side to do what you think will not get hated on the most. likes/dislikes on YouTube mean nothing, and the comment section even less, just make what YOU like, ya know?

/philosophyrant ^^

[timaeus222]

I realize what you're getting at, I just think it's not very productive to one's own creative side to do what you think will not get hated on the most. likes/dislikes on YouTube mean nothing, and the comment section even less, just make what YOU like, ya know?

/philosophyrant ^^

True, I do also promote creativity. I just believe that if you're capable of doing something that people will like, go for that; if you can't, do what you do best, polish it as best as you can, hope for the best, and try to have no hard feelings if a few people don't like it.

[Flexstyle]

I actually can't stand Big Bad Koopa or Forrest, and I enjoy dubstep when it's done right. Those are both produced terribly, though. Dubstep can be redeemed on the strength of melodics, production, or both, preferably.

[WiFiSunset]

I liked forrest xD, the mario sfx near the end made me remember my childhood (SM64, when mario lands in the lava).

I strongly echo the statement of doing what you like best , and that you should be open to trying new things as well .

Overall; making music is something that is about you, and it should be something that you like .

Edited May 17, 2013 by Cosmic Sounds

[Argle]

People should make what they like. A lot of the OCR dubstep tracks don't do a lot for me, but I think that's cuz they're not produced very well and sound messy. The new one Forrest of Illusion is a good example. On the other hand Rockos' track is interesting and well done, the fx complement the music rather than getting in the way. Dubstep is actually pretty goddamn hard to do really well.

[timaeus222]

I actually think that the wubs should be adjusted to better complement the drums, and the kick and snare aren't coming through well enough yet. Also, this is by DJZaGa, not Rockos (or did Rockos write a different track?).

[Chimpazilla]

I'll chime in. I think the wubs are fine and work pretty well. I like the track, generally. There are some good sounds, good effects, and I like that outro idea.

I agree the kick and snare both need to be beefed up. You need bigger drums for a DnB track! But my biggest gripe about the track is its repetitiveness. The leads (writing and sound) and chord progressions are the same throughout the track. Some of the effects on the drums are used too many times. With effects, my feeling is this: once is cool, twice is meh, and more than that is just cheating.

[Rockos]

I actually think that the wubs should be adjusted to better complement the drums, and the kick and snare aren't coming through well enough yet. Also, this is by DJZaGa, not Rockos (or did Rockos write a different track?).

I did! (

)

The Intro is very interesting as I said before. After a second listen I can approve that the bass loud.

The tapestop thing as mentioned seems weird for most people. But I think it fits there. It's a matter of choice. Do music has to always be the same. All transition smooth? Some transition need to be hard to have effect. Sure you need to bring a lot of energy right after. And this is the point. Maybe there is not enough hype right after the swipe or the tape stop.

And yes, snare is very low in frequencies. Maybe it can fit for the dubstep part. But DnB need a more higher snare.

This is my point of view. Not everyone will agree. I still wanted to contribute my tips.

Great track by the way.

Hope I didn't hurt anyone .

[timaeus222]

I did! (

)

I don't think I saw that when it got posted. A tad too much reverb, but everything is still clear, and I do love the approach. Risky with the low end reverb, but it works.

/offtopic

[Kanohi]

I kinda agree with Rockos that the tape stop really isn't out of place, I rather like it but the energy afterwards needs to ramp up in order for it to be warranted

[DJZaGa]

Thanks for the constructive criticism and I'm glad you enjoyed the track

I guess some people aren't used to wide stereo wobbles, the few millisecond delay on one channel will throw some of you off.

I feel you on the snare drum, the low end could be trimmed a bit more or perhaps re-pitched. Punchier drums? why not!

I think it's funny to gripe about repetitiveness when it comes to video game music but hell, we all have ADHD I understand that some composers around here like to get really abstract with their remixes, and that's awesome, but shouldn't always be the goal.

Thanks again for the comments everyone

[timaeus222]

Thanks for the constructive criticism and I'm glad you enjoyed the track

I guess some people aren't used to wide stereo wobbles, the few millisecond delay on one channel will throw some of you off.

I feel you on the snare drum, the low end could be trimmed a bit more or perhaps re-pitched. Punchier drums? why not!

It's not that the wobbles are too wide, but it could be the case that you didn't sidechain it so it sounds muddy. However, I do honestly think that the timbre of them should be adjusted to better complement the drums. They don't necessarily need to be less or more harsh, just different. Dubstep timbres are hard to describe without actual examples, so I'll ask that you try experimenting with that suggestion in mind. They also appear to be slightly too loud; you could try bringing the wobbles down in volume a tiny bit (and switching leads, too?).

It would also be interesting if you tried some panning effects, just to up the complexity.

I believe the low end of the snare is troublesome more in terms of the samples used, rather than the EQ, for the most part.

Edited May 20, 2013 by timaeus222