Mega Man: The Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2013

[orlouge82]

Just got my votes in and picking those spots was extremely tough.

Yeah, I have a very difficult time picking my top 3. I may even change my votes as the week progresses. Excellent mixes this week!

[ParahSalin']

Just got my votes in and picking those spots was extremely tough. Are we good for posting mix reviews/critiques? I might do a write up later tonight.

Also noticed I made two people's top 3 list! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

I really didn't think epic-caribbean-folk-metal would make anyone's list!

I just listened the songs from the first round. I'm new, I don't know anybody, but I think The Average Joes are not so average. Awesome song, it's in my top 3 also!

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

I'm about 90% done with my mix for this week. Hope everyone else is having a productive week like I've had.

Not quite the entries I was expecting for round 1, but some good tunes nonetheless, and a great turnout too. Good job everybody.

[DarkeSword]

Let's try to get a full 14 mixes this week, people. We came so close in the first round.

[timaeus222]

I'm about 90% done with my mix for this week. Hope everyone else is having a productive week like I've had.

Not quite the entries I was expecting for round 1, but some good tunes nonetheless, and a great turnout too. Good job everybody.

Same here, ~95% done. I had a really great work session this morning. 18 hours of project time so far! I'm just having too much fun writing this. xD Callin' you out, Ecto!

EDIT: Just finished voting.

Edited July 23, 2013 by timaeus222

[Troyificus]

Voting is extremely difficult this round, more deliberation is needed.

And in case my lamentations about midi files didn't give it away; I'm mixing this week. FOR SCIENCE.

[Theory of N]

I'm mixing this week. FOR SCIENCE.

I guess that'll have to do. It's a shame Science won't be participating this round.

[Ivan Hakštok]

Looks like I'm mixing this week.

[Phonetic Hero]

Hope y'all guys are ready, I'm getting inspiration straight from the Sky Demon himself

[ectogemia]

xD Callin' you out, Ecto!

Oooooo, yikes, bad timing, man... this is one of my best tracks so far, if not my best It's soaked in Joshua Morse juices.

[Shadix]

Oooooo, yikes, bad timing, man... this is one of my best tracks so far, if not my best It's soaked in Joshua Morse juices.

I guess the next question is where you acquired these "juices".

Really excited to see what happens this week. Competition is STACKED. Gonna be a fun ride.

[Jivemaster]

@Jivemaster: !!!!

wow, similar production sound to old school jive, but this awesome track sounds like a combination of Sublime and Red Hot Chili Peppers. and still manages to sound amazing 0.0

Many thanks for your kind words KT. You're the bomb. I hope everyone enjoyed our joke track capturing the arduous journey all contestants embarked on for week 1, after being betrayed and having to work on Disney tracks. I had a blast raveling the sources into a rock song with lyrics parodying the games and situation. I really hope you all got a good chuckle from it.

BTW for those who are interested, the lyrics and source usage info are at the direct soundcloud link here: https://soundcloud.com/neozeed/get-the-candle-for-fireballs

Oh and to the haters (if there are any), fuck you and fuck disney. XD

P.S. That was a joke too yo.

FIREBALLS! XD

Edited July 23, 2013 by Jivemaster

[ectogemia]

I guess the next question is where you acquired these "juices".

I can show you on the doll where I touched him.

[KingTiger]

lyrics

Almost asked for these but discovered that they are on the SoundCloud page

[Sir_NutS]

The lord of the hard-shelled dry fruits and the Master of all Jives are cooking something hot.

Be prepared.

[Orion]

... awesome stuff. It was a lot of fun just going balls to the concrete wall with the Megaman. I feel raw... haven't felt like this in years! woot. ouch.

Nice job fellas.

Rush Ridaz are ... rushin' and ridin'. Yea. ehhh... Word?

Bring it Timaeus!

[Ethan Rex]

I'm pretty much at the maximum level of hype this week.

Be prepared.

REVIEWZ:

SilvernxSP: Reverb on the bass as well as similar frequencies in instruments make the mix muddy. Transitions are awkward; work to make sure both sources are in the same key. Drum patterns get repetitive.

Cash: Sounds a little bare, I could see some pads helping this out a lot. Sounds muddy in the bass range. I like when Elec Man comes in at 2:03. Some of these sounds are really pretty cool, and then a vanilla synth comes in with a lead or something which takes away from the piece. As for arrangement, there are some nice interps of the themes (like the aforementioned elec man at 2:03), but the track seems to wander on at points. Transition at 4:09 is off key.

Jason Covenant: nice pads in the beginning, especially the female vocal-ish pad. Sources are interp'd in a neat way; I kinda wanna see a breakdown of the piece just to see if it matches up with what I have. Sometimes the guitars can cover up what's happening in the background, but it's a small complaint.

Jivemaster: Dig the vocals. Mix sounds a little to harsh in the higher frequencies. Arrangement can get a little repetitive - the breakdown near the end helps assuage that.

Obtuse: Some vanilla synths and bare soundscape detract from a pretty good arrangement. Kick needs to have more presence as well.

Ben Briggs: Some naaaaasssssstttaayyyy synths juxtaposed with chiptune interludes keep the arrangement interesting. Metal Man arp can get repetitive at times, and the strings don't sit well in the mix for me when they come in; not sure if the samples sound fake or if they need to be pushed back more. Metal Man breakdown around 1:47 is really well done.

KingTiger: Nice bass, but the leads that come in are really thin. Soundscape stays full and interesting, there's a little mud in the low mids when things start getting full. Transition around 1:43 is awkward, but the one at around 2:12 is nice. Things start to drag on until the synth comes in at around 2:57. Not feeling the transition after the high passed piano exits.

Jameson Sutton: Nice sounds here, especially liking the sax. Hat seems to overpower it though, maybe drop the high end just a tad. Vocal lead that comes in is also jammin. Might be a bit muddy in the lower mid range, especially when that epianer comes in. Ending comes as a suprise.

Orion: Those strings have a lotta low reverb on em, maybe raise the low cut on it to help the issue. I like the instrumentation, but the mixing is muddy, so it's hard to hear instruments. Panning sweep on the guitar is unnecessary. I like the woodwinds in this. Not hearing a lot of Pirate Island until the end (which seems like an afterthought), but arrangement on Bubble Man is pretty nice. Track also seems a tad long.

Garpocalypse: Guitars transition is a little sudden, but it works. Nice blend of sounds I wouldn't have expected to sound nice, though the marimba/xylo sounds a tad weak. Kick is a little bass heavy and needs a little more pop to it, and cymbals could probably be a bit brighter. Breakdown in the keeps things interesting, but the pan flute could be a bit stronger. Guitar transition after the breakdown is also a bit sudden.

Amphibious: Nice sounds and nice funk - i especially dig that whirly epiano thing. Breakdowns keep things interesting. Some of the synths can be a tad vanilla, but not enough to detract significantly from the mix.

Hylian Lemon - piano/xylo thing that happens at the beginning can get a little repetitive, but things happen around it that help keep things interesting. Key changes are stellar, and I love the aesthetic here. Nice arrangement of both sources. Also diggin the glitches with the chips that add spice to the mix.

Kuolema - Still wish the hats were panned a bit more, but you said that the thing you were using wouldn't allow that, so that's all good. Diggin the flute with the guitar as well as the general arrangement. Organ helps keep the piece interesting.

Pretty nice first round, but I'll echo what Darke said about creating a cohesive piece. To add on, I'll say that I like it more when artists mash the two sources together instead of doing a "mega man, then disney" approach. Ben, Hylian, and Jason are good examples of this.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Ethan Rex

[Jivemaster]

Great reviews The Rex, well done. I'm sure all the artists here appreciate the time you've put into these.

I'd like to add that getting out of your comfort zone and doing something crazy is what these comps need more of I think. I really encourage everyone to step out and try new stuff. Even consider genres you haven't done before. You may surprise yourself.

IMO there were a large number of "safe" tracks submitted this round where people were simply doing their usual thing. Hopefully people really break out of this as the comp progresses. Respect.

[MindWanderer]

Pretty nice first round, but I'll echo what Darke said about creating a cohesive piece. To add on, I'll say that I like it more when artists mash the two sources together instead of doing a "mega man, then disney" approach. Ben, Hylian, and Jason are good examples of this.

I'd like to echo this, and remind everyone:

The most important thing to consider when voting is how well the remix incorporates and arranges both themes. Production and enjoyability should also be considered.

While therex's reviews are really helpful, this footnote is the only thing he said about source usage, even though it's supposed to be voting criterion #1. This is why I ranked KingTiger second, incidentally: production was pretty weak, but he really owned that Pirate Island source and made it his own, integrating and morphing it so that it went hand in hand with Galaxy Man naturally.

[timaeus222]

Okay, I should probably post reviews instead of leaving my thoughts private.

SilvernixSP (he had a typo in the filename): The drum samples sound generically default to your DAW. It sounds like the drums are raw from FL Studio's FPC. Keys instrument is pushed back a bit much. Conversely, the bass is pushed forward too much. It's practically at the back of my head on headphones, for perspective. It seems like you tried phase inversion on it and kept it. The two basses are kind of fighting, and it's generally not a good idea to have two basses going on at once unless you know neither are going to play at the exact same instance. Overall, the soundscape is pretty bare without much to fill the midrange, to me. The instruments also gave a consistently low bitrate on the encoding overall, so you should consider getting higher quality instruments too.

Cash: A bit long. Liking that first soft square lead, but it could use more vibrato expression sometimes. PWM bass is okay, but the style is asking for a better kick drum. Supersaw is too loud. Somewhat of an odd CSD transition. I'd never expect something like that to happen. 2:06 leads don't seem to fit together when layered. Some leads are buried, like at 2:36, for too long. Arrangement is a bit meandering. If you shortened this track and refined your ideas, it should flow better.

Jason Covenant: Female vocal pads are interesting. Instrumentation is nice, but this is pushed way too loud. If this whole track were to be lowered by about 1~3dB, transients would add a lot more clarity and fix some overcompression issues you have. Guitars are definitely too loud. Bass frequencies are the main issue.

Jivemaster: Kick is a bit too clicky and isn't actually very thumpy. Not a fan of the joke lyrics; could have been censored. Some drum samples are better than others. i.e. Snare is better than the kick sometimes, and the ride is better than the hi hat. Fricatives are a little too upfront and could have been toned down with automated frequency fixes. Arrangement is good.

Obtuse: Generic dance instrumentation and vanilla synths, but yes, arrangement is great. Sequencing is better than the sounds used. 0:49 sounds half-time, but it's hard to tell with an obscured kick, for example. Basically, work on strengthening your instruments and processing them to make them sound higher quality if you can't make the money to buy something higher quality. A good reverb tool is a good place to start.

Ben Briggs: The treble is too much for me. Interesting high passed bass (which turns out to be a lead later, sort of), but I think it's causing the low end to be hollow. The low end is covered somewhat by the kick, but the rest of it is pretty bare. Production in general is clean otherwise. Arrangement is creative. Thin mechanical claps at 1:18 turned me off. Pizzicato is mechanical at 1:25. Mechanical snare at 1:32 warns the listener for a cheesy break. That said, 1:46 isn't actually that strong. I guess it's because you used a sub bass for strength, rather than a powerful bass created based on good taste? Near the end (2:37), the high end gets pretty cluttered and nothing is really upfront in an obvious way. The harmonics of the chiptune bass got pushed back there. Lastly, the sense of dynamics is kind of lost here. It's loud pretty much the entire time.

KingTiger: Intro is a bit strange with the automated phaser, but it got alright soon after. I think the phaser is a bit unpleasant though. Something's too resonant. Near 0:36, the drums are pushed back while the other instrumentation is too upfront and dry. The dynamics are lost here when the sections that could be softer (like 1:02) are way upfront, with the same drum samples. Bass is more well done than the leads IMO, though the bass could be a bit richer. Leads are generally plucky, squelchy, pulsating sync, or supersaws with minimal expression. The dynamics issue makes every section you have sound "the same", even though yes, I could point out differences. As a result, it somewhat adds a sense of repetitiveness. 3:49 should have been an ending, to be honest. That could have been a really nice ending.

Jameson Sutton: Pretty jazzy. Sax is quite nice, and actually almost convinced me, though I've never heard a live sax before, I don't think. Maybe once, but not sure. While the soundscape is cool, it gets muddy at 0:46. I don't know if you then had a fretless bass, but I could kind of hear that, I suppose. Too much reverb at that section. EP is too left-panned for me since I'm wearing headphones. Sounds like 90% pan, but I think 40~70% pan would be better. Some harmonies are really awkward. No ending?

Orion: Hey, buddy. You're aware of this, but the piano is mechanical. The double bass(es) are too loud in the intro. Great writing ideas that are undermined by muddy clashing EQs. Like I said before, the panning guitar is awkward to me. 1:25 lead is cool. I wish it was louder. I also wish the writing ideas were condensed more. Songs tend to be better if the writing is concise. Let the length come naturally. Try telling yourself to change things up in some significant way every 8 bars or so. Significant means, for example, adding hi hats, a new kick sample, new instruments, etc.

Garpocalypse: I guess you took the common approach here with the marimba/steel drums and the wave SFX since it's an island. Guitar isn't as strong as you aimed it to be. Mainly, the limiter you have is leaving you scared of overcompression, so you mix really softly and increase the gain later, and in the end it makes your track weaker overall. The saw lead at 1:17 is too piercing for me. Overall, good ideas, but execution fell behind a bit.

Amphibious: I don't know your musical skills very well, but this is pretty cool for such a short remix. I'm digging the funk in this, especially the gated saw. The lead could be a bit more expressive with vibrato, but that's just preference. Seriously though, try putting vibrato on a supersaw. It's sexy. Good work on this. I don't mind the length, but maybe if it was closer to 2:30, that would be even better. I generally shoot for 2:30 or more for length. If I were to rank you on an expressiveness scale... on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say you're at a 9 so far. Keep it up!

Hylian Lemon: Neat writing. Same atmospheric intro idea as Gar. 0:20 harmony threw me off. Cool dBlue Glitching is cool. Chiptune stuff is great, seems to be a specialty of yours. The marimba stuff gets a bit plodding though. Pacing overall is somewhat too consistent to me in the leads, and I would have liked some sort of a meter shift.

Kuolema: Interesting atmosphere. Almost brooding. Guitar sometimes fell behind the beat a little. It's also not extremely expressive. It sounds like soft strumming rather than emotive riffing. Hi Hat is noticeably close to center-panned (as you know) and too loud. Low end gets muddy sometimes when the kick, bass, and guitar play at the same time.

Edited July 24, 2013 by timaeus222

[WiFiSunset]

I'm really liking what I'm hearing from Round 1 .

There are so many songs that It'll take a while for me to decide who to vote for.

Edit (Noticed the MIDI Topic): I choose not to use MIDI's that other people make, at all .

I tend to listen to the source, memorize it, notate it, alter it to make it new, and then export it as a MIDI.

or

Listen to the source, notate it while listening, alter it to make it new, and then export it as a MIDI.

This process does take a while, and may possibly result in a too liberal mix .

Edited July 24, 2013 by Cosmic Sounds

[Ethan Rex]

While therex's reviews are really helpful, this footnote is the only thing he said about source usage, even though it's supposed to be voting criterion #1. This is why I ranked KingTiger second, incidentally: production was pretty weak, but he really owned that Pirate Island source and made it his own, integrating and morphing it so that it went hand in hand with Galaxy Man naturally.

Yeah, you're completely right on that. I just figure that giving production tips is gonna be more useful for people in future rounds then saying "man I wish you used this theme more." Source usage is integral to voting, but themes change from week to week and one source may fit better than another. a poorly produced mix will always sound poor.

[Garpocalypse]

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I'll get mine up later today.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Garpocalypse

[SuperiorX]

I'd like to add that getting out of your comfort zone and doing something crazy is what these comps need more of I think. I really encourage everyone to step out and try new stuff. Even consider genres you haven't done before. You may surprise yourself.

Agree! That's what I like most about these compos. I usually try to experiment with some different genres that I might not mix usually. It's a good excuse to try some new things. If I can execute my idea for this week well enough, I think it'll be a lot of fun!

And hey if I don't get the chance to post reviews, I just wanted to say I enjoyed your track a lot Joel! I got a good chuckle out of it and the song sounded great too. I like your team sig too haha, but I think "Flying Dog Platform" should be rated R, given the number of F-bombs that were dropped on Fireballs

[Sir_NutS]

I'm looking for magic.

People think I'm insane.