Plants Vs. Zombies - 'There's a Zomboss On My Roof' by Timaeus & Chimpazilla [Ultimate Battle]

[timaeus222]

Alright, here is the Plants Vs. Zombies behemoth of a remix!

ReMix: There's a Zomboss On My Roof by Timaeus & Chimpazilla

Source: Ultimate Battle

Source Breakdown:

0:00 - 0:52 = Source (0:00 - 0:16)

0:52 - 1:17 = Source (0:16 - 0:48)

1:17 - 1:30 = Source (0:48 - 1:04)

1:30 - 1:56 = Source (1:04 - 1:20)

1:56 - 2:23 = Original Lead on top of Source (1:04 - 1:20)

2:23 - 2:36 = Source (1:04 - 1:20) with some reharmonizations

2:36 - 3:01 = Source (0:48 - 1:04)

3:01 - 3:28 = Source (0:16 - 0:48)

Length: 212 seconds

181/212 = ~85.38% source

Edited September 5, 2013 by timaeus222

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Was this the Plants Vs. Zombies track you originally suggested when we did the Metroid mix?

Turned out great so far. I can't offer any feedback on the mixing, but I just wanted to say "epic as fuck"

[timaeus222]

Yeah, this was the one.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Yeah, this was the one.

Well, good choice.

[Chimpazilla]

T, I think that bass may sound quite different once you try raising the octave on that first lead. Please, for me, give that a go. Also, please change that downward sine gliss to a guitar downbender ok?

I'm liking the bell lead a bit better now, with the saw support.

Glad you're liking it, Chris!

Edited August 6, 2013 by Chimpazilla

[timaeus222]

Also, please change that downward sine gliss to a guitar downbender ok?

Do you mean a whammy bar harmonic divebomb? =o

Also, when I say bass mixing, I mean below 200Hz, so I don't think bringing the lead up an octave will help the bass mixing in particular, as the lowest lead note currently reaches around 300Hz or so.

Edited August 6, 2013 by timaeus222

[Chimpazilla]

Do you mean a whammy bar harmonic divebomb? =o

I like what you did with the fadeup, but YES that sounds great too! Try it!

Also, when I say bass mixing, I mean below 200Hz, so I don't think bringing the lead up an octave will help the bass mixing in particular, as the lowest lead note currently reaches around 300Hz or so.

OK I getcha, but I'd really like to just hear it higher, just to compare too. Ok? *please*

[timaeus222]

I like what you did with the fadeup, but YES that sounds great too! Try it!

OK I getcha, but I'd really like to just hear it higher, just to compare too. Ok? *please*

I'll try it and we'll see how it goes!

[timaeus222]

Updated bass mixing. The bass instrument should be a bit clearer now (you can hear the plucking when applicable and it's louder). Same link.

[Argle]

Yes, I like this. A lot. So I want to hear a full song.

[timaeus222]

Thanks man! I put up the arrangement as it is so far:

https://app.box.com/s/z7nz5tzxxu2w8b0sjcal

2:23 and on is still being worked on, arrangement-wise and non-bass-mixing-wise.

Edited August 14, 2013 by timaeus222

[AngelCityOutlaw]

This track is great. Can't wait to hear the final version.

[Chimpazilla]

Thanks guyzzz! Let's see if we can come up with more... *puts on thinking cap*

[jnWake]

Wow this is pretty good.

Love the pad at the intro (all of this is built with Zebra?).

At the 0:26 section, the lead instrument begins a bit low in volume, but I guess this is intentional since it kind of fixes itself. Kick is quite loud in that section (and in most of the song honestly). I can't hear the bass that clearly, but maybe my headphones take the blame?

I love how the 0:52 section sounds. Nice lead! Kick drum may be slightly too loud here too.

1:31 section is cool. Chord progression is a bit risky but I like it. Bass sounds better here but I think it can sound more powerful. Maybe layer it with another bass sample playing the same melody an octave higher?

Overall, very cool! Looking forward to how you continue it

[timaeus222]

Wow this is pretty good.

Love the pad at the intro (all of this is built with Zebra?).

...

Overall, very cool! Looking forward to how you continue it

Yeah, most of the intro was Zebra, a few bounced WAV files and one instance of FM8, though theoretically some of those could be recreated with Zebra.

[Chimpazilla]

"There's a Zomboss On My Roof"

Track is finished! Mod review time!

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Legit.............

[Argle]

thumbs up from me. I have no complaints to make about this song. It's going in my playlist.

It's that Stutter Edit bitcrushing? Sounds like it. I like the bitcrusher in SE, it has a tasty sound.

[Flexstyle]

So, just a few thoughts on bass mixing:

1. In DnB and breakbeat type tracks, I usually sidechain my bass synth or synths to both my kick and my snare. Often times I'll do this by creating a separate, "trigger" sample that actually triggers the sidechaining, but this sample hits at the same time as most of the kick and snare hits.

2. You might consider adding another layer to the bass, as it's mostly just sub frequencies right now. I understand that you want to leave room in the upper frequency range for your other instruments, but it'll be sidechained against the kick and snare anyways, leaving some room. This will make the bass sound a lot more powerful, because it'll have a much more full sound.

3. Finally, make sure that your kick and bass occupy predominantly different layers of the low end. My personal preference (which it sounds like is what's happening here, for the most part) is to let the kick occupy down to about 60 hz, and then let the bass be underneath that. I usually do some creative EQing to scoop the appropriate frequencies. I also usually don't let the kick occupy above about...oh, I dunno, 120 hz? for very long. That's usually where I like my snare to be, so I do a bit of a scoop there as well on the kick channel.

Hopefully that gives some insight for you.

[timaeus222]

So, just a few thoughts on bass mixing:

1. In DnB and breakbeat type tracks, I usually sidechain my bass synth or synths to both my kick and my snare. Often times I'll do this by creating a separate, "trigger" sample that actually triggers the sidechaining, but this sample hits at the same time as most of the kick and snare hits.

2. You might consider adding another layer to the bass, as it's mostly just sub frequencies right now. I understand that you want to leave room in the upper frequency range for your other instruments, but it'll be sidechained against the kick and snare anyways, leaving some room. This will make the bass sound a lot more powerful, because it'll have a much more full sound.

3. Finally, make sure that your kick and bass occupy predominantly different layers of the low end. My personal preference (which it sounds like is what's happening here, for the most part) is to let the kick occupy down to about 60 hz, and then let the bass be underneath that. I usually do some creative EQing to scoop the appropriate frequencies. I also usually don't let the kick occupy above about...oh, I dunno, 120 hz? for very long. That's usually where I like my snare to be, so I do a bit of a scoop there as well on the kick channel.

Hopefully that gives some insight for you.

1. Yeah, I do that sometimes if I end up using loops where I decide to keep the kick sound or some other similar situation. I'm sure you're talking about a sample on a mixer track sidechained with something else, but not routed to the master.

2. I'm assuming you mean the bass guitar, as the gritty vintage-filter bass (such as in the breakdown section) sounds more powerful and crisp to me. I can't really think of a type of bass that could fit, nor do I think I actually have enough headroom (though I might), so do you have an example of what you were imagining?

3. You let the bass occupy below 60Hz and not the kick? Hm... So is having a kick with a kinda long tail a good idea on a DnB track? I think I had a kick plus a short and tamed 808 sub kick layer. I'm also guessing the scoop you're talking about is one that involves lowering the mids until but not past the moment when the timbre sounds hollow.

Also, @Argle, Kristina and I do have Stutter Edit, but I didn't use it here. It's actually LoFi Plus (and occasionally dBlue Glitch) doing the bitcrushing, but I could do something with automation I suppose to emulate "that one" Stutter Edit effect. It's just an automated sample rate reduction combined with an automated resonance reduction (thin bandwidth of a band token combined with a high band token gain creates a resonance) and an automated high pass sweep.

Edited August 29, 2013 by timaeus222

[Flexstyle]

I'm assuming you mean the bass guitar

Actually, I've never used a bass guitar as the bass in a DnB-focused track. Synthetic bass (usually a Reese derivation of some sort) is my go-to when the drums are as synthetic as the ones you've got going here. Something like

is probably as good an example as any.

[Brandon Strader]

My opinion:

The bass isn't bad. Subs are good. Mids (a wide Q around 300hz) are not really all that necessary. I've been removing that a lot in recent mixes because it's more or less a junk frequency in my opinion. You can use it, and that's not a problem at all. It more or less changes the "body" of the bass, without it you'll have a good low sound with a boost around 800Hz for the finger/pick sound. Anything above 2KHz is also unnecessary unless you want an unpleasant (again, in my opinion) click. Not a big fan of the click. It's a bass, get your clicking from the picks on the rhythm guitars.

Here's the EQ I used on "My Choice", which wasn't a metal song, but I'd probably use the same type of EQ for a metal song. This isn't for people to copy, it's just a guideline because honestly all bass sounds are going to be different, and from my understanding of Shreddage Bass you probably won't be able to EQ it exactly like a real, organic bass anyway. But this is a good place to start.

Should you double it with a synth bass? It depends on if it sounds good. Is it necessary? Probably not.

As for moving the kick boost frequency to around 60Hz -- not a bad idea if you want sub thump. If you want sub bass, I wouldn't recommend doing them both in the subs. Try 80hz for the kick. Some people can't even hear notes below 50Hz and they don't find that out until they use headphones. Anyone can "feel" a 32Hz note, but very few can actually hear it. That's scieeence! So I wouldn't bank on the subs in that way, I always try to get some kind of mid/higher EQ in there so things can be heard apart from just in the subs.

As for the guitars, do you have some kind of high pass on them? They're missing low mids. Try boosting around 170Hz for fullness. Don't do it a lot, because that will lead directly to mud, or being TOO bassy. Just enough to give them body. You can slope off the low shelf around 100hz also, instead of high passing, if you have uncontrolled rumble down there for whatever reason. (Edit: I'm talking like a -2db slope off in the low shelf, not a cliff!)

In conclusion, are you focusing on the metal, or on the "drum and bass"? At the moment it feels like you could put a better emphasis on the metal (thus my guitar suggestions concerning giving them more lows)

Edited August 29, 2013 by Brandon Strader

[Argle]

Why did you use a graphic EQ? That's kind of weird. Seems like a lot of extra work.

[Brandon Strader]

Why did you use a graphic EQ? That's kind of weird. Seems like a lot of extra work.

Needed something that would let me put the hard notch at 80Hz, which is where the kick was boosted. Kept looking for a plugin that would let me do it (without crashing like ReaEQ did for whatever reason in Cubase), settled on this.

It wasn't actually a lot of extra work. I could click and drag across from a dot, and then do micro-adjusting from there.

[Chimpazilla]

Thanks Flex! Thanks big B!