*NO* Super Paper Mario '100 Sammer Guy Salute'

[Palpable]

Name: Mitch Janzen

20211

Game: Super Paper Mario.

Name: 100 Sammer Guy Salute

Songs: Sammer Guy's Kingdom

Link:

I always loved the mysteriousness of Mr. L from the Super Paper Mario game. Everyone knew who it really was the whole time, but still, it gave Luigi some much deserved attention. Not many people know that Mr. L was the one who destroyed Sammer Guy's Kingdom, but before that ever happened, the Sammer's had a tradition. This ancient tradition was a 100-Man battle, attempted by many, failed by more, and the final man to make it almost a quarter way through this tradition was none other than Mario.

The main inspiration was the mysteriousness of this world. Somehow, they knew the world would eventually be destroyed, yet, they all continued life during the hard times before the world was destroyed, as if nothing was wrong. Mr. L failed his mission of fear.

This 100 Sammer Guy Salute is the upbeat to remember those who were lost in the destroying of Sammer Guy's Kingdom. This was their song.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Liontamer
closed decision

[DragonAvenger]

Listened to this one a few times. I think the arrangement overall is fun, and I like the style change, but I felt like the sections were a bit too separated from one another. I kept noticing that there are a lot of vamp sections before a new section comes in. Improving your transitions will provide a stronger buildup throughout the piece.

The bigger issue overall though is the production. Right now the sounds are pretty fake, and it's very noticeable. The bass in particular feels pretty weak. I think there are some frequencies that are missing that would bring out the low end better and provide a stronger base (pun intended?). The percussion is also lacking a lot of oomph, to the point where I can barely hear the cymbals.

I think you've got a strong start here, and the arrangement is well on it's way, but the flow needs to be stronger with better transitions, and the production needs adjusting. Hopefully some other judges can provide some better feedback on the latter.

NO (resubmit)

[OceansAndrew]

This is pretty fun and funky, but Deia is right that it's not perfectly gelling as far as sounds go; There is definitely some EQ that should happen in the bass, and some stronger panning and revers to glue the elements together.

I think some of the breakdowns work well, but some just seem to be somewhat weak bridges to a new section. I think having a few transitions where it's smoother and more seamless would improve the overall flow of the track.

I recommend hitting up the workshop forum and getting some additional pointers on the production aspects of this, and then let's hear an update!

No, please resubmit

[Liontamer]

Awesome source tune. Since Palpable had heard it, he should have voted on this right away, as it has an awesome Legend of the Mystical Ninja vibe. Great find!

Opened up with some pretty thin & exposed samples, especially the backing strings until :11. The mixing became muddy right at :12 especially because of the way the bassline was mixed. Still, interesting if not somewhat dissonant groove from the funk guitar-like rhythm (thanks for the instrument ID, zircon).

Source melody kicked in at :43. The lead articulations at :43 were very robotic sounding as the melody repeated; it was a pretty exposed lead, and because the textures didn't fully gel, the rigidness of the timing and attacks stood out much more. I thought the mechanical sequencing being so exposed hurt this, making the energy sound too static and undermining the energy of the writing. Even if the mixing were stronger, this sequencing staying like this would be a significant issue, so I'm surprised it wasn't brought up before.

The bassline did fill out the back some, but also was kind of muddy. Beyond the bassline, the other instruments weren't really glued together, resulting in a thin overall sound.

1:49-2:06's verse was just a cut-and-paste of :43-1:00 (some sort of variation could be helpful), but the lead WAS varied nicely with the e-piano from 2:05-2:21. Also worth noting the bassline-driven groove first used at :43 was a creative as far as the arrangement goes, but was repeated wholesale as well. Try varying up the bassline there too.

Also, the funk guitar-like rhythm that comes in at the very beginning NEVER stops. It's a cool part, and I know you're anchoring the piece with it, but drop it out or vary the rhythms at some point earlier than 2:21. It ultimately droned on and made the track feel too repetitive.

It's got raw potential and definitely some arrangement creativity, Mitch, but the rigid sequencing and repetitive groove took this down. Gotta consult the Workshop forums for feedback and help improving those aspects of the piece.

NO

[Flexstyle]

With this song, I feel like it’s a case of a bunch of little things that need to be tweaked. The song structure is pretty good overall, and I like a lot of the melodic elements you’ve created. However, I’m not feeling your sound choices for the most part.

The bassline isn’t too dynamic, and could use a patch that’s less “mud” (thick in the low-mids by a bit too much) and stands out a bit more.

The drums could use a bit more stereo separation, but aren’t too bad. They could also use a bit more “tightening,” maybe by cutting the decay time of the kick and snare and then compressing ‘em a bit so they stand out a bit more.

The sitar just feels like it needs to be replaced with a sound that’s a little less “uncertain,” and by that I mean something that’s got a bit more polished attack and maybe a more defined (either longer or shorter decay, but preferably more in monophonic mode than the polyphonic overlapping tails). Basically, either sustain the notes for their full duration until the next note hits, or make it a bit more staccato, but don't let the notes overlap either way.

The piano sounds like a Casio keyboard, and I’m not really feeling it. There are a bunch of other good freebie piano sounds out there, so look around and see if you can’t improve it.

The mix overall is a bit muffled and lacking in low end. It needs more sheen at the high end (could be as simple as a treble boost) and more definition in the low end. The low end definition will be the tough part, but the best place to start is to do some hard EQ roll-offs on anything that isn’t a kick drum or bass instrument. That’ll clear that space out so it’s easier to balance everything.

Also, as a final though, it feels as if you’re trying to do an electronica-style arrangement with organic instruments. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—however, you’re going to want to watch out for repetitiveness as the arrangement goes on. Add some variation in the parts towards the end of the song, instead of copy-pasting parts too much. I think you’ve added a bit of layering as it progresses, so I’d say you’re on the right track. Just gotta push it a bit further.

I feel like with a bit more polish, this could be really good, but you’re going to need better sound choices and a bit more arrangement. Make sure everything meshes with everything else, and don’t stick too many instruments in the same sonic spectrum at the same time. Also, remember: just because a sound is cool by itself, that doesn’t mean that it’ll work great in a mix. Make sure everything goes together.

NO, Resubmit

[Chimpazilla]

Gonna pretty much agree with the other judges here on most everything. Super fun mix, has some fun sounds in it (love that crunchy synth in the intro!) and a lot of potential, but after the intro, the arrangement really just repeats verbatim a few times and then ends quite abruptly. Some writing variation and at least one fun solo would spice this up a ton.

The drums are on autopilot all the way through which is really unfortunate. The arrangement and writing just need some more development. Much of the writing is mechanical and very quantized and could stand to be a bit more groovy and interpretive.

Also, yeah it does need some mixing love to have the instruments gel together a bit better, and the bass needs to be better defined. Please hit up our excellent workshop, you'll get top notch advice there!

NO (resubmit)