Chimpazilla Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 (edited) ReMixer : dicardozo Name: Alan Email: Userid: 52540 Game: Streets of Rage Song: The Street of Rage Arrangement: "Everything for Peace" Edited September 18, 2014 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 This mix has multiple mixing and balance problems, but I like the ideas, writing and arrangement, and I want to make sure we give him some useful feedback. That opening lead is really plain, loud and piercing. I'd recommend adding some modulation like vibrato on it, and some delay (or replace the timbre outright with something more interesting and less painful). This timbre works during the little gated parts like at 0:19, but not for sustained notes. Your snare is super loud, too woody (take some mids out), and needs velocity variation during the machine-gun parts (every hit is the same). The snare is too much in-your-face because of these issues. The drum writing in general is varied enough, but that snare's gotta be tamed. Also, you've got one hat that is a little too loud, it is the open hat, the closed one is balanced perfectly. The lead at 0:48 is a bit generic but I really like the writing for that instrument. The lead at 2:24 is also generic, and too loud. The piano starting at 0:57 is too loud and that section gets repetitive, it is the same chords over and over until 1:36. How about some writing variation there? I like the pizz violins, they could be a little louder. I like the evolving synth in that section a lot. I like the siren sfx, siren could use some reverb. The gating at 2:19 is a little bit severe and makes me think there's a rendering error. I'm not totally sure there is enough source use, either. I'll give this another few listens. In the meantime, these production issues prevent the track from passing, but I think this mix holds a lot of promise! I want to hear this one again. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 This opened up on the thin side, but we'll see how it develops. Texturally, it sounds like it needed something else to glue it together from :38-:57. The scratching first used at :59 sounded cheesy and too loud, though it was pulled back at 1:08. More cheese at 1:35 with the pizz strings and triangle. Again, I'm not convinced the elements all click together as well as they could, but they ultimately get the job done for me. The stutter from 2:20-2:21 was arguably out of place, but not a big deal; you get adjusted to it after the first listen. Good synth soloing from 2:24 until the close at 2:43. the ending just cuts out in the middle of the fade at 2:48, which needs to be fixed. I agreed with Chimpa about the snare needing variation, but it also didn't stand out to me as a big negative. Tackling the source tune usage next, for a 2:48-long piece, the source tune had to be used for at least 84 seconds to make the source material dominant in the arrangement. It may be from being used to the source tune, but I didn't find the piano at :57 too repetitive since the parts around that anchor were gradually changing until 1:37. :00-:18, :19.5-:20.5, :23.5-:35.5, :39-:40, :57.5-2:05 = 99.5 seconds or 59.2% From 2:05-2:43, the backing bassline pattern from :38 the source (first used in the mix at :57) was still used, but in a very quiet and obscured way, so I didn't count it, and it didn't make a difference since the source usage was ultimately dominant within the arrangement. Anyway, not the most cohesive combination of sounds upon the first listen, but the approach here was definitely interpretive and, on balance, the instrumentation was reasonably mixed despite some noticeable muddiness/clutter. The constant instrumentation and beat change-ups kept the piece evolving well over the near-3 minutes and gave it a reasonably close mood but different-enough texture compared to the original. I'd love to hear this piece with some more high-end clarity and a better encoding to push it further beyond borderline, but the production was solid enough and what's here on the arrangement side got it done, IMO. We'll see how the others feel, but this is a promising piece no matter the call, so good luck with the rest of the vote! YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Gonna second Chimp's crit on the opening synth. Not sure if it's just me, but I'm hearing a lot of interference between the kick and the rest of the instrumentation. It sounds like the kick is taking up too much room in the low end (too "boomy"), causing the track to have an odd compressed sound whenever it hits with other instruments playing. Seems like Kristina really hit the nail on the head with the production issues she mentioned above, so I'd def recommend taking a look at her notes. Yeah, that stutter at 2:22 just didn't sound right - contextually or execution-wise. This is pretty solid as-is actually, but needs some production tightening IMO. Good luck with the rest of the vote, I could see this going either way. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Gotta go with Kris here. She nailed everything. Gotta add though that the siren's a good idea, but it just sounds so dry and lonely; I feel like you're trying to evoke a kind of city-at-night-in-the-80s feel with it, but it just comes off as a cheap sound effect. Needs to sit in the mix better. NO, resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Kris nailed this, and the other gents backed it up well. I'd like to note that the backing piano part sounds pretty mechanical, and some humanization there, or even a little bit of rhythmic variation might help out. This is a bit true to some of the other synth sections, as well. The balance and mixing on the drums and such are the bigger issue, though, and definitely should be addressed. Good start going on here, but I think it needs a spit-shine. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts