Luigi's Mansion main theme

[LightningAlex]

Hi guys. I've just finished one of my first remixes, and it's the Luigi's Mansion main theme (The Mansion). I hope you like it

EDIT: Version #2: https://soundcloud.com/lightningalex/luigis-mansion-theme-remix

Edited September 6, 2014 by LightningAlex

[APZX]

The biggest thing I'm noticing is the limiter. You've got moments where it is not all that noticeable or audible and then others which it is pretty evident. The beginning is a good example of where it is noticeable. Also, quite evident at 1:40 when the choir comes in and the organ, guitars, and drums all kind of duck to the choir. Speaking of the drums I'm not a tremendous fan. They kind of work with the guitar, but the organ? Not so much. Also, that snare/clap is dreadfully weak.

Now, I'm not going to lie I don't really like guitars much to begin with. Overall I like the general direction of them even if they're perhaps a little boring. Though at 3:50 I dug that bit quite a bit.

Mixing issues aside the track is just a bit on the boring side of things. You've got a horror style game to deal with. Why not put in some "spooky" sounds during the slow parts to make the track more interesting. You did a little bit of that towards the end, but why not more? Some boos and screams here and there. It does not have to be a lot as a little goes a very long way.

A little more on the mixing side of things. There are issues here that would take me awhile to fully expound upon. However, the single largest one I heard was the blatant overuse of compression. If you cannot hear something in a mix then don't just turn to compression. Try some volume, pan, and EQ first. Also, regarding limiting watch that release time. Very important that does not audibly pump unless of course that is the aesthetic you're going for.

Fun listen, just mired by the mix really.

[LightningAlex]

The biggest thing I'm noticing is the limiter. You've got moments where it is not all that noticeable or audible and then others which it is pretty evident. The beginning is a good example of where it is noticeable. Also, quite evident at 1:40 when the choir comes in and the organ, guitars, and drums all kind of duck to the choir. Speaking of the drums I'm not a tremendous fan. They kind of work with the guitar, but the organ? Not so much. Also, that snare/clap is dreadfully weak.

Wow, I really haven't noticed how much louder the choir is than the other instruments at that part. You're right about the drums, too.

I'm not really sure what you mean with the limiter and the beginning part. If you could be more specific, I'd be really thankful.

Mixing issues aside the track is just a bit on the boring side of things. You've got a horror style game to deal with. Why not put in some "spooky" sounds during the slow parts to make the track more interesting. You did a little bit of that towards the end, but why not more? Some boos and screams here and there. It does not have to be a lot as a little goes a very long way.

I wouldn't really consider Luigi's Mansion a "horror game" xD But that aside, I must say adding boo sounds is a great idea! Thank you.

A little more on the mixing side of things. There are issues here that would take me awhile to fully expound upon. However, the single largest one I heard was the blatant overuse of compression. If you cannot hear something in a mix then don't just turn to compression. Try some volume, pan, and EQ first. Also, regarding limiting watch that release time. Very important that does not audibly pump unless of course that is the aesthetic you're going for.

Uhm... I didn't use compression at all. I'm not sure what I could have done to make it sound like "blatant overuse of compression", but I obviously did something. Again, I'd be really thankful if you could be more specific.

Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it.

[timaeus222]

Wow, I really haven't noticed how much louder the choir is than the other instruments at that part. You're right about the drums, too.

I'm not really sure what you mean with the limiter and the beginning part. If you could be more specific, I'd be really thankful.

. . .

Uhm... I didn't use compression at all. I'm not sure what I could have done to make it sound like "blatant overuse of compression", but I obviously did something. Again, I'd be really thankful if you could be more specific.

Yeah, I can see why it's not extremely clear. He meant to say that the limiter you have has a low tolerance for really loud peaks, so the loudest peaks you have are hitting the limiter pretty strongly, and it's creating overcompression because the limiter is pushing back. The louder the peak, the more the limiter squashes what's coming up against it. Think of it as a semi-dense, perfectly-attached, somewhat unyielding ceiling. You're stacking chairs, TVs, couches, and whatever you can vertically fit, to come close to the ceiling so that you can touch it, but as soon as you touch the ceiling, its Normal Force (think physics) pushes back down at you a little. The more you push against the semi-dense ceiling, the harder it pushes back. If you push hard enough but the ceiling doesn't break (if you raise your volume so that you're just bordering on too high), you can destabilize the crazy stuff you're standing on and fall off (the Normal Force of the ceiling is pushing you down, transferring the impulse through your body, and your legs end up pushing down on the objects below you). That's overcompression, and as described, it affects everything below you (or in the case of music, everything quieter than you). If you were strong enough and you pushed through the ceiling, you broke the ceiling. That's clipping. The denser the ceiling (the harder the Knee), the more tolerant it is to your loud peaks, and the less clipping there should be.

Edited September 10, 2014 by timaeus222

[APZX]

Yeah, I can see why it's not extremely clear. He meant to say that the limiter you have has a low tolerance for really loud peaks, so the loudest peaks you have are hitting the limiter pretty strongly, and it's creating overcompression because the limiter is pushing back. The louder the peak, the more the limiter squashes what's coming up against it. Think of it as a semi-dense, perfectly-attached, somewhat unyielding ceiling. You're stacking chairs, TVs, couches, and whatever you can vertically fit, to come close to the ceiling so that you can touch it, but as soon as you touch the ceiling, its Normal Force (think physics) pushes back down at you a little. The more you push against the semi-dense ceiling, the harder it pushes back. If you push hard enough but the ceiling doesn't break (if you raise your volume so that you're just bordering on too high), you can destabilize the crazy stuff you're standing on and fall off (the Normal Force of the ceiling is pushing you down, transferring the impulse through your body, and your legs end up pushing down on the objects below you). That's overcompression, and as described, it affects everything below you (or in the case of music, everything quieter than you). If you were strong enough and you pushed through the ceiling, you broke the ceiling. That's clipping. The denser the ceiling, the more tolerant it is to your loud peaks, and the less clipping there should be.

Yeah pretty much what he said. You may not have used it on individual elements but the limiter on the master is acting too strongly. Ideally that limiter should be shaving off just a little bit to give some extra level at the end of the process.

Try something like this (more of an approach). Remove all the fancy effects from everything (nothing on the master). You just want some plain unprocessed sounds playing. Drop every single instrument's volume to negative infinity (lowest level for channel volume). Then pick what you want to be the central elements of the track and bring only them up to a nice listening level (say guitar, choir, kick, snare/clap). If you're approaching 0dBFS then lower the tracks and turn up your monitoring (in the digital realm you have to create your headroom as it were). After you've got what you feel is a good balance for these instruments. Then start bringing in the other elements and use volume and pan to place them where you want such that they create a nice balance as well. Once you hit the point where everything just starts sounding "right" that is a great time to start adding EQ and dynamics processing. Once they really start sitting together nicely you can start adding those wonderful FX.

I'm not saying that this is the way you should mix at all. However, it is an approach that really makes you start paying attention to the different elements and how they interact with one another. Just a suggestion is all.

Also, I know Luigi's Mansion is not a horror game. But what I was trying to say is kind of go that goofy spooky sort of direction a little bit. It really would help bring some flair to the track IMO.

[LightningAlex]

Okay, I've edited it a bit. Changed the volume of instruments in some parts, and added a few sounds from the game. I think it's better this time around. I've also replaced the snare that plays during the organ-only part, but I don't hear a big difference. Perhaps I should just get rid of the snare altogether?

https://soundcloud.com/lightningalex/luigis-mansion-theme-remix

[timaeus222]

Okay, I've edited it a bit. Changed the volume of instruments in some parts, and added a few sounds from the game. I think it's better this time around. I've also replaced the snare that plays during the organ-only part, but I don't hear a big difference. Perhaps I should just get rid of the snare altogether?

https://soundcloud.com/lightningalex/luigis-mansion-theme-remix

Hm... I haven't heard this yet, so let's see...

So, you're using the default snare, yes? Along with another one from FL's pack? Maybe default kick, too? I don't think they really fit, and honestly, I can't tell what genre you're in. What is this supposed to be? Metal? If so, yeah, I think you need a different kick and snare. Something more acoustic, rather than dance-oriented. Also, the guitar should be double-tracked as per the convention, which means one instance panned 100% left, the other instance slightly different and panned 100% right, then slightly offset in its alignment with the left instance. It'll give a wider stereo field and give the bass room to breathe (which consequently means you need a different sample because it'll be more exposed).

I hear the overcompression, and it's pretty substantial, and still there. The bass notes are clashing occasionally (0:00, 0:06, etc.), and the bass sounds like an FL default plugin (or a Sytrus patch). Boo Bass? It's just too exposed in this context to sound realistic (or hide the fakeness of it). At 0:51, it's clearest that the midrange is overboosted. Hard to tell what, but I'm guessing it's the bass instrument. It's not supposed to be an instrument that you hear much of in the midrange; more so the low-mids and bass frequencies. Something I keep telling people is to boost much less often than you cut frequencies in the bass area. Boosting bass will usually create more muddiness. The organ is also fake-sounding (FL Keys?), but I wouldn't hold it against you because organs are actually pretty hard to get to sound realistic with samples. Lastly, the sound effects could be panned more creatively to give a greater sense of a big or wide stereo field.

So, the arrangement of this is actually quite good, so this definitely has potential. Good solos. This feels a little repetitive when every instrument works together to create a wall of sound, such as at 1:12, 1:23, etc., because it sounds rigid in those spots. If even the drums do something different there, maybe something more subdivided, it'll help. The kick, snare, organ, and bass samples, sequencing, and processing are really diminishing what is otherwise quite a fun arrangement.

Edited September 9, 2014 by timaeus222