DragonAvenger Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) Contact Information Your ReMixer name : Rockos Your real name : Roch Côté Your email address : Your website : None Your userid (number, not name) on our forums : 44017 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged : Final Fantasy III Name of individual song(s) arranged : Boss Battle Name of the remix : Le Patron Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. : (This song is part of an album project. The FF III project leaded by Brandon Strader.) Well, I took one of the non-claimed track that I think I could do something with it. And within a week, this was the final piece. Like always, I mixed some dubstep in. But this time, I tried to incorporate some new elements. Like the violin synth or the guitar. I also added more varied hi hat. Played a lot with the bass and kept the real melody nearly intact. The song is recognizable from the start to the end. There are some minor variation. Nothing more to say Enjoy. Edited December 15, 2014 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 For me, everything else BUT the beats was excellent, the arrangement of the source itself is awesome, and I love the chippy focus. The backing patterns for the EDM-style sections at 1:14 and again at 2:13 are very bland/vanilla. The beats are super-basic claps with plodding, metronome-style patterns, leaving the background feeling very empty. Not that the beats need to be crazy and hyper, but the writing of those backing patterns is mega-plain, and frankly, boring, which is dragging an otherwise awesomely arranged piece down, IMO. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'm finding a lot more issues with this than Larry. That guitar sample is SUPER weak and honestly, the string sample isn't holding up much better and unfortunately, it's exposed for so much of the song. Both of these sound like low-quality soundfonts and I don't feel like they're used in a deliberately stylistic way, either, so they stick out like a sore thumb right off the bat. I agree with Larry that the 4-on-the-floor breakdowns are a weak point, the synth rhythms and drum patterns are very bland and don't carry the same level of personalization or ear-candy as the dubstep sections. I'm also noticing that the sub-bass gets very boomy and overbearing, maybe bringing that down just a touch would help. Your dubstep bass writing is neat and consistently varied, but there's times where you fall back on overused sounds from the genre that come across as really cheesy here (the "yaahhhhh" vocal-ish synth at :55 or 3:38, for example, is one of the biggest offenders.) Not a huge dealbreaker and I can see that it might boil down to a bit of personal taste, but in my opinion some of the synths and sound choices just seem generic for the genre. I like what you've done with the source quite a bit, actually, but there's several big issues with this that are keeping it from passing in my book. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) We've got chips, dubstep, some standard EDM sections and some acoustic sections. You have a lot of variety in this mix. I think as far as your arrangement goes, most things are right. You take the listener on a journey and transition fairly nicely between your different genres. Some things that stuck out to me: -The strings at the start sounded a bit weird to me. Not a major gripe and I gather they're a bit stuttery on purpose but it would be nice if they were more realistic. -The guitar sample coming in at 0:21 (and again at 2:02) sounds super fake compared to the rest of the instrumentation. I understand during your intro you're trying to throw people off what kind of song this really is - I think strengthening that guitar part with a more realistic sample would help a great deal in achieving that. -Your dubstep writing is your strongest talent here. I don't have any concerns and wouldn't change anything here. You do use some generic sounds from the genre but I don't feel they're overused. -Your 4 on the floor trancey/dancey bit is probably the weakest part of the mix, the drums are quite generic and nothing really pops out in that section. I think a more prominent lead here my help pick things up, perhaps even playing the lead line an octave higher might make things more lively. Production is solid and things are good enough there. Source is represented. I think the main part needing improvement is the standard dance section. If you can squeeze some more life out of that part and perhaps make that guitar portions more realistic, I think this will work for me. NO (please resub) Edited December 11, 2014 by Jivemaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Deia and djp were both seemingly in favor of this mix when we talking in #j, so we'll leave this open for some additional votes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 The beginning strings don't bother me, I don't get the impression they are striving for realism. Same with the guitar, it is supportive and very brief, added mainly for texture as far as I can tell. The dubstep sections are well done, some of the sounds are generic and identifiable but well used. Same with the trance sections. I love how the trance and dubstep and chippy sections are transitioned and overlapped, VERY smooth. Source aplenty, lots of little writing details. Arrangement is great. There are certainly things that could be done to make this even more impressive, but come on guys, this is clearly over the bar in so many ways. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'm definitely in agreement that a lot of the samples are sounding weak, and the sequencing is such that the attacks sound pretty off in spots. The synths are fine, and the chip stuff is good, But anything that is supposed to sound like a 'real' instrument is leaving me pretty cold. The arrangement is good overall, but between a lot of mis-chosen samples that are in need of an upgrade, and some beats that are feeling phoned in and lacking punch, I am going to side on the NO camp. There is a very good arrangement in here, but the sound quality is not clearing the bar. No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Agree with a lot of criticisms mentioned here. The string and guitar samples are incredibly fake, and though the song is not striving for realism, they aren't used well as fake instruments anyway. I think real-sounding instruments would have worked better in this instance. The dubstep sections were actually quite good, with some imaginative automation and sounds, but the trance sections really didn't do much for me. They seemed too heavy on bass, without an instrument taking focus and capturing attention. I didn't feel like the same care was given to the trance sections, so I'd like to see a revision. Wouldn't be the end of the world if this passed - it's close - but not quite there for me. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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