Emunator Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) ReMixer Name: DusK Real Name: Dustin Branscum Email: Website: http://www.itstartsatdusk.com User ID: 24328 Game: Pokémon Arrangement Name: "Technomagmar" Songs Arranged: "Battle (Vs Trainer)", "Battle (Vs Gym Leader)", "Opening" Platform: Game Boy Composer: Junichi Masuda Release Year: 1998 Sources: Come on, you know them already. Link to ReMix: Comments: Get it?! "Technomagmar"? It's a play on words or something. Real instruments are the shit. Don't fuck around. Pokémon Yellow was my favorite Game Boy game. I practically obsessed over it. My brothers and I shared it, but I got a hold of it first, so my brothers had to play a character named Dustin. HA! From a "I want to do this" standpoint, this is a remix that's roughly two years in the making. From a "okay, I'm gonna do this" standpoint, this is kinda recent. Not as recent as my Titanfall remix ( and I kinda wish I could have used those greatly improved tone sets for this track), but recent. Originally, this track was just straight up metal. But I wanted to go off the beaten path, and create something a little closer to the feel of the soundtrack. Using several "keyboardish" synths, I set out to make that happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jmty_NiaXc - Battle (VS Trainer) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OO5VAKk0d8 - Battle (VS Gym Leader) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdJQopRuH1E - Opening Edited June 23, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 This is brutal...ly loud. My grandpa ears can't handle it :-\ Seriously, killer arrangement with a lot of energy and great rhyhtm/lead parts, but most of the same critiques from my last vote on one of your mixes holds true... The master track is overcompressed and way too loud, and while I appreciate the effort to integrate synths into your track, the patches you used are pretty generic, mixed dry, and lacking in expression. Your arrangement and playing chops are solid, but I think you need to make some improvements to your mixing game when tackling remixes in this genre. NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Hmmmm. I really dig the arrangement and I don't even think the track is too loud or overcompressed. There's just one thing that got me: that saw synth! Man, it is not integrated well, and I'm really not a fan of the sound of it either. It's not the focal point, but it really sticks out. I don't think it's enough of a problem to prevent this from passing, but it's a blemish to me on an otherwise great arrangement. Let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good though. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Overall, pretty happy with your arrangement Dustin. Some nice hard rock/metal with some lighter synths and synth sections dropped in, adding in much needed variation during those times when the guitars weren't chewing their way through the mix. I agree that your synths were a bit on the generic side, but still think they fit in ok, as I felt the main focus was on your guitar work. While the mix is quite enjoyable, short and to the point - I believe there is some space for improvement on this one. Primarily, this mix could do with some work in the mixing and/or mastering department to make everything clearer and more audible. Your synths often get drowned out by the guitars which fill the majority of the soundscape. Drums are audible but do get a little lost in the mix as well, and the snare blends into the mix too much. I felt a lot of the elements were blending together a bit too well, which is possibly due to heavy use of compression. I really think this mix would benefit from a mixing revisit, perhaps lowering the L/R rhythm guitars to open up the soundscape a bit more, easing off the compression and perhaps utilising some more EQ separation between the parts. NO (please resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 The overcompression also hurts this. I'm not dying on that level, so I'm somewhere between Emu/Jive and Palpable on that, where I don't think that's a dealbreaker on its own, but I agree the clutter & overlap the compression adds isn't ideal. If everything else was on point though, this wouldn't be enough to go NO.Now, I need to clarify that I'm not in a bad mood or anything, but, man, just... eww on that synth line from :05-:10. Why would you be OK with that? Could we get even more generic with the tone and stiff with the timing? Is that possible? C'mon, add some uniqueness and life to it. while I appreciate the effort to integrate synths into your track, the patches you used are pretty generic, mixed dry, and lacking in expression Yep. It honestly is lacking the whole time it's there, and you've already shown you're better and more creative than that. Not everyone will agree with me on how poor it is, but I think it screams beginner-ish, and you're not a greenhorn anymore.I don't think the guitar performance sounds bad, but as soon as it kicked in at :11, I'd argue the performance felt stiff compared to some of your other work; it just doesn't give off emotion and energy like some of your other tracks, and it's something I've pointed out and criticized in the past.That synth came BACK at :34? You're killin' me. At least in "Loadout," the synth wasn't AS integral, because it hurt that piece too. Here, it's brutal without being br00tal. Anyway, the arrangement is on point, and I agree with Palpable with the sentiment of not making the perfect the enemy of the good. HOWEVER, on top of the loudness/compression issue, that anemic, dry, rigid, lame default-y synth kills this dead in a complete dealbreaker way, and it's not even close. It sounds like no effort was put into using it well, and that definitely registers in a meaningful way for me. Dustin, take the production advice of the actual musician Js to heart, but give ole' man Listener Larry some credence and FIX DEM SYNTHS. They need character and flow. No more vanilla robot synths, plz.NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I don't think it's overcompressed, I just think the mix is unbalanced. Too much harshness between 2-6kHz. This comes at the expense of the bottom, which is a little bit thin at times. This is an extremely common problem in metal mixes we see submitted. I realize it's gotta be about the guitars, but the way a metal mix deals with this is by having the bass more or less seamlessly double the rhythm guitar, filling out the body. The arrangement is pretty good, though it perhaps jumps around too much. The snare is terrible. Where's the crack? where's the verb? I think the lead guitar could probably use more reverb too. I think the mix is the main thing holding this back. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts