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Secret of Mana- Mana Burn Remix


Hayeser
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Feedback is most welcome, please- I'm new to the OC ReMix crowd so I'd love to start off strong with my first submission. Thanks!
 
I initially imagined going more orchestral since it's such a melodic, fluid piece. Alas, there have been other remixes of that nature, and my strongest suit is bass/groove/vibe. That seems to be untouched territory on this song, as far as I can find, so I embraced a new direction.
 
It's got an R&B/Electronic vibe that slowly build while scattering in the notable motifs from the original. I reharmonized the chord structure, and took my own liberties on the bass line, made my own samples, etc. This is one of my all time favorite games that I've played through countless times since I was a kid. Track is made with respect and affection. Cheers!
 

ReMix:

 

 

Source:

 

 
 
 

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Hmm...looks like I've had a fair amount of views, but no feedback on this as of yet. 

 

I'm pretty confident to move this forward to Mod-Review, I'm happy with it, but as a n00b to the community here I was just hoping to get some wisdom shed and perhaps introduce myself a little before diving in. So anyway, let's do this thing!

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Wow, this is really cool! I think people might not be giving feedback because the feedback you're looking for is beyond people's abilities to give good advice on. At least, that's what's going on with me. The only thing I can think that might need improving is adding some interest to the beginning. I think it's possible to add some awesome sound effects like you use later in the piece without taking too much attention away from those beautiful chords at the beginning. I can understand going for a more minimalist vibe though.

 

I really like the groove at 1:52, it reminds me of Boards of Canada :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

[MODREVIEW]

 

Secret of Mana is such a great soundtrack filled with so many intricacies to play with.  

 

- Really digging that opening bass riffing you have going on up to :55

 

- I think the melody after that  could stand to come out a smidge, but not too much more since it's very high Hz.  You could roll off the highs a bit and bring it out more but it might lose the sparkle; it's up to you.

 

- the 1:55 section is so RJD2.  It's cool.  I could stand to hear a little more of the sax and flute/looping or whatever that is back there.  It's a supporting role, yeah, but I think it could use some more breathing room and you have the room in the mix to do it.  

 

- Same crit on the melody at 3:32.  I would have liked more of it.  It kicks in nice and full at about 3:45 though so I wouldn't ding you for keeping it suggestive there to increase the payoff.  In fact, go ahead and keep it.  

 

- My least favorite part was the ending.  It just sort of...dies, almost in the middle of an idea.  Given the rest of the track's greatness, I think you can come up with something much better than that for the ending.  

 

- I think the track could use a mastering run to boost the volume a bit and fill it out.  

 

In general, a really unique take on the source and I really like your style.  Great job!

 

[/MR]

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Early on, I like the atmosphere. The pad is active enough for me that things feel full enough, so far. Nice bass line.

 

At 0:52 and on, I agree with Joe, but I think the melody is too thin, to be more specific. I would rather it come out more in the midrange, rather than above the upper-mids. It needs a more midrange tone to fill in the hollowness of the soundscape. The soundscape continues to be hollow throughout. I think this is the biggest issue. There is a large gap in the midrange frequencies, which makes the frequencies above ~2000 Hz seem more piercing (though they are a little piercing regardless), at least at 0:52 - 3:12. What midrange elements you have are just too quiet to contribute significantly enough that they matter. They should be louder or there should be more midrange content.

 

I personally didn't like the sax/flute parts. They felt out of place to me, narrow, and were more lofi than the other instruments, so for me, they stuck out too much as lower quality, in terms of fidelity. A bit of personal taste here.

 

At 3:12, you did have that quick piano interjection, which helped for a few seconds, and then the midrange becomes empty again, until 3:44. Why not use that piano earlier on? You had something going there. At that point until the end, the melody still stands out as piercing to me, even though the percussion fills in some midrange.

 

I didn't mind the ending as much, but I see where Joe's coming from.

 

 

Overall, the major concern I have is that the midrange is too empty at 0:52 - 3:12 and 3:16 - 3:44, and the bells are a little piercing all the way through 0:52 - 4:18. To help the emptiness, I think a thicker melodic instrument with more upper-mids and mids would work better, and I think there should be more midrange elements or louder midrange elements. It's a pretty good skeleton so far; just needs more meat.

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Thanks for the feedback, guys! Very helpful. Hadn't really felt the lack of midrange presence until you both mentioned it, now it's glaring at me. Doubling most of the melody lines an octave down and adding a gentle overall boost in the 750-2Hz area to lessen the disparity between the lows and sharp highs.

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