Brave Fencer Musashi - Rhythm Of My Soul

[Kat]

Source:

 

 

 

Original Remix:

Rhythm Of My Soul

 

Updated Mix (as of 1/3/16):

https://soundcloud.com/katallen-12/redux-rhythm-of-my-soul

 

 

It originally started as a bonus track for a MNP compo, but I think I got a little too ambitious and it's gone beyond that now. I knew from the start that I was going to do an orchestral, but it changed directions slightly and went from a brass-heavy booming orchestral to more of a soulful string-filled song. I did aim to keep quite a bit of the "boom" in it, though. I'm particularly proud of the solo sections, something I've always struggled with. Although I'll still be touching it up and adjusting things, I consider the arrangement itself to be finished. As always, comments and critique are helpful(and much appreciated/needed!), and I hope it's an enjoyable piece.

[Kat]

Updated. I've adjusted a bit of the dynamics and reverb to better blend the mix together. I've also touched up the ending(which was a little too abrupt) and a few transitions, alongside some minor instrumentation changes.

 

Still looking for any sort of feedback before I jump the gun and mark it as mod review.

[Kat]

Alright, bumping this up as mod review now.

[Rozovian]

I'm not sold on the orchestra. Whether it's the samples, the reverb, or some other part of it, it's not convincing enough. The percussion especially stands out, but there's the usual slow attacks on strings and other typical realism/performance issues.

 

I think part of the problem is that the sax performance, the strings, and the percussion don't quite fit together. This could be a mix issue, but I think your insistence on maintaining the bombastic feel of the source is the cause of it. A smaller-scale percussion set and a smaller reverb size might be more fitting. Everything is doable, something are just more difficult to fit together than others. You're not making it easy for yourself with this combo.

 

The sax is a lot more lively than the rest of the track, which is good since it's the lead instrument. It's also mixed too loud. I'm not sure panning the lead sax so far right is a good idea. It might work once the levels are brought down to something a little more balanced, since it plays in tandem with the melody panned left. Difficult to say. Overall levels are fine, so it's just about finding the balance between tracks.

 

The arrangement is rather conservative to its structure. There's a few things missing, and the sax performance does a few new things. I tend to be a lot more liberal with the source, so this is too conservative for my own style... but I also know I'm lean on the liberal side in this. It's entirely up to whether the subtractions, slightly different instrumentation, and sax performance is enough.

 

There's a few really cool details in here. What the strings are doing around 2:00, the sax (if a bit excessive with embellishments at times), and the transitions between parts especially. It's got a nice flow, and I can't attribute that solely to the source.

 

That said, I don't this is a pass. Not yet. The arrangement is definitely conservative, but I don't think it's _too_ conservative. The orchestral parts aren't quite on the level, and there are still mixing things to do.

 

Overall, nice work. Not quite there yet, but it's close.

[Kat]

Bumping this back up again. I sat down today and did a bit of re-imagining and touching up. I was using a lot of generic samples(and not using them particularly well), and I've (tried) to make the mixing a bit more pleasant this time around. The progression is pretty much exactly the same, but the mood of the song has changed just a tad. There's still a ton of work to do. A lot of clutter was removed, and I'll be focusing on mixing and mastering it(I suck at that) as a smaller scale orchestral track. I'm still actively working on it, but I feel comfortable enough with it to update this and ask for feedback, if anyone is willing.

 

Side note: I'm also still touching up the previous version, because I'm quite fond of it.

 

https://soundcloud.com/katallen-12/redux-rhythm-of-my-soul

[Kat]

Bumping this up again. I've done another revision. Percussion has been touched up, and the intro has had a slight change. Instead of a timpani roll I opted for a march-style percussion intro. The ending is still a bit sour and I haven't put much work into it yet, but I'm aware it needs work. There's still some humanizing that needs to be done. Some parts have been altered or adjusted a bit, but I'm still looking for feedback on the track as a whole, and on a couple specific issues:

 

1) The overall mixing. It sounds "ok" to me(as in, not particularly overwhelming in any area), but I'm still a terrible judge of mixing quality. I do recognize a few parts that are a tad too quiet or loud, but I could use a second opinion here.

2) The saxophone solo. I know it's somewhat common for a saxophone to be present solely for a solo segment, but It still sounds a bit odd to me. Any opinions or recommendations here?

 

https://soundcloud.com/katallen-12/redux-rhythm-of-my-soul

 

 

 

[Sh0rtCircuit]

I'll hit on your specific issues. Even though I'm still learning my way through mixing/mastering, I feel the overall tone of everything is slightly bland. Honestly, I would just ask to brighten up some things going on in the background to help them punch through more easily and be heard (but not overwhelmingly).

Personally, the sax sounds good to me, but if that isn't satisfying for you, mess around with other woodwinds (specifically reed-based). Dunno, I just like the texture it adds to everything.

Now, some other things I wanted to say (though someone step in if I'm just flat out wrong). The drum section at the beginning sounds overcompressed (but it could just be the type of reverb you have on it). It also sounds fairly prominent (when in a legit orchestral set-up, all percussion sits in the back. Again, I could be wrong, but I'm just remembering the setup from back in highschool), I would want to hear that fall back a bit to fit it's positioning.

I also would like to hear the actual solo's come forward a little bit. That can range from making it play louder, or making the orchestra itself back down in volume a bit to help boost the solo itself. And yes, lol, the ending is a bit sour.

 

But as a whole, I like the mix. As it was said by Rozovian, it's definitely conservative, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. All this really needs is some tlc and a slightly better ending. Keep up the good work yo, looking forward to the finished product.

[Kat]

9 minutes ago, Sh0rtCircuit said:

Personally, the sax sounds good to me, but if that isn't satisfying for you, mess around with other woodwinds (specifically reed-based). Dunno, I just like the texture it adds to everything.

That's good to hear. It just sounded out of place to me, but that could be because the previous mix had a very prominent sax presence. I tried out a couple other instruments - A solo trumpet fit in just perfect, but I lack a solid trumpet lead that can be as lively as I'd like. I also gave the violin a shot, but it didn't feel right at all no matter how alive I made it sound. This is probably because I'm used the violin solo leading into a sax solo.

10 minutes ago, Sh0rtCircuit said:

Now, some other things I wanted to say (though someone step in if I'm just flat out wrong). The drum section at the beginning sounds overcompressed (but it could just be the type of reverb you have on it). It also sounds fairly prominent (when in a legit orchestral set-up, all percussion sits in the back. Again, I could be wrong, but I'm just remembering the setup from back in highschool), I would want to hear that fall back a bit to fit it's positioning.

It's probably the reverb. I think I have a little bit more on the percussion than the rest of the orchestra. I'm not surprised that it's a bit too loud though. I'm still getting used to these monitors, and I'm starting to realize that certain elements(percussion being one of those, and the general bass range being another) sound a fair bit quieter than they actually are. The reverb isn't as pronounced either, so I've had a bad tendency to use too much.

 

Regarding the volume, I'll probably back the rest of the orchestra down during that segment. One thing I've learned on the mixing front is that it's usually better to cut back when a certain element needs a volume boost.