The Man Who Speaks In Hands (Undertale, Gaster's Theme)

[TheGreatAnansi]

So, in Undertale, there's a character by the name of W.D. Gaster. Long story short, he's a character whose existence is only mentioned via manipulation of the game's code, and among these manipulations is actually

for the guy, which I decided to try and remix into a full-fledged battle theme. Of course, the theme isn't exactly a sprawling and elaborate piece of music, so I have a lot of room to work with.

Here's a link to the remix!

This is most definitely not finished; there's still a bit of composition work I want to do, and I haven't so much as touched anything as far as mixing goes, so it might sound a bit muddled or clippy or other such odd bits and bobs. It's more of a proof of concept I wanted to share so I can get some feedback on what I'm doing right and where to go from here!

[subversiveasset]

This is my first time doing a review (and I'm not anyone "official" or whatever), so I guess take it with a grain of salt, but

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION
Although the original piece is very minimalist, I thought that everything added to this went well with it. I can definitely hear the original here.

PRODUCTION
 

My impressions are that the mix is TOO loud. I don't know if that's just a tindeck thing, but I had to put everything much lower...the distorted guitar/distorted bass that comes in midway are a little too much; it makes the mix somewhat muddy to me. When those instruments come in again near the end is a better feel for me. There could be more dynamic range throughout, as well. For example, when the flute-like synth comes in, I feel like the entire piece would be more interesting if it were quieter. (But since you say you haven't touched anything as far as mixing, then there you go.)

PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts)
No problem with performance.

STRUCTURE
Since the original melody is very short, it's very easy for this to become repetitive. I think that there's enough done with the introduction of new instruments, new parts, etc., that there is not so much fatigue when it comes to repetition. There probably does need to be something more done with the ending.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE TRACK
I love what you've done with the source. This would definitely be fitting for a secret boss battle (alas....we may never see such.)  I love the integration of dialup sounds.
 

[TheGreatAnansi]

Thank you very much for the advice!  It's worth noting that I still have a bit ahead of me as far as composition work goes, and that the "ending" isn't going to actually be the ending of the piece.

 

As for the guitar-sounding synth (the one you hear during the second half of the flute-ish section), it's what comprises the majority of that section's middle values, and straight-up taking it out makes the mix feel fairly empty.  However, you're right in that it could do with being a bit more crisp, so I'll see what I can do on that front to make it pop out a bit more.

[subversiveasset]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply taking it out of the mix. I actually like it more during the second half of the flute-ish section. But when it first plays (before flute), it could probably just be mixed to be a little quieter -- or if there is a distortion effect, that can be reined in a little bit.

[TheGreatAnansi]

Alright, I took those suggestions and cranked out new version of the piece!  I still haven't done a whole lot in the way of mixing aside from a few tweaks here and there, but the song is effectively finished in a compositional sense...though it's important to note that, due to this effectively being a battle theme, I was imagining that it would loop just like an ingame battle theme would.

 

Linkage

 

It's also worth noting that I decided to implement a bit from the CORE theme in a later part of the song.

 

Still looking for feedback and advice!