djpretzel Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) Very strange, certainly unorthodox, but feels intentional... and unique. Actually a little conservative on melody. Definitely out there - see what you think. - djp --- Fonkdongo https://soundcloud.com/3uho Submission InformationFinal Fantasy IX The Place I'll Return to Someday Edited January 16, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Interesting take on the source, but there are a lot of small issues that stick out to me. First, the mixing sounds way off to me. Everything is being wiped away with the bass response, so when the bass notes hit, you can't hear much else. The guitar performance is on the sloppy, side with a lot of audible flubs, and some off-key hits every once in awhile. Combined with the very mechanical synth flute, i'm not really feeling that this track is gelling in the way it needs to. The backing track is reasonably personalized, but overall this isn't quite clearing the bar for me. No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Andrew pretty much said anything I was going to. The first thing I noticed is the balance is all over the place, with parts sticking way out to the point of being distracting. I think adjusting things to be a little more midline will help focus the listener's attention better. There's some good personalization here, but overall the track feels like it's just running through the source until the solo section right near the end followed by the track ending somewhat abruptly. I think a few structure changes, or moving the solo towards the middle to middle-end of the track could help that out. Really an interesting take, and I think there's promise here, but it needs some work. Hit up our WIP forums to get a little more advice and feedback and I'd like to hear this again. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I actually really like the "intentionally sloppy" approach here, it's really unique! I think it darn-near works, although I'm hoping for something just a bit different at some point just to show that this was intentional. At 2:16, a bass solo is starting up, and I think this is a great idea! But then the track just ends shortly after this bass solo begins. Ideally, I'd like a much longer groovy bass solo, and then some kind of fun reprise and then an outro. So for me this arrangement falls flat. But the concept is solid. The track isn't mixed very well. The rhythm guitar elements are so loud and widely panned, which feels very odd because they only happen sporadically. The shaker is way too loud and dry. Leads are buried. Bass lacks lows. Drum-wise, kick and snare lack impact while shaker and crashes are too loud. The biggest issue however is that the whole track is mastered much too loud. I'm seeing an overall reading of -5.9db RMS which is in Ludicrous Range for such a mellow track as this, and I'm hearing audible distortion when everything hits at once (bass, kick, guitar). I suggest you remove all mastering plugins, revisit the mixing until things are balanced the way they should be (leads up front, supporting elements sitting in the back), then gently bring up your master limiter until you've got a nice mix that hits around -10 to -8ish db RMS and you should be good. I agree with the other judges that you should utilize our wip forums to get further advice on how to get this mixed right. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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