Megaman X5 - Cyber Maze Core + Dark Necrobat

[fxsnowy]

Hey guys, here is a remix that I arranged for the SFRG Competition. It is pretty much finished, just want to get some feedback before I submit to ocremix.

 

ReMix - https://soundcloud.com/fxsnowy/dance-with-my-motherboard/s-6SacI

 

Sources are Cyber Maze Core https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpQoAqTTpc

and Dark Necrobat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnZ3DFHkAi8

[fxsnowy]

Marked as Mod-Review

[Slimy]

I don't like the synth sound you have as your lead throughout most of the song, starting at ~0:30. I think it's too bright for my taste, and that delay/vibrato filter makes it sound slightly annoying to me.

 

However I really like the bass and percussion throughout this. And I liked all of the quieter parts in this song.

[fxsnowy]

I don't like the synth sound you have as your lead throughout most of the song, starting at ~0:30. I think it's too bright for my taste, and that delay/vibrato filter makes it sound slightly annoying to me.

 

However I really like the bass and percussion throughout this. And I liked all of the quieter parts in this song.

 

Thanks, I'm going to experiment with switching that synth

[timaeus222]

I think the chordal components are too quiet relative to the lead and drums, and as a result, it's a bit harder than I'd like to hear chord changes. I somewhat agree about the lead at about 0:30, but I think it can be helped by changing it to legato mode and lowering the mix level on the pitch LFO. 

 

At 0:59, I don't get why the lead suddenly dropped out. I was expecting one more runthrough of the melody. At 1:14, the decision to drop the drums was kind of odd, since you then decided to bring them back 3 seconds later, only to drop them again at 1:25, and bring them back again at 1:28. Maybe try muting the drums at 1:14 - 1:43 and rethinking the drum patterns there.

 

At 1:46 - 2:15, I guess I'm kinda getting tired of the same lead synth playing the same pattern. The new drums help, but I think you should at least change the chords underneath the lead to make the lead sound less repetitive. It would have been nice to have the amount of effort you put into 2:20 - 3:00 put into a section sometime earlier than that. That kind of change helps your cause in showing dynamic contrast, and that is the best part in this ReMix.

 

The overcompression on the drums are another story, but yeah, that's there. Try lowering the volume on the drums overall, and then raising the volume of everything up by the same amount (on each individual mixer track, not the master track). You could also boost the click on the kick near 4000 Hz some more because I don't hear any; instead it sounds thumpy, and so it feels dull/muffled.

[Rozovian]

modreview/eval

Intro has me worried about the mixing. The bass drum is louder than it needs to be.

I have no problem hearing the Cyber Maze Core source here, but it took me a long time to hear any Dark Necrobat stuff. Once it comes in at 2:25, this feels more like a medley than a ReMix. Fortunately, the lead from Core is still there. The arrangement, overall, is on the conservative side of things, but I think it's in the green. The genre adaptation obviously does a lot to differentiate it from the original.

Sound design is an interesting blend of jazz with the drums and bass, and retro synth stuff. It's a cool combination, although might be a bit too aggressive. Not terribly so, but they strike me as a bit of an odd choice. There are parts where that works really well (eg 2:00), and others where they don't work nearly that well (0:20, 2:35). It's often a question of what the arrangement does at the time.

Overall, the production is good enough. I'm a little torn on some of the sound design choices, but there are no dealbreakers. That one chip-arp-y lead is sometimes too loud, as are the drums (though with the choice of samples, lowering the drum levels too much would make them sound silly). Maybe the other stuff should be louder instead? The synth stuff sounds a bit too raw and exposed, but I can't tell if it's a problem or a style.

I would complain about weird glitches in the background around 2:00, but once I realized those were intentional, it's no longer a complain. 1:46-2:15. Really cool. Glitchy ending. Cool. I would otherwise complain about the note the track ends on, but as that's not actually where it ends, it's fine.

There are improvements to be made, but it's in a rather good state right now. Nice work. Do consider timaeus' points about the lead getting old and stuff.

[fxsnowy]

Thanks timaeus and Rozovian for the feedback. Marked back to WIP