Kingdom Hearts 2 - The Xemnas Imperative

[Chernabogue]

Now that the results of DoD are published, I'm looking for some feedback on this one before submitting it to the OCR panel, especially on the production side. Thanks!

REMIX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9icom5q5n7h71xq/Chernabogue%2C%20Furilas%2C%20Sbeast%2C%20tibone%20-%20The%20Xemnas%20Imperative%20%28Darkness%20of%20the%20Unknown%29.mp3?dl=0

SOURCE:

LINE-UP:

- Chernabogue: mixing, mastering, drums/synths

- Furilas: bass guitar

- Sbeast: electric guitar

- tibone: acoustic guitar

[Ronald Poe]

I absolutely love the Kingdom Hearts franchise and KH2 was possibly my favorite. "Darkness of the Unknown" is an amazing composition and somehow you guys did it (Xemnas by extension) justice. Because of the lack of KH remixes on this site, you have to try submitting this. However I'm an amateur when it comes to production but everything sounds pretty clear to me. In conclusion good work and keep it up.

 

Also would you by any chance mind attempting to mix "One Winged Angel" (KH version) with "Birth Of A God" (FFVII). I've also wanted to hear how the 2 pieces would blend and think you could do it justice. Have a nice day.

[Chernabogue]

Thank you for your kind words. Your suggestion is also interesting -- maybe someday.

[timaeus222]

The mixing seems boomy in the low-mids (around 120~200 Hz), and it's mostly coming from the bass guitar, I think, which plays about at the same time as the syncopated rhythm guitar (acoustic, I believe). It's most noticeable at 1:24 - 2:10 where you have clutter near 130 Hz whenever the toms try to play while the bass is also playing. It IS a problem in other similarly dense places too though, like at 2:35 - 2:37. But if you didn't cut down on the low-mids for the rhythm guitar, check that as well.

The (Shreddage drums?) toms can be heard clearly enough at 1:05 that I can tell they are a bit more bassy/rumbly than would be comfortable for me. Maybe low shelf them below 200 Hz a few dB. Most of it is near 130 Hz, which will clash with the bass guitar and make the result muddy. The toms are audible enough, but they are adding low-mids clutter.

Those are really the main issues: the bass guitar being indistinct, the toms being a bit too boomy, and potentially the rhythm guitar (acoustic I think) having too much low-mids and clashing some with the bass guitar and toms. I would suggest sidechaining the toms with the bass a bit in addition to the low-shelving the toms and rhythm guitar to decrease the amount of boominess overall.

You might want to compare with this for the rigorous bass mixing I'm suggesting that you do, because this, admittedly, is not an easy fix for many people.

[Chernabogue]

Thanks for the precise tips, Tim. I knew the bass mixing would be a problem on this one, but now I have a clearer idea of what to do. I think some better EQ/volume work should do the trick. The drums are still EZ Drummer BTW ^^

[Chernabogue]

New version. I think it's quite better, @timaeus222

[timaeus222]

Now that I think about it, at 0:00 - 1:25, what I think is your lead guitar is far back, and what seems like the rhythm guitar is pretty upfront. Is that intentional? That entire time interval, it feels like there's not much leading going on. At 1:25 - 1:59, though, that organ sounds like a practical lead despite being an arpeggiated pattern. At 2:10 - 2:21, what sounds like the lead guitar seems too far back. At 2:22 - 3:00, it sounds more like a lead. The rest sounds more reasonable to me when it comes to what's leading.

Besides the production, I think this arrangement might come off a bit directionless sometimes because at 0:00 - 1:25 and 2:10 - 2:21, for instance, what seem like leads to me are not upfront enough to suggest that they are leading, and other instruments that are more upfront have been sometimes playing notes that don't sound like melodies to me (they sound more like accompaniment). It may just be a result of the source not having much of a melody to latch onto, but don't be afraid to put an original melody on top of source arpeggios or something like that, as long as the source is audible. Having arpeggiated patterns upfront can feel "longer" than having a melody upfront to latch onto.

[Chernabogue]

Thanks again for your help, Tim, I appreciate it a lot. New version is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/35lr581kp1icjcl/KH2%20Darkness%20DoD%20Mastering.mp3?dl=0

[timaeus222]

I didn't talk about this earlier because I wanted to space out the critique, but probably the last thing I would look at now is the kick drum. I can hear the "click" (near 4000 Hz), but maybe see if you can get some more 40~100 Hz into it to help it to stand up to the bass. Try to do the EQ in context so you don't overdo it. Here's a reference so you know what I mean:

It's pretty heavy, but it's just so you get the idea on the heaviness I might shoot for on the kick.

[Chernabogue]

Thanks for the last tip on the kick, it indeed could use some boost in the lows (I even let a space in the bass mixing for it earlier, don't know how I forget lol). Will submit it now.