*NO* Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 'Epic Steps'

[Chimpazilla]

 

ReMixer Name: Tonalysis

Real Name: Jeff Morrow

Email: 

User ID: 31683
 

Name of game(s): Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution
Name of arrangement: Epic Steps
Name of original song: Sync
Composer: Outphase (Taku "TaQ" Sakakibara and Takayuki "dj Taka" Ishikawa)
Link to original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-UxUJ6P8nU

Link to remix: https://soundcloud.com/tonalysis/outphase-sync-tonalysis-mix
 

Comments: Frequently, fans discover artists through OC Remix. In my case, I discovered OC Remix by first discovering zircon through Pandora. After learning the basics of how to use FL Studio, and taking a few lessons from zircon himself, I decided to try my hand at remixing. I'm a long-time DDR fan, so I decided to pick my favorite DDR tune as my first submission. My goal was to take the track and make it even more epic.

Thanks for considering my remix.

 

[Chimpazilla]

This is actually really cool.  I like that the remix is a little slower than that frenetic source!  I can't even imagine trying to dance to that.  

The remix actually sounds pretty dry.  The shaker could use some velocity variation as well as a bit of reverb.  The snare sounds too heavy for the soundscape (I love the rimshot though).  I like the vocal bits, they could use some delay.  I like the breakdown with the piano and plucked instrument.

My biggest issue with this track is it's overall volume, it's smashed to smithereens.  In the densest parts of the track, such as 3:05-3:40 I hear some pretty heavy distortion.  You definitely need to revisit the mastering and/or the mixing/balancing to get this distortion eliminated.  I'd love to hear each element in this mix occupying it's own space in the soundscape.  Other than those issues, this track works for me and I like it.

NO (please clean up mix/master and resubmit)

[Sir_NutS]

Ouch, those levels.  Right off the bat the arpeggio is very resonant around 1.5khz , you may want to make it less peaky.  It's not only the arpeggios as throughout the mix it was a very common ocurrence to hear nasty peaks around the mid-highs.  The overall mix feels too loud and overcompressed, to the point where I noticed some distortion going in the last busy section before the end,  The pads need to be eq'd separately from the bass as they're obscuring it in the busy sections.

I liked the arrangement though.  Transitions weren't that great but I liked the feel and energy of the track, little details like the bending synth in the break around 2:20 gave this a lot more personality. The piano chords in the background helped give it a darker feel than the original and I liked that you tried to infuse some more melodic content into the track than what was in the original.

This is a good start but the production issues are glaring and need fixing.

NO (Resubmit)

[DaMonz]

I concur, the levels are breaking this. The arrangement is fun, and the progression makes sense and has a cool flow, but the levels being all over the place are holding it back. The overall volume should be revised, make sure there is no distortion caused by things being too loud. You should also try to obtain a better balance by reviewing the levels of each track. To do this, I recommend prioritizing each track, muting them all, and then unmuting them one by one following your priorities. Adjust the volume for each track you unmute as you go to try and put everything in its rightful place. When this is done, you should fine-tune the frequency usage of every track by EQ'ing them appropriately, which should help build a cleaner soundscape.

This has good potential, please keep at it!

NO (resubmit)