Chimpazilla Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 (edited) previous decision Hi, It's been a while since I've been active on OCRemix. It's been a while since I've been active in the whole music scene altogether. I've sent this track in about 2 or 3 years ago and it got rejected, mainly because of repetitiveness and production issues. I've since then been away from my DAW for a while (call it a sabbatical if you will) and latelty I'm picking up the pace again. But I never could let go of this one remix that just barely got rejected. So I revised it, time after time, and with help from the good people on the interwebs (you guys know who you are) I think this one is now done. Here's the link to the earlier submission: http://ocremix.org/community/topic/16238-no-kingdom-hearts-eclipse-of-hearts/#comment-344433 Here's the information needed for submission: Contact Information Your ReMixer name - NeoS Your real name - Martin Zandbergen Your website - https://soundcloud.com/N2K7 Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile - 9531 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged - Kingdom Hearts Name of arrangement - Eclipse of Hearts Name of individual song(s) arranged - Dearly Beloved Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) - Yoko Shimomura, Playstation 2 Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25QXnhVijQ Cheers, NeoS Edited June 15, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Oh, KH Dearly Beloved. Great source! The arrangement takes some time to get into the meat of the source, but once it's there it's very prominent. It does enough for me to keep me interested, as far as the arrangement, so that's a plus. Interesting way to begin the track. Upon first listen, the bass makes it sound like it's off key, but with a few listens it becomes clear that's actually the submediant (6th scale degree). Interesting effect. That SFX at 0:02 (it's like a ringing sound) tricks the ear in a negative way, making the synth above the bass sound incorrect (even though it's not). The intro harmonies would make more sense without that sound confusing the listener, so I suggest getting rid of it, or using it later in the intro at least (when the listener is used to the harmonies that are playing). The mix sounds very crowded. Lots of high EQ noise coming from the trance synths (2:26). The background pads at 1:55 also have this high end EQ issue - it's bad enough to where at 2:21 the music cuts out when the drums do their fill. It's especially noticeable when you have a sweep or crash fighting for that same EQ space, like at 3:15 - 3:20. Don't be afraid to lowpass some of your synths, as it'll give you more sound space to work with, which translates to clean loudness without needing to over rely on your compressors and limiters. The mix may also be overcompressed, as well, though it's hard to tell if that's an artifact of crowding the upper EQ space or not. Be wary, though, and make sure you're not needlessly squishing your mix by overcompressing it. When all of your synths are playing at once, the more 'real' instruments get drown in the mix. The piano at 3:48, for example, is nearly completely lost behind all of the synths when it's carrying the theme. Mix your important instruments closer to the front of the mix while keeping things like pads and arpeggios more in the background - it'll make it easier for the listener to follow what the track is doing. I like the arrangement, and there's a lot of great energy in this. I don't think it's quite there yet - the crowded upper end of the EQ on the synths and crashes/sweeps, the unbalanced mixing and possible overcompression all bring this one below the bar. That SFX in the intro should also be changed, for the sake of clarity, though that's less of an issue than the others I mentioned. I hope you submit this one again! NO/RESUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Solid advice from Gario. Listening to the source, I can appreciate the problems a remixer would have in tackling this piece, it's quite short/repetitive. From what I can hear here, you give this a good go. You hit things off with a pounding bass line and a thumping kick, not bad thus far. However when the next parts hit at 0:29 I'm hearing over compression at the master level which is causing some elements to waver in a bad way. The crash cymbal hisses with some distorted frequencies, and does so through pretty much all the track - it just isn't given ample room to breathe. Things begin to become crowded at 2:00 onwards, where the highs in the crash and lead distort. When the drop hits, things start to hit breaking point with unwanted pumping across the mix. Once the crash and noise sweep disperse around 2:30 things are a little better, but still not perfect. This is unfortunate because the arrangement here is not bad - in particular, transitions you have here between piano and electronic parts work quite well and vary things up fairly nicely for the duration, breaking up what would otherwise be a mix running in the same gear from beginning to end. The additional melodies accompanying the main tune are complementary and work well. Overall, your mix is let down with mastering hitting too much of a brick wall. I strongly suggest pulling back on the compression and/or limiting you have going on at the master level, and consider rethinking the compression on some of your individual parts. You are smashing your track to bits. Easing this off will make a big difference in clarity, will make things less crowded, and will remove the mix-wide pump you have going on. I expect this will fix the majority of your problems. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Not much to add here as Gario and JM did a great job covering everything I wanted to say about the mix. The main issues here are mix/master and eqing. The sweeps and crashes are distorting and bringing up some very harsh high frequencies. The kick and bass feel very bloated and need separation, as the entire low end feels muddy. When the main trance synth hits they feel distant and powerless. My advice is to redo your mix levels, and add some sidechain to your kick and bass, it doesn't have to be noticeable but even a small amount will help. Lower your mix levels until the distortion caused by limiting/compressing your buses is gone. Try to highpass most of the stuff that doesn't need low frequencies in your mix to clear up space, and try to level harsh frequencies in your instruments that inhabit the higher frequencies. Your arrangement was good imo, and the actual synths used would sound good in a balanced mix. But production needs quite a bit of work for now.NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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