Chimpazilla Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 REMIXER INFO Remixer Name: XPRTNovice Real Name: Joe Zieja Website: http://voicesbyjoe.com REMIX INFO Games Arranged: Super Mario RPG Name of Arrangement: Dirty Nasty Mine Name of Individual Songs Arranged: Docaty Mountain Railroad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMA1uC0bULM **This is a pre-emptive submit for the SMRPG album** Remixer Comments: So I got asked by Emery Monzerol to fill some holes in the SMRPG album, and as I was looking through the track list I saw this Docaty Mountain thing. Never having played SMRPG before, I didn't really know what I was looking at, but when I opened the track I heard what was obviously a Western bluegrassy thing. I thought, oh, okay, that'll be easy. I'll just sort of bring out the bluegrassyness of it and see what happens; I'm a bluegrass player and I can do this. Well, it turns out the easy path is the fucking boring path. I just couldn't get what I wanted out of it and I was utterly unmotivated. So, since the changes were essentially blues changes, I thought - what if I cut the source's time in half and made a blues tune out of it? And then I saw my slide sitting on my desk and though 'Oh. Oh no. This must happen.' And it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Love the idea, but I'm not liking the production on this one. The guitar is really loud and piercing and I feel the ep's performance could've been a bit more lively and the timing tightened up slightly. I loved the sax by the end, that performance was really awesome. The adaptation to the genre was spot-on and the arrangement explores the original in plenty of ways. I liked the details like the simple percussion, which fits for the genre, and the shouts in the background. The deliberate pacing was also something I found enjoyable though some may find it plodding. I am pretty torn on this because my biggest issue is with the balance on the lead guitar, which could be solved easily with some eqing and making it sit better on the mix. I think it detracts enough from the song to warrant asking for a fix before giving it a pass.NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Damn, this is good. The bluegrass plodding and sax soloing all come together to make this one a great arrangement. The source is slow'd and steady, but it's still there, and the embellishments on it fit very stylistically with it, essentially transforming it from a fast Appalachian banjo track to a slower, more blues oriented bluegrass song. It's great. The EQ on the lead guitar is a little on the high-frequency side, but I think that adds to the authenticity of the piece - that tinn-y sound sounds appropriately bluegrass, to me. That organ is a little too loose on the performance, though. I'm sure it's intentional, but it feels like it's just missing the beats rather than giving it the swing you were going for. That sax is awesome, even though the first note it holds on is pretty flat. Great playing all around. I think it's a great track, and I'd be happy to see this one on the front page. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 There is a lot of high end on that guitar. Listening carefully it doesn't sound piercy, except during some isolated strums, but it does make the guitar feel lifted in a weird way out of the mix. If some EQ or even a simple LPF was run over this guitar part, the production would feel a lot more cohesive. Organ is also a bit loose for my tastes - especially the bars on its first entrance. This is likely due to the underlying rhythm making it feel more off the grid that it actually is, but regardless, I wish this was tighter. Solid performance on the arrangement front, no problems there. You have a slow pace, but the movement of the instruments holds interest and keeps the flow. A good level of authenticity for the style here with attention to detail that has gone noticed. Bit torn on this one - I feel the overly accentuated guitar highs do detract from the overall feel, knowing that it could be so simply fixed makes me want to see if this can be explored as it'd make the mix much better IMO. Because of this, it's a NO (borderline). Edit 26/10/2016: new version's guitar sounds better. Happy with this. Organ is a bit dull, but it doesn't detract heavily. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 WOW what a cool idea, and what great performances. I hear the issues being brought up by the other Js. The guitar highs didn't bother me until the organ came in, and the contrast is too much, the organ sounds flat and lifeless by comparison. The sax afterward has a good amount of highs. I am agreeing that the guitar needs the highs tamed just a little bit. It would be nice to get a little more life into the organ performance or even add another element there to compliment it, add a little more interest to that section. My vote will be YES when these things are addressed. edit 7/21/16: This version is better mixed. I still feel that the organ-only section is the weak link, it is so empty and plain compared to the rest of the track which is sooooo soulful (with those vocals, "that's right") and the organ alone doesn't maintain the continuity of emotion very well. Maybe with a very realistic tambourine or shaker performance added there, it would have more personality. Regardless, the improved mixing gets my YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Sent the crits to Joe, he agreed to make a revision. No ETA, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Here is a new version of the track. Joe told me that he really prefers how the guitar sounds in his first submission, though. https://app.box.com/s/bhf54067j06ak0bofrbp0hmylwd7vg3m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Listened to the new version of this and I'm having no issues with the guitar sound, so I appreciate the Joe was able to put into this. I love that the arrangement is both close to the original style but also has a ton of personality in the performances. Well, minus the organ, which sounds a little dull, especially compared to the sax wailing soon after. I don't see it being a deal breaker, but I do find it to be the weak point of the mix. Good stuff from Joe as always! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Great feel and tons of character from the get-go here. I didn't hear the old version, but currently the lead guitar still sounds a bit thin with a lot of emphasis on the high end without a lot of body. Minor crit, that. Really liking the loose feel of this and the lazy chord changes. Organ solo was a bit bland compared to the rest of the track IMO. Nice backing drum work that may not get a lot of attention because of how far in the background it is. Slowing down of the arrangement was a great call and works really well. Great stuff (shocker!). YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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