djpretzel Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Contact Information ReMixer name: deusdiapente userid: 29756 Submission Information Game arranged: Ninja Gaiden II (NES) Name of arrangement: Eisegesis Songs arranged: Act 1-1 theme, act 3-2 theme This is an acoustic guitar / EDM/dubstep-ish mix of the act 1-1 theme with some additional riffing off of the act 3-2 theme. Edited July 24, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Oh hey, Ninja Gaiden 2. oh HEY, it's the stage 1 music, awesome! It's not that damn stage 3-2 track that everyone remi... It's a combination of stage 1 and 3-2. *sigh* Nah, it's fine - 3-2 is certainly a good source, too - that's why people love to remix it, after all. The arrangement of these two sources feels a little like you play them back to back. The transitions between sources are pretty good, though, so I give props for that. The steelstring guitar is pretty well done, but it's overdone. The texture remains relatively the same throughout the entire track - one can drop the needle anywhere in the track and it'll sound very close to any other point. Change it up, drop some instruments, add some other instruments (the synth helps, but it's not enough). Hell, the drums don't change at all from 1:02 on, save for some fills. It all just starts to sound the same after the minute and a half mark. Now, I'm not saying that you don't do things differently throughout the track - you vary the themes in pretty cool ways. It's hard to carth that, though, when the texture remains nearly the exact same for four and a half minutes. At 3:26 there's a stutter in the track which sounds off, almost like it's some sort of looping point. Make that transition seemless - that stutter is distracting. At 1:33 the chord sounds pretty odd, due to that stray note in the steelstrings. It has no real preparation for the listener, and it's not really used again throughout the song, so it's really out of place - I would recommend lowering the offending steelstring note by a halfstep. The ending also cuts off suddenly. It sounds like it should've rang out at the end, rather than cut the ringing note short like it does - it sounds more like a mistake than intentional, so it should be fixed. Overall, the biggest issue is the static texture used throughout. Change it up, drop the steelstrings from time to time, utilize different beats, introduce new instruments, use new combinations of instruments. It needs variety if it's going to hold the listener's attention for four and a half minutes, so spice things up. There are a few other minor missteps that should be addressed, as well, if you decide to go back and adjust this track. Great to see someone approach another Ninja Gaiden II track, though, even if it IS tied in with the more commonly arranged source. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Production-wise this isn't bad; the strings used felt a bit static but they're mostly background filler so that's alright. I am not totally convinced by the steel guitar, although I feel you did try to add some dynamics to it, I think you overused it throughout the track and the more you rely on it the more my attention as a listener is drawn to it, and the more I find the failings of the dynamics and articulations. Another sticking point for me are the dubstep wubs, which didn't feel like they were following the groove of the song. I take issue with people just throwing the dubstep wubs in a track without understanding why and how. The automation of your filter should make a groove that complements the beat, I feel like the automations here just get random and pointless, or the envelopes are too long and make the wubs kinda cheesy. Most of the time they just feel like they're on top of the track and not contributing to what they should: get my head bobbing with the beat. I also felt the sound used was very static outside of the filter automation used to create the wubs. I felt like the two themes segued into each other fairly well, but some of the variations on the melodies felt kinda noodly. I did like the section with the middle with the triplets variations, even though the section felt emptier than it should. I feel the song goes for a bit longer than it should, and the drums get very repetitive. Overall this is not a bad start but requires a number of adjustments to get it working. I provided some regarding the arrangement and structure which were big issues for me, but Gario also provided useful feedback.NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Interesting choice of instruments. A combination of real and synthesised. Straight up, the snare is awfully low in volume and lacks body. Your base arrangement mostly works once it builds up but has some issues. I felt the chorus portion lacked impact, with the wubs not transforming the portion as intended. Agree with Mike that the wubs aren't synchronising in any real way with the beat/melodies either, and to be honest, I didn't see too much reason for them to be in here. Around 2:40 the kick/note stabs don't feel right to me, they feel out of time or are on crazy off beats which don't catch a hip-hop groove. The second half does a fairly close rendition of the first half, with a lot of reused ideas. Production isn't too bad - most things are audible and fairly easily heard, although the low end does occasionally overpower. Side-chaining doesn't snap back quickly as it should in those sections, resulting in perceived volume dips. You seem to have most of your sounds in place. There are some good and not so good arrangement concepts here. Things build up ok, but never quite go anywhere - I think some work needs to be done to strengthen the overall direction of your mix. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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