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*NO* Mega Man Battle Network 4 'Program Advance'


djpretzel
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This one's helped along a bit by some nice modulation/sequencing on the leads. - djp

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Greetings, OCR Judges!

 
This is actually a revisit of a previous arrangement I did a few years back. I've learned a bit more about music production, and though the arrangement was solid enough to warrant a redo. The structure is mostly the same, but it was reconstructed from scratch using the feedback from the panel and the knowledge I've picked up since then. Hope you all enjoy!
 
Game arranged: Mega Man Battle Network 4
Song arranged: Battle Pressure (AKA the tournament battle theme). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33CR9ab8RCs
Arrangement Title: Program Advance
OCR Name: Skyline Drop
Real Name: Ike Elele
User ID: 22951
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Mmm, not enough Mega Man Network representaion on here, and this arrangement does a nice job taking the best elements out of the source and running with it. There's also some really great lead synth work, too - there's a lot of little grace notes, portamento tweaks, pitch bends etc., that really liven this up.

The sequence that occurs at 0:02 - 0:08 is quite recurring in this track, in precisely this format. 6 repetitions from 0:02 - 0:39, 4 repetitions from 0:54 to 1:30, alternates between it and other source 4 times from 1:30 - 2:08 and finally closes off with 6 more repetitions at 2:59 - 3:35. The pattern is really dominating when it's there. Due to how often it comes up, it really wears on the listener. I'd suggest cutting a few of those repetitions off (perhaps cutting the six repetitions to four, cutting the four to two, etc.), or consider varying the pattern periodically. Right now, even with all of the cool envelope work on the lead, the track becomes difficult to listen to due to the repetitiveness of that pattern.

The instruments overall sound like they're lacking in the upper EQ space, a little bit. Some of your more prominent leads could use a bit of an EQ boost in the upper range, to help fill the EQ space that's lacking, at the moment.

Overall, it's a pretty decent arrangement, but that repeating pattern really drags this down. Cut some of those repeating sections out, or at the very least change them up so it doesn't sound like the pattern is repeating over and over again. Also, consider brightening up some of the instruments with some upper EQ, in order to fill the space a little better.

NO

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  • 3 months later...

Gario really has some great advice here. The repetition on the opening motif definitely is a bit much, and some sort of variation would make a world of difference. Either shortening the number or changing the pattern would be effective (or both!). 

I'm also going to agree that the high end feels a bit lacking. The track feels almost stuffy as a result, and getting more of the higher end frequencies will really help open up the track. 

The Mega Man death sound effect could also be louder at the end, it's barely noticeable as is. 

Great start, but it needs a couple adjustments yet.

NO (resubmit)

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Yeah this is not quite there yet.  The synths and drums are very vanilla, and the motifs are repeated too much.  Lead levels vary a lot, some feel very in your face while others seem pretty distant.  There are some positives to find here though, as I enjoyed the lead melody writing, and I also have to add that the mix felt clean, although that's partly because of the basic features found in the production, but there wasn't anything that was really off-putting or that broke the mix.

I don't know if I agree with the crits regarding the high end balance, I thought it was ok, and rising it too much may bring unpleasantness to the mix which is clean, for now.  I'd recommend just adjusting the gain balance of your different instruments in your mix first before trying any eq changes, and see if that gets you a fuller mix, as I mentioned before I noticed some things felt like they were too much in the background.  I will also add that more work can be done to smooth the transitions.  I'm glad you're taking the panel's advice and trying to use it to improve, that's a great attitude.  For this song though I'll have to go with a

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  • Sir_NutS changed the title to *NO* Mega Man Battle Network 4 'Program Advance'
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