djpretzel Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Would need a new title Dodgy strings/violins, but otherwise some good stuff Might be too conservative - djp --- Hello, It's my first time here and my song is in attached file, or in the link bellow:Thanks Contact Information AgentXBR Douglas Lopes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUoOVGmTthUPOkLcgnj9apw Submission Information Batman Streets of Desolation NES arranged Streets of Desolation Composer(s): Naoki Kadoka , Nintendo Entertaiment System. ( Link to the original soundtrack> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCA_msAEn8k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I'm very familiar with the Batman NES soundtrack, it's one of my favorites and I listen to it regularly and know it by heart, so I guess I'll tackle this one first. First off, the arrangement is very conservative but it's not an exact cover of the original, there are embellishments and variations here and there, as well as changes in the structure. Around the 2 minute mark a lot of expanding is done in the solo lead and the backing strings and chords, so I'm ok with this one on the arrangement front. I didn't like the ending though, I think a better job could've been done in the lead-in to the outro...as it stands it's not much of an outro as the track just kinda stops. The production though needs some work, the mix is very very muddy, feels like the guitars are hidden behind the drums and the bass. There's a lot of low end and sub content that is muddying everything up, just looking at my analizer I can see a lot of sub frequencies even right at the start when there's just a cymbal hit, this may be recording hum or something else, but nevertheless, the mix could stand some clean up in that area, and some separation in your different elements. I'm not convinced by the quality of the strings and they sometimes disappear behind all the mud as well. The bass seems a bit mechanical and static, not a huge issue but I would try to liven it up from time to time as it seems to be locked on the original groove most of the time. I liked what I heard here, arrangement wise, and I love this theme. But right now the production is not there yet. Clear things up, and this will be good in my eyes. Reworking the ending would be a plus as well.NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Batman first stage... Yeah, that's a great source. I'm surprised I haven't heard a straight metal arrangement of this yet, as it works wonders like this. Heavy, some real great licks and solos throughout and just does so many neat things with the source later, this track does an already great source justice. As Sir_NutS mentions, though, it does have a few areas that are rough around the edges. The bass is pretty oppressive in this, first and foremost. I can understand to a point, since it's a pretty iconic part of the source, but it really could've been mixed behind the lead guitar better than it is here. As it stands, it sonically gets in the way of the other instruments. I'd argue this isn't a deal breaker, but the issue is certainly there. The strings are not the best, but honestly they are not a huge focus at all in this. They rarely stand out, for better or worse; They could be better, but I don't think they bring down the track much at all. Looking at the waveform, there's also a bit of overcompression that occurs from time to time. It looks like there was a pass on the compressor at the end, as there's a lot of headroom, so you might consider releasing a version without that last pass on the compressor. It's loud enough, so there's really no need to compress it for volume, here. I really enjoy the arrangement, though; even before the soloing at 2:10, I'd argue it takes it in a pretty different direction from the source at 1:05. It slows it down, cuts it to half time and sounds more like a power ballade for Batman than the straight thrash the rest of the track presents. It's a really solid approach. I agree the ending could've been better, but what's there isn't the worst. I wouldn't be against it if the other judges send it back, as the mixing and production aren't perfect, but I think the good outweighs the bad in this case. It's close, but I think it's just good enough for me. -- EDIT: Listening to it again (particularly for a mod-ish review posted for this track in the WIP boards), I'm feeling the production issues harder than I did initially. I'm still on the fence, but I'm leaning more on the other side of it now, especially after knowing that the artist plans on cleaning it up. If Gtex / AgentXBR reads this, fix this, clean it up and please resubmit, as I really do feel like this deserves a place on the front page, when the production and mixing is cleaned up. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Not sure what was up with the lone cymbal shot at the start, but OK. Right after the opening, the bowed strings indeed sounded off, but it was brief and, more importantly, quiet (:02-10). Why's the lead guitar at :10 so quiet relative to the drums? The placement isn't a dealbreaker in and of itself, but it also doesn't make sense, and the track sounds oddly distant as a result. Sir_NutS is correct about the bassline sounding static, but it was also quiet and bled into the background enough where that issue was actually mitigated, IMO. There's definitely some mud and clutter due to the bassline, but it wasn't bad enough where I couldn't distinctly pick out other elements, including the supporting electric guitar. Not a dealbreaker for me in this case. At 2:12, there was some original material over the riff from the source, and then over simplified chords, before going back to the chorus at 2:57. I was hoping there'd be no rinse and repeat material in here, since the melodic interpretation was conservative, and that was the case here. Good stuff. The track cut off at 3:40 without fading out fully, so that was a small detail that unfortunately was overlooked. Unlike Sir_NutS, I didn't have a problem with the ending bars at 3:22; it could be my familiarity with the theme, but that's just how it goes, and the 15-second-long ending section went on long enough where it felt like the track wound down (despite the abrupt cut-off) Straightforward stuff as far as the melodic treatment, but expanded well enough, IMO. The balance of the parts was odd, but nothing that holds back this arrangement for me. Fun stuff, Douglas! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I've seen metal arrangements of this elsewhere on the internet, but nice to see it here! I didn't play this game as a kid--no comic book fans among my friends--so it was great to discover this tune as an adult. I'm completely in agreement with NutS on his main points. The arrangement is generally conservative but in most places has at least some original accompaniment, and the original section is a lot of fun. Could stand to be a bit more than just looping through the source a few times with a break in the middle, but it's passable on this front. But the mixing needs some substantial work--the lead is heavily buried behind the bass, the overdriven guitar, and the drums throughout most of the mix. It's most severe starting at about 2:58, where everything comes in and just drowns out that lead even though two guitars are playing it. I actually thought the overdriven guitar was the worst offender, even drowning the bass when it was playing. Balance could have been improved but was much better when it wasn't there. I did think the ending was adequate for the style, although the tail Larry mentioned should be fixed if this passes. The strings at 1:10-1:14 were more egregious than the ones at the beginning, but again, they were brief and quiet, and could be overlooked. The production is the only major issue I have, but I feel like it's a substantial one that needs to be addressed before posting. Clean that up and I think this will be an easy pass. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Yeah, that mud is just not working here. For a good portion of the mix it's alright, then there are times where the lead is totally drowned out. I would really like to hear this cleaned up, because the arrangement has a lot of personalization to it, especially for the second half! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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