Rexy Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 (edited) If the track passes, it will need a new title. -Rexy Remixer name : jmabate Real name : abate jean marc website : https://www.youtube.com/user/jmabate userid : 35644 Name of game(s) arranged : Mega Man X Name of arrangement : Sigma Fortress 2 cover Name of individual song(s) arranged : Sigma Fortress 2 Composer : Setsuo Yamamoto System : Super Nintendo Original : Best regards jmabate Edited August 23, 2020 by Emunator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Kick drums added in at :33 didn't sound like a good fit when they were so isolated, but it was brief. Strangely enough, I thought the faster bow movements of the chorus's countermelody (starting at :10) sounded a lot more realistic than the leads starting at :42 (when they were a lot louder). Brass at :57 also usually didn't sound good, particularly the saxophone sample. I mean, the standard here isn't that high; even something like "Jazzy NYC '99" works well enough, but the attacks in this here were extremely jarring throughout. Hopefully a musician J can better articulate what doesn't work about those particular sounds. 2:46-3:04 turned into a wall of sound, but details were getting lost. There was the chorus line in particular that might as well not have been there because it was so obscured, but 3:04-3:19 sounded much stronger and you could hear the parts more clearly. Brass re-appeared at 3:19 and dragged this down; if you can finesse those samples or get more realistic-sounding ones, go for it, otherwise consider different instrumentation. Really nice energy to the guitar on its own at 4:21 for the close. I love the ambitiousness of the arrangement; the interpretation, instrumentation choices, and textures are all strong and easily above the bar. The substance of the arrangement definitely doesn't need to be touched. The brass and cluttered mixing pull this down, but this could definitely be refurbished and make it in another form. Really strong base here, Jean Marc, and I hope you'll consider resubmitting this one in particular. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Brass at 0:57 was certainly too loud. The saxophone line that played afterwards was interesting. The quality of the instruments here are mixed, I believe the issues are exacerbated by sequencing issues (note lengths, attacks). At times you have your parts working against each other instead of building cohesion. The 2:25 guitar solo, while I understand you were going for a quieter feel, it was too soft compared to the other parts. At 2:47 it was better, but the jump in volume felt unnatural. I would say the mixing here really needs fixing. There are sections with a lot happening, where the levels are all out. The loud brass has some attitude to it, but it's often on the verge of being obnoxious at times. The ending felt like it would've worked best after the first bar at 4:23, the remainder notes didn't wind things down, and felt a bit noodley. There are some good ideas in this, we just really need some cohesion across the mixing and performance here. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 This remix is incredibly ambitious in its fusion of multiple different styles that definitely works on a conceptual level. Right now, the mixing and the quality of some of the samples are holding this back. In its current form, you have huge jumps in dynamics at moments like :59, where the brass stabs are so loud that it's extremely jarring when they come in. I would suggest going back and revisiting the balance between each of your instruments so there are less dramatic jumps throughout the track. Increasing your master compression would also balance that out. From a sound quality standpoint, I thought the strings, guitar, and thicker orchestral brass stabs worked really well. I thought the ensemble brass in particular sounded good, it was just mixed too loudly. The drums were a mixed bag - when they were more exposed during the first few minutes, they sounded weak, but when the electric rhythm guitar comes in at 2:47, the drums fit in much better. For the first section of the song, try playing with some light saturation, compression, or distortion to give the drums a bit more punch. The lead saxophone was definitely the weakest element here - I'm not going to say that you need to have a live performer for that part, but in its current form, it's unrealistic to the point where it's distracting. I also second Jivemaster's observation about the ending, which felt unnecessarily long. This is truly a strong effort, and I don't think anything needs to change about the arrangement itself, but the mixing is holding it back. Hope to hear this again from you! NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts