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*NO* Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"


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(updated 5/13/2022)
(old version for reference only)

 
ReMixer Name: DusK
Real Name: Dustin Branscum
Email: 
Website: http://www.itstartsatdusk.com

User ID: 24328
 
Game: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Arrangement Name: "Shred 'n' Slip"
Song Arranged: "Fall 'n' Roll"
Platform: Playstation 4/PC
Composers: Jukio Kallio, Daniel Hagström
 
Link to source: 
 
Comments: In late July, I took a spill on my skateboard and shattered my distal humerus. In layman's terms, I broke tf out of my arm. As a result, I lost mobility in it almost entirely, and the surgery also ended up tweaking my radial nerve, which killed all wrist, finger, and thumb extension in my left arm. I was no longer able to play guitar.
 
Well, until about 4 months later, when my wrist extension started coming back. And just a few days ago, my fingers started gaining extension as well. I'm still nowhere where I used to be in terms of my guitar capabilities, but I was at least able to hammer out a fun little metal track.
 
Anyway, here's hoping this one makes you move a bit. :)
Edited by Liontamer
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  • 4 months later...

you...rearranged a track titled "fall & roll"...after falling off your skateboard and busting your arm?

melodic content is ready apparent right off the bat. there's some variety in the drum patterns, and the guitars are clear and mastered fine. there's an A/B feel to the first half of the track, and right when it started getting a little repetitive at 2:09, there's a bit of a break and a solo section - which i wasn't expecting based on the writeup! the chant/cheer section at 2:47 is fun, and not annoying like i kind of expected after listening to the original. there's a big recap at 3:30 or so, and that takes the track to the conclusion.

overall there's not a ton of arrangement outside of the genre conversion, but what's there is enough to keep it moving and distinct. i thought the mastering was fine with no big issues. this is a pretty competent track from start to finish for a dude who just got his hands back a week before. nice work!

 

 

YES

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  • prophetik music changed the title to 2021/01/03 - (1Y) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"
  • 4 months later...

Oof, man.  Hope you're doing better now.  Although you submitted this almost a year ago as of when I'm writing this, so I would really hope so.

As proph said, it's conservative, but the genre change, the solo, and the rearrangement of the second half make this interpretive enough for our standards.  I would say that the sections where you switch guitars, in 2:20-2:41 and 3:08-end, do get cluttered, and there's some overcompression (really noticeable at 2:39, for instance, with the kicks, and from 3:40-4:22).  The climax, where the chant joins back in at 4:00-4:22, is seriously muddy and pumping.

3:50 sounds like a really sour note to me, and there's similar dissonance occasionally for the rest of the track as well.

I'm kind of borderline on this one.  The first half is produced very well, though by itself it's overly conservative.  The second half has the originality we look for but the production is problematic.  I'm going to say that the compression and clarity in the sections I mentioned above need another pass before I'll be willing to vote in favor.

NO (resubmit)

Update 5/16: DusK submitted an updated version, and while it is cleaner, it's still pretty muddy in the busier sections, e.g. from 3:40 on.  It's extremely mid-heavy there.  There's some mitigation to all my earlier comments, but I still stand by them.

And actually, I'll add to that: there's not a lot of presence in the highs throughout the whole arrangement.  The lead guitar has a very dark tone to it, and the main synth peaks at the mids as well.  When there is a lead that plays the high end (e.g. 2:09), it still sounds filtered and bottom-heavy.  Most of what I hear in the trebel range is cymbals.

still NO (resubmit)

Edited by MindWanderer
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  • Emunator changed the title to 2021/01/03 - (1Y/1N) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"
  • Liontamer pinned this topic
  • 2 weeks later...

Ah man, sounds like a really bad injury, but I'm glad you were able to get back to playing guitar so soon. I hope you've made a full recovery by now and there's more shredding and less slipping :)

Love the vibe right out of the gate - huge energy and a pretty raw sound. Very punk. Those open hats drag on a little too long for my personal taste - I'd have dropped the pattern once the first verse hits at 0:23 - and I'm glad when the pattern changes up at 0:44. The mastering is loud, so the frequency range of the hats gets a real boost, which can be grating on the ears if they're playing every beat. I'm not a fan of the backing synth choice that comes in around 1:06. There's a lot of detune and reverb on it, which makes it sound both out of time and out of tune compared to the guitar.

The break at 2:10 is nicely done, and the 2:20-2:42 section works really well. Much better use of cymbals here, adding in some crashes and velocity changes to move the sound around and keep it from grating. The guitar chugs at 2:19 though suffer from overcompression, with is present at many other points in the track. You can hear the distortion effects which are basically clipping but on a local channel scale, rather than the master track. Check your channel compression - it's better to mix them quiet and then push the master, rather than pushing the channels. If the channels are overcompressed, the damage has been done, and no amount of mastering can save you.

The 'Jellybean/Minion break' is super fun, but again I'm not sure on that rising synth at 3:10-3:29 that sounds very out of place in the sound palette. Similar to the detuned acid saw earlier, I don't think the timbre is right for the track. Having the pitch rise on a sustained note can work fine for a build, but it's got to be the right sound, and sit back in the mix so as not to distract from the core material.

The final section suffers as a result of the overcompression mentioned earlier, in that you've got this wall of sound with absolutely no room to grow into, so the Jellybean voices just dissolve into the track and it becomes very muddy. It's a shame because the style is perfect, and the arrangement as it stands I think is fine. This one definitely needs another pass, particularly paying attention to the compression on the guitar channels, and some tweaking to the backing synths to make them more cohesive with the sound palette, as well as moving them more into the background.

NO (resubmit)

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  • DarkSim changed the title to 2021/01/03 - (1Y/2N) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"
  • 2 weeks later...

Oh man, sorry about your arm, so glad you are regaining function!

Are these vocals allowed?  They sound straight out of the source.  Wow this is a busy mix, and loud.  The master hits -7.3db RMS at its loudest which is hardcore EDM range.  It's a sausage waveform and a wall of sound.  This is a long arrangement, considering the energy level hits 10 immediately and stays there throughout the piece, and the soundscape stays roughly the same with a few additions and variations.  There are several sections repeated nearly verbatim (0:44-1:05, 1:48-2:09, 3:08-3:29 and 4:22-4:44 are identical except for the vocals and beep loop added in the third and fourth iterations), making the track sound and feel repetitive.  I do love the soloing and I think this could be a good arrangement but it just feels too long to me due to the repeated sections and nonstop balls-to-the-wall energy level. The mixing is so busy as to be fatiguing, with so many elements competing for space in the mids, and the mix lacks high-end sparkle although the crashes end up being too loud (MW covered this well with his comments), and the mastering is too heavy/hot.   It's a fun vibe and well performed, but the arrangement feels too long and repetitive and the mixing needs to somehow be cleaner and less fatiguing.

NO (resubmit)

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  • Chimpazilla changed the title to 2021/01/03 - (1Y/3N) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"
  • 7 months later...

Wow, crazy to hear the 5-note "c-shot" jingle make its way into actual game soundtracks, but it wouldn't be the first time. What an old school VG arrangement community meme. :-D

Whoa, this definitely sounds very cluttered right off the bat, Jesus; even had to break out listening to a control track to make sure I didn't mess something up on my side. Too crowded. Arrangement-wise, it's a (strong and well performed) guitar cover for the first two minutes, so I was waiting for something to help set this apart from the original. Really not sure why the soundscape is so crammed, but it's already a dealbreaker for me. :'-(

2:09's change in the backing instrumentation finally changed something to sound markedly different from the source tune, then there was some nice freestyling over the foundation of the original at 2:19. Nothing wrong with sampling the original vocals at all; even when they're in play, other instrumentation is always referencing the source tune (so the sampling isn't used as a crutch to count as the source tune usage).

The rest of the arrangement works nicely as well in terms of constantly refencing the source tune but also integrating other original writing. IMO, the first two minutes really should involve some other elements to help that stand apart from the source tune more as more personalized, and that would also help undercut the criticisms of feeling/sounding too repetitive.

All that said, this mixing is just too flooded and make this needlessly unpleasent. It's almost a practical joke that you hit the final note at 4:47, then everything sounds so clean after the final note before the instrumentation's volume drops to 0. I'm certainly willing to accept something that is somewhat cluttered/compressed, but whatever was done to this was too much and it makes things unpleasant. Take the production advice of the Js who know what they're talking about and tweak this if you're interested.

Sorry that you got hurt, but glad you've come so far; this awesome performance quality doesn't sound like you're injured, so that's a testament to your hard work and dedication. Really glad you're still in the game, Dustin! Whether it's another version of this track (the energy & performance are great) or a different submission, we'll see you back on the front page for sure!

NO (resubmit)

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  • Liontamer changed the title to *NO* Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout "Shred 'n' Slip"
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