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*NO* Super Castlevania 4 "Whip of Justice"


Emunator
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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting approach.  The intro is basically a sound upgrade, but from there it trades off between metal, violin solos, and synth work.  It's eclectic but for the most part it works.

However, the mix still isn't quite there yet.  The bass is frequently overpowering, and the leads often struggle to stay on top.  There are a lot of parts, and some of them, like pads, arps, and SFX, are much louder than they need to be.

Regarding the drums, I don't think that they're too quiet per se.  The main problem is the hats, or rather the lack thereof.  Drums need to have some high end, usually hats, sometimes claps.  Sometimes snares can fill this role, but your snares have no high in them.  There are hats, on occasion, but they have their highs filtered out as well.  The result is that the whole mix seems lethargic.

I'm not great at writing drums myself, but my impression from listening is that this isn't the only reason the drums seem lifeless, and that the drum writing also needs improvement.  Hopefully one of my fellow judges can provide some more constructive pointers on this front.

There's some great work here, and it's a fun arrangement.  It just needs a little more work to get it over the top.

NO (resubmit)

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  • MindWanderer changed the title to 2021/10/05 - (1N) Super Castlevania 4 "Whip of Justice"

Yikes, between 0:35-0:50, that is a crushing wall of sound, almost physically painful.  I agree with MW this is an eclectic mix but it works and keeps it interesting, but I also agree with him about the mixing.  He said the hats can't be heard, and that is because every other element is absolutely screaming in the range in which the hats should be heard.  The mix needs a major EQ overhaul, cutting lows out of everything that isn't kick or bass, to make sure no low-end mud is getting mastered, and toning down highs and high-mids on elements that don't need to be that crispy, so that things like hats can sparkle and shine.  I like this arrangement though!  Also, the mastering is WAAAAAAAY too heavy, it is clipping according to SPAN, and hitting -6db RMS which is just stupid-loud for a mix of this type.  The heavy master compression is surely adding to the over-crispy wall-of-sound effect.  Once you've addressed the mixing (primarily EQ corrections and cuts) I guarantee this will master much better, sounding even louder but without the uncomfortable crispiness.  I'd love to hear this again with the mixing and mastering fixed up!

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  • Chimpazilla changed the title to 2021/10/05 - (2N) Super Castlevania 4 "Whip of Justice"

Cool arrangement and creative approach to the style, but unfortunately the mixing needs a complete overhaul. Once the bass comes in, it's extremely hard to focus on much else. There's a lot of acoustic energy in the lows and low-mids that's fatiguing my ears as I listen. Is there any reverb on the bass? Sounds like there could be - if there is, dial that all the way back and that'll be a good starting point, then look to do everything Chimpazilla suggested.

I always think of mixing as "the easy bit", as it can be done after the song is composed, but in reality, with a completed track it can be a daunting task. The good thing is that mixing skills apply to everything you'll ever make, whereas each arrangement is always unique. Give this one another crack, and hopefully it'll clean up nicely and you can take those skills forward.

NO (resubmit)

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  • DarkSim changed the title to 2021/10/05 - (3N) Super Castlevania 4 "Whip of Justice"
  • Liontamer changed the title to *NO* Super Castlevania 4 "Whip of Justice"
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