prophetik music ⚖️ Posted April 8 Posted April 8 original vote Here's the original sub post: Lucas Guimaraes - Arrangement Eladar - Production, Mix, Master I took this song on because, while I love Golden Sun's soundtrack, the Lighthouse themes shine high., and this was one of the last important songs that needed to be done. Sometimes, my ambition eats me alive. One of those times was this song - When making this, and even now, my composition skills far outweigh my production skills. I had enlisted someone else before to help, and we were on a tight deadline. Thankfully, Eladar swept in and was able to turn the arrangement into gold - I was extremely thankful. I'd worked with producers for electronic type tracks before, but hearing how well this duo went is wonderful. Prior to, I'd never worked with him. Honestly? Finishing it was a miracle on its own. One of the aspects I appreciate the most about being a creator? Getting to demystify the other side. There wasn't any 'magic'; just a lot of hard work and determination. A lot of that stemmed from when I was finishing my masters degree. I hope everyone enjoys! And here's some new comments: This is where the joke "Louder master plz" comes from. I feel the original voting thread was pretty divisive, and we addressed a lot of the problems and added some new stuff here and there. And I'm happy that it's resubbed. One thing that makes the resubs a bit magical(?) in their own way is getting to reconnect with people that I haven't connected with in forever. Eladar and I hadn't talked with each other in years, and it took us several months of on and off communication to sync our times to get this done. It's weird cause, at the time, I was annoyed at having to resub it for small things. But now I'm happier with this version *and* I'm happier to connect again. Hoping a lot of fellow Golden Sun fans get to enjoy this, and I hope you all enjoy! Thanks once again to Eladar. Really, him and I tag-teamed this and he def deserves as much credit as I do. I'm still surprised the original was done so quick for the album. Games & Sources Mercury Lighthouse
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted April 8 Author Posted April 8 last time around, i was the first no in a cascade of five to flip this from 2Y to a full rejection. i didn't like the master or drums at all, and felt that the synths were pretty bland. most of the no votes centered around the phrase 'lacking verve'. opens with a big, throbbing kick and bass combo. snare has a lot more snap than last time around, and there's some other glassy synths around it to keep it moving forward. melody's in at 0:21 and there's more automation and movement on it than there was last time around. the time signature changes several times to accommodate for the noodly melody. 0:51's lead instrument is pretty blah and sticks around for a while, which is a bummer given the focus on this type of issue in the last submission. 1:16's lead combination is really interesting and different. there's a lot of chromaticism in there too, and the transition into the next section has a lot of neat stuff going on. the drums through here are pretty dull, but everything else is changing and varying a lot, which is neat. there's a big ritard into 2:00, with some sustained lower pads, and we get a significant transition to a different style entirely. the transition isn't super good but it works. this is a more straightforward synth-pop approach complete with a new chord structure. there's some synth solo for a bit, before we get some dx bells aping the opening melodic material for a bit before the track winds down in tempo. there's a last wash (no pun intended) of color on the last M7 chord and it's done. i think this is a lot more functional of a mix this time around. there's still some nits about lead choice and some of the textures here and there, and the end section isn't quite as source-y as the opening 2/3rds, but overall this is a lot better. thanks for taking the feedback and giving us back something better! YES
Chimpazilla ⚖️ Posted April 15 Posted April 15 Ah yes I remember this, and the varied time-signature source song. My big crits were too-quiet master, improper volume leveling and EQ, and lack of sidechaining. The master is loud now, possibly a hair too loud, but it's clean so I'll take it. The mixing sounds so much better this time. I'm not sure I hear any sidechaining, but the kick is audible and things are grooving nicely. I like the weird lead sounds, I liked those before and I still do, they fit the vibe so well. This is such a cool creepy yet groovy arrangement, and the creation of it has an interesting story attached to it. Congrats on the Masters degree, three years late! Thanks for putting in the time to get this mix sounding its best! YES
Emunator ⚖️ Posted April 15 Posted April 15 Well, last time I dinged this for lacking verve... I hear the verve now! It's been so long that I forgot what the original one sounded like, but I can't imagine levying the same criticism against the version I'm hearing now. It's really got a lot of spunk and personality. There's a solid groove in place, the synths and drums all feel like they belong to the same space, and everything feels quite warm and cohesive. I still find the arrangement and part writing a little weird, for lack of a better word, but thanks to the overhaul on the mixdown, it feels more like an intentional kind of weird, like I'd expect from a modern-day Earthbound recreation. Surprisingly clean result for how loud it's mastered - I'd ease up on the master limiter in the future, I'm hearing just a touch of crunch here but everything is very clearly audible. Nitpick - I think you've got some low-mid buildup due to some of the synths and bass peaking in some of the same ranges, so I'd be careful to not let that range get out of control. Great job guys, this is ready for primetime! YES
Recommended Posts