Hal_Emmerich Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 Hey guys. Most of you don't know me, but a while back I posted some unfair comments regarding remixes, stating that I thought there should be more remixes that stay close to the original 'feel' of the song. This didn't go well of course, and I retracted the comment. But someone gave me the suggestion of making my own remix. Well, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and give it a shot. This is my first attempt at anything musical, let alone a remix. www.stfx.ca/people/x2004/x2004cja/Ktower.mp3 Basically, I wanted to know if people thought it had a snowballs chance in hell of getting past the review process. I like it myself, but I'm also well aware of the fact that OC Has very high standards and first attempts generally don't turn out well. The song was an attempt to make Kefka's Tower sound a bit more heroic, while orchestrating it. Stays pretty true to the original material, except for the counter melody, changed tempo's and -slightly- altered melody. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theory of N Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 It doesn't sound much better than MIDI quality. The instruments and especially the drums just sound too fake. As I've never heard the original, I can't say much about the originality, but imo, if you want to even stand a chance, you need more realistic sounding instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Jazz Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 First thing I notice as I listen to this is that the samples sound very midi-ish. All of them. Also, that snare is especially annoying. You really need to replace that with something a little more... powerful. I haven't heard the original, but with proper samples and less snare, this could be a pretty good mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal_Emmerich Posted February 7, 2007 Author Share Posted February 7, 2007 Thanks. I've been using Cakewalk Sonar 6 and Synthsoft's 'Dimension Pro'. I assumed those would be pretty good sounding, but apparently I was mistaken (or, I can't properly use them) Any suggestions? For the record, the snare. I couldn't get the Dimension Pro 'Snare' Effect in the Garritan Orchestra kit to work right. It wouldn't make a sound, so I just picked a generic kit effect for it. For anyone interested, the original song is http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/FF6Ktow.mid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 If you're limited on samples, you can still work with what you have to make something unique. For example, layering 2 or 3 snare sounds or adding a compressor, filter or other effect to change the sound. Sometimes adding a slight reverb to dry samples like the snare can also bring a little life to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal_Emmerich Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Alright, I'll give that a shot. But the sample quality themselves, are they any good, or should I search for something better? I'm debating aquiring the EWQL Orchestra pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villainelle Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Your first mix and musical endeavor...using Garritan and thinking about "acquiring" EWQL...? Just a tip--you don't want to discuss "acquiring" stuff here. Besides which, there are tons of free soundfonts and plugins that other remixers have used to make beautiful mixes that passed (see DarkeSword). Amazing sample libraries aren't going to make a bad mix better--they're just tools; it's how they're used that counts, etc. etc. K, that said, hey! This is a cool unexpected choice of song to mix. I've got the FFVI OST memorized from childhood so I recognized this one right off. This sounds like...a stiffly sequenced MIDI playing with some decent samples. You need a lot more human expression in the notation, a lot more skillful use of your sample library which contains multiple samples for different velocities and articulations...a lot of work, bud. Imitating an orchestra is pretty difficult; I'd suggest you listen to orchestral mixes on this site, esp. stuff by Dale North, to get a feel for realistic imitation that is acceptable to this community. And even then, think twice, and maybe start with something simpler instead. Regarding the arrangement...I saw your Chrono Trigger thread, but luckily wasn't around to rip you a new one. I understand you like more conservative arrangements, but I think you need to broaden your definition of "conservative arrangement." You've got a start here with the new material you added, but it's not enough--this still follows the original song from start to end note for note, with some new stuff on top. At the very least, a new intro/outro and some bridges are needed. If you're just starting out, don't obsess over getting something posted on OCR right away--just keep practicing and posting your WIPs. And don't obsess over "acquiring" samples/plugs/etc. to make your mixes better--DarkeSword et al prove that free stuff is perfectly good enough to make excellent music. Did you know ziwtra used to do all his stuff on Linux with a tracker?! That still blows my mind. Anyway, that's my essay for today. Hope some of it was helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sephfire Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 I'm glad to see you trying your hand at remixing. Your first attempt shows promise. There's plenty of room for growth, as others have pointed out already, but keep at it. You've got plenty of peers here willing to help you along the way. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal_Emmerich Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Thanks for the advice. I am going to go back and re-write the melody a bit. I -wanted- to use trumpets to give it more of a march feel. But they -always- come out sounding like crap. And I'll be honest, I really am new to this stuff, in all honesty I barely know what a tracker is Edit: Ok, I have a second WIP if no one minds listening www.stfx.ca/people/x2004/x2004cja/KTower3.mp3 I varied the velocity and note durations a bit, and add a more interesting melody on the second run through. Is this closer to what you meant by realistic? And Leah, do you mean the velocity? I've actually got a working song where I'm experimenting with different velocity, it seems to be going pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Poe Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The idea of making "Kefka's Tower" sound heroic, definitely sounds interesting. I'd like you to post a working link to the remix. I'd love to hear it. Good luck ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockos Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 2007 remix old. The post of this is getting old. And 25 post from this guy (or girl) on the forum make you no chance to see this again. I'm sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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