Liontamer ⚖️ Posted October 6 Posted October 6 Credits: Lucas Guimaraes - Arrangement, Production, Mix, Master As a continued effort into following Synth Designer, I'm just focusing on Chillsynth to up my production game. This one has *some* similar sounds to Do Re Dedede, but I think it's interesting to take something and see how far I can push it. Biggest thing that happened on this arrangement is I really like the melodies that Asgore's theme has, but I kind-of wanted to see what would happen if I explored different sections. With some push, shove, and about 11 hours of editing later, we have a version of Asgore's theme that's very, very focused on having as much of Asgore's theme as possible, but kind-of all over the place. Exploring the vibes. It's one of my favorite themes from Undertale too, so I Figured it was finally time to do it. It's actually funny because I'm noticing a lot of similarities with Do Re Dedede, even linking Xaleph both tracks and having him go "Clean as heck, I'd listen to this." - Still, it's always nice to get feedback from other experienced producers as they usually give me angles that even I hadn't considered. But talking more about the track: There's not really much else to say in terms of the production itself, but one thing I definitely enjoyed is just exploring the push and pull of this. Despite how crazy my arrangements are, I tend to be a pretty linear arranger with the source, so this one really let me out of my comfort zone. Maybe not enough messing with the rhythm as much as I'd like (Something I'm aiming to explore more with material!) but it creates a sonic palette that makes you wonder what will happen next. Oh, for the title, I went with a play on Alice in Wonderland. Undertale has a similar plot structure (Person gets thrown into a strange land and tries to get out) so why not Asgore in Wonderland? Similar to that book (and, of course, the 1951 Disney adaptation), this remix will leave you wondering. Hope you all enjoy! Games & Sources Asgore - Undertale
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted October 16 Posted October 16 opens with some gated elements and stuttered synths, and the kick hits at 0:19. i love how heavy the sidechain is alongside it. the snare's a surprise when it comes in as it's much brighter than everything else. there's a bit of a break at 1:12 with one of the downward motifs in the fore that slowly gets built up through 1:35. there's something hard-panned to the left that is quiet but is very noticeable once you hear it once, and it's a little disconcerting to hear something so far over. 2:00 brings in one of the ascending themes with some countermelodic content. this is a cool idea to overlap them, but they get kind of mushed together due to being in similar ranges and with similar instruments. there's a big drop at 2:48 - i like the snare echo, and the pad instrument here has a lot of fun stuff going on. there's some volume automation that comes in around 3:11 - which eventually is identified as more sidechaining - that takes a minute to grok what's going on, but it's a cool effect. we get into the final action around the 3:30 mark. the final groove is pretty straightforward, and there's a section without drums to cap it off. the track ends on a cliffhanger and feels very unfinished, even to the point of the backing sustain instrument just cutting off. i felt overall that melodically this track wanders a lot. asgore's melody really is a solid thing to grab onto, and is very singable and approachable even if you remove the frenetic energy that it as. i got that much less with this track - the melodic structure really wanders a lot with the changes that have been made, to the point i really had to search for correlations between the original and the remix. i think that the track's production overall is really solid beyond a few tiny things (a few cymbal hits that don't fit the kit's sound, a few places where the leads overlap too much), and i'm willing to err on the side of this being something the community'd like. YES
jnWake ⚖️ Posted October 29 Posted October 29 (edited) You really are in a big synthwave mood, aren't you? I dunno why of all themes possible you keep picking boss themes though! Anyway, this begins with some nice pads and synths until a melody from the source enters around 0:21. We then get a thumpy kick that's very heavily sidechained, and a bit later we get snare, hihat and a cowbell-ish thing. Eventually another melody from the source is thrown into the mix. It's a nice soundscape really, especially when it's "full" (around 0:50 onwards). As a nitpick, I feel the heavy sidechaining is too much at first, but it sounds great when the soundscape is fuller. I'd prefer if it was automated to become stronger when the track needs it rather than being so heavy all the time. There's a break at 1:11, I love the panning of the shakers (?). I've had some issues really figuring out how the melodies of the source are used at times but every once in a while a clear usage comes (like the synth at 1:35). That same melody is reinforced on a higher pitched synth on the following section, and some other parts of the source are also added as layers here. There's another break around 2:47 with some ethereal pads. At 3:00 a source melody kicks in and then we get one of the main themes of the source on a crystal-ish synth. I enjoy that you changed up the kick and hat pattern for this section, adds some nice variety. Around 4:00 the melody from 1:35 returns on the most regular synth of the entire track so far! There's one final break at 4:24 and the track ends peacefully. On arrangement this is an interesting track. I feel you nailed the mood you were going for and even managed to make it engaging for almost 5 minutes, a definitely bold length for a genre like this. Source usage moves between very evident and very hard to notice, but most sections of the remix definitely use the source so I don't think we need to invoke the stopwatch this time. My only "nitpick"/suggestion for the future is that the arrangement seems to imply the section at 4:00 is the track's climax (given its near the end and reprises an earlier melody), but the actual mixing/volume doesn't support that implication. If you indeed intended that section to be like the big climax/send-off I'd have supported that more, especially on the production side. Finally, I'll echo proph's comment on the ending pads cutting off rather strangely. On production this is very good, you did a nice job creating the various synth patches used in the track (or choosing presets, however you found the samples!). My only nitpicks really are the sidechaining being too heavy at first and that one synth has a very mid-heavy sound that bothers me a little (the one doing the melody in the entire section starting at 1:11). Both are far from dealbreakers though. Overall, another fun track in your synthwave spree! Solid production and arrangement make for an easy pass in my opinion. YES Edited October 29 by jnWake
Hemophiliac ⚖️ Posted November 3 Posted November 3 I'm on board for more chill vibes from Lucas. I do like the production on this. The pumping just toes the line of being too much while staying out of the danger-zone. Melodically this does wander and noodle. Right when I start feeling like the wandering is too much you give us snippets of the source, so it didn't get too far away for me. Again, right on the line for me. The length actually breezes by for me, so that's saying something. You kept the texture changing just enough to prevent it from feeling repetitive and without it feeling long. The sound design was good and the production was also just as good. I would have liked more of the source melody in there, but what's here is enough. YES
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