Metroid - Brinstar (Synth Pop Mix)

[TronTek]

http://h1.ripway.com/TronTek/TronTek-Metroid-Brinstar(SynthPopMix).mp3

So, what do you guys think? I had to turn the main volume down a little bit so that it wouldn't get too staticy. I think some of the little notes need to be turned up a little bit so you can hear them better, and for the synth strings, I'm not sure if that is a good synth strings to use. It's slightly octaved. Not sure if that is good. I was going through different kinds of synth strings to see what would go best with this song, especially with the types of instruments it uses. I need a synth strings that will flow together well with the instruments. I was also looking for sawtooth for the main melody, but I couldn't find the pacific instrument, so I used something that sounded closest to it. If anybody knows where I can get sawtooth for the Styrus generator or SoundFont generator for FL Studio 7, I'd be so happy. I wanted this song to be creative, classy, have passion, be catchy, upbeat, have rhythm and all that. I originally made this on my MTV Music Generator 2 on my PS2, and months and months later, I remade it on my computer. I made it by ear and from scratch. I don't know how to read notes. I make music by ear. This is my first time making a song for a public site. The games I'm inspired by are Metroid, Gradius III, Gradius IV (on Gradius III and IV on PS2), Gradius V, the Contra series, Zone Of the Enders, and Zone Of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. The music in these games pretty much formed my taste of music. And, to note, I have had no musical lessons, and that, it is natural. This is my natural gift of making music. The song will start out simple, but, gets more immersive soon after the reverse cymbal hits. This is the theme for my songs.

[B33J]

Sorry bud, but I think the song is too loud, way too busy and muddy. If you could turn those 'backing strings', I guess they are, down in volume a lot, we might be able to hear the instruments and effects. You might not need as many instruments in there. There's no dynamics to the song's volumes and while there is some progression, it's not noticeable because of those synth strings/pads that cover everything up.

Also, try varying up the percussion lines. That very static hihat gets annoying after a while (every other tick-hit). Change up the hit times of the snare and bass drums, too.

After you calm the song down I would like to comment more on it.

[Nutritious]

Hey, this isn't a bad start...

First, that snare at the beginning needs a lot of humanizing. It's the same exact pitch with the same exact pattern playing over and over. Try messing with the note velocities to make it sound more natural and vary the pattern so it's not so repetative. You may also want to push it back in the mix so it's not so prominent.

Like Beej said, you've got a lot of buzzing synths which are taking up a lot of sonic space.

I REALLY like the changeup where the percussion comes in. I think the percussion in general needs the same help as the snare in the beginning - more humanizing and changeups. The hihats are very static and monotonous and the triangle is the same.

Ok, the guitar just cut in, it's really getting muddy in the mix now. It sounds like it's competing with the synths for space. You need to either cut out some sounds at that point, EQ out some frequencies, or get creative with some panning... maybe all three.

Now the saw just came in and it's the same as above - it's really muddying up everything by being layered on top.

Other than that, I think this song is sticking too closely to the original. It seems to have the same chord progressions and flow, so I'd say it qualifies more as a cover rather than an arrangement. Try varying up, mess with new ideas and try to reinterpret the original. Again, good start, I think this has potential.

[Villainelle]

This is really close to the original, drums aside. The other posters gave you some good technical advice, but if you are trying to make something that would pass OCR standards, you're going to have to be much more imaginative with your interpretation. But hey, kudos for transcribing the song so closely just by ear, that's not easy!

[TronTek]

Sorry bud, but I think the song is too loud, way too busy and muddy. If you could turn those 'backing strings', I guess they are, down in volume a lot, we might be able to hear the instruments and effects. You might not need as many instruments in there. There's no dynamics to the song's volumes and while there is some progression, it's not noticeable because of those synth strings/pads that cover everything up.

Also, try varying up the percussion lines. That very static hihat gets annoying after a while (every other tick-hit). Change up the hit times of the snare and bass drums, too.

After you calm the song down I would like to comment more on it.

It would've been louder, I just had to turn the main volume down some because, when I saved it as mp3 with the volume normal, a lot of static got in there. Do you want me to turn it down some more? I didn't want the song to sound too empty. So, what makes it muddy, is it the liquidiness of the synth strings, cuz, like I said before: I'm not sure if that is a good synth strings to use. I was going through different kinds of synth strings to see what would go best with this song, especially with the types of instruments it uses. I need a synth strings that will flow together well with the instruments. I didn't want the original song to lose what it is. I wanted it to be an authentic Metroid song arrangment. The instruments are based on how the original song sounds, as Synth Pop. The Synth Pop in the song is original itself. The original Synth Pop band is Depeche Mode. They're the first Synth Pop band. And, I thought: who better to go by what Synth Pop is than Depeche Mode. They're the Kings of Synth Pop. Do you want me to change the synth close-hat? I can if you want me to. I didn't change the hi-hat pattern because I didn't want the song to lose rhythm. I can pan the slight triangle. I can have the notes in the synth strings chords split in separate channels to give it a surround effect, it's sortof a wide stereo effect though.

[TronTek]

Hey, this isn't a bad start...

First, that snare at the beginning needs a lot of humanizing. It's the same exact pitch with the same exact pattern playing over and over. Try messing with the note velocities to make it sound more natural and vary the pattern so it's not so repetative. You may also want to push it back in the mix so it's not so prominent.

Like Beej said, you've got a lot of buzzing synths which are taking up a lot of sonic space.

I REALLY like the changeup where the percussion comes in. I think the percussion in general needs the same help as the snare in the beginning - more humanizing and changeups. The hihats are very static and monotonous and the triangle is the same.

Ok, the guitar just cut in, it's really getting muddy in the mix now. It sounds like it's competing with the synths for space. You need to either cut out some sounds at that point, EQ out some frequencies, or get creative with some panning... maybe all three.

Now the saw just came in and it's the same as above - it's really muddying up everything by being layered on top.

Other than that, I think this song is sticking too closely to the original. It seems to have the same chord progressions and flow, so I'd say it qualifies more as a cover rather than an arrangement. Try varying up, mess with new ideas and try to reinterpret the original. Again, good start, I think this has potential.

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether to call it an arrangment or not before I saved it. The saw is the two melodies from the beginning. The instrument in the 4th section is an acid moog. It's like a low-pitched melody. It's usually used in backgrounds. I think if I adjust the volumes between the instruments good enough, it might not sound like there's so much. It might ease things up. I'll try to make the hats in stereo some how.

[HoboKa]

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether to call it an arrangment or not before I saved it. The saw is the two melodies from the beginning. The instrument in the 4th section is an acid moog. It's like a low-pitched melody. It's usually used in backgrounds. I think if I adjust the volumes between the instruments good enough, it might not sound like there's so much. It might ease things up. I'll try to make the hats in stereo some how.

I love the sequence in the 50second region, where u got that (is it a bell of some sort) percussion sound. This would have been OC remix material a few years ago . So keep it up and you'll be up 2 pace. (And put in a few unique fillers, or original rythms here and there so its considered a rearrangement )

[xanZion]

http://h1.ripway.com/TronTek/TronTek-Metroid-Brinstar(SynthPopMix).mp3

So, what do you guys think? I had to turn the main volume down a little bit so that it wouldn't get too staticy. I think some of the little notes need to be turned up a little bit so you can hear them better, and for the synth strings, I'm not sure if that is a good synth strings to use. It's slightly octaved. Not sure if that is good. I was going through different kinds of synth strings to see what would go best with this song, especially with the types of instruments it uses. I need a synth strings that will flow together well with the instruments. I was also looking for sawtooth for the main melody, but I couldn't find the pacific instrument, so I used something that sounded closest to it. If anybody knows where I can get sawtooth for the Styrus generator or SoundFont generator for FL Studio 7, I'd be so happy. I wanted this song to be creative, classy, have passion, be catchy, upbeat, have rhythm and all that. I originally made this on my MTV Music Generator 2 on my PS2, and months and months later, I remade it on my computer. I made it by ear and from scratch. I don't know how to read notes. I make music by ear. This is my first time making a song for a public site. The games I'm inspired by are Metroid, Gradius III, Gradius IV (on Gradius III and IV on PS2), Gradius V, the Contra series, Zone Of the Enders, and Zone Of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. The music in these games pretty much formed my taste of music. And, to note, I have had no musical lessons, and that, it is natural. This is my natural gift of making music. The song will start out simple, but, gets more immersive soon after the reverse cymbal hits. This is the theme for my songs.

Mwahahahaha! I have some really fat sawtooths bro, but if its Sytrus you want, you really need to try out the JP8000. I usually just make my own synth presets (3xosc FTW!), but when I was beginning out a few years ago, this preset was the sickest out their. The link for that is below:

http://warning11.googlepages.com/JP8000.fst

(But seriously, play with some knobs and make your own man!)

Now for some critique, your song is alright, but you do really need to vary it off subject a little bit more, really close to the original, and if I was to be really mean, Id say cough cough *MIDI* cough cough.... But thats if I was mean.. What im missing a is a big climax to your song, the snare gets really annoying (so do the overall drum layouts), and like Leah said: " This is really close to the original, drums aside. The other posters gave you some good technical advice, but if you are trying to make something that would pass OCR standards, you're going to have to be much more imaginative with your interpretation. But hey, kudos for transcribing the song so closely just by ear, that's not easy!"

When your next interpretation is out, Ill be here

peace

[TronTek]

Mwahahahaha! I have some really fat sawtooths bro, but if its Sytrus you want, you really need to try out the JP8000. I usually just make my own synth presets (3xosc FTW!), but when I was beginning out a few years ago, this preset was the sickest out their. The link for that is below:

http://warning11.googlepages.com/JP8000.fst

(But seriously, play with some knobs and make your own man!)

Now for some critique, your song is alright, but you do really need to vary it off subject a little bit more, really close to the original, and if I was to be really mean, Id say cough cough *MIDI* cough cough.... But thats if I was mean.. What im missing a is a big climax to your song, the snare gets really annoying (so do the overall drum layouts), and like Leah said: " This is really close to the original, drums aside. The other posters gave you some good technical advice, but if you are trying to make something that would pass OCR standards, you're going to have to be much more imaginative with your interpretation. But hey, kudos for transcribing the song so closely just by ear, that's not easy!"

When your next interpretation is out, Ill be here

peace

It's not MIDI man. I made that from scratch. Some of the notes in the MIDI version are not correct to the original song in the game. Why do you think it's MIDI? Because it's so accurate? I listened carefully to each sound channel individually in the game. That's how I was able to make it so accurate. I made a track of each individual sound channel. I was afraid it would be misjudged for MIDI. Oh, and I already started doing some panning with the drums, the synth strings (more expanded), the moog chorus clean guitar which I made from the synth bass, and the moog chorus clean guitar is the arp, and also did some panning with the synth toms. The drums are synth by the way, like the hats, and is why they sound the way they do. I panned the slight triangle too. I hope that takes care of things for you guys.

[TronTek]

Synth Pop seems to be my strong point on the type of music to remix songs to. Do you think I could stick to Synth Pop as my choice for remixing songs to? And use those instruments that are in this song. Because, that's my music style, and that's Synth Pop. And, the next song I make wouldn't be so close to the original either.

[Lumina21]

It's not MIDI man. I made that from scratch. Some of the notes in the MIDI version are not correct to the original song in the game. Why do you think it's MIDI? Because it's so accurate? I listened carefully to each sound channel individually in the game. That's how I was able to make it so accurate. I made a track of each individual sound channel. I was afraid it would be misjudged for MIDI. Oh, and I already started doing some panning with the drums, the synth strings (more expanded), the moog chorus clean guitar which I made from the synth bass, and the moog chorus clean guitar is the arp, and also did some panning with the synth toms. The drums are synth by the way, like the hats, and is why they sound the way they do. I panned the slight triangle too. I hope that takes care of things for you guys.

Its not that your song is of poor quality or uninteresting. In fact, I love the sound sound of this. People arent critiquing this as just a song, but as an OC Remix. And the fact is, as good as it sounds, if you make it this close to the source, it has no chance of making it past the panel. Just try altering it a little bit, adding some of your own parts to the song.

[B33J]

Pretty much my only complaints, even if you don't plan to submit this to OCR, are:

The percussion is very thin (use better samples) and doesn't seem to vary at all thru the entire song.

The backing 'pad-ish' strings (that come in at 1:43, i think) get too loud and could be turned down.

And there's no break down in the song to allow the song to flow into other ideas easily. (not entirely necessary though)

If you'll listen to other synth-pop bands like The Postal Service (if they're considered that), they have only a few layers of sounds that don't get too loud or thick. If you don't get too thick with some sounds, you can hear the other sounds much better. Though just lowering the pads' volumes would probably help this.

Actually, I like how the snare sounds at the beginning before the crash. It keeps that kinda low-fi feel which is neat. (all of this again IMO) But when those crashes hit and those pads come in, the low-fi snare seems out of place.

I hope this stuff helps... :-\

[TronTek]

Pretty much my only complaints, even if you don't plan to submit this to OCR, are:

The percussion is very thin (use better samples) and doesn't seem to vary at all thru the entire song.

The backing 'pad-ish' strings (that come in at 1:43, i think) get too loud and could be turned down.

And there's no break down in the song to allow the song to flow into other ideas easily. (not entirely necessary though)

If you'll listen to other synth-pop bands like The Postal Service (if they're considered that), they have only a few layers of sounds that don't get too loud or thick. If you don't get too thick with some sounds, you can hear the other sounds much better. Though just lowering the pads' volumes would probably help this.

Actually, I like how the snare sounds at the beginning before the crash. It keeps that kinda low-fi feel which is neat. (all of this again IMO) But when those crashes hit and those pads come in, the low-fi snare seems out of place.

I hope this stuff helps... :-\

I actually just did a lot of corrections like, added panning to the drums, the synth strings (made it sound more spread out), the guitar, and the arp. I took care of the volumes between the instruments and you should be able to hear things better. I turned up the sawtooth, turned the synth strings down some, turned the arp up more and you should be able to hear it all the way through the song, I made sure you were able to hear the sawtooths all the way through the song, turned the guitar down just a tad, turned the acid moog down somewhat as well and is not as loud. I hope that helps. Actually, in the beginning, I was intending on using a different type of snare. I was looking for more of a pop gate kind of snare. I can only use what they got. Synth percussion sounds thinner and it has to be Synth Pop percussion. I go by Depeche Mode because they invented Synth Pop and they're the Kings of Synth Pop, and they're like one of the best damn bands in the world. They make the best music in the world, other than some other bands or artists.

[xanZion]

Yo I wasnt saying it "was" MIDI, Just stating that it sounds close to a MIDI...

peace

[TronTek]

http://h1.ripway.com/TronTek/TronTek-Metroid-Brinstar(SynthPopMix)1.2.mp3

Ok, I made some improvements. I hope you're happy with the tempo because I had some difficulties with the song cutting off abruptly like a few seconds into the fade out in the end when it got saved. So, I had to leave the tempo where it is.

[B33J]

Much much better sounding overall.

Now, I think the snare might be a little underplayed. heh.

It could have a bit more volume or bite to it. What are other people's opinions on it? Maybe a bit more *TOAW* to it instead of the *BAM* it is now, y'know?

Some suggestions just to see if you like them:

Have the bells sounding appregio slowly pan between channels, maybe a max of 15-35% on each side over two measures continuously.

Try this and see if you like it too, at the 1:43 mark, have the percussion and the bell appregio the only things playing. Then slowly bring in that pad. Then bring in the rest of the stuff when it sounds appropriate. I think it will make the song much more interesting.

[TronTek]

Much much better sounding overall.

Now, I think the snare might be a little underplayed. heh.

It could have a bit more volume or bite to it. What are other people's opinions on it? Maybe a bit more *TOAW* to it instead of the *BAM* it is now, y'know?

Some suggestions just to see if you like them:

Have the bells sounding appregio slowly pan between channels, maybe a max of 15-35% on each side over two measures continuously.

Try this and see if you like it too, at the 1:43 mark, have the percussion and the bell appregio the only things playing. Then slowly bring in that pad. Then bring in the rest of the stuff when it sounds appropriate. I think it will make the song much more interesting.

You won't believe where I got the synth toms from. I got them from the Full House theme. They're exactly the kind of synth toms I needed. If only FL Studio had toms like those. I wouldn't have needed to do that.

[HoboKa]

You won't believe where I got the synth toms from. I got them from the Full House theme. They're exactly the kind of synth toms I needed. If only FL Studio had toms like those. I wouldn't have needed to do that.

yeah FL studio starts off with some pretty wanky, useless samples. Only the trance/technoish sounds are worthwhile, really. And Sytrus isn't all that bad (if you can afford it)

[ZKB]

So is he like...not working on this anymore? Shame it had potential.

[Devyn]

I'm no mixer, but I am a composer, so I'd like to give my opinion - I think that synth-pop might not work this one, because synthpop is generally repetitive and simplistic - The Brinstar theme just doesn't seem to work with it. Maybe, if you used a more bouncy beat as opposed to the war-drum beat that the theme normally uses, you might be able to do something impressive.

But, don't get discouraged. It's just one man's opinion.