Reposted

[gliyw1thdabangs]

Last time I posted this on google pages. didn't load and the production on this song is questionable since I used Finale and Audacity.

The first minute is not my greatest moment... but enjoy.

[gliyw1thdabangs]

If you have gotten here and are about to download the song, I'd appreciate any criticism you have.

The source is: Sonic & Knuckles - Lava reef zone

Since it is a very over done source, please tell me what you think.

[Splunkle]

Okay, so first up, the composition is somewhat meandering. Thats cool, in my opinion, because you always brought us back to the main theme, but others would probably enjoy a tighter song that is more to the point.

Secondly, some of those samples are weak, particullarly the organ and string samples. You have used them well (well, okay, the strings were rather obvisously played in by a keyboard in some parts) but in a piece like this where there aren't any other instruments to hide behind, the weakness of samples really stands out. Not sure if you can fix that in finale, though.

This shows a lot of promise. Get some good samples, then we can start talking about the rest of production.

[gliyw1thdabangs]

Worked on simplifying the arrangement so that it is more feasible to play on a keyboard. It's not complete. Please comment on arrangement. NO SAMPLES CHANGED. crappy midi piano.

[Splunkle]

I really like this arrangement, but you really do need a better piano sample. Also, you might want to put the piano more towards the center, not way out to the right like it currently is. ^^

[gliyw1thdabangs]

I rewrote some of the arrangement and touched up the panning with Audacity. It's only half rewritten.

[Splunkle]

Okay! one big problem, and thats the piano sound. Fix that, and then lets see what happens!

[gliyw1thdabangs]

Hmmm, I'm trying to find a way to replace the piano samples I have for finale. I'll repost with the new sample when I figure it all out.

haha finale is really not that great of a program for sound quality!

[Radiowar]

the arrangement sounds like it is good but it's really hard to tell when you're using Finale...a lot of your ideas might not be getting across as it sounds really static as far as timing and dynamics.

As far as I know Finale uses a GM library for its sounds, but I'm not sure if you can change them...I think the best you could do would be to export a midi and then use a different sequencer (like FL) that has more control over the samples.

[jmr]

The arrangement shows a LOT of promise, but the sample and overall sound quality is really dragging it down. (And it's mono? What the heck?)

At nearly 8 minutes, the song runs kinda long. You might want to try trimming some of the sections. (Cutting of the first 32 seconds might be considered as a step in the right direction.)

You really REALLY should look into acquiring some higher quality samples for this song. General Midi samples simply don't cut it. (I wish I could make a recommendation, but I don't really have any ideas... check out the Remixing forums; you may find some answers there.)

Alternatively, you could find someone willing to collaborate with you; someone willing to take your existing arrangement and overhaul it with the samples and production quality an arrangement like this deserves.