Fire Emblem 7 mix

[Vidilian]

A remix of two songs from the game. Athos' theme and Silent ground.

Heres clips from the two midis:

http://vspaine.googlepages.com/ArchsageAthos.mp3

http://vspaine.googlepages.com/silentground.mp3

And the actual mix:

http://vspaine.googlepages.com/AnthemofanArchsage.mp3

I was going for a sort of epic lullaby. Things may get a little boring and repetetive but I'd love some specific feedback on improving on that.

[Vidilian]

Update. Modernised things quite a bit by overhauling the beat and some sample changes. Also removed some clutter. Quite rough in some parts after the change though. I think this new direction makes things a little more interesting.

[HoboKa]

hmm, let's see the damage...opening song

Same starting though it sounds a bit thicker, could just be me. I love the arpeggio you got going on and the other synths...ohhh man that beat is sex in a can. MUCH BETTER How'd you make that reverse-cymbol-like sound? I WANT IT lol (if you can send me the sample that'd be awesome ty) I don't know how to critique the rest of the stuff, because it sounds fine to me.

And what's that? Finish your Megaman X3 song as well? OK

[Vidilian]

I've PMed you about the sample, and don't expect that other mix any time soon lol.

Glad the beats improved things... too bad I have no idea what else I need to do to improve. I know its not good enough yet but I'm completely stumped so if any one could help me out that would be great.

Slight update. Adjusted EQ to make things cleaner and added a bassline to the last part.

[HoboKa]

just to let you know - I'm not a very good critiquer; so I'm unsure if this mix is going towards OC material or not - but I'm gonna restate my opinion; I think it's good and that's that lol. It'd help if more people would critique this song =/

Thx for the PM

[Inv1ctus]

Ok one problem i notice in this mix is that the beat should be enforcing the synths, which are not very emphasized in that the attack is mushy. This is ok if you dont have a beat, but theres nothing for the beat to enforce since the synth attack is set to fade in, even if slightly. Instead i would recommend them having a more stabby effect, at least when the drum beat is there.

Also, that piano part needs to come way out, and probably with a little more reverb. Also, i would develop what people here at ocr have coined as "left hand" syndrome. Basically, the left hand of the piano should be doing more. IE the melody the piano is playing is not supported by piano chords or underlying melody.

For the most part, the drums seem put well together. I might introduce some of those drum parts by subtle percussion that builds into it, because it kind of suprises the listener, and i dont think thats what you were trying to do.

Also, the intro needs something else going on. Not sure what, but maybe bring in elements of the melody in hints there. Also, dynamics stay about the same throughout the song. IE Theres no crescendo or decrescendo.

I do like the theme a lot. Polish it some more and i think you can make a really good song.

Keep it up!

[Vidilian]

Thanks a lot for the reply. Very helpful . I've improved on everything you've said more or less.

Update.

For the choir synth I couldn't more it more stabby because it's in its nature too be a bit mushy. I did the next best thing and shifted some of the notes forward so they play earlier and seem like that they've got a bit more of an attack, though.

Piano parts now have a left hand part and more reverb and I've tried to do more with the intro and made sure the main beat doesn't surprise the listener when it first comes in.

I also overhauled the "Silent ground" part since I didn't think it fit with the new path I've taken the song.

[HoboKa]

This smells like improvement, though I think the drum needs some more variation :-S like after every 3 measures or so give it a cool fill or something ><

the brass feels a bit awkward too, if that's what it is =/, it could be the sample or how u wrote it, I dunno. Maybe OA or Tensei will give this a better review, sorry that I couldn't be too much help V dog. Good stuff though mate

[Vidilian]

Major update.

Completely re-done the song so it's purely just classical now with different arrangement that incorporates the whole Athos theme not just the chorus. Also things are a lot cleaner without the drums.

[Vidilian]

Update. First half of the song is the same. Did some tempo changes in the second half and changed the ending so it isn't just a quick transition back to the beginning.

[HoboKa]

K, ppl u gotta critique this song some more, I don't know F all about judging mixes since my music skills are still sub par.

[Rozovian]

Is it a harp? Is it a guitar? It sounds like it can't make up it's mind. Soften it more, either by adding reverb or by pulling back on Attack a little. The tambourine is too loud and the intro sounds too dry. The violin at 1:00 is a bit lagging and sounds sequenced.

Around 1:15, everything's lagging a bit. While those strings sound good, they don't work well with melodies if they're always a little behind. Either move them back a bit or use other strings.

2:10 Whoa, weird strings usage, man! Not saying bad, but certainly interesting. The break at 2:30 is too silent. This is where you should have a faint reverb just echo. Put a weak but long reverb on everything in this to fill that gap.

The brass around 2:50 sounds a little too sequenced. Dunno if the blaring brass sample is the problem or if it's too mechancially sequenced. Try to add life there.

It's overall a bit toned down, like a massive lullaby. While it's got a mighty sound, you don't take advatage of it as much as I'd like to hear. This could easily be made into a real mighty piece, even as a form of lullaby. Why not toss in a really climactic chorus somewhere and then tone it down like a lullaby?

There's some build up potential before 1:50, further on, there's 3:03. While there's nothing bad about how you instead tone these parts down, I don't quite like how you bring in the drums after the 3:03 section as that should be the calming, fading part. Towards the end of that, just before the last part where the woodwind comes in, there's room for a little build-up, only to make the last part appear even more calm. Speaking of which, the woodwind at the end sound really sequenced, so humanize it.

It's a good arrangement, tho I'd like to see a big bad chorus part a little after the middle before everything is toned down. It fits its description as a rather lullaby-esque piece, but it could be grander and more epic. There's some sample tweaking to be done, and some humanization, but other than that it's good. I'm getting a sense of direction with this, although I can't put it in words. Direction is always good.

In short: Arrangement ok, humanization, sample and effects tweaking required, climax requested. It's good. Make it better!

[Vidilian]

Thanks for the in-depth reply. Everything made a lot of sense

Pretty big update.

Made the harp softer. Maxed out on the reverb with it already so I just

reduced the volume. Made the tambourine quiter as well.

Tried playing the violin free hand to make a bit more human. Haven't done anymore humanizing yet. I'll do that for next update.

Used other strings that have more have more of an attack at 1:15 but they sound relatively fake beacuse of that. I'll humanize 'em later.

Now for the big change. Now at a the 2 minute mark I've brought in one of the more epic songs from the game. A bit of a dodgey transition atm but it should give a decent climax. It's extended the song to over 5 minutes now.

A clip from the song used: http://vspaine.googlepages.com/knightsoath.mp3

Changed the brass so its more mellow, since that part is more of a wind down now and quietened down the drums a bit.

Some things I've missed out from your post but I'll get to those. Thanks again.

[Vidilian]

Got a lot of time on my hands atm so I've got another update already. Humanising has been attempted for parts that felt mechanical (not sure if this works out or if theres even that much difference), the transition to the "knight's oath" part has been refined and the volume of that part has been increased.

[Rozovian]

Yup, it all sounds better now. Some odd dysharmony around 1:23. The snare at 2:20 is mechanical, add some ghost hits to it, maybe a hint of echo, really short. The pre-3:14 section is a loop too long, so see how much of it you can cut out without making it too short either. The melody that comes in at 3:37, played on the harp, it could be a little louder, as could the flute that comes in a little later. Overall, the biggest problem with this _could_ be the same as I'm having with one of my WIPs - the lack of a clear lead. it's easily fixed, just give the piano, harp, and flute a little more volume when it's their time to shine. While I have no problem with the somewhat withdrawn leads, the judges might.

But this is sounding pretty good. I feel it's got a lot in common with the source, it doesn't suffer any kind of medley-itis as multi-source remixes easily do, so if _I_ was a judge, I'd give this a RESUBMIT to get you to tweak those things mentioned above. At least until someone else would hit me over the head with a good reason not to.

[Vidilian]

Update.

I had a feeling the Knight's Oath part might be dragging out a bit but trust me, when I was intially implementing that part I tried to make it as short as possible but then it just then seemed like a cameo that didn't really need to be there. So instead I've upped the tempo temporarily and put a little variation in what the violin plays so its less of a loop.

Also I've added cymbals to the drumline and given it a chorus effect that makes it sound better I think. Finally, I've adjusted the volume levels of the parts you mentioned.