My first possible OC Remix, heh

[Melfice]

Yeah, I haven't really mentioned it around the doom community much, and haven't really went public with it either, but I love doing remixes :P

Earlier today I decided to start work on one of the only zones from Sonic & Knuckles that doesn't have a remix yet, being Death Egg Zone. At first I wasn't sure about the style I wanted it to be, but I knew I didn't want it to be trance/dance like alot of the remixes they have, so I went with a heavy rock with a bit of techno in it feel (you can't not have some bleeps and synths in the Death Egg Zone, impossible :P).

Anyways, right now its in the WIP forum over there for feedback and suggestions, however, the WIP (Work in Progress) forum is a bit slow, so I'm going to post it over here too. As a matter of fact, here's a link to the thread (you have to be registered to view it)

Thread

And also, here's the link to the remix so far. Right now its at a little over 2.5 minutes long (and a little less than a mb to download).

Soinc & Knukles: Death Egg Zone (Egg in Space Remix) by Melfice

[Amaster]

Before I start, I must mention that I dont know the proper names and musical terms for everything.

Well for starters, the low quality is killing me. But I guess thats because it's only a work in progress.

It starts off pretty cool, but then there's a gaggle of sound at 0:29 and it appears at a few other points in the song. I think it's really messy. Maybe thats what your going for?

The bass solo (if thats the right word) at 1:16 is cool on it's own, but I dont think it matches the song. It seems to come in from nowhere.

Finally, I think the ending is a little abrupt.

I do like the general tune of the song (Im SURE thats not the right word). However, I fear that the trebble will be killer at some points when this is recorded in high quality.

I must say though, it really sounds like it could be a normal background tune for a sonic level. I dont know if you consider that an insult or not. It's just an observation.

[Melfice]

Na, I don't consider any of that an insult, and thank you for the criticism :)

It does end abruptly, but again, its a WIP. I plan for it to be around 4 minutes long, with a guitar solo, and mixing in Sonic 2's Death Egg music aswell, combining them for an ending.

The Bass solo might stay or go, I'm not sure yet. If it does, there will probably be some computer/electronic like sfx to accompany it (aswell as throughout the rest of the song when I'm done).

The riising sfx at about 0:29 were actually in the original. At the points where that happens, it happens twice. I'm going to try and get that space out of there between them and make it a bit faster.

As for being a normal backgroudn tune for a Sonic game, that's quite fine :) Alot of remixes over at OCR seemingly get totally away from what the original song is that they're supposed to be remixing. If its closer to the original or sounds like the original, that's good, aslong as it also sounds like its been redone :P lol.

[DarkWolf]

Guitar sample needs to be redone.

[Ralphis]

Ok, a few suggestions.

1. Having Fatmode on your guitar the whole time is crap on it's own.
2. Not enough bass, and when it IS there it's drowned out by the obnoxious treble.
3. You need more drumline. Get better samples as well. One thing that you NEED in a song like this is a strong bassdrum on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4. Make sure you get that out there otherwise it feels empty.
4. Possibly start it differently than jumping right into the mix. Some bass over drumline is always a good start and then let the melody kick in after the feel for the song has been established.

Hope this are some decent suggestions being an aspiring remixer myself =]

[goaxis]

keep in mind OC rejected every single of ralph's remixes... ;)

[Ralphis]

keep in mind I haven't submitted any :)

[Melfice]

Well, I can say that it has a lot more in it (since I've been working on it non-stop except to sleep since last night).

I've ended up mixing the Death Egg's music from Sonic 2, making it about 5 minutes long, including a guitar solo. Actually, yeah, I am still contemplating on the beginning, I'll probably add some synths in the beginning and start out with them. Its also going to sound a little more digital aswell, (as the Death Egg should).

Now to head over to OCR and see if I got any suggestions over there :P

[Ed]

I think you're on the right path, song structure is pretty solid. I actually like the bass solo. For the guitar, maybe try and add a tone portamento to add a little more variation, maybe some muted notes every so often. The drum samples are weak, it's 2003, not 1983.. the TR808 is old news. The new Korg drums, even from Pandora's Box, walk all over the 808s. Although I expect some harsh criticism for that, I gotta have my say :P This is coming from a hardware nut though. Anywho, pretty good work.. Sonic kicks ass, heh

[Melfice]

Another update today. Haven't added much in length to it, but I added quite a bit in the way of digital noises etc. to try and make it seem more like what you'd expect to hear in the Death Egg I'm also working on increasing the sound quality, since a few people think it needs increased :)

[Amaster]

Yes, it needs increasing. It sounds like mud.

[goaxis]

Ralphis said:

keep in mind I haven't submitted any :)

lies.