Commodore Remix

Hi guys. I'm relatively new to c64 remixing (actually I've been doing remixes for 15 years now but only for my own pleasure). I've tried a lot of tunes but I always wanted to make an orchestral version of the Barbarian and Golden axe tunes. SO I HAD TO MAKE THESE . the general idea in Barbie is to make a tune that's not TOO epic, but that starts as a sneaky tune from Conan and ends up more like an Roman imperial score. I don't want to cram it up with too many instruments (i like it minimal) but I'm convinced that it's still a bit empty. Also I should work more on the transitions. These files are of course WIP so please, tell me what U think and pls be objective, every advice is more than welcome. i must note that I suck at mixing and (even more) at mastering. Tell me if these mixes are any good. i put the files on Mediafire, hope it's O.K.

thanx in advance
Peace and have phun

I've updated the links (the old ones were dead):
http://www.mediafire.com/?iomjz45mlyw
http://www.mediafire.com/?m2mjmndwgin

Whoa, that bad ?!!??
PLS, any suggestions?

First off, it's a pet hate when people do that to their own posts, but I feel like I owe you some feedback since I encouraged you to come here.

I can hear the genesis of something potentially good here: the fact that you used a bass trombone sound for emphasis in the intro and first bit is a sign you're beginning to think orchestrally.

2:00 is good, and generally, it's a case of "I can hear what you're trying to do". The timing of the notes themselves is very messy. When I was doing the orchestral stuff for Back in Time 3 it helped that I was telling a story in every bit of the tune, which helped to drive the scoring.

The basic problem is (a) no percussion (except for the timpani later on - I'm impressed BTW that you managed to get some "real" (though wobbly, probably through pitchbending) choirs in there: that's definitely how it's supposed to be). There should be some snare at least, and possibly a lot more stuff driving it along. Also, needs a harp. Everything needs a harp

You also need a better soundset: which means lots more different orchestral samples: for instance, samples of different numbers of strings playing at once in unison (e.g. 1 violins). You should also try and think of how your score would be played across an orchestra: for instance, what are the x violinists doing, what are the violas doing, etc. Then you're utilising the full orchestra.

The sounds you've used at the moment sound dry and small, like most non-orchestral sound sources. I'm not surprised you didn't get much feedback because no one round here probably feels qualified to comment...

Orchestral scoring is a bit like a journey, if you're serious. You'd use Barbarian as a soundscape to develop your skills, listen to your other orchestral heroes, think, imagine, dream... and plan each section properly. What is happening, how do the sections relate to each other? Where is the piece going? What is it building to?

Also, how loud is each section? It complicates because orchestral instruments sound different at quiet levels, so the better the soundset, the more you can model a quiet orchestra as well as a loud one. Dynamics are all-important to an orchestral piece. There's an element of that here (starting off quiet with just the rasp of the bass trombones giving it some edge), but in a proper version of this, you'd be building to something truly immense... so that every time the main bit started up again, it would be louder and brasher (not just louder).

It's complicated, but the learning process is the most fun if your brain can handle that many variables at once. Took me a couple of years to get my head round it, and still I felt like I'd only scratched the surface.

Chris

Excellent feedback Chris.

Hi Manganoid,

You need to be a bit more patient with this site, it can be a bit slow at times, now having said that, I somehow missed your original post, I use the "View New Posts" option and it doenst work all that well all the time. So I missed the original post.

I like what I'm hearing so far, I dont have the same knowledge as Chris on the subject, so that is the best I can offer for feedback at the moment.

Keep up the good work and dont be discouraged on the slow response.

Analog-X64 wrote: Keep up the good work

Yes, it is good work so far: it's important to know two things:

1) You've got a long way to go on this, and many more versions before it fulfils its promise, possibly with discovering new tech to come closer to the holy grail orchestral sound
2) You need to be excited at the prospect of that journey, not disappointed that you're not near to the finish line.

Chris

For me it sounds nice but i miss the dramatic a bit... Hope to hear the final version soon cauz i always like Orchestral Remixes.

Thanks guys, i really appreciate it and sorry for the double post, I saw that some new posts were answered sooner so I was under the impression that my tunes were not so good, my bad. Anyhow, your replies have opened my eyes a bit and mean a lot to me. yes, a journey awaits and it's going to be hard but I think I'm going to love it. In the meantime I will be doing some remixes of tunes that have not been remixed too often so I'll keep you posted. The reason I'm not continuing with the orchestral stuff at "full speed" is that I have to learn about mastering and producing scores with less variables first and than to try and grasp the Orchestra. So, thanks again, you really made my day and now off to listening to real orchestral pieces.
C U soon
Greetz from manganoid

manganoid wrote:Thanks guys, i really appreciate it and sorry for the double post, I saw that some new posts were answered sooner so I was under the impression that my tunes were not so good, my bad. Anyhow, your replies have opened my eyes a bit and mean a lot to me. yes, a journey awaits and it's going to be hard but I think I'm going to love it. In the meantime I will be doing some remixes of tunes that have not been remixed too often so I'll keep you posted. The reason I'm not continuing with the orchestral stuff at "full speed" is that I have to learn about mastering and producing scores with less variables first and than to try and grasp the Orchestra. So, thanks again, you really made my day and now off to listening to real orchestral pieces.
C U soon
Greetz from manganoid

I found it helps if you identify the various "voices" in the orchestra. One thing I noticed is that in a piece of music, there are maybe five or six different musical bits, and it's just a choice of who plays them. I used John williams for study: there are some great John Williams scores available which have the full orchestral score.

Another thing: don't underestimate the power of harps and big cymbals!

Chris

I bet your loving florence and the machine at the minute then chris.. that girl takes 2 harps on stage with her and her albums full of it

Had a quick listen and if thats a "1st try" at something like that then you should be quite proud .. yeah its a bit flat and doesn't have any emotion but whats there does work and definitely with a bit of time and effort you could make quite an impressive score out of it.

Look forward to what you come up with.

Thanx, guys, I really apreciate it. I'll check the scores by Williams.
Peace guys and have fun
P.S.
I'm doing a medley score of various C64 tunes (some are more popular and some not) and I'm doing it with oly two rhodes-es, a sax and a guitar (and rythm, of course) and I am surprised finding myself doing a jazz piece, but I think it's gonna be great, Will post the WIP it soon. PEACE .... again

Analog-X64 wrote:I use the "View New Posts" option and it doenst work all that well all the time. So I missed the original post.

Ah, so it's not just me who has problems with this feature. Good to know.

Apologies for offtopicness,
cheers