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[markpeterjameslegg]

There's an echo on some of the rhythm that I tuned slow to give a push/pull effect which I can tone down. That's probably what's giving the out of time feel. With the kick drum, I don't want it to dominate the mix too much which is why I picked a fairly subtle sound. I'll have a play with it though and see what I can come up with.

Oh no... The volume is fine, just the kickdrum type is what I meant, I feel the current one to be too soft, check these:-

http://free-loops.com/7006-crunk-kick-drum-2.html

or

http://free-loops.com/6983-crunk-kick-drum.html

Actually, I just listened to it again and your current kickdrum is starting to grow on me now. Statue Park was one of my favorite Goldeneye tunes, Frigate being top, and I can tell you now, this is a great job you've done.

[jjmusicnotes]

Overall, this next version is much improved - I think that the accompaniment is much more balanced in the quieter parts, and that the balance now suits the ambience and the atmosphere of the map.  In addition, I think the types of percussion sounds also fit the texture of what you're going for as well.

I think that the voicings of the brass in the intro is better.  I think it could be even darker though, but that's just personal taste.  I also think that a lot more could be done with dynamics; really getting those chords to swell in and out.

The brass could be a little louder after the first orchestral punch - or you could bring down the percussion.  Right now to me, it's a tiny bit overbearing.

Overall I think that what you have for a beat is much improved than before - though I would highly recommend listening to the OST done by the current music guys in order to get a good sense of how their percussion compliments the rest of what they're doing.

At the large build, the beat drops out, which is interesting and a bit unfulfilling.  Again, listen to other tracks and steal stuff if you have to.  As for that deceptive climax, I think that would work well in a single-player level situation (as I understand you are modeling this arrangement after the level,) but I think that if you used the percussion to elevate the track to a heightened intensity, and then released that tension by doubling the tempo of the beat.  In other words, if you went from common time to cut time; keeping the original melody at the same tempo.  This would lead to a much more effective, high-energy arrangement; which is something people are looking for with multiplayer.

Lastly (for now,) I think that the guitar is a bit loud in the mix.  It also sounds different - like it doesn't fit - with the patches that you have going on.  This is a common problem when mixing live recorded sounds with patches.  I would play with some eq or throw a filter on that guitar track so that it sounds like it belongs more with the rest of the instruments in your mix.

Keep it up, and I'm looking forward to more improvements!  Great work so far, this is really starting to come along nicely and I see potential for it to be an awesome track.

[terps4life90]

I thought this was quite good, but the guitar needs to fit in better.

[Sole Signal [Audix]]

(I listened only to the most recent download in the thread.) I do like this track; it has some nice brass work with some decent samples. Kirkhope's original is a pretty slow song but your rendition is very good. jjmusic has some great ideas on song development. A few of my own thoughts, mostly related to production and mixing:

1. Production-wise, the track in general feels a little "oppressive;" there are lots of lows and mids but few upper frequencies to brighten up the mix. 1:01 brings some nice relief but you could still add more. More on this later.

2. Beat at :24 is a good start, though I'd play around to see if you can develop a rhythm that grabs more interest. Maybe try half time at this part? More of a personal preference maybe.

3. Beat at :45 would be a nice time to bring in some upper frequency range percussion-rides, tambourines, brushes, etc. You've got plenty of room in the frequency spectrum.

Below is the spectrum analysis of your track at :45. Notice the dropoff beginning around 4-5k. That's where your "brightness" and clarity in the mix comes in.



For comparision, I quickly screengrabbed my "Life of a Spy" track, which is a little similar to yours I think. Notice the highs, which gives the track clarity and brightness. You've got plenty of room up there above 5k to add some percussion, or even boost the highs a bit on some of your bells/chimes/vibraphone sounds.




4. Guitar at :44 does sound out of place. It's too dry for the sounds that you have around it, and sits too upfront in the mix for that amp choice.

5. The texture and hits at 1:01 are pretty awesome. Again, room for more in the high end! Nice powerful sound there, though.

6. I think you need a nice driving beat at 1:30 to bring the song forward. Otherwise, it sounds like it's dragging a bit there.

Overall, a very good start. You've got a good sense for ebb and flow. Samples sound pretty good. 1:01 shows a good sense for texture and leaving space in the mix for certain instruments. Good luck with this!

[005]

I think it sounds naiiiiiiiice, although, yes, you probably out to tone down the drums and bass a smidge.

I thought the overly distorted guitar at about 1 minute in (the part right after the Bond theme) was terribly out of place, though. It didn't really work at all. But I love the beat and the bass. It just needs a bit less jazzing up. This is, after all, a dark and slower themed map. Maybe dial back the tempo 10 or 20 BPM.

EDIT: heh, that was for the first version. Still, the distorted guitar sounds even more out of place without the drum beat. The "fanfare" near the end is really cool now though.