Liontamer Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Another block of smoooooth jazz on 107.5 WJZZ - LT Hey guys, It's been a few years since our last submission. This is our short arrangement of the opening theme / start screen from Zelda 64 / Ocarina of Time. It's a simple duet between piano and sexophone. It's called "Romantic Beginnings." Hope you like it. We did it live. Love & Respect = D - theophany Song ReMixed: Zelda: Orcarina of Time - Title Theme ReMix Title: Romantic Beginnings ReMixer: Theophany Real Names: Mike Grier, Jason Alexander Gallaty, Andrew Thompson Email: theophanyremix@gmail.com Website: http://www.last.fm/music/Theophany Forum UserID: 7553 --------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/download_file/12209 - 01 "Title Theme" Rough around the edges. That slight sax flub at :10 took a lot of sexiness and steam out of the intro. Hearing the fingering of the saxophone performance was also kind of ghetto. Not so much that it was there, but that the effects used on the sax also made the clicks way more audible. Even though it stands out a bit, that can be overlooked. Couple of minor flubs (:10, 1:28) that weren't a huge deal, though more would have gotten problematic. The piano's sound quality wasn't awful but sounded noticeably flimsy. The tone had so much less body and richness compared to the sax, so there was a quality disparity that needs to be addressed. You don't have to use expensive samples or whatever, but some good post-production work to add some density to the piano's sound would really improve the overall package. The sax phrase from 2:36-2:38 didn't resolve properly with the piano chord, IMO, but that could just be me; at the least, it sounded awkward. The last section at 2:40 was a really anti-climactic resolution; the sax writing wasn't on the same page as the piano and the two had no synergy to close things out. I love the concept here, but a lot of these more minor details added up into holding this back as is. One of you guys whined last time something of yours was rejected (for being too liberally arranged). No hard feelings whatsoever, but there's no need to react like that, when we all want the piece to be its best. The base is in place with this arrangement, so just tighten this up for the win. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 mmm.. sexomaphone.. Right at the beginning the production's iffy. The piano is muffled but clanky, if it's a sampled piano you need to find a better sample and if it's recorded you need to record it better. The sax in general sounded good but a better mic-placement to get rid of the key-clicks. Really bad clipping at 1:20 too. The arrangement is cool. I agree that the phrase at 2:37 was really out of place. It's okay to use notes that aren't in the key you're playing in but playing an entirely different scale from top to bottom just sounds strange. I'm also on the same page with larry with the ending. The piano chords are wicked but at 2:56 the saxophone kinda loses track of the chord and root note so sounds a bit too anti-climatic (and not in that "wow, awesome jazz"-way mind you ;P). I, like Larry, love the concept here but you need to refine it some more before it passes. Since you record live it's crucial to do a lot of soundchecks and post-processing to get things to sound at it's best. Taking some time to come up with some nice phrases together might also be cool. Especially something dissonant with a good resolution. A good base but needs some more work before I can comfortably pass it. Keep it up! NO(resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Weird. I read Mattias and Larry's comments as I was listening to the song, and I feel like I didn't agree with most of them, when I typically do. The arrangement was brilliant to me, and I thought you guys handled this source exquisitely. Was 0:10 even a flub, Larry? I've heard saxophonists use that technique purposely. In any case, I thought it added character. Same with the runs you guys didn't like towards the end. They were liberal within the context of the original chords, but not for jazz. It still seemed very musical to me. What I did agree with was that the keyclicks detract slightly, and a different mic position would have been better. The clipping at 1:20 is another detraction but a short one. Would be great if that can be fixed. Piano sound was fine to me; even if it was muffled, it sat well with the sax. I think based on the strength of the arrangement, it's a YES. The production details are pretty minor to me. Hope the rest of the panel swings your way, guys! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I have no problem with the performance or the arrangement. I even think the sax is recorded pretty well. Sounds good. What's completely killing this is the piano recording. What the hell is up with the attacks around :53? There's some distortion on the piano, it sounds boomy and dull, and it's mono. Can't you at least throw on a stereo reverb or something? I realize this might be nitpicky, and I don't mind if this passes, but it would be so easy to make that piano sound so much better. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I agree. Sounds like you were trying to emulate the crappy LQ piano from the original song. I'm pretty much on the whole with Jesse on this one, word for word. RESUBMIT (after you replace that awful piano patch) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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