MadTracker - "Phil 3" by philipperegis

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Phil 3

by philipperegis

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Ogg Vorbis version

QBical

Originality:	4/10	Technical:	2/10
Theme:	6/10	Quality:	3/10
Arrangement:	5/10	Global:	4/10

This guitar piece by philippe regis is not realy my piece of cookie, I think the arrangement is nice, and the track has a nice shuffle in it, but the samples are just of a very low quality. The acoustic guitar is quite nice, but the drums are just bad.

Try getting your hands on some VST drum synths/samplers and some bass stuff to spice up your rhythm section, because the track realy needs one...

Also try to experiment with some of the effects madtracker has to offer, it can realy help you in achieving a great sound and stuff...

Sunbuster

Originality:	8/10	Technical:	6/10
Theme:	7/10	Quality:	8/10
Arrangement:	5/10	Global:	7/10

Some guitar melodies with a bit of backing. At about 0:35 a second melody comes in. I think it would have been good to play this melody with another sample, because now the two melodies tend to clash a bit. I think it would have helped in giving the track a fuller atmosphere, now it sounds a bit empty all the way through, like there's some instrument missing.

The strings sound a bit dry. Some reverb and perhaps a softer transition between notes might help soften things up a bit. Right now they sound a bit harsh compared to the rest of the track. They're a bit high in volume also, they tend to drown out everything else.

The drums are a bit weak considering the power the samples have. Would they be higher in volume they would really give the track some power at the point where they enter. Now they're more like a small annoyance.

I like the calm melody of the guitar, I also like the piano in the end and the synergy it has with the guitar. It could perhaps have a bit more presence over the guitar at that point though.

Overall the tracks weak point is it's mix. Some instruments, like the strings, should have been more in the background. Others, like the drums, should have been brought out more. But in the end this is still a good track.

TNK / ATK project

Originality:	5/10	Technical:	4/10
Theme:	6/10	Quality:	5/10
Arrangement:	5/10	Global:	5/10

Originality: 5
Theme: 6
Arrangement: 5
Technical: 4
Quality: 5
Global: 5

Before reviewing let's issue a * POSSIBLE PIRACY ALERT *
The info box says this song is by Viatcheslav Rybnikov whereas the general parameter say it's done with Philippe Regis's registered version... can someone explain me this ?

Let's get back to the song itself...
Starts with a very general midi sounding guitar intro (Guitar tracking is the most difficult art in tracking to my opinion, so I won't be too hard on this issue even if way better guitar tracking can be acheived). In fact, that guitar sounds more like a harpischord, and it's heavy use towards the end gives the whole piece some 17th century feeling. After the intro, a very light drumline comes in and a string melody (using the strings I've sampled from maF's korg X5r, cool :-)...

The arrangement could work if it had been played by human players, but to acheive that goal within tracked music - a goal hard to acheive, I must admit - you'll have to use a lot of Fxs & stuff like this you don't use and even maybe don't master. The result sounds more like a classical music general midi file. Compared to the top entries, this makes this one very light.

The very thin drumset also does not really help. While the sounds are clearly and distinctly mixed (no obvious frequency overlaps), the overall thinness of the used sounds (this does not include my X5 strings sample, of course :-) ) makes it indeed easy to mix but misses to give it all a "full sound". Think also about working on how your different instruments enter into the melody. For exemple, the "marcato strings" (that sound more like a bad sampled e-guitar anyway...) enter too sharply in the whole mix, giving them an almost aggressive feel that is out of topic within the musical genre you choose.

Besides this, some themes are not bad, even if they do not catch you enough. Might work as chamber music however.

As you said in the info box, it's one of your first tracks. OK, maybe. If this is true, don't give up, download the top entries and learn by studying how they are done (that's how all who nowadays master the arts of tracking proceeded to acheive the level they nowadays have). I'm sure you'll learn a lot and be able to enter MT compo 5 with a kicking entry, as you obviously do have some certain musical talent.

Also something that I'll probably copy-paste 3 billion times within this reviewing process : NAME YOUR TRACKS ! This would give your audiance and us judges a better view of how your track is built, will help newbies to learn how to use MT and to beat you in next year's compo :)