Hi guys,
 
Batsbrew,SteveC,Rebel007,RobertB Thank you. Your comments have gone a long way towards morale and technical ideas. I read it all very carefully and take note of the suggestions and appreciate the positive comments!!
 
I'm posting a remix but it should be at the same link here-
https://soundcloud.com/starise/the-heights-of-zaphon
 
Jeff Evans ran some of the tracks out to outboard gear...a few Pultecs I think. Did some further DC offset work on a few tracks. Removed my drums and added real drums...among other things. I glad we were working together on this! As you know Jeff is very experienced. I think he pulled things a lot tighter in the bass and mids.
Thanks to Jeff!!
 
I don't think we're entirely done yet but it seems much more Amped up. I did some preliminary mastering on it.
See what you think so far. We took some of the air out and brought more of the arpeggiators out in a few places.
 
 
I agree I don't think it sounds quite as 80's any more :)
 
 

I contacted Tim  right after he posted this track the first time. I told him I though it was OK but it could have gone much further.  I had some ideas about how to do it.  I asked him if he would mind me working on the track and very kindly supplied me the multitrack sessions. 
 
What I did was added in a new bass synth part and a new pad from a Roland JD800. The synth bass sound came from an Oberheim OPX II Pro.  I knew once I got my drums into it then I would want to hear some sort of punchy low bass part to click in with the drums. 
 
But apart from that I used all Tim's original tracks and I never altered the arrangement either.  It is exactly how he gave it to me which is very interesting because it means that Tim created a great arrangement right from the start.
 
I also did quite a lot of editing and dropped parts in and out here and there and tried to create a more spacious sound.  I was trying to see the black backdrop behind the music more so.  A track like this is pretty happening and there is quite a lot going on so that in itself was a challenge.  I made a little more of a deal of the starts to the various sections of it too rather than gliding over those sign posts.  That can be achieved in two ways.  One by adding things right at the start of each section and turning them up briefly and also dropping stuff out just prior to a new section start.
 
I don't have any outboard Pultecs! Wishing so but I did use some Pultec plugs to give some sounds more weight. I replayed the drums live and added in some sound effects.  The drum grooves change slightly from section to section as well emphasising those sections a little more too.  Overall I gave it quite a different mix to Tims original work. It is less ambient and more punchy now. Both approaches are good as well.
 
I pulled the tempo back of the entire session slightly from 120 to 118.  Something that is very painless in Studio One.  I also did this mix in Studio One.  I enjoyed working with Tim on this one.
 

great feel to this. It does have an 80's sound to it, parts reminded me of the old 8bit computer games sounds. The stabbing horns did get a little old to my ears, but that just me. Really nice tune. not a problem with the mix, It's big!! 

Thanks Gus. I'm being told that a lot lol...I guess if my choices are techo/electronic then I'll take 80's as a compliment...not that I hate those but I tend to gravitate towards a more acoustic beat with synths and real instruments...so yeah..I guess that's 80's...however I have added things they didn't ever do in the 80's IMO . I think the sounds have gotten way better since then...so maybe this is 80's upgraded? That's how I like to look at it.
 
Hats off to Jeff. All the improvements he has made have combined here to  change the personality of the original mix. Jeff accentuated the ZT3A arpeggio more than the original. Brought out new elements in the mix and sharpened the old one! Thanks Jeff for all of your work on this!

You definitely opened up this mix Jeff good job on an already good start.

This conjured up a lot of mental images. I think you nailed it with this one - really like this - very creative.

I don't recall the original mix enough for a real comparison, but I do sense a bit more punch in the drums and maybe a slightly "tighter" mix overall.   And for some reason the vocals seem to stand out more than I remember.  
 
Very clean.   Even though Jeff used Studio One.   
 

I have had an idea. I wonder what Tim might think of this. A real dreamy ambient version. Take out the drums and fast bass line, put in slow dreamy bass line and a drone sound, bring up all the pads, move the Z3ta arp track further back. Keep the melody and arrangement. Add in slow chill very sparse groove ie at half tempo. eg 59 BPM Put the music into slow motion.
 
Plus some dreamy Jeff synth parts.
 
I want to play the bass line. I have loaned my bass to someone but it is coming back to me tonight! I will be doing some slow deep notes.
 
Update
I have started an ambient edit and it sounds amazing. Like it is from a different planet! Once I get some dreamy bass lines and some very laid back grooves plus maybe some extra synth parts too, it will be cool for sure.
 

 
 

Thanks guys for listening and for commenting. Steve my original mix was more melodic and had less of the arpeggios showing. I also had more reverb on my buss. I like what jeff did in bringing out the arpeggio parts more and tightening up the tracks. The mix seems to breathe more and be more dynamic in places...of course it never hurts to add real drums as Jeff has done.
 
I am open to any alternate ways you might want to try this Jeff. This mix is a true example of how you can take one mix and give it multiple personalities. 

Here is a mix of the Ambient version.
https://soundcloud.com/jeff-evans