ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Desertion" 3:20

By zircon

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Battle Theme", "The Decisive Battle"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2010-02-17, evaluated by djpretzel


For SOME of us here at OCR, using other people's sample libraries just isn't good enough - we've got to make (and, heck, sell) our own! I refer of course to the joint enterprise of Mr. Aversa and Mr. Roget, II, Impact Soundworks. You may recall Andy's sexcellent Phantasy Star Online ReMix back in 2009, coinciding with the release of their Groove Bias drum library while also employing it to great effect. Well, drums are one thing, and while I think Groove Bias is a great library well worth your hard-earned dinero, there are admittedly a lot of great drum libraries out there to choose from. Not so with electric rhythm guitar libraries - something about quick, meaty, satisfying chugs has proven rather elusive to the sound designers of the world... UNTIL NOW!!! Teaming up with the man, the legend, the Juanderful Sixto Sounds, ISW recently released Shreddage. Let me summarize Shreddage, in a nutshell:

  • $50 rhythm guitar sample library
  • Doesn't suck
  • Designed to be used with common amp-modeling plugins, but sounds pretty darn good by itself
  • You get the power of Juan Medrano ON YOUR COMPUTER!
  • Sexy trailer by - who else? - Da Bronx Rican
  • I'm djpretzel, and I endorse this product

But hey, if plentiful audio demos illustrating the awesomeness of the library plus a drool-worthy trailer from J the BR for some reason aren't enough to seal the deal, Andy's got this here mix. It's from that game, Final Fantasy 6, with all the awesome music. And yeah, in case you didn't see the product tie-in a mile away, IT USES THE SHREDDAGE LIBRARY. zircon writes:

"I've spent the last 6 months working almost exclusively on a new sample library through Impact Soundworks, the company I co-founded with bustatunez (Will Roget). I started researching and designing the library about two years ago, after using a number of guitar sample libraries and finding all of them to be unrealistic, hard to use, or loop-based.

The goal of this new project was to create a completely flexible guitar library for rock and metal where you can play any notes or riffs and customize your own tone. I didn't just want it to sound "good", but to actually fool the average listener completely. So, I started working with Sixto Sounds on figuring out what made the existing libraries sound weak, and improving on those weak areas. Ultimately, he recorded all of the actual guitar sounds for the library while I programmed and edited them.

The result of our efforts is "SHREDDAGE: Electric Rhythm Guitar", a Kontakt-format sample library. It was a long and difficult road to produce, but in the end I think I achieved our goal! This FF6 battle/boss theme mix uses Shreddage run through virtual amps. I modeled the arrangement and production after such awesome metal ReMixers as SnappleMan, Danimal Cannon, norg and of course Sixto himself. So, it's definitely like nothing I've done before... mainly because until now, I've never had the tools to do it myself.

Anyway, "Desertion" is definitely over-the-top synth/prog metal but I think it shows how powerful Shreddage is. You can pick up the samples yourself at ImpactSoundworks.com for only $49 (not a typo)!"

This mix is pretty DABASS, and that WAS a typo, because it's actually pretty badass. The arrangement forgoes some of the usual zircon whizzbang electronic trickery so that [INSERT PRODUCT NAME HERE] can fully shine. But I kid; the mix intros with some "Duduk, Where's My Car?" (no one finds that funny but me, and I'm completely okay with that), then quickly picks up at 0'20" with, you guessed it, electric rhythm guitar. Monoglide synth lead still gets to handle the main melody, throwing in some nice Eastern-infused flourishes to the very recognizable theme. Metal drums bang away, accenting every chug with a sturdy downbeat kick or a meaty snare hit.

So, given Andy's bold claims, I'm not gonna dodge the question: If I hadn't known in advance it was a sample library, would I have thought it was real guitar? I actually don't listen to that much metal outside OCR, so I'm not the best person to answer this question, but I do have more "sample library detection" experience than the average listener, which is who ISW are trying to fool. I think the vast majority of listeners wouldn't raise an eyebrow, and I honestly think I personally would have been on the fence as to whether it was real or samples. I guess my answer is that I wouldn't have even thought about it - generally the question only comes up if something sounds "off" to begin with, and Shreddage sounds much better than any similar libraries I've played with, hands down. Mission accomplished!

Have Andy & Juan made rhythm guitarists obsolete by completely capturing the full range of articulations possible, as well as the human energy & artistry involved in playing a live instrument? Can Danimal & norg & Snapple & countless others all hang up their axes, or at least just stick to playing lead parts? Of course not... the point of the library, as with any sample library that emulates existing instruments, is to make believable sounds available to artists who don't have a Danimal Cannon in their closet, ready to shred at the drop of a hat. Although, I must say, that'd be an awesome invention. "Believable" should not be interpreted as equivalent to "Just as good as", in other words, but I myself am thrilled to have an electric rhythm guitar library this good at my fingertips. That Andy & Juan made it is just icing on the cake - this stuff would be golden even if they were complete strangers. It raises the bar, and for $50 that's pretty damn impressive.

...And so is Andy's mix. With all the FF6 love, this theme actually doesn't get too much attention, so he's filled a good niche with a solid mix that shows off the hard work he and Juan have poured into this product. Check it out, and if you make music on a computer and want some great rhythm guitar sounds, check out Shreddage.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
timaeus222
on 2015-09-20 00:13:44

All y'all are crazy. The PWM lead simply rises over the top of the heavy guitar, so it makes total sense for it to be used. :P

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Blue_Drac
on 2015-09-19 23:57:31

I'm with the opinion that the synth doesn't fit. At all, really. The guitar and drums are great, but the synth just ... spoils it.

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Crulex
on 2012-07-25 09:53:59

I have to get it out of the way: the Final Fantasy series has the best regular battle themes. And that is why I love the intro to this ReMix. Lots of intensity in this one. I don't have a problem with the synth, and as far as the rest of the instrumentation goes, I liked it. Impressive, sir!

avatar
Argle
on 2012-06-21 12:04:33

The intro guitar chugs remind me of Symphony X - Of Sins and Shadows.

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Martin Penwald
on 2010-03-12 16:26:11

Nice intro.

Unlike many of the people who posted before me, I really enjoy the synth, to the point where it steals the spotlight from shreddage.

avatar
OA
on 2010-03-03 10:21:54

shreddage sounds awesome, and I agree about the synth. Great arrangement though! :D

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astrovanman
on 2010-03-02 12:02:46

Nice track! Before the shredding comes in, does the intro to this sound like something out of Bear McCreary's Battlestar Galactica themes to anyone else?

avatar
zircon
on 2010-02-20 10:08:21
Yeah, I use that kind of synth lead most of the time and people usually don't like it.

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Well anyway, thanks for the comments nonetheless.

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LuIzA
on 2010-02-19 21:18:27

I must say I'm really impressed with Shreddage. I can see some minor "imperfections" when it comes to realism, but if I didn't play guitar, I'd totally get it! guitar tone is really good and chuggy. but the stereo image seems a bit funny.... Like Brandon said, more defined on the right side. still, great job on Shreddage, guys!

As for the synth lead... I also don't dig it, not in this song, and not anywhere else. to be very honest, I find this sort of synth lead, not bad at all, but boring. but that's a matter of individual taste, some of us will like it, some of us won't.

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Hollidayrain
on 2010-02-19 20:23:57

Sample library sounds phenomenal. I can understand where the criticism of the lead synth comes from; there are times when it's a bit chipp-ish, but it's DEFINITELY not as bad as some of these people are saying. At all. Awesome stuff Zirc

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Flare4War
on 2010-02-19 15:03:20

It does come off a bit Rammstein but it is what it is. I really like it.

Great job and congratulations on Shreddage, it looks awesome.

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Sixto
on 2010-02-19 09:18:26

Yeah, I use that kind of synth lead most of the time and people usually don't like it.

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WillRock
on 2010-02-18 20:59:53

Pretty solid remix, Props to zircon and sixto for shreddage, if I didn't know that guitar wasn't real, I wouldn't have guessed.

As for the crit about the lead, personally, I don't see what the big issue is, i've heard leads just like it used in all sorts of rock ocr tracks like has been said by zircon. Personally, 80-90% of the time, I haven't been completely comfortable with the leads used in ocr rock mixes for the blandness issue thats been pointed out here, but this is no different to other leads i've heard in them and it does the job well enough.

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LuigiFan
on 2010-02-18 19:58:57

I don't have a clue about working with sample libraries or whatnot, but I must say this emulates electric rhythm quite well. The mix is great too - well arranged and makes a great use of the library.

Nothing to me will ever replace an authentic Sixto mix though. ;)

(Oh, and I totally laughed at "Duduk, Where's My Car")

avatar
Arcana
on 2010-02-18 19:17:48

How would this library sound in the hands of someone who knows virtually nothing about guitar? Like, can you just drag and drop MIDI notes and it's fine?

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Battle Theme"
"The Decisive Battle"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_6_Desertion_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,972,027 bytes
MD5:
c708b9975e84b7d1b5a991f643143ff6
Bitrate:
235Kbps
Duration:
3:20

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