Gario Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 ReMixer Name: DS Real Name: David Sylvester Email: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ds_music_official Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DSMusic394 UserID: 34014 Game: Star Fox 2 Arrangement Title: The Lost Legend of Lylat Link: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM3_Tabpro Comments: I originally made this piano cover when Star Fox 2 was officially released on the SNES Classic since I was so hyped that after years of only being an unfinished ROM, this classic game could finally receive recognition for what it almost brought to the Star Fox franchise. In this cover, I tried to embody multiple aspects of the franchise, including the solemn sense of duty, the encroaching dread of invasion, and the overall action-packed Star Wars-esque vibes (with a little Star Wars easter egg thrown in too!), along with a look toward the 'future' with some melodic bits from the Star Fox 64 main theme blended in too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 A 12-second loop, eh? Let's see if and how David gets 3 1/2 minutes out of this. [/listens] Variations aplenty, yes! Thank god the Star Wars theme cameo at 2:21 was only 3 seconds, you about had me falling off a chair on possibly having to reject this after an amazing first few minutes. Nice job, David; very well arranged & performed! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexy Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I don't need to timestamp this one. If I didn't hear a variation on the source, I heard usage of the Starfox 64 theme or that cheeky 3-second Star Wars cameo. And variations are indeed aplenty! It starts simple with one variant played straight and another with reliance on sustain, then 0:28 has the first few notes as a transition into the first use of the SF64 theme. 0:49 brought the mood and dynamics in a more beauty-driven direction and set the scene for a victorious feel at 1:15. The ominous tone at 1:43 also broke up the major key prowess in favor of adding tension in the build-up to the right-hand arpeggio and Star Wars cameo. 2:25 reprises the first two variants while setting up for a dynamic finish based on the SF64 theme. It's a meaty sonata, it takes advantage of the 12-second loop, and the differing presentations demonstrate your understanding of the source along with your creative ideas. Even the piano itself sounds lovely! I'm assuming right now that it's the same piano sample used in your posted Undertale track from last year. If so, then I can see how you worked with it to get the dynamic sound, tone and ambient space in your favor. I'm not too crazy about the mild compression in the louder sections, though. Usually organic instruments are best heard when the input doesn't quite touch the ceiling. Luckily it didn't do any harm to the tone, so I'm not going to fret about it too much. Still, it's a fantastic arrangement and performance that leaves no BGM note unturned. Nice going there, David - I hope to hear future interpretive ideas as impactful as this one! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I'm not quite as happy as Rexy with the piano sound; the reverb sounds way over the top to me, especially in the low end. There's so much tail that it gets more than a bit muddy. It sounds like it might be the same treatment as your Undertale mix, but in that case the arrangement was melodically top-heavy, and the discordant bass added to the uncomfortable atmosphere, so it was forgivable (though, looking at the old thread, I did call you out on it at the time). This time it's much more of an issue: not only does the bombastic arrangement not provide an excuse for dissonance, this arrangement is much more skewed towards the mid-to-low frequencies. I love the arrangement, and it's a very clever use of a limited source, but this time I can't give that low end a pass. Gario suggested last time that overuse of the sustain pedal was the big culprit, so take another look at that; hopefully that'll be enough of a change without needing to look at the arrangement. NO (please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 from an arrangement perspective, this one is spangling. great job using a variety of techniques to stretch 13 seconds out for nearly 15x that. i especially appreciated your overall use of space in the arrangement, which allowed the bigger sections to speak their mind without getting tiring. beyond that, i don't know if you did any post-work to the performance via midi or if this is a single take, but it's an impressive demonstration of both virtuosity and musicality. from a mastering side, this isn't as good. it's very lacking in upper range, which is surprising when ravenscroft pianos are noted for their ability to speak clearly when played quietly - you'd expect the instrument to sing in the upper range, and this doesn't. MW nails it when he says that the low end overpowers the mix, most notably in the first presentation of the theme from 0:14 to 0:36. 0:28 and 0:32 are really bad - the left hand is so strong so as to crush the melodic line and take over the soundscape. 1:26-1:32 is another example, and the smoking gun is the comparison between the strong right hand octaves at 1:32 compared to the left hand immediately after...the left hand is so much louder. you just need to straight-up crank down the low-end mic (the left of the two mics under Close on the VST, on the lowest bridge) and crank up the mic that's over the right bridge. once you've done that, the entire track needs a re-EQing to brighten up the top end and remove some of that dominating lower mid that's running over the rest of the track. my issues here are 100% mastering. the arrangement is superb. fixing the volumization so that you're not killing everything with your left hand and then brightening up the mix will make for a much more consumable track that really emphasizes the themes you were going for without losing the power and drive that you instilled in this arrangement. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 I'm very impressed with the work done expanding the original here, without ever sounding repetitive. We get a lot of submissions of short tunes here and they usually struggle with this, but you managed to adapt and expand the source into a full-length arrangement that is expansive and detailed. Really, kudos. The production isn't perfect though. The lows are pretty prominent and they can get muddy at times. It also feels as if there was a filter on the whole arrangement because it lacks a bit of brightness. But, I think it's serviceable and coupled with the excellent re-arrangement, I think this makes it over the bar. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 The lows and mid-lows are too loud, and the reverb is too strong, especially in the lows. That said, WOW. The variations you came up with on this short source are phenomenal and the performance is superb. I love this so much! Let's do this. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Nice playing. Agree that we have some EQ issues here — the lows are a bit boomy, making things sound a bit muffled as a result. The change of pace throughout the arrangement is nice and emotive, I enjoyed your performance. There is definitely a feeling of heart that has gone into your work here. The moody change at 01:43 was a nice touch. The arrangement to me was a great listen overall. I can really only fault this on the lows, I would love to hear them toned down a bit, which I think would increase the enjoyment of the piece. If you were willing to do that before posting, we'd be golden. YES (conditional on EQ fix) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Not gonna say anything new here: I'm good with it as is. Excellent arrangement, a pleasure to listen to! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 I love me some old school Star Fox music. I used to listen to the Asteroid theme from the SNES game on loop while studying. So, years ago I tried my hand at a few short sources, but I can't remember ever trying something so basic as this. Very interested in where you're going with it. So, Jivemaster basically nailed my thoughts with this one. The performance is excellent. You've managed to both anchor this well to the original, while somehow keeping fresh ideas flowing throughout. I legit thought we were going into the Star Wars credits at 2:26 (which would probably not have been a good idea :). I agree with the comments about the low-heavy EQ, but I wouldn't go as far as to make it a conditional vote. Impressive track here for sure. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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