Strikers 1945 II - Guitar Cover with little synth

[TAIKOI]

Hi there! I made an arrangement for Strikers 1945 II - Battle of Extreme North

There has been some time since I played or recorded guitar, but this one got my fire back.

Here is the original soundtrack:

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by TAIKOI

[Souperion]

*Holds up lighter* Glad you got your fire back, because it's catching. You've captured a combative fervor and drive. The piano/synth nicely complement the bombing run of rock elements, resulting in an excellent product. Great work here, you should be proud.

[TAIKOI]

On 4/21/2020 at 6:01 PM, Souperion said:

*Holds up lighter* Glad you got your fire back, because it's catching. You've captured a combative fervor and drive. The piano/synth nicely complement the bombing run of rock elements, resulting in an excellent product. Great work here, you should be proud.

Thank you for the feedback!

[DarkSim]

I'm a huge fan of remixing older and more obscure sources, so props to you for making an arrangement of this!

I'll be a little extra critical because you've marked it for review, and I'm not an evaluator so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

First off, the guitar playing is excellent and I can't fault that. The rhythm sounds really chunky and the layered panning gives a great weight to it. The lead also sounds perfect, with just enough reverb and delay to accentuate the tone whilst still keeping it crystal clear. I feel like (rightly) the guitar has been showcased as the main part to the song, however the other elements have suffered from a lack of TLC. The drums in particular sound pretty flat, and although they have a decent groove, and care has been shown in input velocities, there's nothing about them that really shines. Some more imaginative fills would have been appreciated - there are some toms in the fills in the source, and the percussion has a lot more energy. Try and bring out more punch in your percussion, and maybe experiment with some new samples if you're struggling to get that particular kit to sound better.

I do like the piano break, I think that's mixed really well. The synth at 1:27 could be a little brighter maybe, but then when the guitar comes back in it sounds ok. Maybe tweak it so it sounds better when it stands on its own.

Finally, it's a little short, isn't it? I was hoping for a little more artistic license towards the end there. It's pretty close to the source at the moment, but 2:07 would be the perfect time for a face-melting solo before giving the chorus one final blast, maybe with a harmony playing on the synth. You could even squeeze in a more extended piano break before the solo if you wanted. OCR is all about honouring the original tracks whilst also putting your own artistic stamp onto the track, so don't be afraid to deviate a little more from the source music. Your guitar playing looks effortless, so I know you've got more in the tank for this one. Keep that fire burning!

[TAIKOI]

On 5/2/2020 at 11:51 PM, DarkSim said:

I'm a huge fan of remixing older and more obscure sources, so props to you for making an arrangement of this!

I'll be a little extra critical because you've marked it for review, and I'm not an evaluator so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

First off, the guitar playing is excellent and I can't fault that. The rhythm sounds really chunky and the layered panning gives a great weight to it. The lead also sounds perfect, with just enough reverb and delay to accentuate the tone whilst still keeping it crystal clear. I feel like (rightly) the guitar has been showcased as the main part to the song, however the other elements have suffered from a lack of TLC. The drums in particular sound pretty flat, and although they have a decent groove, and care has been shown in input velocities, there's nothing about them that really shines. Some more imaginative fills would have been appreciated - there are some toms in the fills in the source, and the percussion has a lot more energy. Try and bring out more punch in your percussion, and maybe experiment with some new samples if you're struggling to get that particular kit to sound better.

I do like the piano break, I think that's mixed really well. The synth at 1:27 could be a little brighter maybe, but then when the guitar comes back in it sounds ok. Maybe tweak it so it sounds better when it stands on its own.

Finally, it's a little short, isn't it? I was hoping for a little more artistic license towards the end there. It's pretty close to the source at the moment, but 2:07 would be the perfect time for a face-melting solo before giving the chorus one final blast, maybe with a harmony playing on the synth. You could even squeeze in a more extended piano break before the solo if you wanted. OCR is all about honouring the original tracks whilst also putting your own artistic stamp onto the track, so don't be afraid to deviate a little more from the source music. Your guitar playing looks effortless, so I know you've got more in the tank for this one. Keep that fire burning!

Thank you for detailed review and critique.

I agree with drum programming, it could be more interesting if there was some toms and other elements added.