Native Dialect Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 (edited) This is my second remix from the soundtrack to Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, and while every piece of music composed for that game is absolutely brilliant, there is no question that Gambit's stage theme is the most popular of all the tracks. My approach to this remix can be summed up with a single word: "big." I wanted the sound to be big, and the arrangement to feel big, so the drums and synths are fat, the guitars distorted, and the organ blazing. This is the second iteration of my remix, as I was ultimately unsatisfied with my first take. The changes were minimal, but important enough to me that I had to make them. - The guitar riff at 1:22 was originally recorded in Drop D. I rerecorded it in Drop C - Added a new guitar solo starting at 2:07 - Remastered the mix to increase both the treble and the bass - Sped up the tempo by 1% Song Title: "The Cajun Connection" (Gambit Theme Remix) Originally Composed By: Tim Follin and Geoff Follin Arranged and Performed By: The Native Dialect BPM: 128 Style: Funk Hardware: Ibanez Talmon, iMac Software: GarageBand, Zebra2, Audacity The Cajun Connection Source: Gambit's Stage Edited March 20, 2021 by Native Dialect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Hey, great to see you tackling this theme 12 years after requesting it! Love the organ here, it sounds great. I'm not sure about the synths - although there is side-to-side panning in the original source, it's on a pad texture, and it's a really disorienting feeling to put that side-to-side effect on the bass synth. Once the panning stops at 0:53 it sounds a whole lot better. I like to use a similar fat sawtooth sound for a lot of my bass sounds, but you definitely don't want to be panning it like that. I'm pretty surprised you've got this kind of sound out of GarageBand, but I think in order to elevate it to the next level, you really need a better DAW to get into the finer details of mixing. Also, a fadeout ending? Boooo! Native Dialect 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Dialect Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) On 5/30/2020 at 2:02 PM, DarkSim said: Hey, great to see you tackling this theme 12 years after requesting it! Love the organ here, it sounds great. I'm not sure about the synths - although there is side-to-side panning in the original source, it's on a pad texture, and it's a really disorienting feeling to put that side-to-side effect on the bass synth. Once the panning stops at 0:53 it sounds a whole lot better. I like to use a similar fat sawtooth sound for a lot of my bass sounds, but you definitely don't want to be panning it like that. I'm pretty surprised you've got this kind of sound out of GarageBand, but I think in order to elevate it to the next level, you really need a better DAW to get into the finer details of mixing. Also, a fadeout ending? Boooo! 1) Thank you for takin the time to listen to my remix! I appreciate it. 2) Believe it or not, the bass is actually a saw wave, at least primarily. I have a soft saw doing the panning, while a fat saw is centered specifically because I was trying to avoid having the sound being aurally overwhelming. I guess I failed on that end lol. I also incorporated a tuba played at a lower register so that I could get a more distinct "wub wub" sound similar to the one in Follin's original composition. 3) I agree with you on the synths, but none of GarageBand's stock pads can effectively play staccato chords: they are all too soft, or only reach forte if you play a note or chord legato. In fact, I had to use a pad from an AU instrument I have called Zebra2 just to fill out the panning synths. The quality of the pads in GarageBand makes me miss arranging music in Reason, which had a number of shortcomings as a DAW, but excelled when it came to synths. I don't often use more than one DAW to produce tracks, but I could always try using NanoStudio. It's a real basic DAW, but it has some really great synths and pads. I could always recreate the pad track in NanoStudio, and import it as a WAV file in GarageBand and see how that turns out. What do you think? 4) I am actually eager to switch over to Logic Pro X. It has the same interface as GarageBand, but more features, better sounding samples, and more software instruments. Still, I try to make due with what I have. I think the actual limitation here is my own skill with the DAW in question when it comes to certain styles of production, and certain genres of music. Some of my remixes turn out only okay because I still have much to learn about how to mix multiple synths so that they don't come off as dissonant in the final mix. But whenever I record something more traditional, I think I'm able to get the best out of GarageBand. It leaves me hopeful that I will get better with the DAW over time so that I don't allow it to be an excuse for any area of production where I simply need to grow my skill set. Here's a remix I did a year ago of Sagat's theme from Street Fighter II, and to date, I believe it to be my best work in GarageBand. Everything is a stock software instrument with the exception of the guitar, which I played myself through an iRig. One day, I hope for all of my remixes to sound as competent, and authentic, regardless of genre. Edited July 16, 2020 by Native Dialect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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