prophetik music Posted May 1, 2024 Share Posted May 1, 2024 I have one rejection on this site, and it is for another arrangement of this same theme. The sole reason for the rejection... track felt too short. I had considered picking back up where I left off with that one but anytime I crack open the project for it I just stare blankly at the screen for a while and then move onto something else. Well, enough is enough. I decided to just start over from scratch one night and do an arrangement for 4 guitars. I hadn't intended on roping anyone else in on this one but after writing all the parts I found myself uninspired to learn all 4 of them, and coincidentally perform / record them. Thankfully after a spontaneous conversation on OCR Discord pixelseph excitedly forced his way into the project as a second guitarist and well... I'm glad he did because the small nuances of his style made for a great accompaniment to my own parts. If you need a guitarist make sure you keep him in mind. Stellar guitarist and super friendly. Hopefully completing this will appease my mind for the other failure: https://soundcloud.com/zack-parrish/our-tale-begins-main-theme Specific creds: Lead Acoustic - ZackParrish Rhythm 1 - pixelseph Rhythm 2 - pixelseph Baritone - ZackParrish Games & Sources Final Fantasy 5 - Ahead on Our Way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQkzvOlMT5Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted May 1, 2024 Author Share Posted May 1, 2024 tons of personality right off the bat. the intro does a great job setting the feel for the rest of the song. there's a lot of interplay in the parts in the first trip through the A theme, which is fun. the B theme at 1:00 has a lot of movement behind it as well, which is a great contrast to the slower melodic material here with all the sustains. there's a few points where the lead guitar feels a bit stilted (1:36 is one spot), and that's my main complaint in the first half. i'd have liked to hear a more singing tone from the lead. there's a fun muted section as a section break, and we're back to the A theme at 2:09 in a lower register. the tone of the lead guitar here is great, and the octave of the melody here allows the lead to sing out a bit more. the lead around the 2:55 is again more stilted and that's not ideal, but the counterpoint is really fun and constantly moving. we're into an outro around 3:33. there's some odd timing right there, and again right at the end. ending is a short recap of the first few notes of the melodic line, and it's done. overall i love this concept. FFV's usage of the theme is different from earlier FFs where the main theme isn't just the overworld theme but also is used in various ways throughout so much of the OST, and so the constant movement of the arrangement is a great callback to the ways the game uses the audio originally. there's a lot of character in the performance as well. the overall mix is treble-heavy to my ears and emphasizes some of the less smooth attacks a bit more than i'd like, but taken as a whole it's a great arrangement of a great original. i particularly liked the middle section, starting at around 2:09, and how you shifted styles so significantly without losing the feel. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted May 4, 2024 Share Posted May 4, 2024 Zack asked me to just give this one a listen, so I figure I'll drop a vote on it in while it's fresh in my head. First thing that jumps out to me is the pristine recording and engineering quality on this track. There's a tremendous sense of stereo placement and depth, even though everything feels very close and intimate. The performances are exactly as on-point as I'd expect from the artists involved, and the arrangement is dynamic and really gets as much juice out of the source as one could hope to get for an acoustic arrangement. This is becoming one of the hallmarks of Zack's arranging that I've noticed after working with him personally on more projects - the arrangements are written with a composer's mindset. There's a lot of interpretation and original parts added to the source material, but it's all born from an understanding of what made the original work in the first place, so the original never feels like it is being sidelined or left behind. Really a beautiful, evocative piece all around, great work gents! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 10, 2024 Share Posted June 10, 2024 Rancho Relaxo over here! Zack & Seph's guitar performances sounded extra classy. Are y'all trying to melt up the ladies? :-) YES pixelseph and Emunator 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 10, 2024 Share Posted June 10, 2024 Wow! This is super nice. The guitar playing is lovely and so well done. Emu is right that the recording and production of this is pristine; it sounds so full and spacious while still being quite intimate. It is mastered just right, too. It is perfect. I'm a lady; consider me melted. YES pixelseph 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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