[WIP] Diddy Kong Racing - Star City converted to SEGA Genesis

[Seth Skoda]

Still needs some volume leveling, sound design and other edits, but I think it will be pretty nice when I get around to finishing it.

[pixelseph]

Hi Seth!

I dig this piece! I wonder how much you're able to explore with the lead synths as far as duty cycling or velocity changes; the melody felt pretty much the same velocity-wise throughout both runs of the loop. How close are you looking to hew this toward the Genesis sound palette? Some of that FM slap bass would be welcome :D

Definitely interested in how you develop this going forward!

[paradiddlesjosh]

Howdy, Seth! What a fun source. Gonna attach the source for other folks to check out as well; always good to include it with a WIP so we can be familiar with it.

Since you mentioned volume leveling, sound design, and other edits, I'll frame my feedback with those aspects in mind. I generally like your instrument choices for this arrangement, particularly the trumpet and the marimba, and as my name would indicate, I'm gonna zero in on those drums.

Volume leveling: once that 16th note double kick and bass pattern comes in (:23, 1:06, etc), the lows from the bass and kick are eating up the soundstage. A dynamic EQ targeting the sub-bass frequencies or a multiband compressor for those segments would help keep the lows under control.

Sound design: if you want to hew closely to the sound of the Genesis, consider the sound channel limitations of the system. The drums (kick, snare, toms) will most likely be sample playback from the PCM channel while the cymbals are coming from the noise channel and the PCM isn't super hi-fi. Consider rolling off the super lows (20-40Hz) and the highs (10-12kHz, maybe as low as about 8kHz).

Other edits: I think I'm hearing some artifacting in the render, some light crackling in the side channel. You'll most likely be cleaning this up by the end, but it's worth pointing out.

Keep cookin'! We're looking forward to hearing more from you. :)

[Seth Skoda]

15 hours ago, pixelseph said:

Hi Seth!

I dig this piece! I wonder how much you're able to explore with the lead synths as far as duty cycling or velocity changes; the melody felt pretty much the same velocity-wise throughout both runs of the loop. How close are you looking to hew this toward the Genesis sound palette? Some of that FM slap bass would be welcome :D

Definitely interested in how you develop this going forward!

Thank you for the feedback, definitely will develop this better in the future. Technically fits on the SEGA Genesis as is (assuming zero compression for game assets), but that being said, I'm still not satisfied with it right now.

[Seth Skoda]

15 hours ago, paradiddlesjosh said:

Howdy, Seth! What a fun source. Gonna attach the source for other folks to check out as well; always good to include it with a WIP so we can be familiar with it.

Since you mentioned volume leveling, sound design, and other edits, I'll frame my feedback with those aspects in mind. I generally like your instrument choices for this arrangement, particularly the trumpet and the marimba, and as my name would indicate, I'm gonna zero in on those drums.

Volume leveling: once that 16th note double kick and bass pattern comes in (:23, 1:06, etc), the lows from the bass and kick are eating up the soundstage. A dynamic EQ targeting the sub-bass frequencies or a multiband compressor for those segments would help keep the lows under control.

Sound design: if you want to hew closely to the sound of the Genesis, consider the sound channel limitations of the system. The drums (kick, snare, toms) will most likely be sample playback from the PCM channel while the cymbals are coming from the noise channel and the PCM isn't super hi-fi. Consider rolling off the super lows (20-40Hz) and the highs (10-12kHz, maybe as low as about 8kHz).

Other edits: I think I'm hearing some artifacting in the render, some light crackling in the side channel. You'll most likely be cleaning this up by the end, but it's worth pointing out.

Keep cookin'! We're looking forward to hearing more from you. :)

Oh, trust me, I'm not diminishing your feedback, but I know the limits of the console, which this stays within, but it clips, causing the sound space issues. I actually use the DAC channel for samples, keeping my PSG channels available instead. I chose Crystal Clear mode for this (as I do for most mixes), as the hardware emulations released in recent years (I forget what they're called) allow this option. I know that in a real game, there will likely be more compression. I just like it to sound good for my younger audience.

And yeah, that crackling is annoying as hell, but it might just be a phase click, could be something else. Definitely investigating that when I return to this.