Davester2296 | Legend of Zelda - Gerudo Valley [Cover REDUX by DAR] | 🌟[5-Years of Covers]🌟 @DAR-Davester2296 | Uploaded August 2020 | Updated October 2024, 1 week ago.
[REUPLOAD] [Original Upload Date: April 2nd, 2020]
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If there was any work of mine that was in dire need of a remake, it would have to be this channel's very first upload. I think I've come a very long ways over the last five years. I am very proud to see how far everything has gone since that first cover!
My first rendition of this was VERY rough around the edges, with footage recorded from a cheap webcam, and pretty sub-par mixing compared to all that would later follow. However, despite its roughness, I've always been very proud of how everything sounded from a musical standpoint. This was such a fun jam for me all those years ago, but I just felt bad that the video and audio quality kind of dragged things down.
I've been thinking of remaking this one for a very very long time. I think it was back in 2017 or 2018, I decided that I would save this for the 5-Year anniversary. Of course, I still planned to do other Zelda covers for the 3rd and 4th anniversary, but in the end, I wound up being busy with other things and wasn't able to.
I wanted to do something special for the 5-Year anniversary for my first two albums too but I was busy working on covers. This cover however, after years of planning for this, I just could not let this opportunity pass by!
With this upload, this rendition captures EXACTLY the tone and energy I had envisioned all those years ago. Also, bit of a disclosure, but all leads AND rhythm guitar parts were recorded with my Ibanez. I decided to use the Strat in the video as a throwback and for some visual variety.
At first, I was just going to make this a 1:1 remake of the first version I had done. However, as I proceeded to jam out and record, that quickly changed. I really had myself some fun with the bass guitar in this cover. Since back then, all I used was a VSTi-bass, and the part was real simple, just playing root notes. Now having my bass guitar for nearly 4 years, I felt like I was able to inject more life into the bass parts for this cover.
I also articulated the rhythm guitar tracks better this time around in some parts (whereas before it was just constant power chords and chugging). Also really had fun chugging along for the part at 3:21. Had even more fun with the leads that kick back in after that too! I've also added on a nice little "fast" solo to follow after the tapping part.
Next up, I decided to add some lead harmonies for the final stretch. Those harmonies really add a bit of extra "flavor" in my opinion. I also resisted the urge to fade out, like I had done in the original. I always try and make a conscious effort to not play into a fade out. It wasn't until after my Into Sandy's City cover that I made an effort to break that habit (shoutout to efirehawk, your message back then really set me straight! Thanks man.).
It's a bit of a late start into 2020 for the covers channel, but man, I think this is a great first cover for 2020! Hope you all enjoy the video!
~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: mediafire.com/file/28pwwovpo5thzaz/Legend+of+Zelda+-+Gerudo+Valley+[Cover+By+DAR]+[REDUX].opus/file
Previous Zelda Cover: "Legend of Zelda MM - Song of Healing": youtube.com/watch?v=hVohAnuZ07k
Originally Composed By: Koji Kondo (近藤 浩治)
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Make sure to Like, Share, and Subscribe if you enjoyed!
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DAR's Cover-To-Do List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DowH1EIjiLyeg29cFx-4XOWpr7-bl1Pwb2_OfVaQ1SE/edit?usp=sharing
Facebook: facebook.com/Davester2296
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[REUPLOAD] [Original Upload Date: April 2nd, 2020]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was any work of mine that was in dire need of a remake, it would have to be this channel's very first upload. I think I've come a very long ways over the last five years. I am very proud to see how far everything has gone since that first cover!
My first rendition of this was VERY rough around the edges, with footage recorded from a cheap webcam, and pretty sub-par mixing compared to all that would later follow. However, despite its roughness, I've always been very proud of how everything sounded from a musical standpoint. This was such a fun jam for me all those years ago, but I just felt bad that the video and audio quality kind of dragged things down.
I've been thinking of remaking this one for a very very long time. I think it was back in 2017 or 2018, I decided that I would save this for the 5-Year anniversary. Of course, I still planned to do other Zelda covers for the 3rd and 4th anniversary, but in the end, I wound up being busy with other things and wasn't able to.
I wanted to do something special for the 5-Year anniversary for my first two albums too but I was busy working on covers. This cover however, after years of planning for this, I just could not let this opportunity pass by!
With this upload, this rendition captures EXACTLY the tone and energy I had envisioned all those years ago. Also, bit of a disclosure, but all leads AND rhythm guitar parts were recorded with my Ibanez. I decided to use the Strat in the video as a throwback and for some visual variety.
At first, I was just going to make this a 1:1 remake of the first version I had done. However, as I proceeded to jam out and record, that quickly changed. I really had myself some fun with the bass guitar in this cover. Since back then, all I used was a VSTi-bass, and the part was real simple, just playing root notes. Now having my bass guitar for nearly 4 years, I felt like I was able to inject more life into the bass parts for this cover.
I also articulated the rhythm guitar tracks better this time around in some parts (whereas before it was just constant power chords and chugging). Also really had fun chugging along for the part at 3:21. Had even more fun with the leads that kick back in after that too! I've also added on a nice little "fast" solo to follow after the tapping part.
Next up, I decided to add some lead harmonies for the final stretch. Those harmonies really add a bit of extra "flavor" in my opinion. I also resisted the urge to fade out, like I had done in the original. I always try and make a conscious effort to not play into a fade out. It wasn't until after my Into Sandy's City cover that I made an effort to break that habit (shoutout to efirehawk, your message back then really set me straight! Thanks man.).
It's a bit of a late start into 2020 for the covers channel, but man, I think this is a great first cover for 2020! Hope you all enjoy the video!
~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: mediafire.com/file/28pwwovpo5thzaz/Legend+of+Zelda+-+Gerudo+Valley+[Cover+By+DAR]+[REDUX].opus/file
Previous Zelda Cover: "Legend of Zelda MM - Song of Healing": youtube.com/watch?v=hVohAnuZ07k
Originally Composed By: Koji Kondo (近藤 浩治)
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Make sure to Like, Share, and Subscribe if you enjoyed!
Follow me at:
(The Den of DAR) Official DISCORD: discord.gg/uEAfRWP
DAR's Cover-To-Do List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DowH1EIjiLyeg29cFx-4XOWpr7-bl1Pwb2_OfVaQ1SE/edit?usp=sharing
Facebook: facebook.com/Davester2296
Twitter: twitter.com/Davester2296
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Originals Channel: youtube.com/user/Davester2296
![Legend of Zelda - Gerudo Valley [Cover REDUX by DAR] | 🌟[5-Years of Covers]🌟](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4CyvQIErTBs/hqdefault.jpg "Legend of Zelda - Gerudo Valley [Cover REDUX by DAR] | 🌟[5-Years of Covers]🌟
[REUPLOAD] [Original Upload Date: April 2nd, 2020]
If there was any work of mine that was in dire need of a remake, it would have to be this channels very first upload. I think Ive come a very long ways over the last five years. I am very proud to see how far everything has gone since that first cover!
My first rendition of this was VERY rough around the edges, with footage recorded from a cheap webcam, and pretty sub-par mixing compared to all that would later follow. However, despite its roughness, Ive always been very proud of how everything sounded from a musical standpoint. This was such a fun jam for me all those years ago, but I just felt bad that the video and audio quality kind of dragged things down.
Ive been thinking of remaking this one for a very very long time. I think it was back in 2017 or 2018, I decided that I would save this for the 5-Year anniversary. Of course, I still planned to do other Zelda covers for the 3rd and 4th anniversary, but in the end, I wound up being busy with other things and wasnt able to.
I wanted to do something special for the 5-Year anniversary for my first two albums too but I was busy working on covers. This cover however, after years of planning for this, I just could not let this opportunity pass by!
With this upload, this rendition captures EXACTLY the tone and energy I had envisioned all those years ago. Also, bit of a disclosure, but all leads AND rhythm guitar parts were recorded with my Ibanez. I decided to use the Strat in the video as a throwback and for some visual variety.
At first, I was just going to make this a 1:1 remake of the first version I had done. However, as I proceeded to jam out and record, that quickly changed. I really had myself some fun with the bass guitar in this cover. Since back then, all I used was a VSTi-bass, and the part was real simple, just playing root notes. Now having my bass guitar for nearly 4 years, I felt like I was able to inject more life into the bass parts for this cover.
I also articulated the rhythm guitar tracks better this time around in some parts (whereas before it was just constant power chords and chugging). Also really had fun chugging along for the part at 3:21. Had even more fun with the leads that kick back in after that too! Ive also added on a nice little fast solo to follow after the tapping part.
Next up, I decided to add some lead harmonies for the final stretch. Those harmonies really add a bit of extra flavor in my opinion. I also resisted the urge to fade out, like I had done in the original. I always try and make a conscious effort to not play into a fade out. It wasnt until after my Into Sandys City cover that I made an effort to break that habit (shoutout to efirehawk, your message back then really set me straight! Thanks man.).
Its a bit of a late start into 2020 for the covers channel, but man, I think this is a great first cover for 2020! Hope you all enjoy the video!
~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/28pwwovpo5thzaz/Legend+of+Zelda+-+Gerudo+Valley+[Cover+By+DAR]+[REDUX].opus/file
Previous Zelda Cover: Legend of Zelda MM - Song of Healing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVohAnuZ07k
Originally Composed By: Koji Kondo (近藤 浩治)
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![Maximum Carnage - Heated Battle ~ Decisive Dance [Cover By DAR] | [SNES Style]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4W3PcRprp9I/hqdefault.jpg "Maximum Carnage - Heated Battle ~ Decisive Dance [Cover By DAR] | [SNES Style]
GZDoom.sf2 Version: https://youtu.be/06P51Lpja1w
Figured I should put this up. I want to give a shoutout to Ninja-X³ for asking about a MIDI for the cover (for the purposes of a SNES style remix). I had totally forgotten that I was thinking of trying to do the same exact thing!
For whatever reason, I had set it aside even though it was pretty much complete. All that I had to do was finish that high-pitched synth that alternates from left-to-right.
If I remember correctly, I think the reason I had put this on hold was because at some point I noticed that Heated Battle uses noticeably different sounds/samples. The Maximum_Carnage_SNES.sf2 that I had used sounds accurate to tracks like Decisive Dance, but nothing at all like what Heated Battle used.
In any case, I hope you all enjoy hearing this little novel rendition of what my cover would sound like if it was on the SNES! ~DAR
MIDI+OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/g4yljx6jhog73ek/Maximum+Carnage+-+Heated+Battle+Decisive+Dance+[MIDI+Cover+By+DAR].7z/file
SUPPORT / DONATE: https://theofficialdavester2296.wordpress.com/
Originally Composed By Green Jellö
Soundfont Used: Maximum_Carnage_SNES.sf2
https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1308
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![Alisia Dragoon - Stage 6-1 (and Halls of Abandonment) [Cover By DAR]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/54phLmGCvEM/hqdefault.jpg "Alisia Dragoon - Stage 6-1 (and Halls of Abandonment) [Cover By DAR]
First, I have to say that the second half isnt completely mine! I decided to jam along with parts of LastUnicrons excellent remix for the second half.
Also, shoutout to ren for nominating this track back during COVER BATTLEGROUNDS III!
When I listened to this track, I just really felt in the mood for a melancholic, post-rock styled tune. Actually, I had wanted to do something more synth focused rather than using guitars. However, thats when I came across a wonderful arrangement from OCRemix (from way back in 2003!).
After hearing Halls of Abandonment I decided to focus on my guitars for my rendition... but once I finished the first half, I felt like it was missing something. Next thing I knew, I loaded up the remix and made up a bass part. From there I just started playing along with it and really had fun doing that.
In the end I decided to include this second half because I really became fond of this particular remix. Of course, I tried adding some things on top of it. I gave those two wubs (at around 3:29) a bit more snarl/growl to them. I also tried to spice up the other synths a little bit. Really enjoyed doing this second half, and I think it made things more well-rounded in the end. Starting slower and downbeat, and then later changing to become more upbeat.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this tune! ~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/0e6h2huct0thfan/Alisia_Dragoon Stage_6-1_%28and_Halls_of_Abandonment%29_%5BCover_By_DAR%5D.ogg/file
Originally Composed By: Nobuyuki Aoshima, Mamoru Ishimoda, Yoko Sonoda, Mariko Sato, Fumihito Kasatani
Halls of Abandonment remix by: LastUnicron (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00928)
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![DOOM (PSX) - Level Complete Stats [Cover By DAR] | Intermission](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ureL81L8t4/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM (PSX) - Level Complete Stats [Cover By DAR] | Intermission
Time for some epic staccatos! Shoutout to Infernis and Kinnerohkn over at the Den of DAR for requesting this one a while back.
So, I wound up setting the guitar aside on this one (even though I was originally thinking of throwing in some power chords). I decided to stick with the big and epic orchestral atmosphere of the original.
Ive kept the song mostly the same. Ive made small additions like the choir bits, and also throwing in those big epic orchestral drums. Got some kettle-drums, taiko, and other big drums banging around for dramatic impact!
I also wanted to give the synth part a little more movement in the stereo space, so I had it moving from left to right.
The DAR - Beerstorming sample I recorded for the Blood Red Shadows cover makes a return here. Taking the best beer burp from that sample, time-stretching it out and pitching it down by 8 or 9 semi-tones. Throw in a slight bit of distortion and a nice delay/reverb combo, and weve got ourselves a nice, guttural, monstrous rumble once more!
I also rendered out a woodwind section part (0:53), distorted it and then ran it through some reverb and delay (along with some panning automation). I feel like this combined with the new choir part, really adds to that feeling of unease during this section.
The staccato cello and contrabass also had a few harmony notes added to them, just to spice things up a tad bit.
Really had fun putting this one together, I felt like I was working on a film-score or something!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my recreation of PSX DOOMs grand and awesome intermission theme! Weve got two more tracks left in this PSX DOOM mini-marathon, so I hope you all look forward to them too. ~DAR
.OGG DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/3suanoifktr9whh/DOOM_%2528PSX%2529 Intermission_%255BCover_By_DAR%255D.ogg/file
Originally Composed By Aubrey Hodges
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![Starship Rendezvous - Operation in Unsteady Space [Rock Cover By DAR] - スターシップランデブー](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5y4JyHmiOIQ/hqdefault.jpg "Starship Rendezvous - Operation in Unsteady Space [Rock Cover By DAR] - スターシップランデブー
First off, big shoutout and thanks goes out to ren for introducing me to this soundtrack (among many others), and for voting for Starship in COVER BATTLEGROUNDS V!
Because of that, along with that brutal victory in the Pinky Cup, I finally got this opportunity to jam out to this great tune!
Before I go into my usual ramblings, I want to give a couple of disclaimers! First being that both the rhythm and lead guitars were recorded with my Ibanez (the Strat is just here for the sake of visual-diversity). The second being that I have layered a MIDI slap bass on top of my bass performance. 2:50 & 5:00 I seriously wish my slaps actually sounded that nice!
Anyhow, now to start from the beginning. As soon as Starship won back in the Pinky Cup, I wasnt sure how I was going to approach this song. Long ago, when this soundtrack was shown to me, I had always imagined that Id wind up going somewhat synth-heavy on this soundtrack. Recently though, I decided that I wanted for things to be more guitar-centric.
After working around a desync issue with my audio reference, I then excitedly recorded the bass tracks, and quickly followed up with the rhythm guitar. The original didnt have a rhythm guitar part, so I just chugged and noodled around to my hearts content!
Now the moment of truth, the lead guitar... I was worried about whether itd sound good or not if I did ALL the lead melodies on the guitar. I felt so certain that Id wind up maybe needing to go throw in a synth, or something else. However, after recording and panning the first two lead tracks, I became (more) energized! As soon as I heard how the harmonies sounded (at 0:59 for example), I immediately felt silly for even doubting the guitar! I had a BLAST playing everything in this cover!
Also, I tried to stay faithful to the original. Ive kept the song structure mostly the same, and the leads now just have a bit more flair... well I DID kind of change it up a little in the second-half. I also added a new lead part at 3:35, really happy with how it came out!
After that was finished, I finalized the drums, and then looked into adding some extra things. I wanted the guitars to really be the stars of this cover, so the additions I made were very subtle. I added a string ensemble patch to fill out the sound a little more. It wouldnt quite sound right without it, and yet you probably wouldnt have realized that it was there until I mentioned it. The same goes for the piano that I added. The piano is a bit more noticeable than the strings though. The pianos job was to do what the strings were doing, but to also softly copy the lead melody in some places too. I also made up this ascending bit with the piano. I used this rising part to help build up hype before the next section. A good example of this is at 2:54.
Speaking of which, I also kept the original intro bit from the song (MSX2 version). I thought of maybe trying to make something to imitate it, but I actually really like the sound of it here. Plus it makes for a good contrast before the guitars and other instruments kick in. Anyways, as I was saying, at 2:54, you have that sampled-intro, as well as the piano playing that rising bit. I also felt like I wanted to do something to draw a little bit more attention to these rising notes. So I wound up loading a synth and having it play the notes back at a higher octave. The result being that almost sparkly sound you hear. The final thing in this sound-layer-cake is actually the lead guitar. As I play that same note, I slowly brush more of my thumb over the string to gradually get that pinch-harmonic sound. I feel very satisfied with how this little part turned out!
I had considered adding a hammond organ, and maybe some extra percussion. However, the more that I listened to it, I felt like anything more wouldve crowded things too much.
But in any case, Im just really jazzed about how this one came out. Anyways, hope you all enjoy my rendition of this hidden gem! ~DAR
OPUS DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/io7sguvjc7je8po/Starship+Rendezvous+-+Operation+in+Unsteady+Space+[Cover+By+DAR].opus/file
Originally Composed By Masaharu Iwata (岩田 匡治)
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![F-Zero GX - Feel Our Pain (Fire Field) [Cover By DAR]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6GuNRHu0QZA/hqdefault.jpg "F-Zero GX - Feel Our Pain (Fire Field) [Cover By DAR]
Another entry for the Subscriber-Appreciation Event, shoutout and thanks this time goes out to subscriber Rageful_Tim for requesting this one!
I really really enjoyed jamming out on this one m/! I did deviate a bit with the leads, I just couldnt resist the urge to noodle around.
I also had myself a bit of fun with automating filters and messing with synths. I was trying to get an acid-synth sorta sound (like a TB-303), instead I got something different. Also that one acid-synth you hear before the guitars kick in (0:12) is actually sampled from the original song. Thought itd be cool to slip that in there for that brief moment. The cool distorted kick/bass drum in the very beginning had been by total accident also. I was fiddling around with things and after throwing distortion on to it, I stuck a delay on and... well things just worked!
Speaking of distortion, I went a bit crazy with throwing fuzz and distortion on to (almost) ALL of the tracks. For the most part, I tried to stay true to the original, I also tried to keep my new leads close to the rock n roll feel of the original as well.
Only other thing Ive added is my frequently-used scream sample (the one thats been on the Red Planet albums, the Doom 3 cover, and several other covers I cant think of off the top of my head). Going crazy with the fuzz, I threw distortion on to that sample and fiddled around with it a little. Bumped the pitch up slightly to be hitting an A (I think?) to match the key of the song. Stretched out the audio-length as well (as I always do with this sample). While working on the cover, I kept thinking how cool a fuzzy scream would be for the bit that runs from 1:31-1:53.
Surprised at how quickly I got this one done! Jams like this really mesh well with me, I guess! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed my rendition of this rockin F-Zero track! ~DAR
OPUS DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/loe0a2h6g1mhmxn/F-Zero+GX+-+Feel+Our+Pain+(Fire+Field)+[Cover+By+DAR].opus/file
Originally Composed By Hidenori Shoji (庄司 英徳)
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![Final Fantasy XI - Distant Worlds [Cover By DAR]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6dcdxCrcLro/hqdefault.jpg "Final Fantasy XI - Distant Worlds [Cover By DAR]
Quite possibly one of the prettiest tracks that Ive had the joy of covering here on this channel! Such a wonderful start to the Subscriber-Appreciation-Event covers. Shoutout to Niko for suggesting and also introducing me to this beautiful piece!
I also want to give a shoutout to Megalith for pointing me in the direction of some great new plugins and libraries!
So, this months been kind of slow for me, plus I felt like I wanted to let this one stew & brew for a bit before really going at it.
It took me a bit to transcribe all the notes. I mostly followed the Black Mages version of the track, but I threw in a few small, rather subtle things from the guitar instr. version. Im honestly shocked that no one has done a cover of the Black Mages version (at least as far as I can tell). That acoustic guitar solo and that uplifting power-ballad ending were a lot of fun to play!
Speaking of which, I think this is the first time that Ive ever done a solo bit like this on the acoustic! I was kind of worried about whether I could pull this part off or not. I definitely needed a bit to get my hands acclimated to playing the acoustic again. I was also worried whether I could physically play it on my acoustic since I knew that I was going to have to play some notes above the 12th fret. Thankfully, I was able to pull it off!
The solo towards the end is one of my favorite styles to play! I love doing all those bends! Stuff like that is enough to make a guy pull goofy guitar faces while playing (I would know). Also, while I did map out the notes for this solo as well, I couldnt resist doing a bit of noodling and bends of my own!
Noodling aside, I tried my best to remain faithful to the original. However, I still wanted to add something more to the track to make this cover a bit more interesting. I wanted to really amp up the dramatic and heavenly feeling of the track. I also wanted the melancholic parts to hit harder as well. To pull off the latter, I found that adding one octave lower on the piano really hit the spot. That kind of growl of the low piano notes just gives it that special something (at least for me anyways!).
I also added some new, higher notes on the piano in some parts as well. I think the dark, heaviness of the low notes and the light and delicate high notes really made for a nice combo here!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my take on this marvelous piece from Final Fantasy XIs second expansion! ~DAR
OPUS DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/746ot17ylvgp1x5/Final+Fantasy+XI+-+Distant+Worlds+[Cover+By+DAR].opus/file
Originally Composed By: Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫)
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![DOOM - E2M1 [Cover By DAR] - I Sawed The Demons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6s5GpBVH0yM/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM - E2M1 [Cover By DAR] - I Sawed The Demons
DOOM - E2M1 [Cover By DAR] - I Sawed The Demons")
![DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Tower Of Fire [Cover By DAR] - MAP08](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7-1oBP-7sjk/hqdefault.jpg "DOOM | Plutonia MIDI Pack - Tower Of Fire [Cover By DAR] - MAP08
A nice and slow one to groove to, compared to the last couple of Plutonia tracks!
At first, I had thought about going for a more acoustic sound on this one, mainly because of the harp. However, I was tempted by my synths, and then I also thought back to my Jade Empire (MAP03) cover. From there on out, I wanted to try and go for a sort of retrowave/synthwave sound. Didnt quite get the sound I had set off to find, but I quite like where things ended up.
I also got to use a nice free sample library of an instrument called a kantele. Found this set sometime last year while expanding my acoustic/world-instrument soundfont/sample collection for use with another project. Never had a good opportunity to use it until now, mainly because of its very limited range. Using it in combination with a harp sounded great! The kantele is the one that sounds slightly dissonant/out-of-tune. Those two together, piped through a reverb-send just felt so right for this track!
Speaking of piping stuff through some reverb, the sad cello returns! Originally, I had wanted to try using my violin and pitching-shifting down an octave. However, things didnt quite sound right. Not sure if I need to try recording at higher samplerates, and/or try going plugged in, rather than micd up. In any case, I used what I did for the Watch Your Rock cover. I took my favorite violin soundfont, and after recording playback, I went and pitch-shifted down an octave.
Playing the bass and guitar riff parts were also a lot of fun! Which is a surprise, since I had to tune my Ibanez down to B Standard (bass got to stay in Drop D, thankfully). Low-tension spaghetti-strings werent a problem this time around while recording the rhythm and lead guitar parts. One of these days though, Im gonna add a nice baritone or 7-string to my arsenal of instruments over here!
Anyhow, the way the new lead part came about was actually pretty funny. I got stuck and then after plucking the first note, I just started tapping around. Liked what I was playing and just rolled with it. I think that the tapped sound really lent itself well to the feel of this track, as well as that section.
Aside from the new leads (2:48), I tried to stay close to the original. Only thing I had changed was cutting the bass solo (2:15) in half. Originally it had played the same thing a second time, but I felt like I wanted to jump back in with the guitar and other synths a bit sooner. That and I wound up changing a part in the bass solo. While practicing it, I had goofed up and wound up doing a hammer-on and pull-off that sounded really cool, so I kept it.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this addition to the Plutonia MIDI Pack Marathon! ~DAR
OGG DOWNLOAD: https://mega.nz/file/kOkwnBDK#J3s_TznaV3Jbl6Z5X6KBQMXexX5tiuehP4gYS5HMjuA
Originally Composed By James Jimmy Paddock
https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesPaddockMusic
Final Doomer +:
https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=55061
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![Duke Nukem 3D - Plasma [Cover By DAR] | E2L8 - Dark Side](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7XGBIcDNGNc/hqdefault.jpg "Duke Nukem 3D - Plasma [Cover By DAR] | E2L8 - Dark Side
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Shoutout to long-time viewer, Constantinus Maximus, for nominating this particular Duke track! Also, many thanks to all of you whom voted for good ol Duke back during the COVER BATTLEGROUNDS!
Ive gotta say, it was tough picking which particular Duke song I was going to cover. I was very tempted to redo my Grabbag cover, but I had decided to save that for another day. I then thought about maybe doing Gotham, but in the end I just really loved the atmosphere and mood of Plasma. Its such a soothing, yet melancholic track...
Right from the start, I decided that I wanted to go with a retro-sounding kind of tone for this. I wanted the synths and guitars to really give off 80s vibes... which basically translates into me loading up sounds from one of my favorite synths (SQ8L), and slapping on a chorus effect and even MORE delay & reverb on to my lead guitar tone!
I also really had to exercise a lot of restraint with this cover. I thought several times about having some heavy rhythm guitars and more prominent drums in this cover. However, I felt that both would make this sound too aggressive and kind of lose that sorrowful/melancholic mood of the original. Instead, I decided to save my heavy tendencies for the other upcoming Duke cover!
My usual drums are kept limited to only light hi-hats, crash cymbals, and rides. I let the gongs and kettle-drums/timpani do the heavier and more dramatic hits. The rhythm guitar is played (mostly) clean, and is just doing something simple in the background to help move things along.
I think where things really shine (hah, look a pun!), is the lead guitar. I started with learning how to play the melody that the harp had played originally. I changed things up a bit and let some notes ring out with some vibrato, and I also intentionally slid noisily on the strings for that cool sliding sound.
Now, to add a bit more to the song, I created brand new leads (1:36-2:19). Ive gotta say, this slower and bendy way of playing still manages to be my favorite style of leads to play. This is also the first time in a very, VERY long time where I only recorded and mixed one lead guitar track (usually I have two tracks, split between left & right channels).
Now for a fun fact! Im very sure I had a dream about this specific melody back in late June. I had some ideas for slower songs for my On Impulse album, and in a dream, I swear I heard this new melody, like note for note.
Feels weird, but hey, Im very happy about taking a melody heard from a dream and bringing it to reality!
Anyways, I really enjoyed taking on this wonderfully soothing track! Hope you all enjoy, and also look forward to another Duke cover very soon! ~DAR
OPUS DOWNLOAD: https://www.mediafire.com/file/fixgcuxxx3le174/Duke+Nukem+3D+-+Plasma+[Cover+By+DAR].opus/file
Next Duke Cover: Duke Nukem Forever - 2003 Trailer: https://youtu.be/a9xNdxwIyck
Previous Duke Cover: Duke Nukem II - Nukemania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YBJjtnDyUs
Originally Composed By: Lee Jackson
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![Dragon Ball Z - Gohan Angers [Cover By DAR] - (SSJ2 Theme)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7m-z8HajP9o/hqdefault.jpg "Dragon Ball Z - Gohan Angers [Cover By DAR] - (SSJ2 Theme)
So first off, I want to give my thanks to all whom voted for DBZ during COVER BATTLEGROUNDS V! Thanks to your votes (as well as that surprise victory in Slaughtermanias Golden Bracket match), the channel now finally has its first Dragon Ball cover!
For the longest time, I was either planning on covering something from Budokai 3 (sorry, not this time, Jodnafl!), or just doing the Super Saiyan 3 theme... However, I wanted to go and refresh my memory a bit. So, I decided to go and re-listen to the Faulconer (U.S) soundtrack for the first time in many, many years.
I narrowed down my choices to the Perfect Cell theme, Gohan Fights Frieza, and Gohan Angers. It was a tough choice, I felt very tempted to just jam out to Perfect Cells theme. In the end though, I went with Gohans SSJ2 theme since nostalgia got the better of me. In fact, the nostalgia was so strong that I wound up getting really sidetracked and got back into playing the Tenkaichi and Budokai games (as well as rewatching bits and pieces of the original Dragon Ball and DBZ).
After like a week of just driving down memory lane, I decided to steer myself back on course... Except the problem now was that, for whatever reason, I started feeling exhausted during my freetime. It was like... the kind of tired that sleep couldnt fix. So a very uneventful and lethargic week went by. My apologies for how long this one took to churn out (shouldve only been a 3-evening job!).
Despite my tiredness, I really enjoyed working on this one! I actually planned to have a lot of new lead guitar parts, but I decided to cut things back a lot since I think my noodling mayve gone a little too far. I really wanted to keep things close and true to the original.
Also, I think I managed to imitate the originals pad synth fairly well. I wound up making this layered monster of a pad that had like 6 or 7 instances of Sytrus playing together. Normally, I might layer up to 3 sounds at the most, so this was the first time I had layered so many!
Ive also made a few little additions, such as a new piano part. I had made the part since I wanted to make the intro a little longer, and to have things build up a little more before the rhythm guitars kicked in.
Oh, I should also give a bit of a disclaimer: that bass you hear isnt actually my bass guitar. After almost wasting a whole evening learning and recording the bass tracks... I just wasnt happy at all with the tones. It just really didnt sound quite right to me. Rather than fuss around with it, I scrapped my bass tracks and ran my favorite VSTi bass through my bass FX-chain. I managed to get the kind of attack and punchiness in the tone that I was looking for (and without having any annoying string-noise!).
Also on the topic of disclaimers, the rhythm and leads were both done with my Ibanez, the Strat is just here for the sake of the video!
Anyhow, aside from sprinkling in some new lead guitar bits here and there, I also added in my usual percussive additions. Heavy reverb on gongs and kicks will always sound great for dramatic effect! I also introduced some timpani/kettle-drums for a little more oomph in some parts (as well as few timpani rolls for a nice build-up).
I also decided to omit the originals xylophone part. I just really wanted to jump straight into the good stuff right away!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the cover! I really hope that I get more opportunities to work on DBZ covers in the future. I am VERY much looking forward to making a really heavy and bangin cover of the Perfect Cell theme next time! ~DAR
OPUS DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/kze0rs4u1zl4u3x/Dragon+Ball+Z+-+Gohan+Angers+[Cover+By+DAR].opus/file
Originally Composed By: Faulconer Productions
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