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FamiTracker
After MegaMelon made his N163 version of Mysterious from Mario Paint, I decided to cover the Fly Swatter minigame music. It wasn't hard but it wasn't easy either because some tracks have different sound effects that aren't simple to recreate. Still, I was as diligent and accurate as possible so I could bring here something you could enjoy. I have some observations on each song:
-Level 1 has problems with phase cancelling on VRC6 and 2A03 pulse 1. I tried my best to avoid this problem. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMa27d2-Djw][Original song]
-Level 2 is actually really close to the original song. I carefully analyzed each little detail in the original song so I could make a super-accurate cover of it. Maybe the sweeps at the beginning and other details are a little off but it's unnoticeable for the most part. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guPaEHz2eIU][Original song]
-Level 3 is an 8-bit mess but you may like it nevertheless. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATGzLktQYfc][Original song]
-The boss music is my second favorite after level 2. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLgjFW4q3k][Original song]
-The winning jingle has the clap sounds missing, I wasn't able to recreate them. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpaEENBKfv8][Original song]
-I have no input on the losing jingle. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ97w21GczY][Original song]
Other than these little details, I made them as best as I can. I hope you enjoy them!
EDIT: Level 2 sounds wonky in 0.4.2 because the 3xx effect doesn't get cancelled by the note cuts, which doesn't happen in 0.4.3 beta 2. I have uploaded a fix with the 3xx effects cancelled.
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They all sound fantastic. stage 2 especially. Is there any tips you would give to a person who has never covered a song? but seriously, stage 2 is the top of the stick.
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I have some tips to give, though they mostly apply to general covering of songs and not for a specific system, although I have my own guidelines on this stuff.
Well, first out, choose the song you wish to cover and try to imagine how it would sound in FamiTracker and how you would place every note and effect to make it sound close to the original song. If there's anything you need to get from the song, like DPCM samples or each channel separately, try using a player for the specific format (NSFPlay for NES songs, JCOM-SPC for SNES songs and in_vgm plugin for WinAmp for Sega Genesis are the players I use).
Split the channels if you wish, by using the muting functions in the players. This way you can also extract samples through an audio editor like Audacity.
Well, once I've split all the channels in the song, I listen to them closely and then convert the song to FamiTracker. At this point you can decide if you want to use an expansion and which one. You have to do this by ear so try comparing the notes you have placed in the tracker with the notes of the original song to see if they're the same.
If the song you want to cover is from a system that doesn't allow you to split channels (PS1, N64, Sega Saturn and others), then try listening to the song and pay a lot of attention to see what instruments are playing in the background too, so you don't miss anything.
The rest depends on your own style of covering. You can do a remix, a super-accurate cover or just a simple cover just for fun maybe. To make a cover that sounds really close to the original song, listen to it and analyze each little detail like vibratos, note lengths, the sound of the waveforms and other stuff and then convert them to FT in the best way you can.
It sounds a bit complex the way I'm describing it, that's how I work when I do covers, but it's actually pretty easy and straightforward. Practice will make you better so never forget that it's never too late to learn from the mistakes you've made previously.
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[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
One little question sir. In the Level 2 cover, Right after the first frame, did you mean to leave all the 3xx effects opened up, or are they canceled by the Note Cuts?
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Apparently the 3xx effect gets cancelled by the note cut. However, I didn't intend to leave them opened, but since every channel has a note cut, all the 3xx effects get cancelled so there's no problem.
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
To me it sounds fine. That's how the song is supposed to sound, or did you mean something else?
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
Oh right, I see it now. What version of FamiTracker are you using to listen to the song? I'm using 0.4.3 beta 2.
I'll upload a fix in a few seconds.
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
I uploaded the file with the effects cancelled and listened to it in 0.4.2. I don't notice anything wrong now, thanks for letting me know.
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
I always include NSFs when I post music so people can have another way to listen to my stuff. Good to see it helped you.
About Level 1, what changes did you notice when compared to the original? [Also, I'll try listening to music with my eyes to see if it does any better]
Thanks for the compliment on Level 2!
Level 3 is complete chaos, I agree! I tried my best with this song but balancing it was hard as hell.
I think the Boss Battle is a sarcastic and overly happy tune, it makes me laugh too and it's the one I wanted to cover the most, along with Level 2.
Victory and Loss must have taken around half an hour each, because even in little songs I check the accuracy so it sounds good.
Thanks for your comment, I'd love to see more input from you once you get behind a PC.
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
To get this over with before I PC some, Level 1 is full of longer notes and fade outs, whereas most of the song has notes with sudden stops. I never really liked that about the original (then again, I rarely like notes that have to come to a sudden halt unless they're bound by nature to do so...Triangle).
I shall PC today and come with a few more criticisms...likely.
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I see, I wanted to add some "echo" feeling by delaying the note cuts and placing low volumes where the original note cuts were supposed to be. I didn't do this with level 2 because I tracked it at a low speed and because I was aiming for super-accuracy with it, but it sounds nice like that.
You can notice that in Level 1 and Boss Battle the sawtooth channel never stops playing. Instead I dropped it to volume 1. I did this for the rest of the channels where this was possible.
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[color=#b0b0b0]This version of Dr. Mustache is outdated. Please download latest version [url=about:blank]here.
[url=https://www.dropbox.com/sh/md3lbsamcj39c9v/t0g5rFmzX_][Dropbox (my FT stuff)]
