Keep this torch lit! Prime has one of my favorite soundtrack atmospheres. It’s so alien but works to set the state so well. Plus being so full of synth it’s just unique to listen to.
This is great. I did a TikTok recently about how using presets is the preferred workflow and this is exactly what I was getting at, maximizing a songwriters sanity, and leveraging the skill and hard work of the sound designers that were hired to build presets in the first place.
Thanks to you, I was able to find that iconic sound that plays during Phendrana Drifts as background ambience notes, and then at times follows along more closely with the main piano melodies. #36 Ice Field. I'm not great at sound design, and couldn't find any patch in Omnisphere that was even in the ballpark. I downloaded the MS2000 sound banks and got them working on the microKORG VST, and am a happy happy camper. Thank you for showing your process, and sharing your findings! You are awesome . Great music too:)
This is so cool! The soundscape of the Prime trilogy is so distinct that I’m not surprised its so hard to recreate I hope Prime 4 goes for this style again because the music in Dread was pretty underwhelming
I think Nintendo is very aware of the high expectations with Prime 4 (they started it over giving the project to Retro Studios) and the soundtrack is one of the elements that made Prime series great. They just CAN'T fuck it up. But yeah, Dread soundtrack is the worst in the whole Metroid series, by far. Even AM2R had a great OST and it's not even an official game.
Last summer I stumbled across a e-mu proteus 2 and planet earth at a thrift store. I've been producing music off and on since 2004, but always digitally since gear is expensive. I decided to go for it though just for fun. I plugged them up and immediately begun going through the library's. I heard so many noises I recognized in games and shows I enjoyed years ago. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. Knowing that others are actively cataloging this makes me feel better about the world. The work you put into this video is terrific to get others into this hobby, so please keep it up. I look forward to more behind the scenes of the process!
Don't really comment on youtube videos much, but I just wanted to say that I revisit this video way more often than I should, I just think the process is incredibly interesting, even if I've never really messed around with actual music production Definitely one of my go-to videos when I'm in the mood for Metroid Prime stuff, along with your other ones relating to the series
This is very interesting. I've also tried to recreate soundtracks, but from the Genesis/Megadrive console games, so it's not at all as big as that, but I can still relate to a lot about what you said. Good luck continuing!!
Dude i can't stress to you enough how your content isn't being watched to the point where it should be, seriously good job on doing this type of stuff man, not many people would go through the stress of finding such treasure that was used to make one of the greatest games/series. I absolutely adore the prime series, I've played them since i was 5.. Now im 18 and still am because of just how beautiful everything in the games are. Scenery from a time gone looking and holding up to this day. Gameplay that is probably one of the greatest in its genre. And of course music, and how they managed to immerse you in their environment while still getting the song lodged into your head for more to come. Keep it up cause I'll 100% invest the time in listening to all your tracks that are in "Primes" format.
I'm about 5 minutes in and wow. You've gone so deep into this and its incredibly well done! Love the little example cutaways demonstrating the sounds you're talking about
Max... what a thorough reconstruction with amazing attention to the detail. It is mind blowing the effort you make, from obtaining the original ''sound'' components to the analysing of the automation moves as to recreate the impossible! Impossible that just became possible! I have no words of admirations left for your work! Reverse engineering at it's finest :-). Finspire dude
I began creating music in Metroid Prime-ish style roughly a year ago (with my poor production capabilities) and it's only now that I come across your channel. Let me say, you did/are doing god's work. I just can't find the words to say how impressed I am and how amazed I feel seeing all of these videos. In many ways this is what I've always wanted, so as a Metroid Prime fan, a huge thanks to you !
@@TachyBunker bro did you ever see the prime video i made? literally was out of video ideas and was like... screw it i'll give the series a suck off I love it so much. the perfect balance of aesthetic, gameplay and vibes.
@@ManleyReviews Yes I saw it. It's incredibly good, and yeah, Prime IS the series that everyone loves but no one knows about. Unrelated but I'm a music composer and your videos inspire me a lot to make some analytical videos about special soundtracks or albums. Any recommendations from you? (check out Carpenter Brut's "Trilogy" you'll be amazed, possibly make a video about it as well. It is all a masterpiece that is more than the sum of its parts 😉)
This is super cool to see, great work! I am on the mixing stage of an OST recreation and it's taken me years to get to this point - finding samples is extremely tedious yet rewarding work! I found the bulk of what I was looking for in the plugin versions of EMU Protues 2000 and Roland's JV-1080
Sir, I salute you. The Prime 1 and 2 soundtracks are easily the most moving tracks of my childhood, and to see them deconstructed and analyzed to this level (as I now too, geek out over synthesizers), simply cannot be described into words' proper. This is beyond cool. Thank you for your work.
Dude this is sweet. I've been subbed to you for a couple years now and the work you've put in to understanding this music is crazy. I'm studying composition currently and still look to the prime games for inspiration. Great video.
Wow this is insane. I’ve finally found someone diving into what I’ve always called the “prime style” of music in games I really hope Metroid Prime 4 stays loyal to this!
I could honestly listen to the gothic choir preset for hours and still get chills. Great video my man, looking forward to the rest of the series. Your Channel deserves a lot more love and recognition for what you've done for the Metroid series as a whole!
wow! I've been on a journey to figure out how to create music with the Metroid "feel". I'm glad I stumbled on your channel. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you. I noticed that AM2R (a great and popular fan made Metroid game) managed to capture that prime feel in some of it's soundtracks. Not sure if they were able to find some of the same information or if they were just really good at recreating sounds. Gonna look forward to watching/listening to your stuff : ) edit: oh I just saw your announcement video about Metroid music. I'm assuming this applies to the "how to recreate Metroid Music". I completely understand your frustrations. Nintendo really needs to chill out and understand that they are never going to have full control over what happens with their IPs. It's a shame that they choose this route. I think it does more damage than it's worth. I suppose it's true when people say Nintendo is run by a bunch of old farts who can't keep with the times.
Thanks so much for your support! I'm still working on Part 2, I just have to go through 7 hours of footage and concise it down to 20 minutes or so. I got like 3 minutes finished so far lol. Hoping to release more my removed Metroid remixes and covers on Metroid Database's website soon.
@@SynaMax Oooh awesome! well I'll look forward to when that comes out. : ) You seem to have a good ear for this stuff and music in general. I'm sure what ever direction you take will turn out great!
You are fricken INSANE. This is WILD. I'm looking at doing my own analysis of the Metroid prime soundtrack from a music theory perspective and this is totally going to get me started.
bruh these synths are so fire.... goosebumps.... i got to bring these to the west coast music scene.... grew up playing the prime series on gamecube when i was like 4-8yro......
Thank you for your hard work over the years on this. I've always found the mood and feel of the Metroid Prime series so evocative. I've pondered about how it was done and your videos are the best insight in to the tools and processes!
Dude, I can't express how grateful I am to you for putting this much time and effort into investigating this game's soundtrack. The first game I ever played was Prime 1, and the music was the thing that stuck out to me as a toddler. These sounds have integrated themselves into my being, and having the opportunity to understand them and use them is beyond exciting!
Wish I caught this sooner. Your work is impeccable man. Like I’ll admit I have no idea what you’re talking about most of the time But damn I can feel the hard work and dedication you put into all this. Listening to those samples on their own never fails to brighten my day. Keep up the awesome work man! The Prime community shines brighter thanks to your work!!
Nothing beats this shit. Yamamoto's music doesn't get old- even when he just straight rips 90% of it, lmao. This was a fantastic retrospective look at all your previous achievements up until now. Now you're teaching us how to do it ourselves. God if it were only so simple...we could all work on the soundtracks and have them in lossless quality, finally...
This is awesome! And I will admit, had no idea soundscapes was a thing for creating a familiar soundscape. Although you also have been an inspiration for me when it comes to some of my work. This goes back to the point of soundscapes, since the mod whispering Hills is silent hill styled woven into fallout, (less sound and more on the visuals,) I decided to then make familiar soundscapes that are unique to each faction. For the Institute, I took the resources from your vids and used them to blend the industrial sides of Metroid Prime into a sudo silent hill sci-fi sort of thing. Worked really well for the Institute! So thank you for inspiring me with your dedication to Metroid Prime’s music!
Not really my thing (music composition and recreation) but still really interesting to see! It's fun to see all the peices come together! Good luck getting the rest of the equipment and figuring out those missing sound pallets!
I'm so very excited for how your findings are coming along! I look forward to continue on this journey moving Forward! Music is truly a Universal Language!
Thank you so much, happy to see more light shown on the sound design aspects and hopefully this series helps people get into it and even help me improve my work. I'm still digging through the virtuoso 2000 (slowly) with unknown for orchestral sounds used, and ill keep you posted on some of the extra presets I've found
As soon as I'm done with my current project Pteranodon 2: Primal Island, I will continue work on my game Zukara which is inspired by metroid prime im excited.
Great demonstration! I salute your attention to details and your devotion in removing the shroud in front of the video game composition scene. I can understand why some composers might not want to share their trade secrets, but by sharing the method you open the world to such a great potential for musical depth. In this case in the Metroid universe. I'm looking forward to other great remixes and spin offs.
Great video! Glad to see more in-depth videogame music production videos such as this one. I don't even played Metroid Prime but I know how important the game is in the industry and be able to see the music production techniques used for historic games is just very interesting. I did one for Silent Hill, but hope to see more from other videogames. Waiting for the next part :)
The research ypu've performed is insane!! You're stuff is an invaluable resource. I'm admittedly not too talented with music or sound, but this is all cool!
I started out with the prime series as a teen and used to replay my favourite songs on our family's electric piano. Now in my 30s I'm just dipping my toes into DAWs and got Ableton with a midi keyboard. One thing I always wanted to do was use the sounds from metroid prime to make my own music and this video is mindblowing! It really is more complicated than I thought... 😅 As I'm only a hobbyist, I thought I'd see if these devices have digital counterparts... I happened to find digital sound factories for xtreme lead-1 and proteus 2000 but couldn't find vampirella that was used famously in chozo ruins even though its supposed to be part of the x-treme lead-1... my quest continues...
Amazing video. I always enjoy your content. Thank you so much, it is extremely inspiring! Keep it up - and I can't wait for part 2 already!! (I love the Bliss preset!!) 💪🏻
I always thought it would be awesome trying to recreate some of the soundscapes of the Prime games in my own projects, and discovering your channel could make that dream come true! Thanks for all of your hard work finding all of this! Also, just a quick question. What would be the best way to load in Emulator X into FL Studio? I've been having difficulty trying to find a reliable way of doing so. Thanks man, looking forward to the next parts! :D
This is awesome, thanks for taking the time to do all of this research! Your passion definitely comes through in all of your videos and original tracks. I'm really curious, are there any digital VSTs that could use these preset libraries? I imagine the original hardware is getting more and more difficult to source.
ugggh I really want these VST's I wanted to use them in my voyager album, but sadly I could not. The Closest I can make is on the line of Magmoor Caverns. really enjoy your songs
Hi, thank you for this mini series. That being said, there is a method to the madness of sound recreation. Woochia beats and bops did an absolutely amazing video on the art of sound design called: "Sound design: The Complete course" I urge you to check it out if you haven't already, it will make recreating music so much easier. Also, for the purpose of preservation, making sample piano's out of prerecorded sound bits is also a great way to preserve this music and presets, if you really cannot find stuff for the Emperor Ing fight you could always try to recreate it using samples, sure its a bit of cheating and not as flexible, but if you properly sample and generate an instrument from it, it will be plenty usefull, for you as well as anyone else.
I really dislike the Prime 3 EastWest stuff. I guess I’m just used to hearing it so much everywhere is scoring (it’s a pretty inflexible string sound that’s right in that uncanny valley). Prime 1 and 2 music is so unique sonically
Other people that I talk to about Prime 3's OST feel the exact same way. I also agree with what you said, the orchestral stuff in Prime 3 really doesn't do the rest of the soundtrack justice. There are some good tracks in that game though, for example, Pirate Homeworld and some badass boss music like Rundas, both of those tracks stay pretty close to the sound palette of the first two games.
None of this gear is particularly rare or expensive from what I can tell, though some are more sought after than others. It's also, at this point, all vintage music equipment and finding one in working condition for a price you want can definitely be easier said than done. That said, yeah, hang out on eBay and Reverb and check every so often. Use saved searches so you only see new listings. Sort by lowest price. And keep a couple hundred bucks squirreled away to buy it when you do get a deal. I was finally able to add an MS2000R to my studio last summer and I've had a blast with just the presets on it.
@@OnslaughtSix ^^ All of this is excellent advice. The SC-880 that I just got took a long time of waiting on ebay, hoping for a deal and eventually it came around. I get the feeling that the Orbit-3 is an uncommon module because it was already a desirable item for E-MU collectors when I first found out about it and now the price for them has gone up unfortunately. There is Emulator X, an abandonware VST that isn't perfect but is the next best thing to software emulation of these E-MU modules. I found my Orbit-3 through a friend of mine who stumbled upon it while sifting through various websites. It was on a Canadian classifieds site, IIRC. I'm also planning on making samples with some of these presets available on my Patreon to make it easier for people to get access to these sounds.
This absolutely cheered up my day, thank you so much Do you think I could get some sounds by testing a Minilogue XD? It is what I have, might be my starting point. For chorus I have Omnisphere, they are not even close to the Roland SC-88 Pro though. But well, maybe I could find a Roland Synth that can make chorus
It's funny you should mention Omnisphere because Spectrasonics originally made the choir sounds that are used in the SC-880, Roland licensed them. Another way to get the original choir samples is to get Spectrasonics's "Heart of Africa" sample library since that's where they originated from.
@@SynaMax fuck…Wish I knew that before spending a decent chunk of money ($70+) on Roland’s Sound Canvas VA. It does get the sound right pretty close but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re only wanting the choir. Its why for some pieces, I tend to try pushing some roland synthesized stuff in cause I wanna use it more.
@@SynaMax Hey, just wanted to mention that Humble Bundle released a... bundle... that includes the Cherry Audio Polymode VST. It gave me Metroid Prime vibes, might be worth to try it out? (I am going to try it out regardless). Happy day :)
Quick question man! When you show us the samples are they the being shown in their pure form or are you using them to recreate pieces of the songs from the games?
If I'm understanding your question correctly, I'm grabbing presets from the synths and playing them with melodies or music sequences from the games. Sometimes Yamamoto does use preset sequences or "audition riffs" on the gear but that's rare. Two good examples of that are the EA-1 sound from Phendrana Drifts Deep Lake and the drum beat from Chozo Ruins, which was inspired by an Orbit-3 preset riff.
Emulator X is a mixed bag. Some presets are represented fairly accurately while others are like "holy crap, this doesn't sound right at all". If you're able to get it to work in your DAW and put up with the annoying glitches and error messages, then it's better than nothing.
Hey mate, I try to remake older 8-16bit video game music in modern presets. Do you think you could make a crash course on Mixing and mastering specifically for game tracks? Because I have tried it but I can't get it to work right.
0:52 Are those software plugins free of cost? Or are they for sale somewhere? Are you willing to reveal what those plugins were? I wanted to mess around with Prime's synths to maybe make a shitpost or two in LMMS or something similar, but I didn't have the funds to shell out the hundreds of dollars for the physical units. I know I can buy Ztime's drums from him directly and I will do so to support him, but I don't know what to do about the synths on a budget. I found that Korg might sell software, but I blanked out on Roland since it seemed they wanted a subscription. Do you have any tips?
Does anyone knows the synth used for the Metroid Prime 2 menu select music? Im looking for that iconic part of the intro, the synth used on second 7 of the menu select ost. If anyone knows anything about that instrument, please let me know :D
