U.N. Squadron: whoever did sound got drums wrong way around = total mindsplosion

[db6128]

Yup, there I was, since I was a kid, loving the song that plays on the title-screen . . .

[AMSTRAD CPC] UN Squadron longplay part 1/6
. . . only to eventually hunt down its original version . . .

Area 88 / U.N. Squadron OST, T04: Oil Field Base ~ ROUND 1
. . . which at first made me think that the CPC's version was merely a distantly related remix, until I eventually realised that whoever ported this (and the other songs) to the CPC somehow managed to commit the egregious error of having a bass drum that sounds higher than the snare drum, with the result that I had been hearing the song wrongly - hearing a different type of beat and hearing the chord progression an eighth-note off-time and consequently with a rather different mood - for all those years!

Seriously, how does someone who apparently is trusted to deal with sound manage to do something like that?    < artistic representation of how my mind boggles

Maybe the worst thing is that I was a little bit disappointed by the proper version. Maybe this means I have no choice but to make a proper remix of my misheard version.   


Also, this can be a general thread for the game if anyone has any thoughts. I have always quite liked this for the occasional blast through, although my skill is limited. But I do intend to get more practise and eventually complete it, with any luck! Perhaps using my original tape for a genuine nostalgia trip.

[Gryzor]

Huh, you're right. To be frank, even if you haven't heard the original, the CPC version does sound a bit funny - though you could say that's just how it goes. I didn't remember the tune, so I listened to the CPC version first, then the original -and then I recognised it

T

PS heheheh, love the signature!

[db6128]

Huh, you're right. To be frank, even if you haven't heard the original, the CPC version does sound a bit funny - though you could say that's just how it goes.

Well, there are some differences in the music itself, as well as changes made necessary by the hardware. But yeah, definitely the most conspicuous difference is due to the wrong sounds for the kick and snare drums. Instead of the original (read: actual) version's 'boom cha boom-boom cha', I always heard 'boom cha-cha boom cha' and consequently heard the chord changes/progression and melody considerably differently as everything was shifted by an eighth-note. I only realised after thinking 'Wait a minute... Not just some, but all, of those chord changes are occurring an eighth before [what I thought was] the next bar... Is that really intentional?' The rest is history. 

I didn't remember the tune, so I listened to the CPC version first, then the original -and then I recognised it

Do you mean you heard it correctly in the past? I hope it's not just me who misheard it due to the drums.

Overall, I think I have no choice but to dive into the internals with WinAPE and see if I can't swap those drums into their correct places. Perhaps that will get me vaguely acquainted with the PPI/AY and tracking, too, as I've no understanding of either right now. I bet it'll involve changing every hit instead of simply altering two frequencies... but I can dream!

PS heheheh, love the signature!

Haha, thanks! Having a blast reading through various old threads. Great site across the board!

[Carnivius]

Yeah, I prefered the CPC rendition of the tune to the original.   I found it cooler and less cheesey-sounding.  A friend of mine back in college did a very cool tracker mod remix based on the CPC version (but with sound samples some of which he recorded himself from his real instruments).  Wish I still had it. 

I loves CPC UN Squadron. 

[db6128]

A friend of mine back in college did a very cool tracker mod remix based on the CPC version (but with sound samples some of which he recorded himself from his real instruments).

But the essential question: did he manage to avoid getting the drums mixed up as they are in the original? It could have happened that he heard the song as I originally did and made his remix based upon that perception. Technically, that would be wrong when compared to the actual intention of the original composer, but I think the real blame obviously lies with the person who ported the song to the CPC and messed up the drums, which, again, is too basic a mistake for me to understand.

[Carnivius]

But the essential question: did he manage to avoid getting the drums mixed up as they are in the original? It could have happened that he heard the song as I originally did and made his remix based upon that perception. Technically, that would be wrong when compared to the actual intention of the original composer, but I think the real blame obviously lies with the person who ported the song to the CPC and messed up the drums, which, again, is too basic a mistake for me to understand.

As I said it was based directly on the CPC version which we preferred over the original.  The 'wrongness' made it sound better to us in some ways. 

[db6128]

 Ah, gotcha. And agreed: sometimes I wish I had never noticed the mistake.