Instruments used in PSX Doom soundtrack?

[MajorRawne]

Does anyone know the names of the instruments used by Aubrey Hodges in the PSX Doom OST? So far, the only instrument I can identify is a cello which seems to be used a lot and also seems to be pitch-shifted deeper than normal.

 

Also, does anyone know which are the "coke can" sound effects Hodges claimed to have used? I am guessing one of the Imp activation sounds was caused by breathing over or blowing into an open can.

 

As a music novice, any explanationa of the techniques Hodges used would be welcome.

[Dark Pulse]

IIRC Aubrey created most of those sounds himself.

 

He does have an account here (@Aubrey Hodges) but the last time he was around here was the better part of a year ago, around the D64 re-release.

 

Still, if he does read this, perhaps he can give some insights on his processes.

[MajorRawne]

Let's hope. I am dying to know what the babbling sound is at the beginning of Toxin Refinery. Always imagine it to be a busy office with lots of people talking.

 

And I also want to know who Danny is!

[Gez]

9 minutes ago, MajorRawne said:

And I also want to know who Danny is!

Most likely Danny "Technoman" Lewis, the composer of the Club Doom track, and level designer for 10 of the Doom 64 maps.

[intacowetrust]

If you'd like to examine how the tracks are composed and arranged, this might also be of interest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvhApHFtSs0

(see video description for more details)

 

I've converted the entire soundtrack (except CD-DA music) for PSX Doom and Final Doom to FL Studio format, using custom VST instruments which replicate the sound of the PSX SPU. It should be possible to open the files in the demo version of FL Studio, provided the 'PsxReverb' and 'PsxSampler' custom VSTs are installed. In this environment you can play around with the arrangement, try out the instruments and even export the individual samples to PlayStation 1 .VAG format. Using PsyDoom's audio tools it's also possible to convert the samples to .WAV format; for the latest of those audio tools see this release's download page: https://github.com/BodbDearg/PsyDoom/releases/tag/releases%2F0.8.0.

 

On 9/9/2021 at 6:09 AM, MajorRawne said:

Does anyone know the names of the instruments used by Aubrey Hodges in the PSX Doom OST? So far, the only instrument I can identify is a cello which seems to be used a lot and also seems to be pitch-shifted deeper than normal.

 

Only Aubrey would know, but I'm guessing a lot of the more normal (musical) samples like pads and so on are likely presets from whatever keyboards or synths he had around at the time. Maybe some are custom patches/sounds too.

 

On 9/9/2021 at 6:09 AM, MajorRawne said:

Also, does anyone know which are the "coke can" sound effects Hodges claimed to have used?

 

"Beyond Fear" sounds like it might have a sound from drinking through a straw (possibly from a can) or maybe just straight from a can itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0NCOLwCTlw&t=9119s

I also seem to recall a story from one of the interviews about Aubrey recording a bee in a can, or something of that sort. I suspect that might be in "Mind Massacre": https://youtu.be/U0NCOLwCTlw?t=4573

[jdagenet]

I've spent quite a number of years studying and hunting down the original samples Hodges used in the OST for PSX Doom (as well as his other console OST's). I've found almost all of them with maybe 1 or 2 being unaccounted for. They're not his samples.

Almost all of the sounds and samples used in the OST for PSX Doom come from sample CD's and are NOT made by Hodges himself. I would be interested in hearing a clarification from him on which sounds he actually made. Most likely it was some enemy SFX and such, but the music samples themselves are not his. As far as what the samples are actually comprised of -- most are popular digital hardware synths from that era. Roland D-50 and Korg Wavestation being big ones. Demos of these synths can be listened to and I'm sure you'll begin to hear some familiar tones, ESPECIALLY from the Wavestation since it has a very unique sound to it.
Some of the samples are also created by means of a sound design technique called Convolution Reverb (samples in Toxin Refinery and Command Control use this technique).
Some of the samples he picked and chose from the CD's were also used in movies as well. The sample used in Limbo for example was also used in the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes.

If anyone would be interested in hearing some demos of these original samples I could put some things together to demonstrate their original, untouched audio quality before Hodges compressed the sounds (and to also support what I say).

[intacowetrust]

On 9/13/2021 at 5:22 PM, jdagenet said:

If anyone would be interested in hearing some demos of these original samples I could put some things together to demonstrate their original, untouched audio quality before Hodges compressed the sounds (and to also support what I say).

 

I'd be very intrigued to learn more about your findings! It would be great to have the information documented here for future reference.

 

If you need access to the raw audio samples from the game (to make comparison easier) just let me know - I can just batch export them all to standard .wav format with PsyDoom's tools. 

 

On 9/13/2021 at 5:22 PM, jdagenet said:

As far as what the samples are actually comprised of -- most are popular digital hardware synths from that era. Roland D-50 and Korg Wavestation being big ones. Demos of these synths can be listened to and I'm sure you'll begin to hear some familiar tones, ESPECIALLY from the Wavestation since it has a very unique sound to it.

 

Oh that's pretty interesting to hear about the Wavestation... So coincidentally I'm working on a new music track (using the original in-game sequencer system) to go with a level I'm making for PsyDoom. I was looking for a nice deep pad/string sound to sample so one of the VSTs I gravitated towards was the Korg Wavestation, since it seemed to have some of the qualities of the original sounds that Aubrey used. Perhaps I was drawn to that instrument for a reason!