Why did Masuda use timpanis instead of a kick drum in the battle themes?

>>57961374 (OP)
Feels like part of the Pokemon style early on was using the same instrumentation for every single battle theme and they really weren't willing to compromise on the legendary battle music.

>>57961374 (OP)
I don't know what that means but RSE battle themes are goated.

>>57962610
He's talking about how the RSE soundfont doesn't use traditional drums and instead the much heavier timpani drums.
You can hear the difference when you compare the RSE tracks to the FRLG tracks and listen for the drumline.
https://youtu.be/OrUGA0K1iIw
https://youtu.be/jFnpbZ23AFg
Notice how the RSE track has much bassier and slower drums than the FRLG track, that's the timpani.

>>57962640
And if you're wondering - no ORAS does not keep this quirk of the soundtrack.
https://youtu.be/91tODLXipK4?si=TrJhOghhofyv_MYY

>>57961374 (OP)
I'm a big fan of pre-3DS Pokemon music, especially Gens 1-3, and this is something I've always been curious about and I'm surprised to find a thread about it here.
My only guess is that they wanted RS battle themes to have a "bold" sound while simultaneously being a bit minimalistic (GF limited themselves when it came to GBA sound channels), and Masuda just happened to land on timpanis while screwing around. Also, in a general midi soundset, if you pick the "orchestral" setting for the drum channel, timpanis are in place instead of toms, which many other soundfonts and VST plugins follow, so that probably inspired it as well.
It saddens me that with all the leaks, we didn't really get much if anything at all on the music development for RS in particular.

>>57962666
Reminds me that kanto gym battle theme sounds better to me in Gen 1 than remake versions. They just lose something.

>>57961374 (OP)
>>57962640
Well if that's the case, then the answer is simply that it makes the tracks more dramatic and epic, and is that not what Pokemon battling is supposed to be about? Junichi goes hard.

It seems self-evident to me. I don't understand the confusion about the choice.

>>57962696
I disagree.

>>57962666
>It saddens me that with all the leaks, we didn't really get much if anything at all on the music development for RS in particular.
Masuda was not only the director, but also the head of music (his original and actual job), and in particular the sole creator of battle themes. If he had to answer to no one, why would he have needed to provide documentation of his process he'd established for almost ten years by that point? Anything he'd have written about it would have gone into his own personal files.

>>57962723
>BDSP that high
Neck yourself.

>>57962659
It does for some tracks, like the wild theme and the trainer theme. But in the trainer theme the main bass drum is a kick.

>>57962723
Interesting. Any particular reason why?