Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /storage/content/49/145849/famitracker.com/public_html/forum/classes/dbHandler.php on line 29
FamiTracker
I was fiddling around with the 'Trippy-H' sequencer on one of my Game Boy Cameras, and I decided that — just for the heck of it — I'd try to make some Game Boy music in FamiTracker.
Unfortunately, it STILL sounds more like [i]NES[/i] music than [i]Game Boy[/i] music, and I'm curious if someone who knows a bit more about the inner workings of the Game Boy's sound could maybe tell me how to make it more authentic.
As N106 is currently unavailable in FamiTracker for generating custom waveforms, I'm using the FDS channel instead. It works quite well, too. :D
[quote=Kizul]As N106 is currently unavailable in FamiTracker for generating custom waveforms, I'm using the FDS channel instead. It works quite well, too.[/quote]
The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.
RE: Authentic-as-possible GB NES music — halpPosted: 2011-06-28 00:07
If you're familiar with the MML language, there's always XPMCK (you might wanna PM me for more info on that if you're interested, it'd be long to explain and I don't want to do that for nothing here. :p). Otherwise, there's LSDJ, which is a native tracker (meaning it runs on an actual GameBoy or an emulator thereof). Both are (more or less) effective methods to write proper GB/C music.
I don't really have any advice for making GBS-like music in FamiTracker, other than you might want to double each point on your waveform if you're going to use the FDS (since waveform length on the GB was 32 samples, and the FDS goes up to 64).
[quote=kinkinkijkin]The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Ya toatly. See attachement for proo- Wait a minute...
[quote=kinkinkijkin]The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Since N106 has custom waveforms it acually is a good choice. Who says you have to use all the channels?
[quote=Raijin][quote=kinkinkijkin]The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Since N106 has custom waveforms it acually is a good choice. Who says you have to use all the channels?[/quote]
Yeah, it's actually an even better solution than using FDS since the maximum length a N106 waveform can be is 32, which is the same as the GB/C's waveform. Just use 1 channel instead of all 8 - it actually lets you program in how many channels you want, and the pitch of the channels you use actually changes according to how many you use.
RE: Authentic-as-possible GB NES music — halpPosted: 2011-06-28 01:39 (Last Edited: 2011-06-28 01:41)
[quote=kinkinkijkin]Very nice, very accurate.[/quote]
Thank you.
[quote=kinkinkijkin]Also,
[quote=Kizul]As N106 is currently unavailable in FamiTracker for generating custom waveforms, I'm using the FDS channel instead. It works quite well, too.[/quote]
The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Just because the N106 has eight custom-waveform channels, that doesn't mean I have to use all of them at once. o.O I will say, however, that it would make creating the custom waveforms a lot easier (since N106 waveforms are also 4 bits, like the original GB).
[quote=jrlepage]If you're familiar with the MML language, there's always XPMCK (you might wanna PM me for more info on that if you're interested, it'd be long to explain and I don't want to do that for nothing here. :p). Otherwise, there's LSDJ, which is a native tracker (meaning it runs on an actual GameBoy or an emulator thereof). Both are (more or less) effective methods to write proper GB/C music.[/quote]
Heh — I tried to use LSDJ a few times, but found it to be rather… difficult to use. Though that might've been a combination of being frustrated with the UI (and the fact that I had very, very few buttons with which to navigate it), and the fact that I didn't know much about the Game Boy sound chip yet. I've since done a LOT of reading up on the subject, including absorbing as much information from Nintendo's official Game Boy Programming Guide document as I can comprehend.
I know a little about MML — but I find using things such as FamiTracker to be a bit simpler.
[quote=jrlepage]I don't really have any advice for making GBS-like music in FamiTracker, other than you might want to double each point on your waveform if you're going to use the FDS (since waveform length on the GB was 32 samples, and the FDS goes up to 64).[/quote]
Way ahead of you there, my friend. :p I also had to manually 'amplify' the waveforms; the Game Boy's waveforms are essentially 32×16, but the FDS's waveforms are 64×64! Even if I'd just left the 'width' alone, the 'height' of the waveforms was so short that they easily were drowned out by everything else.
I also noticed that the FDS has twice the amount of volume levels that all of the other channels do. This is somewhat frustrating at times. D:
[quote=kinkinkijkin]The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Ya toatly. See attachement for proo- Wait a minute...[/quote]
Niiice! :D Makes me wish I could use N106 now. :< I wonder when jsr will implement it… <.<
Jumping back to why it feels to me like my ’tunes feel ‘authentic, but not authentic [i]enough[/i]’ — I was looking over the GB Programming Guide again and it seems like the Game Boy hasn't the ability to set volume on the channels (beyond 0% (Mute), 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). 'Fade-in/out' effects are done by hardware-specified envelopes or something, and while the percentages and envelope-speeds are listed in the Guide, I can't figure out how to convert them to be used on FamiTracker. ò.O
…on a side-note, I must've used the Quote tag a bit too much. I think I broke it.
Edit:
[quote=jrlepage][quote=Raijin][quote=kinkinkijkin]The game boy only had 1 custom waveform channel. Therefore, n106 would be a horrible decision to use for game boy music.[/quote]
Since N106 has custom waveforms it acually is a good choice. Who says you have to use all the channels?[/quote]
Yeah, it's actually an even better solution than using FDS since the maximum length a N106 waveform can be is 32, which is the same as the GB/C's waveform. Just use 1 channel instead of all 8 - it actually lets you program in how many channels you want, and the pitch of the channels you use actually changes according to how many you use.[/quote]
Wait, what? o.O? The pitch changes depending on how many N106 channels you use? o.o I am intrigued to know more about what you mean, good sir — mayhap you could elaborate?
[quote=kinkinkijkin]What I mean by horrible decision is it's the less simple way.[/quote]
Well — granted, I've never used the N106*, but I would think it would actually be MORE simple, particularly given that the N106 waveforms are a little closer to being like the Game Boy custom waveforms. :o
*And, since it's not been implemented into FamiTracker yet (as far as I know), I also don't know what effects are useable on it. :/
RE: Authentic-as-possible GB NES music — halpPosted: 2011-06-28 01:50
[quote=Kizul]Wait, what? o.O? The pitch changes depending on how many N106 channels you use? o.o I am intrigued to know more about what you mean, good sir — mayhap you could elaborate?[/quote]
Yeah. It also changes depending on how long your waveforms are, but if you use 32 samples then you're not going to run into this problem.
Assuming your waveform is 32 samples long, then if you use [b]#EX-NAMCO106 1[/b], a C on octave 5 will actually sound like a C on octave 6 (compared to the 2a03 square waves, for instance). If you use [b]#EX-NAMCO106 8[/b], however, a C on octave 5 sounds like a C on octave 3 (on the 2a03 square still). Using 1, 2, 4 or 8 channels will result in true pitch (i.e. C = C). Using values inbetween means you have to transpose using K<num> or cope with incorrect pitch (e.g. [b]#EX-NAMCO106 3[/b] means C-5 sounds like an F-4).
RE: Authentic-as-possible GB NES music — halpPosted: 2011-06-28 02:01
[quote=jrlepage][quote=Kizul]Wait, what? o.O? The pitch changes depending on how many N106 channels you use? o.o I am intrigued to know more about what you mean, good sir — mayhap you could elaborate?[/quote]
Yeah. It also changes depending on how long your waveforms are, but if you use 32 samples then you're not going to run into this problem.
Assuming your waveform is 32 samples long, then if you use [b]#EX-NAMCO106 1[/b], a C on octave 5 will actually sound like a C on octave 6 (compared to the 2a03 square waves, for instance). If you use [b]#EX-NAMCO106 8[/b], however, a C on octave 5 sounds like a C on octave 3 (on the 2a03 square still). Using 1, 2, 4 or 8 channels will result in true pitch (i.e. C = C). Using values inbetween means you have to transpose using K<num> or cope with incorrect pitch (e.g. [b]#EX-NAMCO106 3[/b] means C-5 sounds like an F-4).[/quote]
Fascinating. :o That's quite a unique characteristic that I didn't know anything about. Thank you.
This is purely subjective, but I find if you turn the lowpass filter down to dull the square waves it sounds a lot more like I remember the GB sounding.
RE: Authentic-as-possible GB NES music — halpPosted: 2011-06-28 05:26
[quote=jrlepage]
Ya toatly. See attachement for proo- Wait a minute...[/quote]
HA More like norm x evans kawaii~ mix~
anyway this sounds nice, and I'm liking the discussion about N106 vs. FDS in terms of GB accuracy. Very helpful info too
_______________________
- A Czar Dolphin
[url=www.youtube.com/user/DukeOnkledNukem]Main YT Channel
[url=www.youtube.com/user/IroncladAlt]YT Music Alt
[url=http://chipmusic.org/ironclad]Chipmusic
[quote=rainwarrior]This is purely subjective, but I find if you turn the lowpass filter down to dull the square waves it sounds a lot more like I remember the GB sounding.[/quote]
Hm — I'm not sure what you mean by 'turn the low-pass filter down'. o.O I've got both the Bass and Treble Filtering set at minimum (16Hz/-0dB and 20Hz, for Bass/Treble, respectively).
However, I've noticed that turning the Bass Filtering frequency to 1524Hz or so, it sounds almost like it's coming out of a Game Boy Color. o.O
(or, at the very least, a somewhat-poor-quality speaker.)
[quote=vgthing]You could just use LSDJ...[/quote]
Please see my second post in this thread. ^^'
On a separate note, it almost seems like NotSoFatso outputs FDS waveforms a little bit more like how they should be than FamiTracker, though FamiTracker actually centers the waveform at 0. o.O I made a comparison pic of my Saw+12.5%-duty Square waveform (attached).
I also tweaked some of the volume levels in areas (mostly on the FDS channel), and remade the FDS waveforms to be a little more correct. I'd [i]been[/i] using multiples of 3 for each level, but then noticed that the FDS actually has four times the 'height' for waveforms than the Game Boy did — so now they use multiples of 4.
I also corrected some of the Saw+Square waveforms; the duties were slightly off on the Square portions of all of them (except for the 50%-duty Saw+Square).
Also, for some reason, the waveform that I adapted from the Game Boy Camera's Trippy-H sequencer is much, much quieter than the other waveforms I made; I'm guessing that's due to the fact that it never extends all the way to the edges of the allotted space, but it still sounds a lot quieter than it does on the Game Boy itself. :/
