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FamiTracker
Hello, this is my first post here. I've been messing with Famitracker for a while, and since it seems that original ideas just aren't coming to me, I've been working on lots of covers. I've attached my first four here.
Puggs in Space Demo - Main Theme [FDS] - First cover I ever did with Famitracker, of the music from the late 80's Amiga demo "Puggs in Space". You may also recognize it from the game Lemmings-- Tim Wright composed for both and reused this tune for the Lemmings soundtrack.
The Sims Bustin' Out (GBA) - Shop [VRC6] - Basically a remixed version of a buy mode song from the original Sims game. Probably could've done with with just the 2A03 or the FDS but I wanted a sawtooth bass like in the original GBA rendition.
Super Metroid - Lower Brinstar [FDS] - Did some nice echo effects and I brought over some sampled bits from the actual SNES song, but I'm not sure the triangle channel works all that well. I made a few other versions with different chips and wasn't happy with them, though-- this one was the best in my opinion.
Mood2 - Voyetra Technologies [FDS] - A sample MIDI from my old 486 computer. Did this cover in about an hour before class a little while back. Not much to say about it but it's fun to listen to.
(If you haven't noticed, I tend to like the FDS. It can give me a nice warm bass sound without sacrificing volume control like on the triangle.)
I'm still learning how to do this, so feedback is greatly appreciated. I'd love to expand my skills with Famitracker. Thanks for listening and I'll post more as I make them.
Puggsy_Demo: Thanks for making this, because it taught me a new trick; arp '12 0' sounds good with duty cycle 50% pulses. It's a timbre that's very reminiscent of demoscene programs, since they tend to have 50% pulses by default. I like the FDS bass too - I never knew how to use the FDS since I didn't know what waveforms to use for it.
bystinoutgbashop: I like the seventh chord arps. (It's kind of a shame you need to make an instrument for each one.) The use of the triangle as a whistle is quite ingenious to me.
brinstarred: Gud cover. I think raising pulse 2 by one or two volume notches would be good during the flute section, though - right now it is doing almost nothing. The piano is more interesting at the end if you do something like give it a duty envelope of 0 1 or 2 1, or give it an arp envelope of 0 12 0. Or have that arp envelope and also a duty envelope of 0 2 1. Punchier! And if you give insturment 01 (tri) an arp envelope of -5 0, it sounds... I don't want to say 'better' but interesting. And if you give instrument 03 (Chhh) a 1 in the duty arp for the seventh frame, eighth frame or both it gives it a bit of a menacing 'hiss' or 'scything' at the very end... OK, moving on before I get super sidetracked!
mood2: Ok, I'm convinced now - the trick to C64 sounding music is seventh arps. Damn, and Famitracker has no convenient way to input them without making a new instrument XD Or hmmm, BDEG isn't even a seventh is it? Oh wait yes it is, it's E7 inverted. And the other is F7 inverted, ok.
If you used to frequent a forum called Sonic Vegemite then I'm almost positive I've seen you before!!
Musically they seem okay, though the mastering is a little debatable - watch your volume levels. For example brinstarred.ftm - the flute section (I feel) is unreasonably loud, and the pianos are so piercing and punchy that it hurts.
As a rule of thumb, never ever EVER use volume F. Or E or D for that matter. I normally try keep my own volume levels under about 7, then at least if I want a crescendo somewhere (varied volumes adds depth!!), I have ample space to do it in. Maybe it's just me - I find it easier to mix in.
I'm posting again in this thread because I have five more covers to share. Not sure about how well the mixing is, as I took the last comment into account regarding it originally but found that it limited my dynamic range and everything still sounded just as mixed together... only softer. Might be my soundcard or speakers, I suppose, but I probably just don't have the ear for it yet.
Apidya: Stage 1-2 [FDS] - Had a bit of trouble getting the bass to be punchy enough but overall the piece sounds pretty close to the original.
Flying Toasters! (from the After Dark 4.0 screen saver... what a nostalgia trip!) [FDS] - The harmony part that goes halfway in just doesn't sound right. However, the notes are copied directly from the MIDI I have (which comes from the software itself). And it doesn't sound exactly right in that, either, so I guess it's just a composition problem.
Star Cruiser (Megadrive port): Restaurant theme [VRC6] - I like this one a lot. It's short but I was still impressed how quickly I was able to put it together.
Streets of Rage: Violent Breathing [VRC6] - It's not quite as light-footed as the original, mostly because of the sawtooth. Try as I might, that's the best I could get. Still sounds nice and full, though.
Zone 66: Plantation Crash (SoundBlaster version) [VRC6] - Nice and mysterious. I did this as a challenge to myself. Since the original uses both the SoundBlaster's OPL channels and some PCM tracks as well, I wasn't sure I could even get it to fit in the limited number of channels -- but I succeeded!
