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Austria

Hi!

I've just begun with chipmusic and have a few questions.
I used nanoloop 2 on my android phone a little bit.

I've a GBA micro, GBA SP and a pocket.
Now i'm deciding whether to buy a DMG or use my micro for tunes.
And then which nanoloop to buy.

I was also thinking of using lsdj.
Is there any difference in the style of music you can make with nanoloop or lsdj or is it just are they just different tools which can produce the same output?

Hope my question are understandable big_smile

Greetings from Austria!

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Italy

Didn't use LSDJ much so I'll leave others to comment about that, but I've used Nanoloop quite a bit (both the iOS version, which I think is the same as on Android and the DMG version). I did opt for Nanoloop since it feels like something I can be really productive due to the more intuitive interface. I guess LSDJ is more powerful, but you also have to work your way into it.
Since LSDJ and Nanoloop are pretty different in the way the UI works, and also for the features they offer, I guess the music will be different as well. The basic waveforms and modulations are similar, but LSDJ probably has more options to tweak the sound and organize patterns, lets you work with samples, (Nanoloop doesn't). But again... I never really got along well with LSDJ, so I'm not the expert.
First of all, you might want to check the first Game Boy, the so called DMG, many people consider it the best sounding. I have 2 DMGs, a Color and a Pocket, they all sound a bit different and I also think the DMG sounds best. Also, if you want to use Nanoloop Mono, then the DMG is the only one that will work.

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I would chime in that what can be made with those different softwares is indeed very different in sound. My main preference (despite the fact I suck at getting the best out of it) is LSDJ on the DMG. I have also produced an album a couple years ago using an iPhone and Nanoloop, it's really a good tool in that platform. I bought Nanoloop 1 & 2 at the same time a couple years ago but haven't done much with them because I don't like them on the Gameboy, and believe me they work and sound completely different when using it on Gameboys rather than a mobile device.

To start with, LSDJ is far more precise and perhaps "authentic" (a debatable point) than Nanoloop in terms of how you are working with the Gameboy's hardware. The power of sound design, the real depth of it all is top notch with LSDJ, especially thanks to its capability to apply tables. All in all though, strictly speaking on the original Gameboy, I don't know that I've ever heard anything that couldn't be equally produced from LSDJ vs Nanoloop, so in that particular case it may really come down to preference of working environment. I may in fact be wrong but I've only got my own exposure to go on. Perhaps some our Nanoloop loving peeps could expound on this.

Now, the GBA is a different beast if you look at Nanoloop 2. That hardware is capable of producing sounds that the original Gameboy cannot and Nanoloop 2 is designed to take advantage of all that. Check out music from a bloke named "Cheapshot", he has a fantastic range of GBA based stuff that can easily demonstrate the diffrence of the GBA from the DMG.

For the record, using LSDJ on a GBA makes no difference, it will only produce the sounds that it was designed for, which is the original Gameboy.

Nanoloop on iOS/Android has about zero to do with Gameboy chip music. It can easily use wav sample libraries and manipulate those samples in all kinds of ways. It's synthesis is not really related to the Gameboy sound design in any way. That said, it is capable of some chippy sounding stuff, or the opposite and it can do a far more conventional approach to electronic music of any style.

There is of course the new Nanoloop Mono for the DMG that I have not been exposed to save for a couple of Youtube vids, and that shiz seems to be an entirely new beast, makes some pretty gorgeous sounds.

So to answer your main question, they are indeed different tools but they don't all necessarily produce the same output, they've all got their advantages and disadvantages when compared to one another. In terms of style of musIc, that's all on you. It really comes down to understanding the actual sounds/instruments you can create in these different environments and choosing what you like best. I don't think it would be fair to say (just as an example) that LSDJ is supreme for creating one style of music over Nanoloop, or saying the GBA is supreme to the DMG because it can produce different sounds. So again, once you understand what different things you can get from these softwares, you can produce any style you want to.

Good luck mate.

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Austria

Thx for the good answer!
The main sound i would like to get is a real Gameboy style gaming chippy sound. Don't know how I could describe it in any other way. tongue

So I thought that lsdj may be better.
Since i used nanoloop only on my phone i couldn't say if it was because of the hardware.

Don't get me wrong, i did read a lot before I asked here and i saw that the DMG is the best one to get good sound (http://www.herbertweixelbaum.com/comparison.htm). But I didn't get any answers on the net for the nanoloop/lsdj debate depending on the sound I want to produce and if it depends on the software too.


---
Different question: the best way to get lsdj to a DMG is the 64M card + Rom for a hell lot of more money than the nanoloop mono?
So DMG + LSDJ is about 100€?

Thats a lot of money and that's the reason I'm thinking of staying at my GBA micro + nanoloop 2.
Especially because I'm at the beginning.

The only reason to invest in a DMG+LSDJ is if it's the only way to get that old gaming sounds.

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Nanoloop 2 and nanoloop mono do not use the Game Boy's soundchip, so they won't give you that real Gameboy style gaming chippy sound. NL 2 is a softsynth with filters and FM, NL mono has its own analog soundchip that sounds more like SID than Game Boy. Of course both can play raw noise and square waves, too.

Nanoloop is a stepsequencer, relating to machines like 303 or 808 rather than trackers. It is capable of the melody-heavy demo/game soundtrack-like music you seem to have in mind, but it has not been designed primarily for that. For that purpose, LSDj may indeed be more "powerful".

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Wuppertal, Germany
Krustenviech wrote:

Hi!

Hey Kruste! big_smile

Krustenviech wrote:

I've a GBA micro, GBA SP and a pocket.
Now i'm deciding whether to buy a DMG or use my micro for tunes.
And then which nanoloop to buy.

That (GBmicro, GBA SP VS DMG, Pocket) will make a totally different sound!

Krustenviech wrote:

I was also thinking of using lsdj.
Is there any difference in the style of music you can make with nanoloop or lsdj or is it just are they just different tools which can produce the same output?

It is all different.
Nanoloop1 VS LSDJ = Same Plattform (DMG) but different possibilities and sound if you get into it.
Nanoloop2 = Uses GBA to generate sound. Uses a totally diffrent technique to generate sound. So sounds diffrent of course.
Nanoloop Mono = Analog synth powered by the Game Boy. Has totally diffrent sound because it has kind of nothing to do with the internal sound from the actual machine!

Krustenviech wrote:

Hope my question are understandable big_smile

Yeah! *"Auf deutsch wär's leichter!" big_smile

Krustenviech wrote:

Greetings from Austria!

Greetings from DE! wink

...



Krustenviech wrote:

The main sound i would like to get is a real Gameboy style gaming chippy sound. Don't know how I could describe it in any other way.

So Game Boy (DMG) might be the way to go! big_smile

Krustenviech wrote:

So I thought that lsdj may be better.
Since i used nanoloop only on my phone i couldn't say if it was because of the hardware.

LSDJ has much more possibilities in sound and song design.
Nanoloop is really great for making (live) techno and stuff like that. *Pattern based music.
(I have use LSDJ, nanoloop and NL2, all for a while now...)

Krustenviech wrote:

Don't get me wrong, i did read a lot before I asked here and i saw that the DMG is the best one to get good sound (http://www.herbertweixelbaum.com/comparison.htm). But I didn't get any answers on the net for the nanoloop/lsdj debate depending on the sound I want to produce and if it depends on the software too.

To answer that you have to describe what you want to do in more detail. wink
But i think you might choose LSDJ or nanoloop1 at the end!
*If that's easier for you in german language just write me an e-mail. [tronimal(at)web.de]

...



Krustenviech wrote:

Different question: the best way to get lsdj to a DMG is the 64M card + Rom for a hell lot of more money than the nanoloop mono?
So DMG + LSDJ is about 100€?

There are many diffrent Flash cartridges that would work out.
For example EMS 64m GB USB, BennVenn's El Cheapo SD, the Drag n Derp and even more...

Your math is a bit strange here.
You add the DMG in cost to LSDJ but not to nanoloop? Why that?

Nanoloop 1 = 28 €, without Tax etc
Nanoloop 2 = 49 €, without Tax etc
Nanoloop mono = € 69, without Tax etc

Flash cart = 30-100€, depends on which flash cartridge you choose
LSDJ = almost free.. I think it's "pay what you want" nowadays.

DMG = ???€ (in Austria)

Krustenviech wrote:

Thats a lot of money and that's the reason I'm thinking of staying at my GBA micro + nanoloop 2.
Especially because I'm at the beginning.

I don't really agree. It's quite less for a music instrument. But it might be (or feel) much for Game Boy purposes! wink

Krustenviech wrote:

The only reason to invest in a DMG+LSDJ is if it's the only way to get that old gaming sounds.

Don't forget that you already own a Pocket!
And what about nanoloop 1 and DMG?



Grüezi woll! big_smile

Last edited by Tronimal (Dec 6, 2016 2:47 pm)

Offline
Austria

Thx oliver

Thx for the info. So lsdj uses the internal sounds?
I just donated for lsdj. Is it okay to start it with EZ Flash IV? Because I have that one. Or which one should I get?

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Austria

Danke Tronimal. Hast Post.

Offline
Austria

Nanoloop one also uses the Gameboy internal music chip and would cost 28$?
So that would also be an alternative if I like the interface more?

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Wuppertal, Germany
Krustenviech wrote:

Danke Tronimal. Hast Post.

Replied! smile

Krustenviech wrote:

Nanoloop one also uses the Gameboy internal music chip and would cost 28$?
So that would also be an alternative if I like the interface more?

Absolutely right! wink

Would be a little more than 28, cause of Tax and shipping. But yes!

*I think it's out of stock a the moment, but it usually comes back after a few weeks.
But maybe oliver could tell more abut that! smile

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IL, US
Krustenviech wrote:

Thx oliver

Thx for the info. So lsdj uses the internal sounds?
I just donated for lsdj. Is it okay to start it with EZ Flash IV? Because I have that one. Or which one should I get?

yeah, though using it on a GBA flash cart requires you use the goomba optimized version and wrap the .gb rom in a goomba .gba file (or at least used to, haven't messed with lsdj on a gba flash cart in years)... should be functionally almost identical, though you may need to use save states rather than saving directly in lsdj. if you end up getting really into lsdj, you'll probably eventually want to switch to using it on a ems 64 mb usb cart, drag n derp or other game boy flash cart as the ez flash IV only works in gba/gba sp/gb micro/ds/ds lite and most prefer using a dmg or gbc for lsdj (mostly for sound reasons, but also to avoid the whole save state thing)

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Austria

Yes E.S.C. i just red about goomba and talked with Tronimal about it. No alternative for me.

So there's only two real ways(for me):
GB pocket or DMG
* lsdj with 64MB USB
* Nanoloop one

But now I don't know which one to chose tongue
Nanoloop has the advantage, that i can also use it to compose on my phone. Is it possible to send the songs to Gameboy then too?
I'll just watch some tutorials of both.

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no, that's not possible. the phone version is very different in sound and structure.

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Italy

Yes nanoloop for Android/iOS is very different from the DMG one. As pointed out by others, the "phone" version is basically a softsynth/sampler that inherits some traits from the original one. The DMG Nanloop uses the Gameboy's CPU to play the sounds, so you get all the beauty and limitations of it. Also the interface is of course different, plus saving/song mode is a bit more limited. But yeah check some demos, to get a feeling for it.

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Austria

i ordered an EMS 64MB USB yesterday and i work with my Gameboy micro with EZ Flash IV and lsdj till the Flash card arrives.

In the meantime, are there any good tutorials on the web? Maybe even Youtube i could use to get started?

Thx for all the help smile

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Naptown

Read the manual, it's got everything!

Check out Exploring Chiptunes Episode 1

I would like to point to the excellent noise channel tutorial by Boy Meets Robot. I practically learned everything I know about it from this tutorial!

Also check out the tutorials by Pain Perdu for advanced techniques!

There are also a lot of threads on here if you search for LSDJ and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Happy learning!

Last edited by urbster1 (Dec 8, 2016 2:23 am)