Seems like 2x LSDJ stuff has gotten more popular over the last couple of years. There's some pretty sweet stuff out there, but but the LSDJ stuff I'm really impressed by is the single LSDJ trax. How do you guys feel about this? Discuss, post trax, etc.
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buffalo, NY
it's a matter of opinion which is better.
2x stuff has the opportunity to be a bit more lush sounding, 1x has beauty in it's simplicity.
From a guy who considers himself to be very proficient with 1xLSDJ and is now moving onto 2x, working with 2X requires a lot more forethought than I would have guessed. It's also way more time consuming to compose.
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NC in the US of America
I haven't done any 2xLSDJ stuff, but from reading comments of those who do, it's interesting that the 2xLSDJ approach seems to bring more challenges than, say, using FLStudio with unlimited polyphony.
As far as listening, 2xLSDJ is a bit harder to wrap my head around the techniques being used, so it's easier to just get lost in the music without thinking about how they did this or that. I like 1xLSDJ and 2xLSDJ equally. The good music produced is equally pleasing from both aesthetics.
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vancouver, canada
if i have need for more instrumentation to convey my musical idea, then another LSDJ would be warranted. but so far, a solo LSDJ cart has worked out just fine for me so far. if i "run out of channels", more often than not it _actually_ means that i could stand to revise how i express and imply the melodies/harmonies i'm trying to write.
i hear people wanting to do 2xLSDJ as if it'll help them write better music, but i wonder sometimes if they're actually unknowingly lampshading more fundamental issues with their songwriting, or lack of expertise in their sound design. there are some 2xLSDJ tracks that i feel have too much stuff going on because more notes are fighting for the listener's attention.
on a similar note, the best 2xLSDJ stuff i've heard is music that is totally doable on 1x too, it's just that the artist wisely uses the 2nd cart to enrich the 1st cart's harmonic content without muddling up the frequency spectrum.
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England
all of my 2xlsdj stuff has had the main bulk of the tune written on one game boy and the second game boy is just a few bits of percussion or chords to complement the rest. just having a second wav channel is a massive bonus.
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Gosford, Australia
victory lapse and roots were both completely 1x albums afaik, so anything's possible.
2x is fun i guess. i never plan for something to be 2x though, it sorta just happens
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Nottingham, UK
I'm excited about what 2xLSDJ will bring to the table as people get more comfortable with it. I think theres some really cool opportunities to do things spatially with the sound as well as tonally and harmonically. I think the people who're on the top end of the skill scale with LSDJ already are the ones who are gonna push the envelope with it in the next few years.
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They've had 13 years to get more comfortable with it already 
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Nottingham, UK
yeah I guess it's hardly a new feature, but people have been pushing all the boundaries in 1xLSDJ. 2X has always been a bit of an afterthought...
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For me it's kind of like: if you're going to use more than 1 GB why not just use a different program in conjunction with lsdj, or why not use LGPT instead. I guess some people are more comfortable composing with LSDJ. I mean, there's some great shit out there (this is amazing: http://soundcloud.com/treyfrey), but from a composer perspective as someone who enjoys the limitations of 1 LSDJ, I'm just not as technically impressed with the 2x LSDJ stuff. Yea if done right it's gonna sound bigger, fuller, and more dynamic, and 8 channels is still limiting, but it looses it's aesthetic value to me and at that point I just think "why not add some real kicks, snares, synths?".
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São Paulo, Brazil
You can always get the 2nd LSDJ and put it through effects, like delay. Droid-on does that for his dub tracks and it is awesome.
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brooklyn, NY
dude, you know those guitars, that are like, two guitars?
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Madison, Alabama
I've been working on an EP of 2xLSDJ material and I have some thoughts on this, since my last EP was 1xLSDJ. Like Danimal noted, 2 DMGs can simply be used to make a more lush sound while still retaining the charm of the DMG sound palette. I like the way the DMG sounds and I'm comfortable using it as a platform, so instead of bringing in other programs or trackers to extend that sound, it seems logical to just use a 2nd Game Boy.
I write the song on one DMG and then use the second to fill out the sound. Stereo arps, an extra layer of echoes, a second WAV channel for lead (or doubling the kick or adding sub bass.) Most of the songs would be perfectly recognizable on one DMG. The 2nd just extends the sonic palette.
Here's an example: http://soundcloud.com/roboctopus/roboctopus-racer-hex (This isn't a "final" version, so pardon the kind of noisy recording.)
Not all the channels are running all the time on the 2nd DMG. It's really just used to fill out the stereo field in most places.
I'm not trying to impress any body with technical skills, so I don't worry if people are unimpressed with my programming chops. I get that technical chops are a draw for some people, but I just want to add a few more beepy sounds. (Just throwing that out there since L-tron mentioned he wasn't as technically impressed by a lot of 2xLSDJ stuff.)
It definitely takes more work for 2xLSDJ though! I feel like I've been putting "finishing touches" on tracks for months.
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I'm with you L-tron. Personally, I haven't been super into any one 2xLSDJ song and if there's one I can remember off the top of my head, it's usually a very minimal one that could've also sounded great on 1xLSDJ***. Sure I respect the method, but I think the sound pallete just gets almost TOO thick for my tastes in 2xLSDJ. Especially since the entire basis of modern chip music is hinted towards "more is more," I think the sound gets really over-saturated for me. I like space-sometimes I listen to old minimal VGM, or something like Tadpole's "Heart on a Line," and I miss that. This has nothing to do with the amount of channels (hell I love chip vsts and sample-based tracker stuff), but I think it's because you're cramming double the amount of the same exact LSDJ techniques. The same tables, sound design, and soundset. I understand that potentially the two instances can have two different instrument sets , which is cool, but I don't know. For me, it literally sounds like I'm listening to two songs at once. It's exactly double the features of 1xLSDJ, which are already pretty huge, so that might be why. Looking forward to hearing a 2xLSDJ song that really blows me away in the future but I haven't had one to do that to me like with 1xLSDJ. (yet!)
***Except for maybe Zen Albatross. I saw him rip dicks with 2xLSDJ making chorused/phased hyper basses. But I've also seen him kill with 1xLSDJ. idk I'm weird let's talk it out
Last edited by an0va (Nov 3, 2012 12:53 am)
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Matthew Joseph Payne
The only time I've used a second gameboy was on a track that mimicked salsa music; it helped me cover all the necessary percussion patterns without giving up melodic capabilities, as well as some fun tonal tweaks and doublings.
1xDMG and 1xGBC is nice, gives you a little more variety.
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Greenland
If you are making dance music, just the fact that you can play a fat sine/triangle kick and a wav bass at once is enough to justify 2xLSDj. Also, being able to run one Game Boy through effects (like chorus, lots of reverb aso.) is a big plus. I like it when Game Boy music does not sound too much like game boy music.
But, you can do a lot of those things with an arduinoboy and a laptop running a DAW. I think.
I have not done any 2xLSDj tracks yet, though. And my 1xLSDj track are sub-par, only partly because i am a novice at LSDj.