I am starting to collect gear, and own a GBA SP so far and I'm not sure if money spent on a DMG would be worth the investment.
I'm fairly new to making sounds come out of little machines (by NO MEANS is what I do "composition"), and I'm a bit of an idiot, but I have a legit question.
Do most GameBoy composers prefer the DMG over the Advance SP (or anything other than the original GBA) because it is actually better, or is it because you can customize them and say shit like, "pro-sound, variable-color backlit, clockspeed mumble mumble, custom case...." and be all 'leet and stuff?
A SP in good shape can be had for fairly cheap and does not need to be modified more than sticking a LSDJ cart in, connecting the headphone jack (the ONLY con I can possibly think of) and MAYBE writing your name in Sharpie on the case.
As far as I know Wizwars uses bloody GBCs (a unloved chiptune console, as far I can tell), and his are hands down some of the greatest tracks I've heard in recent years, and sounds more 'raw' and 'original' and whatever than a lot of the stuff done on $ 1 000 modded DMGs.
So, what is the big deal with DMGs, is it an ego thing, or are there REAL benefits to spending loads of money on mashed-up children's toys?
We like the sound of it too, honestly there's been comparisons done and the DMG comes out on top. Not to mention the price is generally lower than other ones, it has a bit of a heft to it and feels like an instrument in your hands. It does have a slower processor than newer versions but a little trickery in your programming can get around its limitations.
To be honest, lots of guys don't mod their DMGs at all. I personally have the prosound and backlight on a few of mine, but I did them by hand and they're not necessary. I have a few standard DMGs for writing on buses, etc too.
So I guess tl;dr - theres some benefits, but its not as if you NEED one. Your SP will do the trick.
I've heard the sound argument, but have you ever listened to an album, or at a show or whatever, and said, "if only that sad f**ker had used a pro-mod DMG"?
I'm just trying to understand the fanboy-ism, is all.
P.S.I listened to your track, So I Slept In, really love the vibe.
Here's a great article which shows the all different systems in the gameboy line, with sound comparisons for each.
http://www.herbertweixelbaum.com/comparison.htm
As Kris said, the DMG comes out on top for sound quality. The SP is a great little console (I still have mine from my childhood), and it'll let you use LSDJ or whatever other game you want to use. Hope this helps!
Edit: when I posted, I saw your other response. The original gameboy is iconic for both gaming and the chiptune community, hence fanboyism.
Last edited by Another Castle (Mar 7, 2013 4:37 am)
a while ago, i traded a GBA SP for a DMG with a friend, and I kind of wish i had kept the GBA SP. they're really cool and portable, and they don't require modding or janky add-ons to be visible in the dark.
everyone likes DMGs because they're fat and indestructible, and they naturally have more bass than other models. if it really makes a difference to you, that's why mixers have EQ knobs 
This is a post from an earlier thread, some of of is relevant to this:
I use SPs for all my stuff, even though I own custom DMGs.
i have modded + prosounded DMGs because i want the cleaner output, but i will admit that an equally prominent reason is because i like to have something iconic and glowy for others to gawk at. to the audience, it just reads better from a distance. i don't think it's shallow or anything to want that; it's a valid aspect of showmanship.
BUT i do 98% of my writing on my black GBA SP. the main reason is that it's a much more discreet device to be writing on while on the commute.
on many occasions i do like the sound of the SP because to me it sounds like it has a crisper and clearer mid/high-range, where a lot of my songwriting sits.
at the end of the day, i determine recording hardware on a song-by-song basis. but to date, no one has ever "called me out" for using an SP.
the SP seems to have a LOT of background noise though. can anyone else confirm or deny this? any strategies for to mitigate this besides the ridiculously difficult prosounding process?
the SP seems to have a LOT of background noise though. can anyone else confirm or deny this? any strategies for to mitigate this besides the ridiculously difficult prosounding process?
The Sp does have more noise. I couldn't find a good audio comparison with the DMG, but kitsch has a pretty good example here http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/pissbox
Scroll down and compare the audio of the CGB and GBA SP. Also for a better run down see Another Castle's post above, it has every GB with audio
Last edited by meanwun (Mar 7, 2013 12:44 pm)
The different types of GBA have traditionally gotten a bad rap because wave playback kind of sucked. However, now there's a fix for that makes it sounds not completely terrible. (Thanks self for discovering this!)
I know this wasn't in the question, but avoid the original GBA. The button layout sucks for LSDj and there are no good and widely available options for backlighting it. (actually frontlighting, technically speaking.)
There are two models of GBA SP, and one has less background noise than the other. Other people will know more about that. And as mentioned above, GBA SP is a small neat device, though original GB cartridges will stick out a fair bit, which takes away some of the neatness, if you want to carry it in your pocket, say.
AGS - 001
AGS - 101 .__doesn't dim, gets brighter...never really compared the sounds.....to be continued >.<
It really about sound preference, i enjoy the dmg with pro sound, i wouldn't use an sp with out an head phone jack.
But i doubt you would be disappointed in the "modability" of a dmg, and plus, it makes you look cool on stage.
Last edited by Orin (Mar 7, 2013 1:53 pm)
I've read that gba produces aliased waveforms, through I can't confirm it. Anyway the truth is that it's probably not important. Even if you had an unmodded gbc you would adapt to the crappiness of it and make some cool sounds.
from my experience, sps vary on signal to noise ratio.. if the you have doesnt produce too much of a hiss in the audio output, id just stick with it for a while
hmmm. well until recently i used only stock dmg's for years, i have a fancy modded one now( justinthursday did it, i know nothing about modding) but really much of my choice is purely aesthetic. it seems any argument for other models having disadvantages have all been overcome with some type of mod or adjustment so at the end of the day i just think my brick looks sexier and feels more comfortable. now i have hit obstacles where a 200+ bpm track im trying to write runs perfectly on a color but needs to be scaled back for a dmg cause it just cant process it, but unless your on some kind of speedcore/chipthrash kick i dont think this affects too many people.
My advice is to actually try them and see how they fit your own needs. If you're willing to dig you can get all of the above for stupidly cheap (I once bought a bag of 12 for £12) and have an array of them to try out. You could even borrow one.
If you want to use a different gameboy because you think everyone else uses a DMG to feel "leet". You're just trying to find the same supposed sense of superiority by being different. 
Don't worry about other people, find what works for you.
My tuppence (your mileage may vary):
DMG's sound pretty good unmodded actually. Pro sound is mostly just to stop it sounding like shit if you're running it through a lot of cables at a club or whatever. Classic sound, chunky and bassy.
Color's have a better CPU but can be really noisy unmodded. Modded they're actually pretty similar to the DMG.
Advance's used to be hated on because the wav channel sounded bad. As Nitro pointed out, he just fixed that. Generally speaking though, I've found them a bit raspy and noisy. The SP is basically the perfect handheld though, and the back light is sweet.
I mostly write on a color and then record and do everything else on a brick.
Last edited by ForaBrokenEarth (Mar 7, 2013 6:47 pm)
There's a very simple mod for the GBC now where you add a resistor and it pretty much kills the background noise. Another one adds bass (though this isn't necessary as every mixer has EQ). Prosound it for good measure and congratulations, you have the best sounding and fastest Game Boy out there. Front light it for optimum usage, and upgrade your LSDJ cart to the latest version to cut down on sample noise during playback.
I will say though, that since I'm not really playing much chipthrash stuff anymore, I've kinda switched back to using DMGs live when I can (I do not actually own one anymore so I have to borrow). Especially in a live situation, the sound difference isn't that noticeable. I just prefer the size of the DMG over the GBC. I guess size does matter.