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ChipMusic.org / Forums / Nintendo Handhelds / University research. LSDJ on GameBoy hardware or LSDJ on PC emulation?
this is just a basic kinda ask on what people prefer from LSDJ used on a console and LSDJ used from an emulator on a PC or whatever you used it on.
this is for a paper i'm doing for my final year of uni and i'm just finishing it up with some forum research.
so if this sort of post isn't allowed I apologize profusely it's been a while since I've done the Chiptune forum thing i ended up getting into pop/rock production after my 8-bit band fell apart.
why? what's better about the gameboy? is it an aesthetic thing? or do you think it sounds different?
actual gameboy or super gb. not every emulator is accurate and digital timing of hardware is important in order for LSDJ to sound "proper," as I understand it. even though some emulators like BGB are basically accurate, I think the game boy sound hardware still imparts its own characteristics. plus it just feels the most authentic, and the most fun. the tracker interface was designed for 4 buttons and a D-pad and a small screen.
i'm talking about an emulator such as the openemu or the visual boy vs a gameboy pocket/colour/DMG i know the first super GB had some clock issues.
thanks for commenting.
actual game boy but mainly because my muscle memory is trained to work with the LSDJ keypresses - this means i can track a lot more quickly and intuitively on a real game boy vs learning emulator keypresses.
I do all of my composing and recording using the BGB emulator. Being able to save multiple states makes it easy to try out and quickly undo new ideas. I think the sound quality for recording is good, and you don't have to deal with noise from loose connections or hardware hum. I only break out the DMG for live performances.
on hardware. its solid and practical.
if it was another system, i would probably argue for emulation, due to size and needing a teevee or whatever.
Compose on BGB emulator and then transfer to/continue work on and record off of the Game Boy. Recording off of hardware is better in my opinion because there is little chance the software(LSDJ) hickups or something like emulators could do randomly. Unless the Game Boy crashes. LOL
ahh this is brilliant, lots of decent opinion on this, didnt expect this much response. cheers guys!
On hardware. The entire gui is designed around you using the gameboy control scheme which makes it very very efficient in contrast to a keyboard. There is also the aesthetic of using traditional hardware which implements some character noise and hum, which, many people will debate one way or another, is a vital part of how it sounds. Another thing is the limitations... emulators can push harder than a gameboy which can essentially extend the range of what you can do as far as sound design. IMO pushing the gameboy itself to the limit is one of the key mission statements of using LSDJ, and chiptune itself.
Hardware. It's fun to be able to compose virtually anywhere I go. I can also get by using BGB with a custom keyboard scheme that's closer to the DMG/CGB (W,A,S,D,C,V,G,H), but I only use BGB just to analyse other people's .lsdsngs and recording my own LSDj content for my YouTube channel.
Hardware is the best for me. It's more portable and I don't have to wait for a computer to boot up before cracking into it. Just flick the switch and start laying down an idea :-)
I also find that a pc keyboard can stifle my creativity a bit...
Everytime the topic of "LSDJ emulated on PC" comes up people start talking about "pc keyboard doesn't feel right" as if that's the only option.
Are USB game controllers really so rare that nobody even considers that they can use that instead of a keyboard? It makes a world of a difference. Even better, a NES controller-to-USB adapter, hehe. When I first purchased the LSDJ rom and loaded it up, it never even crossed my mind to use the keyboard with it, lol
As I haven't yet gotten around to running LSDJ on hardware, I can't say which I prefer. I do love emulating it on pc and being able to see it on a big screen. I've also grown to cherish the characteristic "overly clean and devoid of any semblance of hardware background hum" sound that BGB's emulation generates. And being able to export each channel as a separate file all in one go is nice. And the power. ALL THE POWER! Running vibrato commands simultaneously on 3 channels with no processor choke-up ftw. DMG can't do it, but purity be hanged if it lets me express the sounds that I want with the interface that I love 
Plus, my computer's already always on and plugged in, and I never have to worry about batteries, or misplacing the gameboy, I can have all my sav files automagically backed up to various things instantly, easy access to kit modification, and also there are some fun hiccup glitches that can happen with emulation that I wish I could emulate on a DMG.
Last edited by SketchMan3 (Feb 12, 2016 10:50 am)
On hardware. I spend all day on computers as part of my job, so it's nice to be able to close the laptop and pick up a wee box that is dedicated to making music. (or at least whilst the LSDJ cart is in it is).
I have used emulators in the past and then transferred the savs over, but there's always the risk that things can get corrupted that way. Even if that's low, I don't like using just my 'pointer' fingers when composing. Emulators mean you can't practically use your thumbs, and it isn't as tactile as the D-Pad/buttons. Sure, I could plug in a USB NES controller, but in that case why not just use the Gameboy?
TL;DR: Gameboy. It feels nicer.
Last edited by unexpectedbowtie (Feb 12, 2016 10:28 am)
I find it a beautiful ironic quirk, and one of the things that makes LSDj awesome, that people would love composing music with just their thumbs so much, since most tonal musical instruments are designed to use all the other fingers in contrast
Thinking of responses to unexpectedbowtie's final question made me think of other reasons why I enjoy emulating LSDj, and why one might choose this over hardware.
I guess my posting in this thread doesn't really serve much purpose to the OP since I haven't run LSDj on a Gameboy, but I figured it can't hurt to offer my unique perspective on it. I have no negative feelings towards running LSDj in an emulator, except for the fact that I can't run an LSDj+Linkport Keyboard setup on it.
Emulators mean you can't
Emulators mean you can practically use your thumbs, your fingertips, your feet, drumsticks, or whatever else you can think of that can send game control input to your computer.
Edit: Hardware is definitely the coolest thing, though. Can't beat that mojo. Especially if it's unmodded.
Last edited by SketchMan3 (Feb 12, 2016 11:20 am)