177

(56 replies, posted in General Discussion)

spacetownsavior wrote:

like an0va I also got really into different genres of music and wanted to start incorporating them into my own style, but I also found that gameboy-only (LSDJ was my main tool) stuff really didn't do it for me as far as composition went. so I bit the bullet and ended up writing things in ableton and using other synths and things (<3 my microbrute) to make it

but I ended up in this weird area where I don't feel like I'm "chiptune" anymore, and coming back on this forum to hear people talking about "pure" chiptune and how it's sacrilegious to pander to audiences with square waves kind of confirmed it for me

one of the bigger turning points for me happened when chibi-tech released that moe moe kyunstep song -- it was amazing and hugely expanded the possibility space for what the NES could do soundwise, but it also sounded exactly like a skrillex song? so to hear people say "man dubstep is the WORST" followed by "holy shit this song is AMAZING" when it's literally skrillex on an NES was weird for me

and this isn't meant as a slight toward chibi-tech or the song, it was just weird to see that double standard. a skrillex song made on an NES is chiptune, but an NES + other instruments that skrillex might use isn't chiptune? I personally would have liked the definition to expand to include the second scenario, but it didn't seem to happen, so that's kind of where I fell off of listening to "pure" chiptune

the actual solution is for us not to care though so whoops!

The thing about Moe Moe Kyunstep is that it /doesn't/ sound exactly like a skrillex song. "Literally skrillex on an NES" would be... literally skrillex producing a song on an NES. Moe Moe Kyunstep isn't even virtually skrillex on an NES. It executes its melodic and harmonic and thematic elements in a way that skrillex never could. The tune in and of itself is excellent, regardless of the things it has in common with a skrillex song. For me, at least. Moe Moe Kyunstep is literally a chibi-tech chiptune song that happens to be teh brostep.

I seriously doubt that all those people who loved kyunstep but hate dubstep magically started listening to and enjoying skrillex and dubstep artists and gameboy EDMstep, etc, that they had previously hated, and all lived happily ever-after. (Perhaps some did, and to them I say congrats on expanding your horizons and learning to see things from another point of view). Maybe I'm wrong, but from what I understand, people dislike dubstep because it lacks elements that would allow them to enjoy it, not so much because it's down-tempo and wubbulous. Chibi-tech created a song that infused the brostep with elements that they can enjoy, thus unlocking a world where they were able to partake in the joy that regular dubstep fans enjoy.

Not only did kyunstep expand the possibilities of what the NES could do soundwise, but, for me, it also expanded my perception of the possibilities of what growlstep could do melodically, harmonically, rhythmically (it had some really cool drum n bass/breakbeat elements that I haven't heard in your typical skrillstep) and thematically.

Also, if your usage of square waves is to pander to an audience and your artistic self-expression are mutually exclusive, then at least a few people are going to feel that and turn away from it. Any form of pandering is going to be frowned upon by /somebody/.

i'd say those people talking about that are the vocal minority in this case... most people who've been in this scene for any length of time consider any argument about purity to be silly and really missing the point of making music as an artistic statement

People enjoy what sounds good to them. It's not their fault that the artists they've heard being "impure" don't execute their impurity in a way that sounds pleasing to them. 

As someone who loves all kinds of chiptune, be it solo or with an orchestra, One of the things that I, at least, enjoy about "pure" chiptune vs. "impure" chiptune is that pure chiptune can do a lot of creative things with the sound design of the chiptune element that a lot of impurists often /can't/ do, due to the fact that their choice of unchiply instrumentation wouldn't mix very well with those chiptune elements. They'd be tripping all over each other and fighting for attention and getting mutually lost in the muddled mix (as I've heard often enough, even with some of the popular "big hitters" in the "scene"). My beloved chiptune elements that would normally be taking center-stage get pushed to the back, playing second fiddle and being limited in what they can do (square wave leads or maybe some arps. Or if you /really/ want to be edgy, throw in a 25% pulse wave or a SID PWM lead yikes ) Maybe an artist might throw in a 4 measure bridge of gameboy solo here or there to try and jam the more creative sounds into the song somewhere, but then they get stripped away again, or buried in the mix.

There's a certain way of caressing the soundchip that /usually/ doesn't happen when it's having to share space with other instrumentation. Kinda like having a 1-on-1 tutoring session vs. a group study.

178

(7 replies, posted in General Discussion)

HillyOTM wrote:

What licence was your friend's music released under? Has your friend tried flagging the video himself for copyright infringement? As I understand it some companies like youtube will only block things like this if the owner of the licence complains (that could be another company that I'm thinking of though)

179

(3 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

post a link to an example of what you're talking about?

run it through a delay pedal?

Use Exx commands of depreciating values to get a delayish effect

180

(31 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Google-fu

181

(56 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Bedroom vocals! That's the word I've been looking for. Bedroom vocals tick me off so much. Record with passion! Hearing hushed half-hearted "I don't want to wake up my parents"-sounding vocals.

an0va wrote:

I'm probably being a bit unnecessarily defensive here, but this kind of logic is a bit obnoxious to me. Who are we, as fans, to say to artists what style they "belong to?"

I didn't see anything in his post saying that anyone should belong to this style or that style. But as fans we /are/ entitled to enjoy only that which sounds good to us and appeals to our sensibilities.

To answer the question: I enjoy chipmusic a lot. I enjoy many flavors of it, from 1bit 1channel jams to proggy mario paint compositions to chip+jazz piano stuff, and everything in between, and plenty of things that fall outside of that spectrum, lol. I listen to it as much as I listen to anything else.

SuperlateEdit: but to each his own and every artist is entitled to produce what they want as much as fan is entitled to like what they like. As long as you put heart and soul, honesty and effort into honing their craft and producing something they love, somebody will appreciate it.

As a fan, you don't have to feel obligated to be "loyal" and try to force yourself into a musical box that's too small and isn't the right shape for you.

182

(6 replies, posted in Releases)

Neat. rockin' chiptunes that actually sounds like something that an actual band with guitars and drums would actually play. Also could fit in a video game soundtrack very nicely, but it just sounds like... organically sounds like music that wouldn't sound forced if a live band played it. Well done. That's actually kind of rare in this genre, even in the classic video game music. Very refreshing to hear.

PixiTracker rocks. I like  Groove Mixer for piano roll sample and loop sequencing. Not sure if it's actually good or not, though, hehe.

I don't generally have very good results from audio applications in Android. Maybe my devices just aren't powerful enough. Latency is just a /tiny/ bit too much, and audio recording always glitches out for me.

But pixitracker... i need to buy that. 10/10 It actually makes sense on a touchscreen device

I know i read something somewhere that answered most of your questions, but I have no idea where

Hah, cool

186

(13 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

If the button repeat speed was slower it could actually be useable,haha

cycle hum =/= charming analog distortion

188

(8 replies, posted in General Discussion)

It kinda makes sense that it would affect the process. I mean, if you're going into writing music knowing that "it's going to playback at this speed" of course you would write the music so that it sounds good at the speed at which it's going to play.

Totally respect that decision. Don't feel obligated to overdo it if you think it's better to keep it simple. Sometimes 1 or two channels are all that's needed. And yeah, the distorted synth sounds are really cool. Just felt like most of the time I had to strain too hard to hear the other instruments that were really really soft. It felt like the bass was over-overcompensating. It probably goes without saying, but Jellica's comment reminded me that I forgot to add the disclaimer that my opinions are just my personal opinions based on my own personal tastes. Most important thing is to make what you like. Second most important thing is to not be afraid to experiment and stretch outside of your comfort zone sometimes.

First one: Pretty neat. The reverb actually compliments it. Usually reverb on an lsdj track makes me cringe and back away slowly while trying to force myself to be open-minded enough to like it.. and failing. Feels natural and fitting on this track, though.

Some constructive criticism: The bass seems a bit overpowering and drowning out the other channels too much., and it feels like at some points the track would benefit from having the other pulse channel do some sort of harmony or percussion (using quick short pitch bends to make drum sounds.. and layering that under your noise snares can give them extra "mph!") or something (It sounds like you're only ever using 3 channels at a time in the first track, not all 4 at any point?).

Sometimes the noise percussion feels like it was an afterthought compared to the much-loved wav channel. Feels kinda wimpy at times, and lacks driving force and consistency. It /is/ good that it seeks to compliment the overall rhythm established by the other instruments, though. It's nice to see that you have an understanding of how a drummer should play /with/ the band, and not just do whatever random "cool" stuff to show off tongue

I enjoyed your tunes. These are pretty fun to listen to, especially considering they're your first two ever compositions, and first two lsdj tunes big_smile I liked the fun stuff you did with the bass, especially in the second tune. Cool stuttery effects and what-not. Try to bring up the volume of the other instruments just a little bit so they don't get outshone by the flashy bassist tongue

Keep it up! I'd love to hear what you write once you've gotten a dozen or so more lsdj projects under your belt big_smile

Just on that one part where it goes "grrRAWRgrrrRAWR" I guess the pre-chorus..? it would benefit from a less angry bass, without having heard the original before. But this is really cool, anyway. I enjoyed this a lot. I think I've heard another chip cover of this cuz the tune sounded familiar somehow and I remember the fact that it reminded me of a tune from "Bonk's Adventure" stuck in my head......  I actually listened to this one to the end, so it's good in my book... tongue

Myabe I'm biased, but i like the gameboy sound of your cover more than the original. And I totally understand the laziness thing... It gets me too many times, right where it counts hehe