97 Reply by jmc1987

(28 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

Jake Allison wrote:

chiptune is not really a genre, at least to me
its a means to an end

I like that. I pretty much started learning LSDJ because I thought the concept of chiptune was really cool and I wanted to start getting back into playing music, but didn't have the time or energy to put together a band. I remember first seeing Anamanaguchi live years ago (probably 2007 or 2008) at a festival I was doing video work for and it was just two guys playing against an iPod (either this was before the full band was fleshed out or they didn't want to travel with everyone and equipment to a "festival" held in a church in nowheresville West Virginia). It was amazing to me that someone could make music that way, but I had no clue they were actually using an NES to create the sounds.

When I wanted to make music again last year, learning LSDJ seemed like a better idea than just fiddling with GarageBand or some other program. I liked the idea of replacing a band with a GameBoy and only having to work around my own schedule to start working on new material. A GameBoy can't argue with you or have its ego get in the way of having fun musically like the "bands" I played with in high school. So, a means to an end really does make sense there. Plus, I still play the same guitar I've owned since I was 13 years old (though I did some upgrades between the two EPs) and the GameBoy Pocket I use I bought with my birthday money when I was 11.

Making music with two things from my childhood is incredibly fulfilling. I just have no clue how to properly promote it or whether or not people will actually enjoy it. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I would enjoy my music had I not made it, but I'm having fun doing it. I'm a filmmaker as well (my biggest release was a little microbudget film called DIE AND LET LIVE that was fortunate enough to get in stores nationwide, right as the DVD market completely dried up and took down the distributor with it), but it's been harder to get projects off the ground once adult life kicked in for myself and my collaborators. Making chiptune music allows me to have some kind of a creative outlet while struggling to get another project off the ground.

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98 Reply by jmc1987

(3 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

In learning LSDJ, the drum tracks were the hardest for me, because I felt like I needed to utilize the WAV channel for more than just kits. After a while, I've found I'm fond of using one pulse channel for bass, one pulse for melody, WAV for kits and noise for hi-hats/cymbals.

Honestly, there's not much you can do with the noise channel, because it pretty much lives up to its name: noise. I really tried to use the noise channel for drums in my first songs and later just discovered I prefer to lose the fun of the WAV channel (which I wasn't very good at to begin with) and just use kits. Since sometimes using both drum tracks is necessary, I found using the noise for cymbals helped open up possibilities for drums. Of course, depending on what kind of music you're trying to create, this might not be the best advice.

Now, on to your tracks, I think they sound good for a start. From the Tetris tune, I can tell you've already started experimenting with commands, but I'd do it more. Not sure if you've started playing with tables, but that's really the sweet spot for LSDJ. I kind of think some of your rhythms are just off slightly, but maybe that was intentional... I'm unfortunately not as big of a gamer as most, so other than Tetris, I don't have a reference point. But the Ice Cap Zone melody seems about a tick off.

Keep chipping!

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99 Reply by jmc1987

(1 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

It could use more parts like the melody that comes in around 2:00. I didn't notice anything with the tempo, so I think you're fine there.

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100 Reply by jmc1987

(5 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

I became really concerned with being too repetitive after my first release. I don't find this to be too repetitive. There's a lot of really cool changes in phrases that I think work rather well.

One thing I'd do is work on some panning effects within LSDJ in tables. It really helps liven stuff up and if there is sound on the other channels, the clicking between panning is covered up really well. For example, the higher pitch part that loops at 0:20 would sound really cool if it'd jump back and forth between channels.

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101 Reply by jmc1987

(28 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

D3LL wrote:

If you look at the Wikipedia page for chipmusic, then look around through similar genres (usually at the ends of articles) you should find a whole lot of specific genre names/labels.  I can't specifically recall names, but I remember seeing names similar to what you describe.

I guess Nintendocore looks to be the closest, but I'm still not entirely on board with that. Yeah, there are guitars involved, but I don't think it's hard enough to have anything with the "-core" suffix.

SketchMan3 wrote:

Rock? Pop? When in doubt: IDM

Rock is usually what I end up filing it under for iTunes and such. IDM seems weird for me, because my whole intent was to make something with LSDJ that's not really danceable music and I'm also too self-deprecating and feel too pretentious to label anything I do as "intelligent." Honestly, most electronic music labeling doesn't make much sense to me at all, which is probably why I'm having this labeling conundrum.

Maybe I should just petition to have Portopak labeled a subgenre. Kind of like how Primus has it's own genre in ID3 tags. I'm sure I could get like... 5 people behind that.

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102 Reply by jmc1987

(26 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

If the sound out of the speaker bothers you, you could always take a cheap pair of headphones, cut off the plug and put it in the jack whenever you need a jury-rigged GameBoy silencer.

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103 Topic by jmc1987

(28 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

Hey folks,

I've put out 2 EPs now of my LSDJ-backed guitar music under the name Portopak at http://portopak.bandcamp.com.

In case that description I just provided isn't evidence enough, I really have a hard time trying to describe my music or come up with an accurate RIYL list of artists. The first EP I called "chiptune punk," because it seemed to fit okay for most of the tracks, but my second release doesn't really follow the same style.

Anyone have any suggestions for either an appropriate genre-labeling or RIYL?

And hell, while I'm at it, how does the new EP, "Only Nineteen-Ninety-Nine," sound to everyone? I'm really happy with the production compared to the first one.

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104 Reply by jmc1987

(2 replies, posted in Releases)

Now streaming on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4fwG2W45qRJpaPbw3ZQ8Ok

Also on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/only- … d834442885

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105 Topic by jmc1987

(2 replies, posted in Releases)

http://portopak.bandcamp.com

I've just released the followup to my debut chip EP Reasonably Priced. It's titled Only Nineteen-Ninety-Nine and despite that title, it's a name-your-own-price download on Bandcamp.

The tracks are a mix of recent songs, stuff that wasn't finished when I recorded the first EP and a track that was cut from the first EP.

I'm really proud of how this one turned out. I was really trying to get several of different sounds and styles with this one and I think I succeeded. I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear what you think.

http://portopak.bandcamp.com
Download for free, or throw me a few sheckles if you want.
CDs are $4 and will ship after March 1st.
Also, it will be on iTunes, Spotify, Rdio, etc. in 2-4 weeks.

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106 Reply by jmc1987

(9 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Well, these little Danelectro amps distort pretty easily, so that's not much of a concern. I tried using just one (haven't bought another one for this experiment yet) and was able to get a pretty decent sound.

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107 Reply by jmc1987

(9 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

I think I need to clarify... the amps would be running on 9V batteries or an AC adapter. I was wondering more about whether the output of the Pocket split into two mono outputs would have enough signal for both or if the Pocket's batteries would die faster from sending output to two amps.

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108 Topic by jmc1987

(9 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

I got this crazy idea... would a GameBoy (in this case, a Pocket) be able to power two of these Danelectro HoneyTone guitar amps for stereo amplification? Like, plugging a 1/8" stereo to dual 1/4" mono splitter from the Pocket to each of the amp inputs... would there be enough power to run 2 1W amps?

I really like these little Danelectro amps for my guitar and I figured I could set up 3 for a sort of GameBoy busking setup.

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109 Reply by jmc1987

(12 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

I'd appreciate a link as well!

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110 Reply by jmc1987

(14 replies, posted in Releases)

Thanks, Symbiant... glad you enjoyed it!

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111 Reply by jmc1987

(16 replies, posted in Collaborations)

I'd love to do one as well... I'd say either "I Wanna Piss on You" or "Bored to Death"

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112 Reply by jmc1987

(14 replies, posted in Releases)

Now with a music video! I made it with a Fisher Price PXL2000, Final Cut and an Archive.org download of CARNIVAL OF SOULS.

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