Awesome.
2 Apr 11, 2014 2:40 pm
Re: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
I tried Goattracker briefly, excellent tool, but I really do prefer using actual hardware. I don't worry about speed - my systems are also modded with JiffyDOS and uIEC/SD, so everything is plenty fast. Sometimes I will use SID-Wizard instead of MSSIAH, in VICE with an emulation keyboard (I bought one of those sticker kits), for when I am away from home and want to compose (and then I can move my files over to the real system later).
Yerzmyey - I'm familiar with your tunes, great music, thanks for listening :-)
3 Apr 10, 2014 1:36 pm
Re: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
Hi Jellica,
I've got a mixer - and actually, for the sake of being used as MIDI-controlled standalone instruments, three dual-SID C64s! So if I wanted to get nuts, I could compose with six chips! Not tempted to do so but who knows, I could try that too eventually :-)
I've seen a lot of people just center pan both chips, seems to be pretty standard and in retrospect I can see why. I just fell in love with the way some things sounded in stereo, and I do live shows in stereo too.
What are you using to compose btw?
4 Apr 8, 2014 7:57 pm
Re: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
Yes, but that would have required recording each channel (or even instrument) individually on my main DAW, and then handling the mix/panning there, which to me felt like too many steps away from simply making chipmusic on the C64 and just having fun with it. I may try that approach next time though. Call it laziness, call it philosophy, but I didn't want to make things complicated with this album. Quite the opposite.
Thanks again for the comments. Gives me some stuff to think about for next time.
5 Apr 8, 2014 6:56 pm
Re: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
QB,
I appreciate your comments, even if they are mostly critical 
I am mainly a non-chip musician who built my dual-SID computers for use within a project studio environment alongside "real" synths, because I really enjoy the tone/rawness/quirks of the SID.
If it were your recording, would you have left the entire thing mono?
How to present it in a recorded format was a big question, because I am working with 2 monophonic SID chips with 3 channels each... how to pan/mix them was not obvious, since when the songs were made I was sitting there with both chips almost hard panned to each side. I liked the separation, and then worked to make some sounds thicker by having them in both sides. Leaving it in stereo, some things were really off to one side or another, making it mono, I would lose the width I had created with some sounds.
So this was the compromise.
6 Apr 7, 2014 3:10 pm
Re: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
Thanks!
7 Mar 26, 2014 8:05 pm
Re: VIC-MIDI (19 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)
What software supports this? I'm curious if this is a way to control the VIC's sound via MIDI, or sequence external gear with the VIC. Hopefully the former :-)
8 Mar 26, 2014 8:01 pm
Re: Where to begin with a C64 (13 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)
uIEC is excellent. While it may not emulate a disk drive in a true sense, it works fine for saving your music and running 95% of games/apps out there (anything music related). And it's only $60 or so, 1541 Ultimate is 4 times that :-) Of course the 1541U is better, but I don't think someone new to C64 music creation will want to drop that kind of money right out of the gate (nor do they need to).
SID-Wizard is a great tracker, plus it's under current development. There is also a dual SID version of it if you intend to add a second SID. IMHO the best choice if you want something for free. Also good is SID-Wizard's ability to export very tiny files for use within C64 demos or games, if that's your eventual goal. Since SW is a current-gen tool, the interface and keyboard commands make more sense to modern users, at least I think.
If you have money to spend, MSSIAH is awesome. Especially if you want to integrate your C64 into a modern studio setup. Mouse-driven sequencing, and a bunch of MIDI enabled standalone SID instruments all in one package... it's worth it.
Both applications have EXTENSIVE documentation, which was/is key for me!
9 Mar 26, 2014 7:41 pm
Topic: Overthink - GCS (full-length C64/SID album out today) (14 replies, posted in Releases)
Greetings. New album is out on betamod.com!
http://betamod.com/releases/beta057-overthink-gcs/
Full length and featuring a dual-SID 8580 rig, this was entirely composed within MSSIAH Sequencer without any modern sequencers or outside instrumentation. The songs run the gamut from quick and dirty gametune-styled tracks writtin only days before shows, to more complex pieces meant to take full advantage of the additional power a dual SID rig provides.
The name, GCS, means a couple of different things. It's up to you to figure it out... and then decide.
The download is free and comes in MP3 and FLAC.
For a quick listen to one of the new tracks, here's an old link to an unmastered, raw recording of one of my favorites from this album:
10 Aug 25, 2013 4:03 pm
Re: SID-Wizard: top/bottom of screen cut off (14 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)
I just encountered this issue and the solution was to adjust the vertical height on my Commodore 1084 monitor. It's also possible to adjust the V height on the more common Commodore 1702, but the adjustment pot is inside the case.
I'm mentioning it because originally, even with Commodore monitors, I was having the same issue and I wasn't sure if it was the software or my gear. The top half of the SID-Wizard logo is still chopped off, but you can see everything that's needed to be functional.