17 Reply by rot

(80 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

wow thanks for the feedback nordloef!

The controls got a bit confusing because I was testing it on an emulator at first but the layout I had was crappy on actual hardware, so I had to last minute swap some things about to make it work and I guess I forgot some stuff!

I'll update the text file properly for the next release, probably also put a 'help' screen in the program like in lsdj.

I was planning on re-doing the whole tuning/volume thing because graphically it's a mess, and yes putting a global tuning/volume in the samples page also. Also the whole font/colour scheme is kinda borrowed from one of the libgba sample programs so that will also probably be changed at some point. (Open to suggestions or if anyone has any idea on how to prepare a bitmap font for gba?)

I'm really getting bogged down in the syncing issues, tbh right now it stays in time better if you just beatmatch than if you use the sync mode. hmm Ordered some new cables off ebay hopefully that'll help, also not sure if the 5v -> 3.3v different between the two systems (gb/gba) will make a difference, it might be necessary to make some level shifting circuit in between. And like I said i only have one gba, and no nanoloop2 to test. Otherwise i might just make it syncable to a standard pulse & midi clock and leave people to figure out how to integrate that into their own setups.

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

18 Reply by rot

(80 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

A quick update to say thanks for the support and I haven't abandoned this, am currently working on getting the sync working - at the moment it keeps drifting in and out of time. I also don't have the hardware to test nanoloop2 right now unfortunately, i.e a second gba, nanoloop cart, link cable. But if i can get LSDJ working maybe nanoloop2 will just work with that. 

If/when I get the sync finished I'll work on tidying up the source code for github/whatever cause at the moment it's a mess. I'd love to be able to share it so hopefully other people will improve on my work.

The samples are just wav's, resampled to work with the MaxMod audio library. For me making a public tool to patch in samples isn't a high priority as it'l be possible to link them in when i release the source. But for now if anyone has some small samples they really need, I can put them in the next rom I release. I'll also for sure clean up most of the small crappy gui glitches that were in the last release.

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

19 Topic by rot

(80 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Hey I've been working on a simple sequencer for gba and I'd like to share it. It's in a very early but usable state. I've actually been sitting on this for months but didn't have the right hardware to test it before releasing. The plan is to add a few different sync options for lsdj etc, and a tool to add new samples without recompiling everything.

Ideally when I have the time I'll post the source up on github or something but my internet access is kinda sporadic at the moment so hopefully this'll do for now.

It's experimental and buggy and will probably trash other saves on the same flash cartridge. But for sure you can make some beats on a gba.

Download gba rom here:

updated version 0.02

I'd be interested to hear some feedback.

###############

Not-so-great demo videos:

###############

From the release notes:

A step sequencer for gba, using samples on the directsound channels.

I wanted to make something closer to a drum machine than a complete
workstation like lsdj. The main features i wanted was to have sync
modes for connecting to other devices, and be able to arrange patterns
into songs and chains like lsdj.

tested on visualboyadvance and no$gba and on a real gba with ez-flash II cartridge

what works:
-pattern sequencing & playback
-song/chain sequencing & playback
-in-program sample swapping
-song mode / live mode looping
-saving/loading
-pitch shifting of samples
-panning of samples
-volume of samples
-copy/paste patterns and orders
-random pattern generation

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

20 Reply by rot

(4 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Yeah afaik fluctuation is normal, and due to lsdj entering a power saving mode when inactive.

If the change is so dramatic it's totally unusable you could try changing the capacitors or using a small resistor on the backlight.

..Or I guess you could maybe patch lsdj to not use power saving mode, and rinse your batteries.

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21 Reply by rot

(15 replies, posted in Trading Post)

PROTODOME wrote:

I do have a spare, but I expertly ran 5V up the wrong pin of the MIDI-in DIN and it no longer responds to MIDI.

If you (or anyone) can fix it, they can have it.

hey yo don't wanna be cheeky but if you can't figure it out i would be totally interested in taking that off yer hands wink

Go to forum: Trading Post

22 Reply by rot

(325 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

furrtek wrote:

For the 2612 synth, it's being tested, I'm actually working with 2080 who initially ordered it.
The firmware still need some improvements but the overall design and case are done.

cool buddy, thanks. glad to hear it's coming along smile I wonder if people would be interested in an unassembled 'kit' form, save you from doing all that smd soldering before shipping it. Anyway thats for later, back to the gb303...

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

23 Reply by rot

(325 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

wowsers, cant wait for the gameboy acid explosion

hey furrtek whats happening with that ym2612 synth you were working on? is that gonna have to wait until you're finished with this?

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

24 Reply by rot

(325 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Wow this is so cool. I wanna just say really refreshing to see a thread about a new product/software/whatever that actually gets shipped and doesn't just disappear! Makes me happy smile Will probably get in on the next batch.

Mad respect mon pote

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

25 Reply by rot

(4 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

Hell yeah these chips are awesome, I bought a bunch of them to put inside circuit bent/diy stuff.  Also I think they're the same chip used in the Monotron delay and 99% of the cheap delay/reverb pedals on ebay.

I built the example circuits from the datasheet on breadboard and just played around with resistance values until it sounded good. You can make really long glitchy delays. Its also fairly easy to add a feedback 'repeat' loop to the circuits with a bit of experimentation. I remember it being a pain to get the example circuits working at first and had to rebuild it a few times with diff values hmm

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26 Reply by rot

(5 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Yeah I was kinda hoping there was some magic fix in the nl2 carts, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't which makes me think there isn't. It would be nice to get a definitive answer about that though!

Oh, only just noticed this old thread http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/15014 … 26-w-lsdj/

It seems like people have less problems using a color game boy as the host, which doesn't really make any sense as CGB/DMG should both be the same voltage!

Go to forum: Nintendo Handhelds

27 Topic by rot

(5 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

This is maybe not the best place to post this, but hopefully someone like nitro, oliver or johan (or some other gameboy wizard) sees this..

So according to gbatek and the official Nintendo GBA programmers manual, it isn't possible to sync a DMG/CGB with a GBA running a GBA program, because the GB's serial port operates and 5v and while running a GBA cart, the GBA's is at 3.3V. (Although if a GB cart is inserted in a GBA, the  serial port runs at 5v, so you can for example sync 2x lsdj's if one is on a GBA.)

I'm writing a GBA program that I want to be able to sync to LSDJ running on a DMG/CGB/GBA/whatever, so I was thinking the only way to sync it properly would be using a 5v->3.3v converter ic, which isn't really a big deal. The alternative being it just wouldn't work right, or potentially frying the GBA i/o with an unexpected 5V...

However, I've heard that it is actually possible to sync nanoloop2.x, (which is a GBA cart) running on a GBA, to LSDJ running on a classic GB.. So the question is; does nanoloop use some magic undocumented register in order to trick the GBA into the 5v mode? Or does the 5v signal just somehow work even though it should be 3.3v, and even though nintendo explicitly warns against doing this..? Does anyone have any experience trying this, did the GBA act weird in any way?

Yeah it's a complicated question! I don't really have the right hardware right now to test this, and just thought I'd ask before trying.

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28 Topic by rot

(1 replies, posted in Releases)

Hey chipmusic fans, I made an album of chipmusic. In the classic 1x DMG format. It's my first release of anything ever, check it out.

HERE:
https://rot23.bandcamp.com/album/odessa

or

HERE:
https://soundcloud.com/rot-11/sets/odessa-1

Go to forum: Releases

29 Reply by rot

(14 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

With the drag'n'derp yeah it's drag'n'drop, just like a usb flash drive. With the EMS you need to use a special program to copy the saves/roms over on windows, think like itunes or something. on linux & os x theres a little command line tool, which is super easy to use.

My recommendation would be to get the EMS because it's like half the price and you might want to get another cart anyway in the future if you wanna play live or something.

I've been using an EMS for about a year and the save memory isn't even full yet. I just bought another one so I can experiment with 2x lsdj. For sure the drag'n'derp is a higher quality, and more reliable product, but that's not to say EMS has any major problems or is unreliable.

EDIT: However the d'n'd was made by someone who used to post on these forums, which is kinda cool and its nice to support these projects. while the ems is produced by some shady faceless company who just sell stuff to pirate games. also most importantly the d'n'd has a drawing of a cool lookin' dude on the label.

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30 Reply by rot

(2 replies, posted in Releases)

damn yo these basses are truly filthy, chicago style

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31 Reply by rot

(9 replies, posted in General Discussion)

I finished an entry a couple days ago, but it ended up a bit too ambient and and melodramatic.

I kinda just wanted to play around with the FM a bit, and to see if I can produce something interesting with a short deadline.

Go to forum: General Discussion

32 Reply by rot

(15 replies, posted in Trading Post)

metatronaut wrote:

If I had the money I would've bought it the second I saw the post tongue

Yeah same except if I was in the US also, that's like the bargain of the century.

Go to forum: Trading Post