NES AUDIO TOOLS (make music using your NES!) (Page 1 of 2)

› About this list:

‹ About this list:

(Original post in 2020:) I wanted to create a main post somewhere on the internet that collects all audio tools available & designed to make music using NES console or emulator, focusing on native music making solutions! I got idea for it after I discovered that nes-audio com site belonging to Neil Baldwin, genius who created trackers on NES disappeared early 2020, and even genius himself went absolutely offline. NES audio homebrew is criminally underappreciated compared to LSDJ, and overshadowed by trackers available on modern platforms. My goal is to to change that, starting here!

(2021 edit:) Months after that, having Neil Baldwin responding to emails, uploading copies of his sites and releasing source code of his software is extreme success of this little guide and personal achievement, especially considering how I still remember 10 years ago all that software being released, being excited about it all even though I had no clue how trackers work, or how to make chiptune at all. I'm extremely happy to be able to bring it all back to life!

› (Image comparison of major ones)

‹ (Image comparison of major ones)

› >NTRQ links and downloads<

‹ >NTRQ links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.9)
-Official Download(also includes all tools released for it!)
-backup download/manual here!
-NTRQ's manual
-BotB's guide what chapters from manual to read(you may skip rest of links there)
-Tutorial mini series made by Neil Baldwin
-Heroquest's sav for NTRQ
-2x NTRQ track running on VCVrack

› Quick & dirty guide of differences between LSDJ and Pulsar

‹ Quick & dirty guide of differences between LSDJ and Pulsar

-Extremely buggy;
-No Live mode;
-B to move between pages instead of SELECT;
-Warp zone navigation, LEFT/RIGHT limited/different functionality;
-you copy entire pattern(no precise selection) and paste it from cursor position and below, does not overlap the top so everything above is safe;
-32 different envelopes, E command takes you to selected one instead of actually being an envelope (looks like ADSR vs multifuncional of LSDJ's volume envelope);
-Some values like Retrig or envelope numbers are reversed (FF is fastest on Pulsar);
-DPCM is very different from WAVE channel;
-Swapping DMC samples only through rebuilding from source!
-1st instrument advice: apply gate!
-CHECK THE MANUAL ANYWAY!

› >Pulsar links and downloads<

‹ >Pulsar links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.04)
-Github source code + up to date ROMs(pulsar.nes / pulsar_PAL1.nes)
-Pulsar's Manual
-backup download/manual here!
-First mention of Pulsar
-Pulsar's source code release thread

› >cajoNES links and downloads<

‹ >cajoNES links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.0)
-Official download
-cajoNES's manual
-backup download/manual here!

› >Advanced Guide / Workflow<

‹ >Advanced Guide / Workflow<

If you played with cajoNES, you probably noticed how fun it is to use, and make up stuff on the go - The manual ends there, leaving user to figure out themselves how to make anything longer than 1-2  loop.
In this guide I want to show my way around the program, from early start all the way to finished song/set!

-----1. Preparation-----

-cajoNES+ Deluxe version is required as we need saving and loading to store our track!
-I'd recommend to keep manual close  - I tend to forget the combos required to do things - it's easy to make difficult mistake ruining your loop, like accidentally randomizing whole row or loading the original state of the loop, reverting your progress!
-Using emulator with rewind function  is highly recommended! It's mostly to prevent mistakes above, saving you stress and rewinding back the mistake!

-----2. Building your loops-----

-Small loop first! Starting from scratch, on 4th CTRL row I place [10], looping the first 4 rows only - That allows me to make couple sounds and drums first without need to constantly restart the sequencer just to hear what you're working on!
-Copy often! I usually start my loops with making good kick, then I copy it over rest of the pattern where I want kick to play! Same applies to rest of instruments, it's super easy to make cool random sound, paste it few times around and do small little changes
-Sweep Depth & Speed tips: I recommend you to make your kicks using high Depth, and low Speed (i.e. setting MDC to about [20], and MSC around [07]) - this will make your kick much more consistent every time it plays!
-Speed aware drums! While taking the advice just above, I do recommend to tune the envelopes of your drums so they don't sound strange when you do little SPEED/SWING adjustments - this will allow you to integrate live speed changes in your songs keeping your kicks stable!

-----3. Song structure-----
-Coming soon!

-----4. Sequencer Techniques & Live play Tricks-----
-Coming soon!

-----5. TAS (Tool Assisted Speedrun)-----
-Coming soon!

› WORKFLOW ADVICE:

‹ WORKFLOW ADVICE:

[DISCLAIMER: THIS GUIDE IS NOT MANUAL REPLACEMENT]
(please take time to read it, especially CONTROLS and QUICK START!)
-----3 first things you need to know:
*(SMALL BUG+EASY FIX) PR8 is tuned for PAL mode, so if you're using NTSC, set OSC-C value to FF for channel A,B and C (Noise keeps it's shape across regions though!)
*KEEP PHRASE 0 EMPTY! It's necessary for pattern cloning;
*PR8 SAVES ALL THE TIME! All changes you make are permanent, there's no undo!
-----PR8 priorities
Changing Phrase, Pattern(and values next to it) or Instrument will affect NEXT loop
Changing instrument parameters or triggers will happen INSTANTLY
Tracks at the bottom have PRIORITY over ones above (e.g. you have 2 tracks that use noise channel, so as long as bottom one is playing, the one above will not)
-----Unique advantages
--I feel that PR8 tries to encourage the user to add and remove notes from the phrases as you play, or even shifting the phrase left or right, playing with the sequence in the pattern - Though because of constant saving happening all the time, the user might not notice it.
There are 2 ways to work around that:
1.If you copy phrase, then you can modify it freely, and when finished, paste over original phrase! (Phrase is transferred to separate buffer, you keep it until you copy something else, or reset the console)
2.Create copy of the phrase and keep it in the pattern on track without instrument on it, so you can copy notes from it, or paste entire phrase when needed!

-----Organization of patterns
PR8's style of jamming also relies on changing between patterns. Usually you have NO MORE than 3 seconds (even that's generous!) to change pattern to next one. PR8 waits until current playing pattern finishes before playing new one.
Therefore I HIGHLY recommend careful choosing your next patterns. Look at the following pattern map:

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..
40  41  42  43  44  45  ..
30  31  32  33  34  35  ..
20  21  22  23  24  25  ..
10  11  12  13  14  15  ..
00  01  02  03  04  05  .. 

If you're playing pattern 22, the quickest patterns to access are 23, 32, 21, 12
Try not to organize patterns in one line (e.g. 00->01->02->03) otherwise going back to first pattern will take you much longer.
Using something like 00->10->11->01 lets you repeat section while still allowing access to other patterns.
[Following the advice above, actually start your first song in pattern10 or 11, that gives you the most freedom of pattern selection.]
-----Space management
You have at your disposal:
8 song 256 bars each;
256 patterns containing COMBINATION of:
6 instruments (out of 128 possible), and
6 phrases (out of 192 possible, 191 if left out phrase00).
I used word "Combination", because PR8 allows you to use ANY phrase on ANY instrument.
NOTE: unlike LSDJ/Pulsar, PR8 keeps all patterns, instruments and phrases shared across your .sav file!
[note: you can leave phrase on silent instrument to aid you to copy notes]
Still, most probably you will run out of different phrases first!
To prevent that from happening:
-Make sure to delete any needless patterns (or they may get lost between used ones);
-If want to use same note placement, consider using new instrument;

BUGS/QUIRKS:
-(TO AVOID: GET FIXED VERSION FROM GITHUB!)PR8's lowest available note is A-1. Trying to go octave down beyond A-1 will result the next note being glitched. Nothing dangerous! Just copy functioning note or simply restart to regain normal note back!
-(TO AVOID: GET FIXED VERSION FROM GITHUB!)CRITICAL BUG: Same procedure like above, but with phrase number in the pattern: Going octave down from 0E and copying the new value onto other track will CRASH PR8, and trying to access that pattern will RESULT IN CRASH
solution: be aware of it and don't do it.
-NOISE(D) shape is NOT affected by Note number, use that to your advantage!
-Combo using SELECT button done to quickly can (un)mute your track/channel (just slow down a bit haha)
-Retrig speed is not dependent on pattern speed!
-Echo during certain pattern tempos cannot be heard (as it layers perfectly with pre-echoed song)
-If speed parameter doesn't suit you, consider different region of emulation (check speed guide below!)

› PR8 Speed Guide (NTSC & PAL):

‹ PR8 Speed Guide (NTSC & PAL):

PR8: Speed = Tempo -(Original article here!)

Here’s a formula that you can use to calculate the BPM in PR8 based on the SPEED setting:

TEMPO = 60 / ((SPEED + 2) * 4) * 120

NTSC updates at 60hz (60 times a second) whereas PAL updates at 50Hz so you just need to use that ratio to scale the BPM speeds. If you do NTSC multiplied by 50 divided by 60 it should give you the correct number (ish). As an example: if PR8 is playing at 120 BPM in NTSC, putting that into the calculation:
120 x 50 / 60 = 100 BPM

NTSC -- SPEED -- PAL
600.00_01_500
450.00_02_375
360.00_03_300
300.00_04_250
257.14_05_214.283
225.00_06_187.5
200.00_07_166.667
180.00_08_150
163.64_09_136.367
150.00_0A_125
138.46_0B_115.383
128.57_0C_107.142
120.00_0D_100
112.50_0E_93.75
105.88_0F_88.23
100.00_10_83.33
94.74_11_78.95
90.00_12_75
85.71_13_71.425
81.82_14_68.183
78.26_15_65.217
75.00_16_62.5
72.00_17_60
69.23_18_57.692
66.67_19_55.558
64.29_1A_53.575
62.07_1B_51.725
60.00_1C_50
58.06_1D_48.383
56.25_1E_46.875

› {Advanced}Editing the appearance:

‹ {Advanced}Editing the appearance:

PR8 by default does not offer much customization in terms of colours and looks. Time to change that!
--To change tiles on the screen:
Mesen or Nintendulator and take a look at their included PPU viewer
Looking at the CHR viewer you'll notice that all all characters have Tile Index.
Boot up your favorite hex editor. 90% of the screen is editable from here!
Screen layout starts at 14B45, and every row on screen is 32 tiles, so resize your editor if possible for ease of use;
Replace values of tiles accordingly to your taste!
Last tile on the screen is located at 14F04.
--To change .pal file
This way you can achieve top colour customisation, but it might destroy visual compatibility with other software!
I recommend Nestopia. In video settings you should find palette editor. Code block below represents colours used by PR8:

00 XX XX XX XX XX XX 07 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX 0F 
10 11 XX XX XX 15 16 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX 
XX 21 XX XX XX XX 26 27 XX 29 2A XX XX XX XX XX 
30 XX XX XX XX XX 36 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX 

less obvious ones are:
Flashing cursor = 0F->16->26->36->30;
Cursor when holding A or B = 26;
grid cursor indicating edited step = 29;
Instrument buttons =  27,15;
Regarding greens: step indicator = 2A, rest is 29;
Regarding blues: 11 is used by blue (ghost) arrow as an outline;
You can safely ignore rest of the colours, as they are not used with PR8.

› >PR8 links and downloads<

‹ >PR8 links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.02 from Github)
-PR8 Github repository + ROMs (pr8_ntsc.nes / pr8_pal.nes)
-PR8's manual
-backup download/manual here!
-First mention of PR8
-Video mentioned in the link above
-PR8's source code release thread
-Audio example nr.1
-Audio example nr.2
-PR8 running on GBA

› >SMMM links and downloads<

‹ >SMMM links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.1)
-Official download
-SMMM's manual
-backup download/manual here!

› >Chippy links and downloads<

‹ >Chippy links and downloads<

-Chippy's nesdev forum thread + Downloads
-Archive.org Backup of above

› How to use & Quickstart section

‹ How to use & Quickstart section

Controls:
DPAD to move cursor around,
A to enable/disable parameters,
Start to reset everything,
(VRC6 / FDS / S5B) Select to change pages!

To generate sound:
Pulse1/2 needs V+T+L(bottom);
Triangle needs R+T+L;
Noise needs V;
DMC needs L(top) and enabled D in "Control"(This one is tricky channel, if sometimes gets silent until we turn it on and off in "Control");
VRC6 Pulse1/2 needs V+F+E;
VRC6 Saw needs A+F+E;
FDS Car needs M+V+F;
FDS Mod needs active Car + M/D+F (Mod modifies sound made by Carrier);
S5B needs same channel volume + Frequency enabled (REG8 responds to REG0/1; REG9 to REG2/3, REGA to REG4/5)
(note: at the moment S5B is fully supported only by Nestopia (both vanilla and UE))

Additional notes:
-Addresses (blue 4digits) can be looked up on nesdev 2A03 wiki page for more details;
-Turning off channels in "Control" will not turn them on unless we play with L(bottom) of channels;
-DMC with it's 4011 address shows PERFECTLY how much Triangle/Noise drops volume (and how hard it is to control it);
-Swiping Pulse channels(E and S) will make it fade away, need to retrigger the channel to play again.

› >Livenes links and downloads<

‹ >Livenes links and downloads<

-Github repository + downloads
-Plogue R&D's post about livenes

› >droNES links and downloads<

‹ >droNES links and downloads<

-(Newest version available: 1.0)
-droNES download
-droNES's manual
-early version showcase

› >Quickstart guide:<

‹ >Quickstart guide:<

Controls:

Dpad left/right = move cursor position on sequencer
Dpad up/down = operator selection (same as A/B)
Select = change all symbols to random operator*
Start = same as Dpad right
  *may cause small visual/functional glitches

Operators:

+  = increase melodic counter by 1
-  = decrease melodic counter by 1
<  = increase melodic counter by 10
>  = decrease melodic counter by 10
M  = increase SPEED by 1 up (SPEED goes from 1 to B, 1 being fastest)
W  = increase SPEED by 1 up ( wraps up to C)
<> = jump to random position
*  = random note

› >Spacetime 6502 links and downloads<

‹ >Spacetime 6502 links and downloads<

-Official page + source code
-ROM file, hosted by Cementimental!
-Backup link of above
-Spacetime 6502's informative forum thread

› >Notes:<

‹ >Notes:<

-Pressing START will make you quit music editor and lose your progress - don't press it!
-You move around patterns by selecting them with B button
-Make sure to save often your tunes - each one can be held under different BGM number
-Most of instruments are actually a copy of each other, just 1-2 octaves higher
-Sometimes you can only place note while pressing B
-Changing Tone won't take effect until you restart the sequencer
-You can copy currently viewed pattern onto another - press "A" button to copy!