Hey guys. I hope you're all having fun chiptuning. I really want to get into making 8bit music in LSDJ, and I have an idea of what hardware I want for it. Currently, I'm going to purchase a gameboy pocket with backlight and pro-sound from Thursday Customs. I've seen his stuff in Kitsch Bent's website so I feel like I can trust his product will be good. However, I've read that the MGB has short battery life when it runs LSDJ. That doesn't bother me too much, as long as I can get a good 7 hours out of each pair of batteries. Anyone here who uses an MGB to make chiptunes? Also, I'd like to know if the 1/8" jack is the size for universal headphones. I might need to find and adapter if it's not. If you guys have any information on it, It'll help a LOT, since I've emailed both Kitsch Bent, Thursday Customs AND nonfinite electronics about it, and I've had no answer in a few days. Thanks!
awesome. but do you know about the battery life? I haven't even started learning how to use LSDJ so i don't need the fanciest piece of software. I read that the 32 mb EMS cartridge was the cause of the battery drain, but I've read no confirmation on it. I plan on buying the newer, 64 mb version of the EMS so all I need to know it how much battery life I get on it with each pair of AAA batteries. about 5 to 7 hours is good enough for me
or maybe it is the CARTRIDGE battery that drains, not the console's. that could be an explanation.
the pocket's been known to cause battery drain in EMS carts. also in general i wouldn't recommend it. The processor isn't very fast (it would crash when i tried to play more complicated stuff i had written on a DMG) and the sound isn't good either, compared to the DMG.
why don't we have like a sticky thread with this stuff, it gets asked constantly
Hmm. Good points. Ive taken the time to listen to your music. Pretty complicated chiptunes (and good, by the way). I read a modding blog that shows how to take the hum out of the MGB, which is what makes its sound with lesser quality compared to the DMG. Apparently, its the prosound mod and thats what im having installed. On accounts of the crashing, ive read some good reviews of the MGB and some bad ones as well over the last few days, so i dont know exactly what to conclude. I think it'll be reasonable to talk about the hardware specs with the people that sell them. Maybe they have solutions for slow processing. And again, i havent even touched LSDJ yet so my chiptunes will be pretty robust for a while. I do plan on buying a $150 dmg with the best quality later on, but i like to follow the advice i got when i was learning both guitar and harmonica : train with a really crappy instrument, and learn it well. When you get the best equipment, youll be 10 times better than you expected.
I have both a pocket and DMG. I don't use LSDJ, but I love the pocket. It isn't practical for chiptune, but I'd pick it any day.
Anyways - my pocket Is unmodded and the battery life is pretty bad as it is, just sayin'.
And pockets are usually more expensive?
Now, practicality is important. I learned harmonica with a piece-a-sh!t $5 harmonica, but it was still aharmonica with ten holes that worked. Maybe i will buy the DMG after all.
Just heard the dmg/mgb difference. Things are looking better for the dmg
it's not just the noise floor, the cpu itself is lower quality, which the soundchip is built into. DMG, MGB and CGB all have different CPUs.
You can kind of think of it in terms of attribute points. The more points you spend on compactness, the less you have available for sound quality.
DMG and MGB have different CPUs.
Are you sure?
Saskrotch wrote:DMG and MGB have different CPUs.
Are you sure?
Yes. DMG, MGB, and CGB are the names of the chips, it's not just the model number.
It's the same CPU architecture from the software's point of view. GBC obviously has extended functionality while the functionality is same in DMG and MGB CPUs. But the CPUs are quite possibly made with different manufacturing processes, which could influence the sound. There are of course also other differences in the design apart from the actual CPU chip. This includes the voltage regulator and the audio amplifier (assuming you're not using a prosounded unit) and just the fact that the MGB and GBC are using two AA/AAA batteries instead of four.
Ok then. I always thought that the sound differences between DMG and MGB are caused by amps and other stuff and not by CPU. Guess there is no actual data on this anyway...