I made an 8bit Ska Grindgore songs

[Thunderbolt]

Midi can transfer in either 8-bit or 16-bit. You're track is using the RSE engine which is 16-bit.


 
This. There's 8-bit, and then there's faux 8-bit. You need to be using oldschool gear like Commodore 64s, Game Boys, and things like that. It's all about working within the limited dynamic range.

I didn't knew that. Do you know a program that uses 8-bit midi?

[Insomnia]

I didn't knew that. Do you know a program that uses 8-bit midi?

Technically if you just disabled the RSE sound engine in Guitar Pro, the default sounds are 8-bit, they just don't have the tone that is typically associated with the chiptune genre. If you want to take a step in the right direction, I'd buy a copy of the LSDJ rom, it's only like $3. Boot up a Game Boy emulator, and throw yourself in headfirst. Thankfully, the chiptune community has a'sploded in the past few years, and there are actually decent tutorials out there now. There will still be plenty of brain melting, but it should be easier than what I went through. An alternative to LSDJ would be Nanoloop.

An example of LSDJ:
[video=youtube;U-Ha5I5x6_o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Ha5I5x6_o[/video]

If that all seems like too much, throw '8-bit tracker' into Google and see what you can come up with. If you have an iPhone, there are a lot of homebrew apps out there now that have enormous capabilities and replicate the sound fairly well. Some examples of these would be 8bitone, NESynth, and even Nanoloop has been released for the iPhone.

8bitone:
[video=youtube;rzlWaY8hh_Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzlWaY8hh_Y[/video]

I've seen a lot of people using trackers coded that must've been coded for Windows 98 and older, and those old programs sound pretty damn good too.

Impulse Tracker
[video=youtube;Jv-HKv2Ndgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv-HKv2Ndgo[/video]

Let me know if you've got any questions. See the drunk thread for my credentials.

[Thunderbolt]

Technically if you just disabled the RSE sound engine in Guitar Pro, the default sounds are 8-bit, they just don't have the tone that is typically associated with the chiptune genre. If you want to take a step in the right direction, I'd buy a copy of the LSDJ rom, it's only like $3. Boot up a Game Boy emulator, and throw yourself in headfirst. Thankfully, the chiptune community has a'sploded in the past few years, and there are actually decent tutorials out there now. There will still be plenty of brain melting, but it should be easier than what I went through. An alternative to LSDJ would be Nanoloop.

An example of LSDJ:
[video=youtube;U-Ha5I5x6_o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Ha5I5x6_o[/video]

If that all seems like too much, throw '8-bit tracker' into Google and see what you can come up with. If you have an iPhone, there are a lot of homebrew apps out there now that have enormous capabilities and replicate the sound fairly well. Some examples of these would be 8bitone, NESynth, and even Nanoloop has been released for the iPhone.

8bitone:
[video=youtube;rzlWaY8hh_Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzlWaY8hh_Y[/video]

I've seen a lot of people using trackers coded that must've been coded for Windows 98 and older, and those old programs sound pretty damn good too.

Impulse Tracker
[video=youtube;Jv-HKv2Ndgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv-HKv2Ndgo[/video]

Let me know if you've got any questions. See the drunk thread for my credentials.

Thanks, this realy is a big help for me.
I'll try to disable the RSE sound engine, and check how it sounds.

LDSJ is even $2, do I need a BGC to use the ROMfile?

Too bad I don't have an IPhone. The program looks very detailed though.

I will try Impulse Tracker tomorrow. It looks like a very great program.

How long are you into chiptune?

[Insomnia]

LDSJ is even $2, do I need a BGC to use the ROMfile?

You can use the rom file with an emulator, flash it to a gameboy cartridge if you have the gear/knowhow, or buy it from one of these two suppliers: kitsch-bent and Nonfinite. I highly suggest using nonfinite. The guy has great customer service, has been around for quite some time. I buy all my DIY kits from him.

Both sites should have the mini-usb cartridges, which are just fucking spectacular. I still need to get one. It's so easy to program and back up. The old way of doing was completely tedious and required three pieces of hardware. These carts will work on any Game Boy, I believe. I personally haven't tested it on a DS or 3DS.

How long are you into chiptune?

I've been into it off and on as a side project from my other musical endeavors. I think I first saw this video of Maru playing Insane Youth on youtube labeled Gameboy Music. There was no info, and no related videos. I stumbled upon it searching for an 8-bit guitar pedal. That was back in 06.

In 07 I spotted another video, and I finally found info! I got my copy of LSDJ a year later. In the early days it was very hard to do it yourself. The people who were selling cartridges were selling the original LSDJ carts which were very rare and were out of production for quite some time.

So I've been into this for quite some time, but I've really only had a few years to screw around with it when I had free time. Honestly, I'm just starting to get the hang of it. It's some complicated shit for the most part.

Here are those videos I mentioned. They've been my main inspirations.

Nullsleep - Salvation For A Broken Heart

[video=youtube;rgoz_cPEM8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgoz_cPEM8A[/video]

Maru - Insane Youth (live clip)

[video=youtube;CtWNNpp8Xds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtWNNpp8Xds[/video]

Maru - Insane Youth (album version)
TURN YOUR SPEAKERS DOWN 20%

[video=youtube;9eQaxy8mANM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQaxy8mANM[/video]

Another path to choose is using 8b-t sample packs in FruityLoops, Reason, Ableton, etc. It's not going to have the same feel, but it passes. Some of the snobbier people in the community frown on it, but I honestly think that mixing a little bit of samples with an actual DMG can have fantastic results. Unicorn Kid is a great example of that, although he does use some 16 bit samples and synths.

[video=youtube;doo1fVPu4c4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doo1fVPu4c4[/video]

[Thunderbolt]

You can use the rom file with an emulator, flash it to a gameboy cartridge if you have the gear/knowhow, or buy it from one of these two suppliers: kitsch-bent and Nonfinite. I highly suggest using nonfinite. The guy has great customer service, has been around for quite some time. I buy all my DIY kits from him.

Both sites should have the mini-usb cartridges, which are just fucking spectacular. I still need to get one. It's so easy to program and back up. The old way of doing was completely tedious and required three pieces of hardware. These carts will work on any Game Boy, I believe. I personally haven't tested it on a DS or 3DS.

I must have my GBC here somewhere.
Is it possible to ship to the Netherlands?
 

I've been into it off and on as a side project from my other musical endeavors. I think I first saw this video of Maru playing Insane Youth on youtube labeled Gameboy Music. There was no info, and no related videos. I stumbled upon it searching for an 8-bit guitar pedal. That was back in 06.

In 07 I spotted another video, and I finally found info! I got my copy of LSDJ a year later. In the early days it was very hard to do it yourself. The people who were selling cartridges were selling the original LSDJ carts which were very rare and were out of production for quite some time.

So I've been into this for quite some time, but I've really only had a few years to screw around with it when I had free time. Honestly, I'm just starting to get the hang of it. It's some complicated shit for the most part.

Do you use a GBC, or the older one?

Nullsleep - Salvation For A Broken Heart
[video=youtube;rgoz_cPEM8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgoz_cPEM8A[/video]

Maru - Insane Youth (live clip)

[video=youtube;CtWNNpp8Xds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtWNNpp8Xds[/video]

How does chiptune work live? What do the buttons on the gameboy do?
Did you ever play chiptune live?

Maru - Insane Youth (album version)
TURN YOUR SPEAKERS DOWN 20%

[video=youtube;9eQaxy8mANM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQaxy8mANM[/video]

Very nice song. This is the best chiptune I heared so far. I realy like the movie too.

Another path to choose is using 8b-t sample packs in FruityLoops, Reason, Ableton, etc. It's not going to have the same feel, but it passes. Some of the snobbier people in the community frown on it, but I honestly think that mixing a little bit of samples with an actual DMG can have fantastic results. Unicorn Kid is a great example of that, although he does use some 16 bit samples and synths.

[video=youtube;doo1fVPu4c4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doo1fVPu4c4[/video]

I might try it with Fruityloops, because I have it installed atm.
You have been a realy great help.

Do you have experience with Impulse Tracker?

I installed it. But so far I only found out how to load instuments.

Also: I know someone IRL who makes chiptune
(http://www.myspace.com/markmccloud)

[Insomnia]

Is it possible to ship to the Netherlands?

I'd expect so, this is a global community. Check their shipping policies. I vaguely remember there may have been a UK supplier.
 

Do you use a GBC, or the older one?

The older one. I should've clarified this earlier. When I've been referencing DMG (Dot Matrix Game), I've meant the original Game Boys. It's common shorthand for them, as opposed to saying original or classic. The DMG chipset has a better sound chip on. It's just thicker and warmer than any of the other Game Boys. When possible, people add a 'ProSound' mod. It bypasses the headphone jack for a direct out. This gives a nice boost in the lower frequencies.

How does chiptune work live? What do the buttons on the gameboy do?

Chiptune live gets complicated. For the most part, people don't 'play' LSDJ, or similar programs. You could, of course, just program this all in by hand, and just hit play, but people want to feel involved. So, in general, you're just pointing the tracker at what you want it to play next, making extended versions of songs, or adjusting certain parameters of an instrument/effect.

This isn't to say you can't 'play' a Game Boy. There is a program out there called Pixelh8 that makes the individual buttons trigger notes. I haven't used it, seemed way too limiting for me. The way most people do it is by modifying a PS/2 keyboard. LSDJ is programmed for this, and it works great. The best thing you can do, and I'm still working on this, is to build a MIDI adapter. Your Game Boy takes input from an outside source, typically a keyboard, but I'd use a guitar MIDI pick-up.

Here's a clip if Pixelh8. @7:14 Imogen Heap busts out a little demo of how to play it. The guy who programmed it seems to be a douchebag now and has taken it off his website, as well as any reference to it. Google for more info.

[video=youtube;MSXKCiQbFro]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXKCiQbFro[/video]

Did you ever play chiptune live?

I haven't really had a chance to perform. I go downtown and improvise some programming on the streets sometimes. I played some tracks for a city college LAN party if that counts for anything. I just haven't invested enough time into these side projects.

Do you have experience with Impulse Tracker?

Sorry, I haven't actually used any of those old programs. I managed to get my hands on an LSDJ cart before I found out they existed. There are probably more user friendly programs like Impulse out there, probably much newer.

[AC Slater]

I would have Nullsleep's children any day of the week; any month of the year.

If you end up going in the FL route (like me), here are some great vsts that I find useful:

Peach

Toad

Rebar

Triforce

Magical8bit[/b]

Drsid (This is really for drums).

UNKNOWN 64

ymVST

Those are just some of the ones I use. Hopefully that'll help you out.

[Thunderbolt]

Here's a clip if Pixelh8. @7:14 Imogen Heap busts out a little demo of how to play it. The guy who programmed it seems to be a douchebag now and has taken it off his website, as well as any reference to it. Google for more info.

[video=youtube;MSXKCiQbFro]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXKCiQbFro[/video]

It looks indeed a bit limited in the actions, but it looks fun enough to try.
I might try to find it, if I have the time.

I haven't really had a chance to perform. I go downtown and improvise some programming on the streets sometimes. I played some tracks for a city college LAN party if that counts for anything. I just haven't invested enough time into these side projects.

With this improvising, you meen like programming while you are using public transportation?
Playing tracks for a city college would be great. How many people were there?
Speaking of side projects. What is your main project?

Sorry, I haven't actually used any of those old programs. I managed to get my hands on an LSDJ cart before I found out they existed. There are probably more user friendly programs like Impulse out there, probably much newer.

Then I will try Impulse.

I would have Nullsleep's children any day of the week; any month of the year.

If you end up going in the FL route (like me), here are some great vsts that I find useful:

Peach

Toad

Rebar

Triforce

Magical8bit

Drsid (This is really for drums).

UNKNOWN 64

ymVST

Those are just some of the ones I use. Hopefully that'll help you out.

Thanks, I'll try them out when I have some time
Do you make your FL songs 100% chiptune?

[AC Slater]

Thanks, I'll try them out when I have some time
Do you make your FL songs 100% chiptune?

Not entirely. I combine them with other things such as acoustic guitars, flutes, etc. Although I am working on a song right now that uses nothing but those plugins.

[Insomnia]

With this improvising, you meen like programming while you are using public transportation?
Playing tracks for a city college would be great. How many people were there?
Speaking of side projects. What is your main project?

I like the idea of sitting on a bus forcing people to listen to my music. I may do this some day, but what I've been doing is just sitting on a portable amplifier downtown, busking. Improving with LSDJ is a bit of a chore, and really is hit and miss. Trying to program a new layer of notes before it's triggered is hard work, and isn't really all that impressive.

The CC I was at probably had 80+ at the time I was there. People didn't start trickling in until later. I only played 1 & 1/2 original tracks and a cover of I'm Still Alive. I've always wanted to do more for their events, since they're yearly, but they never give me enough notice.

As for my main project... there really isn't one. I've been constantly juggling side projects since my best friend & bassist moved to New York. He was the connecting factor between me, and the rest of the band. At this point, I'm trying to salvage the songs I had written for a full band and condensing it down to the bare essentials. I'll end up doing a singer songwriter thing, most likely.

[Thunderbolt]

I like the idea of sitting on a bus forcing people to listen to my music. I may do this some day, but what I've been doing is just sitting on a portable amplifier downtown, busking. Improving with LSDJ is a bit of a chore, and really is hit and miss. Trying to program a new layer of notes before it's triggered is hard work, and isn't really all that impressive.

I hope the people in the bus would like that idea too.
Did you get any comments/reaction from people, when you were downtown?

The CC I was at probably had 80+ at the time I was there. People didn't start trickling in until later. I only played 1 & 1/2 original tracks and a cover of I'm Still Alive. I've always wanted to do more for their events, since they're yearly, but they never give me enough notice.

Did you get any possitive reactions from people, autograph requests or something like that?

As for my main project... there really isn't one. I've been constantly juggling side projects since my best friend & bassist moved to New York. He was the connecting factor between me, and the rest of the band. At this point, I'm trying to salvage the songs I had written for a full band and condensing it down to the bare essentials. I'll end up doing a singer songwriter thing, most likely.

I know what you meen. It's hard to find people who you can play with.
I have been in 3 bands over the last 3 months, but none of them realy seem to be my genre.
I still enjoy playing with the bands, because of the people in it. But if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't play.
I play bass myself. A friend of mine has a decent music taste and can play guitar, so I can play songs with him. But he dislikes ska and punk, so I am still limited in the songs I can play with him.


On a side note:

I made a new track: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/405342
(I messed with the pan on all the instruments.)

I would love to hear your opinions.

[Insomnia]

I hope the people in the bus would like that idea too.
Did you get any comments/reaction from people, when you were downtown?

Usually money. I used to make a lot of cash downtown playing guitar, but more and more people have started doing that, so it became harder to make much, then the recession it and it became pointless. When I've gone down there with my Gameboy, people were much more interested, but barely ever dropped any cash. Most people enjoy the novelty more than the music.

Did you get any positive reactions from people, autograph requests or something like that?

Not quite at the autograph point yet. I reached D-list local celebrity status after being recognized a few times, but that dissipated quickly. I've met a few people who actually knew what the chiptune scene was, who were ecstatic coming upon me with a backlit Game Boy. The most I've ever kind of got handed was an open hand from a local music crew who put together shows, and had the only chiptune music in 50 miles. A bunch of great guys, very welcoming, and they had all the alcohol I could possibly want, and some wonderful party favors. Sadly they moved down to LA last year.

I made a new track: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/405342
(I messed with the pan on all the instruments.)

I would love to hear your opinions.

This is a much better effort. It's got some interesting composition, maybe too many bass solos/breaks. My only real criticism is that you're very reliant on the quarter note/eighth note mentality. Lots of sequential notes with the same duration. The best thing you could do is start dabbling with different rhythms. Also, was there a kick drum? It wasn't coming through the mix on my laptop speakers. I'll give it a listen on my monitors when people wake up.

Edit: This is one of the longest pages I've seen on CC in like ever.

[Thunderbolt]

Usually money. I used to make a lot of cash downtown playing guitar, but more and more people have started doing that, so it became harder to make much, then the recession it and it became pointless. When I've gone down there with my Gameboy, people were much more interested, but barely ever dropped any cash. Most people enjoy the novelty more than the music.

Did you play acoustic guitar? Or did you play electric and take your amp with you?
I see alot of people playing instuments on the streets here in holland. Most of them are realy good. I guess the competition is big.

Not quite at the autograph point yet. I reached D-list local celebrity status after being recognized a few times, but that dissipated quickly. I've met a few people who actually knew what the chiptune scene was, who were ecstatic coming upon me with a backlit Game Boy. The most I've ever kind of got handed was an open hand from a local music crew who put together shows, and had the only chiptune music in 50 miles. A bunch of great guys, very welcoming, and they had all the alcohol I could possibly want, and some wonderful party favors. Sadly they moved down to LA last year.

That sucks. Can't you visit them sometimes, or is it too far away from you?

 

This is a much better effort. It's got some interesting composition, maybe too many bass solos/breaks. My only real criticism is that you're very reliant on the quarter note/eighth note mentality. Lots of sequential notes with the same duration. The best thing you could do is start dabbling with different rhythms. Also, was there a kick drum? It wasn't coming through the mix on my laptop speakers. I'll give it a listen on my monitors when people wake up.

I'll try to do more different rhythms in my next song. In some other songs I didn't do that though.
There was a kickdrum in it. You can hear it the best in the beginning, at the end, and on the part after the first guitar part.
I think I'll try to add less bass on the next songs I make.

Edit: This is one of the longest pages I've seen on CC in like ever.

Haha, I notice now.

[Thunderbolt]

If anyone cares: I made a new song. http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/419187