Disclaimer: I've been meaning to make a blog post about this, perhaps with example files. This is a rough draft for a treatice on mixing NES bgm music (as opposed to hit singles / chip tunes). It's not fully formulated, but in the end i might add a 'standard' with the goal to keep various titles at a similar volume. Note that not all video game compositions from the commercial era follow these "rules" (often to the games' disadvantage, IMO).
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I've noticed that ftm/nsf files sometimes/often have tonal "instruments" peaking at full blowing volume. This seems to be fairly common in the chiptune scene, and for a reason - your instinct is likely to want the track to make an impression and grab attention.
For video game background/soundtrack music, i strongly advice against it. Actually, i'd advice against it overall, but especially for bgm. Here's why.
Ears/the aural sense apparatus/our brain gets tired when exposed to constant or loud sound sources. Your songs will loop indefinitely/for a period determined by the input of the player.
For a rather long period, the music/record industry compressed songs in the mastering process to be maxed out. This, when played as a single between radio talk etc, makes the song force itself on the listener. You can't avoid it. It helps the song win/grab attention (regardless its content). This is also true for commercials, which go to the absolute extreme since they don't need to think of audio quality the same way. That's what you want, at least commercially, for a "hit single". But listen for more than a few minutes or on a few songs in a row, or a loop going perpetually, and the ears will grow tired quickly.
There was, for a period, especially late 90s/early 00s, a plague on cd:s (Metallica's st:anger cd album is a "nice" example) where the volume was maxed out like this, completely ruining the experience in long term. Hopefully online distros have remastered cd:s from that period.
Anyway, the ideal is having a significant dynamic range between short peaks and the average mass of sound.
The complete mix/master should 'look' something like this:
Not like this:
With the right blend, you can evoke emotions and grab attention (where appropriate), without tiring out ears.
Here's a bullet list on goals:
-The "sound bed" should be low enough to let the ears rest, but strong enough to not vanish.
-Peaks are primarily for percussion and secondarily for rythm (especially rythm bass, not so much mid/treble).
-Melody peaks should be significantly lower than percussion peaks.
-pads/recorders/flutes/reeds and other constant-sustain instruments should blend smoothly at 'sound bed' level.
-Bright and mid-bright sounds should often be mixed in quiter than low and low-mid sounds. That's because the ear is more sensitive to such sounds.
-Short percussion sounds can be as strong as you want/need. Prolonged noise sounds (long splash 80s snare hits, sweeps) shoud be toned down a little.
-Since bass sounds takes more energy to be percieved as the same level as mid-brights, it's no problem if a tri bass is at full volume. It is actually percieved as a more even and natural mix.
Practically, this means a few things in famitracker:
-Squares, who most often serve as leads, pads, and melodious stabs, should generally be lower in volume.
-Tri can't be changed, and should be reserved for bass and percussion
-If your melodious instruments peak at F, you should set the volume channel to somewhere between 8 (weak) and C/D (very strong).
-If your driver doesn't support the volume channel or you need to use it for something else, keep your instrument peaks somewhere in the mid range.
As a bonus, this also gives you more control of sfx sounds: do you want it to stand out or melt in, or somewhere in between? The choice is more readily available now.
Side notes:
-Young ears are generally more tolerant of constant volume masses.
-But less tolerant of super-bright noises
-people in the ADHD and ADD spectra have different tolerances for constant, repeating and changing sounds than people outside the ADHD/ADD spectra.
=====
I've noticed that ftm/nsf files sometimes/often have tonal "instruments" peaking at full blowing volume. This seems to be fairly common in the chiptune scene, and for a reason - your instinct is likely to want the track to make an impression and grab attention.
For video game background/soundtrack music, i strongly advice against it. Actually, i'd advice against it overall, but especially for bgm. Here's why.
Ears/the aural sense apparatus/our brain gets tired when exposed to constant or loud sound sources. Your songs will loop indefinitely/for a period determined by the input of the player.
For a rather long period, the music/record industry compressed songs in the mastering process to be maxed out. This, when played as a single between radio talk etc, makes the song force itself on the listener. You can't avoid it. It helps the song win/grab attention (regardless its content). This is also true for commercials, which go to the absolute extreme since they don't need to think of audio quality the same way. That's what you want, at least commercially, for a "hit single". But listen for more than a few minutes or on a few songs in a row, or a loop going perpetually, and the ears will grow tired quickly.
There was, for a period, especially late 90s/early 00s, a plague on cd:s (Metallica's st:anger cd album is a "nice" example) where the volume was maxed out like this, completely ruining the experience in long term. Hopefully online distros have remastered cd:s from that period.
Anyway, the ideal is having a significant dynamic range between short peaks and the average mass of sound.
The complete mix/master should 'look' something like this:
Code:
__/\__/\._/\_._
/ \
Where the peaks are percussion, mainly. "." are lower melody peaks.
/ \
Where the peaks are percussion, mainly. "." are lower melody peaks.
Not like this:
Code:
._.___._._.___
/ \
/ \
Where the absolute peaks are a tiring mix of melody peaks and percussion peaks; and/or the summed sound floor is up close to the roof.
/ \
/ \
Where the absolute peaks are a tiring mix of melody peaks and percussion peaks; and/or the summed sound floor is up close to the roof.
With the right blend, you can evoke emotions and grab attention (where appropriate), without tiring out ears.
Here's a bullet list on goals:
-The "sound bed" should be low enough to let the ears rest, but strong enough to not vanish.
-Peaks are primarily for percussion and secondarily for rythm (especially rythm bass, not so much mid/treble).
-Melody peaks should be significantly lower than percussion peaks.
-pads/recorders/flutes/reeds and other constant-sustain instruments should blend smoothly at 'sound bed' level.
-Bright and mid-bright sounds should often be mixed in quiter than low and low-mid sounds. That's because the ear is more sensitive to such sounds.
-Short percussion sounds can be as strong as you want/need. Prolonged noise sounds (long splash 80s snare hits, sweeps) shoud be toned down a little.
-Since bass sounds takes more energy to be percieved as the same level as mid-brights, it's no problem if a tri bass is at full volume. It is actually percieved as a more even and natural mix.
Practically, this means a few things in famitracker:
-Squares, who most often serve as leads, pads, and melodious stabs, should generally be lower in volume.
-Tri can't be changed, and should be reserved for bass and percussion
-If your melodious instruments peak at F, you should set the volume channel to somewhere between 8 (weak) and C/D (very strong).
-If your driver doesn't support the volume channel or you need to use it for something else, keep your instrument peaks somewhere in the mid range.
As a bonus, this also gives you more control of sfx sounds: do you want it to stand out or melt in, or somewhere in between? The choice is more readily available now.
Side notes:
-Young ears are generally more tolerant of constant volume masses.
-But less tolerant of super-bright noises
-people in the ADHD and ADD spectra have different tolerances for constant, repeating and changing sounds than people outside the ADHD/ADD spectra.