I want to sequence NSF into original music, but theres...

I want to sequence NSF into original music, but theres...
by White Bomberman on 2007-12-31 (#29968)

something I dont get. After a while, I have been able to compile all the NSF files of the original nes games.

What I would like to do is sequence them in some kind of software, fruity loops or acoustica beatcraft.

I would like two things: 1) Be able to edit every audio bit, and 2) every track. Meaning; i just dont want to make a remix all the track, i just want to substract the soundsthe sounds of those nts files o make something completely different using bits of thei track or isolated sounds of the tracks.

Sorry if i dont explain myself good. I dont know all the language you use to refer to NSF and NES stuff. So... basically... how do i do it? What softwares do i need to make the kind of music that 8bit music bands do?

I currently use ACiD mostly for instrument track recordings and to sequence drums, not for its midi. The only midi experience i have is fooling around with FL. Any tutorials, recommendations? What should i do next?

Id really appreciate your help!

by atari2600a on 2007-12-31 (#29969)

It'd be much more easier to simply play the NSF's in an emulator, disable audio channels if needed, dump it onto a WAV, & cut that up in an audio editor like Goldwave, then import into FruityLoops...

by White Bomberman on 2007-12-31 (#29970)

Oh wow, that would take lots of time if i want to have a big library.

by White Bomberman on 2007-12-31 (#29971)

i use FCE ultra, how do i disable channels in that emulator?

by Memblers on 2007-12-31 (#29972)

NSF files are actually computer programs in themselves, so it's not easy to edit them. The best way will be to figure out the song (I've done some accurate recreations in Fasttracker2 at http://nesdev.com/music/), I did it by disabling all channels except for one and picking out the notes/timing. You could do that and record samples from an NSF player.

Also the NSF Player I wrote will show the notes, but it might be kinda weird to mess with since it's an SNES program.

by Memblers on 2007-12-31 (#29973)

White Bomberman wrote:
i use FCE ultra, how do i disable channels in that emulator?

I don't think you can, not all emulators have that feature.

by White Bomberman on 2007-12-31 (#29974)

Gee. I dont know... if it was that hard there wouldnt be so much remixes or bands that use... hmmm... Any other recommendtions? In the case I dump the wavs, is there a way the wav into the original sounds channels? hahaha im supposing not, just asking.

by atari2600a on 2007-12-31 (#29976)

Most remixes can be done w/ notes taken from ready-made MIDI's, & alot of bands that use 8-bit sounds use real hardware like the C64's SID.

by NotTheCommonDose on 2007-12-31 (#29977)

atari2600a wrote:
It'd be much more easier to simply play the NSF's in an emulator, disable audio channels if needed, dump it onto a WAV, & cut that up in an audio editor like Goldwave, then import into FruityLoops...

He's right it's the most easiest way but time consuming.

by White Bomberman on 2007-12-31 (#29981)

Wow, tnx! Well, I have taken notes o what you told me today. Im going to use the wav file thing while I can get the real thing. Is that C64' SID a synth, a software, is it new, or old? What other hardware/synth do you recommend for making music in generl, including 8 bit and relinstruments stuff? Im thinking into getting a Roland but i dont know.

oh, i have another question but ill make a new thread for it.

Happy new year! And tnx for your fast replies!

by B00daW on 2008-01-03 (#30038)

White Bomberman:

Sir sir sir... How come you're not trying to track with FamiTracker?

Knowledge and skills needed for FamiTracker:

1.) RTFMity: Read the manual about the effects commands.
2.) Hexadecimal: 0-F = 0-15, yo.
3.) Basic music theory: At first, just learning how to stay in the key of C -- and that's just staying within natural/white notes, for the most part.
4.) Patience/Devotion/Love: Without it, you'll get bored or frustrated in 5 minutes.
5.) A touch of insanity: Original music is made by those who think outside of the expected genres.

That's about it.

--

Like you were talking about before, you can track each channel individually and even mute tracks. If you felt like it, you could meticulously port or retrack certain NES/Fami music that you love. To do that, you really only need a few things.

1.) Square shaping: Learn how volume envelopes and duty effect the flavor of your instrument. Learn by mimicking and/or experimentation.
2.) Noise shaping: See above. Note: Duty only works at certain percentages on the Noise channel (25% and 75%.)
3.) DPCM ripping/sampling: DPCM being 1-bit and favoring low frequencies has very poor range of sound. Sample clean and low. Clean and low = win. Also the effective use of FamiTracker's new Yxx command (look it up) could help you save time in associating "note keys" with samples if you cut the right sample and also gives you more control over the channel itself. Beware: Yxx can break some emulated plugins, but works flawlessly on hardware. Yxx is only useful in longer samples though.

That's it. Triangle is very basic. You can only effect the volume envelope by turning it on and off (ex: 0, 1.)

--

As for which channels do what...

Square is your choir, guitar, lead singer, sound effects, thumps -- pretty much everything. There are two square channels to make chords, duets, more complicated melodies, add depth, echo, and interesting complexity to the composition. (Speaking about thumps, you can eliminate the need for DPCM kicks by toying with volume, pitch, and duty envelopes to make square kicks -- ask me if you want precise instructions.)

Triangle is your bass and spine. Yup.

Noise can be your hi-hats, snare, sound effects, or bizarre instruments.

DPCM is yours to shape however you want. It's intimidating at first, liberating second.

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Ask around. People are here to help you. Follow your dreams.