lazygecko

And I don't even think the Sonic soundtracks make particularly effective use of the hardware, even if they sound good as they are. Last week I did a cover of Spring Yard precisely for this reason
My videos showcase each individual channel so you can kind of see what's going on. But I also made the Deflemask project public so you can download Deflemask and open it there to take a closer look at what I did differently from the original.
http://www.deflemask.com/forum/show-off-your-work/sonic-1-spring-yard-zone-(genesis)/

And I don't even think the Sonic soundtracks make particularly effective use of the hardware, even if they sound good as they are. Last week I did a cover of Spring Yard precisely for this reason
My videos showcase each individual channel so you can kind of see what's going on. But I also made the Deflemask project public so you can download Deflemask and open it there to take a closer look at what I did differently from the original.
http://www.deflemask.com/forum/show-off-your-work/sonic-1-spring-yard-zone-(genesis)/

And I don't even think the Sonic soundtracks make particularly effective use of the hardware, even if they sound good as they are. Last week I did a cover of Spring Yard precisely for this reason
My videos showcase each individual channel so you can kind of see what's going on. But I also made the Deflemask project public so you can download Deflemask and open it there to take a closer look at what I did differently from the original.
http://www.deflemask.com/forum/show-off-your-work/sonic-1-spring-yard-zone-(genesis)/

Just the physical part of replicating vibrations in your eardrums is merely a part of what constitutes your actual hearing. After that it's all up to the brain to turn this sensory input into something you can understand. And this is the part of you that is very malleable. We are really constantly subjected to a lot more sounds than what we actually percieve, because our brains get wired to filter out a whole bunch of information we don't deem relevant to needing our active attention. Training ourselves to overcome this is what mostly constitutes "good ears", rather than what the range of our frequency spectrum covers.

And I don't even think the Sonic soundtracks make particularly effective use of the hardware, even if they sound good as they are. Last week I did a cover of Spring Yard precisely for this reason
My videos showcase each individual channel so you can kind of see what's going on. But I also made the Deflemask project public so you can download Deflemask and open it there to take a closer look at what I did differently from the original.
http://www.deflemask.com/forum/show-off-your-work/sonic-1-spring-yard-zone-(genesis)/

This sounds like something Chris Hülsbeck would have made. The fact that Chris is in the file name also lends credence to this. He was involved with developing audio compression technology for the GBA which was licensed out to various developers.

Deconstructing old sequenced music and listening to the separate components is one of the most interesting things you can do, and an extremly efficient learning tool. Not just for learning how chiptunes were made, but just growing and becoming a better musician in general. Elements that sound very simple and detached on their own but fuse to become more than the sum of their parts, or just knowing when to kill your darlings (like getting rid of the root note of a chord to save channel space, which the bass is already playing anyway) is not just a chiptune thing but also arrangement 101 and ultimately a means to getting a well balanced mix (since arrangement and mixing is largely intertwined). I feel as though it's a skillset that is becoming more and more rare in today's production climate. Top-tier arrangers do this kind of stuff all the time even when they're not beholden to technical limitations.
I think it's worthwhile for any musician, no matter what genre, to dabble around with chiptunes. And by that I mean specifically working with getting the most out of these constraints and not just resorting to "bleeps and bloops" which is the usual reductive thinking applied to this type of music. It's such a great way of training yourself in these elements and really start thinking actively about them overall.
I have provided 2 "stem" archives for some Genesis soundtracks I find technically interesting, by just isolating the channels and rendering them into .wavs so you can load them all up in a DAW and thoroughly analyze what's going on in them. You can do this yourself using the [url=http://www.smspower.org/Music/InVgm]in_vgm plugin for Winamp with anything from [url=http://project2612.org/]Project2612
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20Stems.zip
Notice how the rhythm guitar here is split up into 2 layers with different sounds. One for mids and one for treble. Then these are "dubbed" once again and panned (as well as detuned slightly for a chorus effect), taking up 4 channels in total to create this huge wall of guitars that is pretty much equivalent of a fully fledged studio metal production.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Devilish%20Intro%20Stems.zip
I really like how the simple PSG squares synergize with the FM bells here to create a very vibrant sound. You can also hear how the "choirs" are really the same kind of synth string section you often hear on the system, but it just has this fast upwards pitch bend in the attack which adds this kind of formant quality to it that we usually associate with voices.

Deconstructing old sequenced music and listening to the separate components is one of the most interesting things you can do, and an extremly efficient learning tool. Not just for learning how chiptunes were made, but just growing and becoming a better musician in general. Elements that sound very simple and detached on their own but fuse to become more than the sum of their parts, or just knowing when to kill your darlings (like getting rid of the root note of a chord to save channel space, which the bass is already playing anyway) is not just a chiptune thing but also arrangement 101 and ultimately a means to getting a well balanced mix (since arrangement and mixing is largely intertwined). I feel as though it's a skillset that is becoming more and more rare in today's production climate. Top-tier arrangers do this kind of stuff all the time even when they're not beholden to technical limitations.
I think it's worthwhile for any musician, no matter what genre, to dabble around with chiptunes. And by that I mean specifically working with getting the most out of these constraints and not just resorting to "bleeps and bloops" which is the usual reductive thinking applied to this type of music. It's such a great way of training yourself in these elements and really start thinking actively about them overall.
I have provided 2 "stem" archives for some Genesis soundtracks I find technically interesting, by just isolating the channels and rendering them into .wavs so you can load them all up in a DAW and thoroughly analyze what's going on in them. You can do this yourself using the [url=http://www.smspower.org/Music/InVgm]in_vgm plugin for Winamp with anything from [url=http://project2612.org/]Project2612
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20Stems.zip
Notice how the rhythm guitar here is split up into 2 layers with different sounds. One for mids and one for treble. Then these are "dubbed" once again and panned (as well as detuned slightly for a chorus effect), taking up 4 channels in total to create this huge wall of guitars that is pretty much equivalent of a fully fledged studio metal production.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Devilish%20Intro%20Stems.zip
I really like how the simple PSG squares synergize with the FM bells here to create a very vibrant sound. You can also hear how the "choirs" are really the same kind of synth string section you often hear on the system, but it just has this fast upwards pitch bend in the attack which adds this kind of formant quality to it that we usually associate with voices.

The ratios/multipliers follow the overtone series, which is a great point of reference. So if 1 is the base tone, then 2 is an octave, and on 3 you add a fifth, at 4 it's an octave again, etc. And then the intervals just gradually get smaller as the values get higher.
Modulator/carrier ratios corresponding to octaves, fifths, or fourths are going to have a neutral and clear character to the timbre, because we call those intervals perfect for a reason. If you have ratios that are much smaller, like 8:9 or something, then the sound will have a more dissonant character to it.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc...
The term chiptune has been malleable since its inception. IIRC, the term itself was coined when describing sample-based Amiga modules attempting to mimic the sound of SID and other sound chips. So approximitations like that was enough to qualify it as such. But then today you have some purists who would go so far as to say that anything that isn't coming from an authentic chip in real time is not an actual chiptune, which would technically disqualify that which the name was actually initially describing.
I don't really like chiptune or chipmusic as a genre name for reasons like those. But then, genres in general are messy fluid things that seldom ever make sense. The early Russian examples use a different method of producing the sounds, but in the end the characteristics and sequencing techniques are much the same. It's a neat example of a kind of inevitable musical convergence derived from technical constraints.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc...
The term chiptune has been malleable since its inception. IIRC, the term itself was coined when describing sample-based Amiga modules attempting to mimic the sound of SID and other sound chips. So approximitations like that was enough to qualify it as such. But then today you have some purists who would go so far as to say that anything that isn't coming from an authentic chip in real time is not an actual chiptune, which would technically disqualify that which the name was actually initially describing.
I don't really like chiptune or chipmusic as a genre name for reasons like those. But then, genres in general are messy fluid things that seldom ever make sense. The early Russian examples use a different method of producing the sounds, but in the end the characteristics and sequencing techniques are much the same. It's a neat example of a kind of inevitable musical convergence derived from technical constraints.

We have to go deeper. 1-Bit single channel chiptunes.

We have to go deeper. 1-Bit single channel chiptunes.

We have to go deeper. 1-Bit single channel chiptunes.

Sonic 4 was a mobile game masquerading as a sequel.

Reboot
Base it much more heavily on the classic horror movie homage the original Castlevania was founded on. Maybe give it an old film style presentation and feel, which they've already played around with like the faux film reel effect in Castlevania 3, and sort of like what The House of the Dead games do.
3D action is fine, but it should be designed in a way that makes it slow and very methodical in its pacing like the original, as opposed to typical modern character action games like God of War or Bayonetta. I think slowing games down on purpose has a value that is getting more and more underappreciated. Progression-wise, I'd be fine with something inbetween Dark Souls and the Metroidvanias. Maybe even take some cues directly from classic survival horror.
Soundtrack should be Mellotron-infused Italian schlock horror rock in the vein of Goblin. Anima Morte is a good modern example, and doesn't really stray too far from established Castlevania music either.

Deconstructing old sequenced music and listening to the separate components is one of the most interesting things you can do, and an extremly efficient learning tool. Not just for learning how chiptunes were made, but just growing and becoming a better musician in general. Elements that sound very simple and detached on their own but fuse to become more than the sum of their parts, or just knowing when to kill your darlings (like getting rid of the root note of a chord to save channel space, which the bass is already playing anyway) is not just a chiptune thing but also arrangement 101 and ultimately a means to getting a well balanced mix (since arrangement and mixing is largely intertwined). I feel as though it's a skillset that is becoming more and more rare in today's production climate. Top-tier arrangers do this kind of stuff all the time even when they're not beholden to technical limitations.
I think it's worthwhile for any musician, no matter what genre, to dabble around with chiptunes. And by that I mean specifically working with getting the most out of these constraints and not just resorting to "bleeps and bloops" which is the usual reductive thinking applied to this type of music. It's such a great way of training yourself in these elements and really start thinking actively about them overall.
I have provided 2 "stem" archives for some Genesis soundtracks I find technically interesting, by just isolating the channels and rendering them into .wavs so you can load them all up in a DAW and thoroughly analyze what's going on in them. You can do this yourself using the [url=http://www.smspower.org/Music/InVgm]in_vgm plugin for Winamp with anything from [url=http://project2612.org/]Project2612
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20Stems.zip
Notice how the rhythm guitar here is split up into 2 layers with different sounds. One for mids and one for treble. Then these are "dubbed" once again and panned (as well as detuned slightly for a chorus effect), taking up 4 channels in total to create this huge wall of guitars that is pretty much equivalent of a fully fledged studio metal production.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Devilish%20Intro%20Stems.zip
I really like how the simple PSG squares synergize with the FM bells here to create a very vibrant sound. You can also hear how the "choirs" are really the same kind of synth string section you often hear on the system, but it just has this fast upwards pitch bend in the attack which adds this kind of formant quality to it that we usually associate with voices.

Deconstructing old sequenced music and listening to the separate components is one of the most interesting things you can do, and an extremly efficient learning tool. Not just for learning how chiptunes were made, but just growing and becoming a better musician in general. Elements that sound very simple and detached on their own but fuse to become more than the sum of their parts, or just knowing when to kill your darlings (like getting rid of the root note of a chord to save channel space, which the bass is already playing anyway) is not just a chiptune thing but also arrangement 101 and ultimately a means to getting a well balanced mix (since arrangement and mixing is largely intertwined). I feel as though it's a skillset that is becoming more and more rare in today's production climate. Top-tier arrangers do this kind of stuff all the time even when they're not beholden to technical limitations.
I think it's worthwhile for any musician, no matter what genre, to dabble around with chiptunes. And by that I mean specifically working with getting the most out of these constraints and not just resorting to "bleeps and bloops" which is the usual reductive thinking applied to this type of music. It's such a great way of training yourself in these elements and really start thinking actively about them overall.
I have provided 2 "stem" archives for some Genesis soundtracks I find technically interesting, by just isolating the channels and rendering them into .wavs so you can load them all up in a DAW and thoroughly analyze what's going on in them. You can do this yourself using the [url=http://www.smspower.org/Music/InVgm]in_vgm plugin for Winamp with anything from [url=http://project2612.org/]Project2612
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20Stems.zip
Notice how the rhythm guitar here is split up into 2 layers with different sounds. One for mids and one for treble. Then these are "dubbed" once again and panned (as well as detuned slightly for a chorus effect), taking up 4 channels in total to create this huge wall of guitars that is pretty much equivalent of a fully fledged studio metal production.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Devilish%20Intro%20Stems.zip
I really like how the simple PSG squares synergize with the FM bells here to create a very vibrant sound. You can also hear how the "choirs" are really the same kind of synth string section you often hear on the system, but it just has this fast upwards pitch bend in the attack which adds this kind of formant quality to it that we usually associate with voices.

At least back in the good old days, sham artists traced other people's works instead of just copypasting in Photoshop.

Seeing as composers didn't have a choice in the matter when originally composing for the hardware, it's pretty safe to say that the interpolation is part of the artistic intent.
I think with module-based music from Amiga and PC games the interpolation condundrum becomes more up in the air. Players from that era usually lacked any sort of filtering, but it's a standard feature today. Thus modern recordings of soundtracks (Like official OST releases or YouTube uploads) in those formats often end up with some form of interpolation active, which in many cases filters off the rough edges to a serious degree. I find this kind of aggravating since it often feels apparent to me that the aliasing is an intended part of the sound and not just a byproduct. One of the biggest examples I can think of is Isotoxin from Unreal. Here is a video of it with interpolation enabled:
 
And here is a recording I made from the original module without any interpolation:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/isotoxin.mp3
You can clearly hear just how excessively subdued the main distorted synth line becomes once you start filtering it. The aliasing adds so much brightness to it that it simply feels evident to me that this is how it was meant to sound in the mix, since you can at times barely even hear it in the full mix if all that aliasing is cut off.

Seeing as composers didn't have a choice in the matter when originally composing for the hardware, it's pretty safe to say that the interpolation is part of the artistic intent.
I think with module-based music from Amiga and PC games the interpolation condundrum becomes more up in the air. Players from that era usually lacked any sort of filtering, but it's a standard feature today. Thus modern recordings of soundtracks (Like official OST releases or YouTube uploads) in those formats often end up with some form of interpolation active, which in many cases filters off the rough edges to a serious degree. I find this kind of aggravating since it often feels apparent to me that the aliasing is an intended part of the sound and not just a byproduct. One of the biggest examples I can think of is Isotoxin from Unreal. Here is a video of it with interpolation enabled:
 
And here is a recording I made from the original module without any interpolation:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/isotoxin.mp3
You can clearly hear just how excessively subdued the main distorted synth line becomes once you start filtering it. The aliasing adds so much brightness to it that it simply feels evident to me that this is how it was meant to sound in the mix, since you can at times barely even hear it in the full mix if all that aliasing is cut off.

At least back in the good old days, sham artists traced other people's works instead of just copypasting in Photoshop.

I mostly just stick to the original 32khz rate and with filtering enabled.
What higher sample rates bring to the table is entirely dependant on the nature of the samples and how they are used in the respective soundtrack. If it contains sounds that are often played at tones above the native pitches they are stored in, then it might sound a bit brighter. I think soundtracks with lots of simplistic waveform sounds usually benefit the most from this. But a soundtrack like Super Metroid, which mostly uses instruments stored at a high pitch at 32khz and are then downsampled, will not gain anything from that.
Disabling or cutting back on interpolation is very hit and miss. I think it would generally follow the same rule of thumb I described above. Simple sounds might sound a bit sharper and crunchier with less interpolation which can arguably be a benefit. But the technical nature of a soundtrack like Super Metroid is actually just going to harm it and turn the whole thing into an aliased mess.

I mostly just stick to the original 32khz rate and with filtering enabled.
What higher sample rates bring to the table is entirely dependant on the nature of the samples and how they are used in the respective soundtrack. If it contains sounds that are often played at tones above the native pitches they are stored in, then it might sound a bit brighter. I think soundtracks with lots of simplistic waveform sounds usually benefit the most from this. But a soundtrack like Super Metroid, which mostly uses instruments stored at a high pitch at 32khz and are then downsampled, will not gain anything from that.
Disabling or cutting back on interpolation is very hit and miss. I think it would generally follow the same rule of thumb I described above. Simple sounds might sound a bit sharper and crunchier with less interpolation which can arguably be a benefit. But the technical nature of a soundtrack like Super Metroid is actually just going to harm it and turn the whole thing into an aliased mess.

Deconstructing old sequenced music and listening to the separate components is one of the most interesting things you can do, and an extremly efficient learning tool. Not just for learning how chiptunes were made, but just growing and becoming a better musician in general. Elements that sound very simple and detached on their own but fuse to become more than the sum of their parts, or just knowing when to kill your darlings (like getting rid of the root note of a chord to save channel space, which the bass is already playing anyway) is not just a chiptune thing but also arrangement 101 and ultimately a means to getting a well balanced mix (since arrangement and mixing is largely intertwined). I feel as though it's a skillset that is becoming more and more rare in today's production climate. Top-tier arrangers do this kind of stuff all the time even when they're not beholden to technical limitations.
I think it's worthwhile for any musician, no matter what genre, to dabble around with chiptunes. And by that I mean specifically working with getting the most out of these constraints and not just resorting to "bleeps and bloops" which is the usual reductive thinking applied to this type of music. It's such a great way of training yourself in these elements and really start thinking actively about them overall.
I have provided 2 "stem" archives for some Genesis soundtracks I find technically interesting, by just isolating the channels and rendering them into .wavs so you can load them all up in a DAW and thoroughly analyze what's going on in them. You can do this yourself using the [url=http://www.smspower.org/Music/InVgm]in_vgm plugin for Winamp with anything from [url=http://project2612.org/]Project2612
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20Stems.zip
Notice how the rhythm guitar here is split up into 2 layers with different sounds. One for mids and one for treble. Then these are "dubbed" once again and panned (as well as detuned slightly for a chorus effect), taking up 4 channels in total to create this huge wall of guitars that is pretty much equivalent of a fully fledged studio metal production.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/Devilish%20Intro%20Stems.zip
I really like how the simple PSG squares synergize with the FM bells here to create a very vibrant sound. You can also hear how the "choirs" are really the same kind of synth string section you often hear on the system, but it just has this fast upwards pitch bend in the attack which adds this kind of formant quality to it that we usually associate with voices.