PixelPanic Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) Edited October 8, 2019 by PixelPanic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) An easy-listening chippy (easy-chip?) remix of my favorite Pokemon song, Goldenrod City Still accepting criticism! In about a week I'm going to do mod review, but I definitely need criticisms to get me ready! Come on guys! Edited October 8, 2019 by PixelPanic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hey PP! It's very cute... I don't know the source... but it sounds really really sparse and repetitive, and the plain synths I predict will be a problem (I usually have this problem myself, working on that). There are some chords that are, well, discordant. And the drums are very simple, judges hate that. It seems you've got a good start... but it will need more work for sure. I like the arp that starts at 1:48, some more interesting stuff like that wouldn't hurt! Good luck and keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hey PP! It's very cute... I don't know the source... but it sounds really really sparse and repetitive, and the plain synths I predict will be a problem (I usually have this problem myself, working on that). There are some chords that are, well, discordant. And the drums are very simple, judges hate that. It seems you've got a good start... but it will need more work for sure. I like the arp that starts at 1:48, some more interesting stuff like that wouldn't hurt! Good luck and keep at it. I'm feelin the same thing on the synths, I want to keep it chippy and I'm working on a way to incorporate more layers. The discordant chords I feel give the song a thin layer of jazz to it, which is kinda what I'm tryin to do with the easy-listening part. Not too structurally limited, but still nice sounding. (Also I love having seconds in chords) And yes, I believe I have 2 drum patterns in there, haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I agree with chimpazilla. Try having some more high quality synths in there. If you want the 8-bit sound, be creative with glitchy effects or something. The drums, however, don't have to be 8-bit drums. Neither do the synths. You can still have expressive synths for 8-bit songs. Just add vibrato and maybe some pulse width modulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imazi643 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Try having some more high quality synths in there. If you want the 8-bit sound, be creative with glitchy effects or something. The drums, however, don't have to be 8-bit drums. Neither do the synths. You can still have expressive synths for 8-bit songs. Just add vibrato and maybe some pulse width modulation. Agreed. Great example here, one of my favorite ReMixes of all time : http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02321/ Actually, I think it's of the same song you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) I do admit the synths are still a little generic, but I think I generally improved the mixing and arrangement, as well as doing some fun stuff along the way. Edited October 8, 2019 by PixelPanic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imazi643 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I think the melody needs to have a bit more prominence volume-wise. Otherwise, pretty good track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemyOnion Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I'll pop in here, I suppose. I'm not going to open up and compare your music to something else...THAT is wrong [to everyone reading this]. I highly appreciate people who have a passion for this kind of stuff...Pokemon music is great. I actually really like the simplicity of the voices you originally chose...Sure it could use some more architecture but that is not what is important at the moment. I hear a lot of remixes people post up here and it seems everyone is missing the point...The critics are missing the point... Yeah, you can say, "this has a great beat!" Probably 80% (at the lowest) of people in the world have some sense of rhythm. We also have ears for what "sounds" are pleasing. So, I hear people say "Oh, that synth you used...Nah...The cow bell...More cow bell...And that snare...It just doesn't FEEL right..." Does this sound familiar? This is all based on preference. Gratned, there are people who do have an ear for production and that is awesome. Mixing-wise, all I want to ask you to do for now is to balance out the levels because you have digital distortion in the section after 1:33. You can either turn the two lead unison voices down or normalize everything manually as a whole. Production is important...But that's after you've expressed your idea...A-L-W-A-Y-S...After So...Forget about production. Work with MIDI if you want! I'm going to tell you that you actually have a good idea here...The direction of the song is clean and it sounds like you had a goal. The bass notes and the melody actually complement each other very nicely in rhythm. I actually very much enjoy what is happening in a way... Chords. Notes. Melodies. Harmonies. Etc. These are the things that make a song...Take them away and you have a background drum track, ambience, sound effects, or people talking. What is wrong here is the chord structure. The arpeggios do not compliment the intended chord structure...And the chords don't support the melody in theory. Theory, as in music theory. Music theory, as in what does not offend the ears. It sounds like you have counterpoint happening here which is clever! But the intended harmonies don't work...They offend the chord structure and they distract the distinction of the melody. I am not trying to sound cool or come across as some reputable musician to you...To anyone. I could not care any less about my reputation in places like these. I am making my own way as a musician and I know that I will succeed because I already am. So, for what it's worth, I want you to trust that I am not biased, jealous, prejudice, opinionated, mean, kind, or even passionate. I am just someone who knows what he's talking about. This is a discussion that goes far beyond the forums and it would most likely not be worth my time to explain in detail. If you're all about ACTION over TALK...Then I'd be happy to take a MIDI of your tune (without any percussion) and give it back to you with an acceptable melodic structure. I'd like to see if you could hear the difference. I just want to help, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 I'm feelin what you're saying man, and yeah I have since changed that one weirdo chord (it was starting to bother ME, the one defending it) and thanks bunches for pointing out that distortion! I believe I have fixed it, but I'm glad someone pointed it out And while this may be a somewhat awkward place to begin waxing theory, the weirdo chord was definitely wrong when I started thinking about it. At first, the chord is represented as a Third apart, but then that Third is doubled, making it a sixth apart! Like, WTF was I thinkin??? That makes the chord way different! I mean, it's possible, but it's awkward changing the properties of a chord mid-chord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemyOnion Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I'm feelin what you're saying man, and yeah I have since changed that one weirdo chord (it was starting to bother ME, the one defending it) and thanks bunches for pointing out that distortion! I believe I have fixed it, but I'm glad someone pointed it out And while this may be a somewhat awkward place to begin waxing theory, the weirdo chord was definitely wrong when I started thinking about it. At first, the chord is represented as a Third apart, but then that Third is doubled, making it a sixth apart! Like, WTF was I thinkin??? That makes the chord way different! I mean, it's possible, but it's awkward changing the properties of a chord mid-chord Awesome, man! I'm impressed you caught it! That's enlightening for me to hear that. At least you have an ear...You have no idea how frustrating it's been working with people who don't have ears. Rock on. And, yeah, MIDI is terrible but you can run it through any patch in your sequencer. Sometimes I like to change every instrument to the same synth, like a sine or square then undo it later...You may find things good and bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) / Edited October 8, 2019 by PixelPanic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'm not a mod, but I think you should replace that organ plugin with something different, because right now it sounds very lo-fi. If you're going for a chiptune sound, you shouldn't try putting in low quality instruments that could possibly be higher quality. Try replacing it with a square-saw lead or something, with slow LFO for a constantly changing sound. Maybe something like this, which looks like this? Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I think your mod review is going to tell you it is repetitive, sparse and vanilla, with autopilot drumming. Sorry. I like that lead, Timaeus. PP you could try replacing one sound at a time until you get something that makes you scream "yes yes!" then do that with the next, and the next. Timaeus is right about that organ, it is particularly not-good, and the gating is off it's timing. The part at 1:31 is very very sparse, and dry... in fact the whole tune is painfully dry. Don't forget, your mixing should include placing the instruments strategically in the soundscape. Atm you have everything placed dead center, and that isn't too interesting. It is possible to do an awesome chiptune... but you've gotta use good sounds and mixing. You've got some nice writing and flourishes in there... try some variations, and definitely work on your sound design and mixing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phonetic Hero Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 We meet again I'm not sure what DAW you're using, but if you have FL Studio, you can download these and plug them into the 3x Osc (and actually, there are a lot of other REALLY great custom waveforms on this site, and I use them pretty frequently for my synthesis with some extra processing). These are sampled directly from the NES, and sound freakin' fantastic; there's even a tiny bit of distortion on the waves, as if they were being played through the NES sound chip. I actually really just got into chiptunes a few months ago, but I'd be glad to impart my bit of knowledge. Sine waves are kind of a no-no with most chippy stuff, which sounds like what you're using for the lead, yes? The only waveforms available on the NES and Gameboy (and lots of other consoles blah blah blah) were squares, rectangles (25% and 12.5% pulse), triangles, and noise. There was also a DPCM channel for sampling drums, to be played back in marvelous *7 bit resolution* There's also a fucking myriad of little techniques to give your piece a "chippy" feel. Wicked fast arps, grace notes, stutters, to name a few. And yes, totally agreed with the comments about the other instruments. If you're incorporating modern sounds into your chips, which is something halc and Ben Briggs and ProtoDome and Josh Morse and Danimal Cannon and Disasterpeace and lots of other chippers (including me) do pretty frequently, it's recommended that their quality doesn't match the lo-fi-ness of the chip waves. Mixing in the old school with the new can be pretty cool, if it's done correctly. halc and Ben both have about a bajillion mixes on the site, I recommend listening to them for some inspiration. Good luck man, I look forward to meeting you on the battlefield again in the future pH EDIT: OH, also, forgot to mention the plug-in "magical8bit." Another really great one, gives you access to the aforementioned chip waveforms, as well as an emulator for the hardware pitch-bending available on the NES and Gameboy. Should be available for free download on the netz OH, also, I'm not a mod OH, also, just listened to Timaeus's saw gap lead, which sounds pretty cool. Experiment with those NES waveforms and some more modern synths, I'm sure you'll be able to cook somethin' up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Oh, pH, that reminds me. PixelPanic: I used to use these plugins that are great for 8-bit music! Chip32 Basic64 They're both free, and very versatile! Chip32 allows you to draw your own waveforms, and Basic64 comes with a lot of cool presets to show you what you could make from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Here is another free one that a good friend of mine uses often: Triforce My friend also uses Magical8bit. I have not used these myself but I'm really not a "chipper." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Thanks a bunch guys I decided to move it back to WIP while testing these awesome synths as well as Zebra 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 We meet again I'm not sure what DAW you're using, but if you have FL Studio, you can download these and plug them into the 3x Osc (and actually, there are a lot of other REALLY great custom waveforms on this site, and I use them pretty frequently for my synthesis with some extra processing). These are sampled directly from the NES, and sound freakin' fantastic; there's even a tiny bit of distortion on the waves, as if they were being played through the NES sound chip.I actually really just got into chiptunes a few months ago, but I'd be glad to impart my bit of knowledge. Sine waves are kind of a no-no with most chippy stuff, which sounds like what you're using for the lead, yes? The only waveforms available on the NES and Gameboy (and lots of other consoles blah blah blah) were squares, rectangles (25% and 12.5% pulse), triangles, and noise. There was also a DPCM channel for sampling drums, to be played back in marvelous *7 bit resolution* Well, the sine wave thing is kind of where my disconnect from the chiptune aspect is. See, I don't want to do a full-out 9bit song, but I still want a simple sound. It's more of a stylistic choice, I'm not trying to fit in a genre. And yes, I have dabbled in chiptune theory (I guess) whilst learning LSDj and Famitracker through and through, and the fun part of the triangle waves is their ability to be manipulated, which wasn't often used in old games due to not having quite the advantageous interfaces as we do now, allowing some to even imitate voices (a trick I don't remember seeing done well until the Genesis). I feel as though people are seeing this as a failed attempt at 8bit, when really it's another type of thing. It's like discrediting jazz because it's unorganized. But my sounds still suck butt, I'm willing to admit, so I'm working on that immediately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) / Edited October 8, 2019 by PixelPanic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROTO·DOME Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 the fun part of the triangle waves is their ability to be manipulated, which wasn't often used in old games due to not having quite the advantageous interfaces as we do now, allowing some to even imitate voicesNo.The GameBoy has a PCM channel as opposed to a simple triangle generator like our good friend Mr Entertainment System. Basically, you can run whatever 4-bit waveform you like through it, hence why there's a bunch of lo-fi 'recorded' sounds in LSDJ. That said, the NES does have a similar thing in the form of DPCM channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixelPanic Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 No.The GameBoy has a PCM channel as opposed to a simple triangle generator like our good friend Mr Entertainment System. Basically, you can run whatever 4-bit waveform you like through it, hence why there's a bunch of lo-fi 'recorded' sounds in LSDJ. That said, the NES does have a similar thing in the form of DPCM channel. I was misinformed! Thank you for clearing that up. I never really got a grasp on DPCM. It seems really damn confusing, even the name sounds kinda scary (differential pulse-code modulator? yipes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 So my dear friend Anterroir (forum member) gave me permission to post some of his chippy work here in this thread for you. What he does is "postmodern chiptune," a mixture of chip and non/chip instruments. I think his stuff is amazing. Maybe it will be inspiring for you! chip wip jumpdudes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imazi643 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 So my dear friend Anterroir (forum member) gave me permission to post some of his chippy work here in this thread for you. What he does is "postmodern chiptune," a mixture of chip and non/chip instruments. I think his stuff is amazing. Maybe it will be inspiring for you!chip wip jumpdudes I really love the chip wip. Tell him he's got some great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I really love the chip wip. Tell him he's got some great stuff! I tell him that every day! I'm sure he wouldn't mind a comment on his soundcloud if you'd like to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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