8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

it's great that you're using actual 8bit software to make your song. now that you've got tracking basics down, what you'll want to do is work heavily on instrumentation. this will ultimately determine your "sound" as an artist, especially when dealing with 8bit. it's something that people hear very distinctively in chip music; you just know who you're listening to (listen to anything from virt you just fucen know it's him).

Look up on a few guides regarding envelopes and leads for famitracker. it'll make this sound a million times better. I gotta give you credit for working with this since it's far from simple. good stuff.

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

Thanks. I'm still getting the hang of the program - I admit I was actually hoping to emulate some aspects of Virt's sound, but then I realized what he was doing wasn't true bare-bones 8-bit once I started using the program and getting familiar with what it was capable of doing. As I'm using the program I can already feel a distinctive style emerge - it probably helps that I don't have a tons of influences since I have a tendency to subconsciously emulate pretty closely the sounds and melodies of other songs - not plagiarism but it would sound too much like another song.

I'm definitely looking up some additional details and info on the program - what I'm really interested in is downloading some digital sounds that I can use for the DPCM channel, in particular a bass and drum synth for all the pitches and octaves, but I can only find files on the latter at the moment.

Thanks for the comments and pointers. A quick question - what did you think of the actual melodies in the song?

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

I'm no master of composition myself, but it certainly has potential melody wise. again, with instrumentation anything sounds awesome haha


virt's stuff is still famitracker with a few expansions btw

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

Holy shit Virt uses a version of FamiTracker? Oh my god I HAVE to find that, if I could have the variety of sounds he has access to I'd be in chiptune heaven. <3

Glad you like the song - I bet it would make a pretty tough file if somebody stepped it.

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

the sounds are done in the instrument menu, and uses the fx expansions to broaden his repertoire (cleverly named his two chip music eps fx3 and fx4)

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

Awesome - I'll look into getting those. Thank you so much for those pointers, I'm already really excited over the potential songs that can be created with that, haha.

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

alternatively, you can be coul like me and use lsdj

Re: 8-Bit Chiptune: Through Peaks and Valleys

Do game boy advances with with it, or just the original models?