(original version sent to chloe 10/21/21)
famicom:
- that triangle wave sound is iconic
- you can do fun things with the dpcm channel, though its interlinking with the triangle channel requires you to choose your compromise
- famitracker is dead simple to use
- you really have to work to make good music without expansion chips
- are expansion chips cheating?
master system / PSG:
- composition expert mode
- you can have any waveform you like, just as long as it’s square
- reminds me of the baby toys i grew up with that played snippets of melodies through cheap ics (this is a good thing)
- one of my favorite psg soundtracks is the one for slap fight, but even then i’ve had people look at me weird for trying to defend it
pc engine / wavetable:
- underrated soundchip; basically the perfect 8-bit soundchip
- just enough channels to be comfy
- wavetable synthesis is also underrated
- wavetables are easy and fun to play around with!
- adjustable stereo panning?! that’s so plush
- one of the best soundtracks on the system is for jackie chan’s action kung fu and you need to learn to live with this
- it owns though
- i think this chip might be at its best when making soft, fuzzy sounds. it’s hard to take it seriously when it gets harsher.
mega drive:
- dark art
- massive learning curve unless you steal (“analyze”) preexisting patches
- no consensus on what a mega drive should sound like
- ostensibly inferior sound chip
- write for the pc-98 and get a better chip plus we’ll throw in a drum kit for free
- fm+psg is a good combination and provides a lot of freedom for sound composition
- responsible for some of the most mindblowing, facemelting soundtracks in the scene
c64 / sid:
- not my nostalgia
- arpeggios intensify…
- though with only three channels, this fate was inevitable
- duty-cycling pulse wave intensifies…
- actually this sound owns though
- there is that one sid+fm demo…
snes:
- hey let me tell you about brr encoding, aka “why every other snes soundtrack sounds detuned”
- generally cursed audio pipeline for a generally cursed console
- “Sony’s Finest”
- honestly i’d rather just write module files
- the reverb is fun
- “You might be missing some of the benefits that stereo can provide.”
- responsible for some absolutely beautiful soundtracks too
amiga / modules:
- sorta my nostalgia
- the virgin adjustable panning vs. the chad hard-panned channels by default
- i love trackers so this is the easy option
- but also everything i’d make would feel like a pale shadow of what i could make with renoise
gb
- little a wavetable, as a treat
- the chipmusic scene began here
- is it fair to say that it sounds cute? the game boy is a cute console with cute games and cute soundtracks for those games, but i also think the sound palette lends itself to cuteness too…
gba
- two different flavors of crunchy
- bugged official audio drivers mean that every non-camelot game sounds like ass
- mother 3 didn’t deserve to sound like ass yet here we are