(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
- and that channel can corrupt controller inputs? that’s so cool!
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)
my favorite psg soundtrack is the one for slap fight, but i’ve had people look at me weird for trying to defend it

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.

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

wait, which one?

wait, which one?

it seems like people forget just how late in the platform’s lifespan this one launched
- it doesn’t help that the pc-88 got an opna board years earlier
people also seem confused about its pcm output capabilities: are its two channels two stereo channels or the individual parts of one stereo channel?
- it doesn’t help that the opna also has an adpcm channel that nec just chose not to allocate rom space for, rendering it inert
  - unless you instead got the -73, or the speakboard, or—
you get what you pay for with that drum kit, but it’s ok because quirky drum kits are a moral good
the psg can be set to multiple waveforms – even at the same time – yet only the squarewave is even remotely on-pitch
- …at least you can combine them to make some kinda fun glitch sounds…

there’s something cute here… dreamy, even
- but maybe i just find squarewaves dreamy in general
i should spend more time with this one

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…

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

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

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…

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