/vr/ - Retro Games

PSG is cool, but peaked early with the C64 (and NES+sound expansions).
Samples where neat and oh so impressive back then, but they have no style and most of them just sound bad.
FM is great, but hard to use.
I think it's PSG for me, if only there had been more powerful chips.

I like all of them, although my fondness for the NES sound chip for me is mostly nostalgia.

PCM sound wins for me for drums and rhythm, but I also love those deep-sounding lo-fi string timbres you'd hear in SNES games. I think I prefer FM otherwise.

FM is probably my favorite overall, although a lot of what you'd hear in games back then sounded harsh (especially Genesis music coming from Western music guys who didn't delve too deeply into GEMS). I actually prefer Yamaha's chintzy four-operator FM chips to the sounds of their more "professional" synthesizers like the DX7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNnTGbbDJfo&index=19&t=0s&list=PL8604734956B62120

The Genesis/ Sega CD (Mega Drive/ Mega CD) combo has a pretty nice 16bit sound system.The CD add-on adds an additional Rioch 8 channel PCM chip with a 16bit DAC on top of the Genesis/ MD's 7 channel FM chip and 4 channel PSG. Which is not a bad combination.

Silpheed on the Sega CD makes good use of the hardware:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjz5ESFa3Kk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kf3A6vFcvI&index=3&list=PL75fKjHaP7X3rgyzEtoJYIZTrnoVzM4G7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8saTWDvhHs&list=PL75fKjHaP7X3rgyzEtoJYIZTrnoVzM4G7&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjGlOcmK780&index=8&list=PL75fKjHaP7X3rgyzEtoJYIZTrnoVzM4G7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivvIiAAkuWE&index=9&list=PL75fKjHaP7X3rgyzEtoJYIZTrnoVzM4G7


Popful Mail used the FM chip in the Genesis for the music, but adds drum beats from the PCM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWXecfsPuU4

Snatcher for the Sega CD had a lot of PCM/ FMsynth tracks too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUbRd3eIeY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DedCATrcsfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxnKbM1MRQ

Most of my favorite arcade games that had great music used FM synth so I'll go with that.

For me, it's wavetable synth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG_TQ7Dofk0

>>5275074
>For me, it's wavetable synth.

Snatcher PC-Engine CDROM vs Sega/ Mega CD , go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0mODPH6y_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztQAPRdeMSs

I do like the sound of the PCE.

Back in the day, my only regular exposure to FM was on Soundblaster on PC, and those soundtracks were pretty awful, so my favorite was samples like on the SNES.

These days FM, easily, because I can play all the games that use it for kick ass soundtracks.

>>5274557
FM synth (depending on the model of chip) with PCM samples, and SID.
>>5274557
> but peaked early with the C64
just stop lying. do you even know how many c64 songs were made over the years? over 50,000+ and more are added every week.
peaked early eh? complete nonsense.
>>5275074
yeah, i like it too, but one thing i didn't like much was how it could play looped waves very nicely but longer samples were always downgraded to the point of sounding pretty bad, must of been tough working within the limitations of that system, and i can't blame musicians for trying to fit sample data into such limited spaces.

>>5274557 (OP)
FM synth (depending on the model of chip) with PCM samples, and SID.
>>5274672
> but peaked early with the C64
just stop lying. do you even know how many c64 songs were made over the years? over 50,000+ and more are added every week.
peaked early eh? complete nonsense.
>>5275074
yeah, i like it too, but one thing i didn't like much was how it could play looped waves very nicely but longer samples were always downgraded to the point of sounding pretty bad, must of been tough working within the limitations of that system, and i can't blame musicians for trying to fit sample data into such limited spaces.

>>5275153
snes music was great. as for the sound of PC FM synth, there really wasn't any excuse for some soundtracks to sound bad. making good FM sounds that don't suck isn't the easiest of tasks, especially when trying to make percussion sounds. that's tough to make good sounding drums (for example). PC's FM synth was very capable but under utilised to its maximum potential until very late in its life.

>>5275129
>>5275074
You just lost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jcdiSG1uVI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nY7nH1UeMM&list=PLzFTGYa_evXgnxNqitkP86ZIJWjQOwZbD&index=22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BknsZU_jcRI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IyCb-jFfUY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa11MuXnnZY&index=6&list=PLH1R_On9zYeMeuvBNHvjiQde9k63wIoVL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m86bTneVa_o&index=7&list=PLH1R_On9zYeMeuvBNHvjiQde9k63wIoVL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl4_jhANqwE&index=10&list=PLH1R_On9zYeMeuvBNHvjiQde9k63wIoVL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l_5IrD0fEY&index=11&list=PLH1R_On9zYeMeuvBNHvjiQde9k63wIoVL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExoBdO0aEQM&index=6&t=0s&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcLD20b1svOC5kTAakmyaHFf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8WzhIemHKk&index=6&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcLD20b1svOC5kTAakmyaHFf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVqTWAfsx_c&index=13&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcLD20b1svOC5kTAakmyaHFf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN33MN3Qv6c&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcIvCGzN7tJi8bNaslQoOPLT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpSFEwu-JY&index=3&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcJIqAhxiqIq1z-BASEDoYI2v0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E61D0B3Omp0&list=PL-vD6rIjXrcJIqAhxiqIq1z-BASEDoYI2v0&index=4

>PSG
Too simplistic. Music is more than just a melody
>PCM Samples
Uncanny valley. It achieves authentic instrument quality, but there is a clear synthetic property due to the limitations
>FM Synthesis
Just right. Unmistakably synthetic, but still flexible enough to deliver a complete musical experience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDudAahpoGA

>>5275372
>just stop lying. do you even know how many c64 songs were made over the years? over 50,000+ and more are added every week.
Who cares!? That does not change the fact noone made a better PSG soundchip afterwards.

>>5275381
>>5275153
>as for the sound of PC FM synth, there really wasn't any excuse for some soundtracks to sound bad
Because almost nobody actually composed for the Adlib. It's all untuned MIDI garbage. Only a selected few put effort into it, like Stephane Picq. >>5275916
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtOq0dVjKbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agwS03ZZHHo

>>5275074
I like the wavetables in the GB and FDS, but never cared much about pure wave synth, though it is really cool. My favorite piece comes from the Virtual Boy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcgjFWz59y8

>>5274672
>NES+sound expansions
Literally never happened. If you grew up outside of Japan you NEVER would have heard an NES game with sound expansion chips, and you're a fucking liar if you say you did.

Yes, you can mod an NES to support expansion chips, but a) that mod wasn't well known until recently, b) mods don't count because they're fucking mods, and c) not a single NES cartridge ever released supports expansion sound so it's useless unless you also mod a Famicom-to-NES adapter to support it.

post more dank chiptunes

>>5276141
I'm wondering why I get this very aggravated response. Is your autism triggered because I used NES instead of FC? Because the sound expansions definitely exists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2oyweqZ7WM

Love me sum Fart Modulation™.

>>5276141

He's literally just saying the top end of PSG was disappointing. It doesn't matter if he heard it when he was six.

>>5274557
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKbMrTwKbNU

>>5275057

Lunar: Eternal Blue on the Sega CD also use the PCM chip as well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CprABrE4InQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoYn8PtSHwM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFb2Og0dhxU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjmFP-rw2Y

Sonic CD also made use of the PCM for all the past levels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okc6zeKPmlg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt36AhAHkNo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aMwgLDEBDw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRevK8Lv41M

>>5276458

Here's the Sega Genesis version of that song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-fzjDGUp4w&list=PL2A7961532C67253D&index=11

*blocks your path*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ckfd7F3Hg

>>5276535
That's pretty clearly heavily compressed pre-recorded music.

>>5277002
>That's pretty clearly heavily compressed pre-recorded music.


Which ones? The Sonic "past stage" music tracks are all sampled through PCM

Pretty sure that a lot of the Eternal Blue soundtracks are PCM as well. Maybe a couple of them posted above are redbook?

>>5277074
>Which ones? The Sonic "past stage" music tracks are all sampled through PCM

The music in Lunar Eternal Blue is not sequenced through the PCM like the other Sega CD games listed in this thread, the music is streamed through the PCM channels.

Because it is fed through the PCM channel, it can be looped seamlessly without any breaks in the tracks like redbook audio.

>>5276912
Overrated weeb shit.

In theory PCM is the best but the SNES implementation was technologically premature.

Adlib and early Soundblaster weren't really good FM either. They only had 2 operator FM channels.

>>5278493
PCM is too close to CD for me- doesn't sound at all like a videogame anymore. Also the SNES should've used some FM channels to give it more oomph.

>>5279075
>PCM is too close to CD for me- doesn't sound at all like a videogame anymore. Also the SNES should've used some FM channels to give it more oomph.

That's funny, because when Ken Kutaragi designed the SNES audio chip, he was disappointed with the bleep and bloop sound of videogame music at the time. He went with the sample based sequencer route to emulate the sound of real instrumentation.

>>5279158
How is that funny? It's a different design and that's what they went through with.

>>5279174
>How is that funny? It's a different design and that's what they went through with.


I just mean it is funny that these days people would prefer to hear an FM or bleep and bloop based soundtrack because it sounds more "video game like" over a sample based one. But back then, developers wanted to get away from it.

The SNES was originally planned to be backwards compatible with the NES. The CPU in the SNES does have BC with the NES's 6502. But one of the reason's why it wasn't backwards compatible was because of the different audio chip.

The SNES was the console where Nintendo really moved away from noise generation chips to sample sequenced music.

>>5274557
Depends. Both can sound great when done right and horrible when done wrong.

>>5274557
what about wavetable synthesis

>>5279196
>that these days people would prefer to hear an FM or bleep and bloop based soundtrack because it sounds more "video game like" over a sample based one.
not that guy but you base this on what exactly? I like both and I don't see many people specifically choosing one over another

>>5279259
All the indie retro hipster nu-games that use chiptune music, duh.

>>5279196
Super Nintendo music sounds very "video game like". There is exactly zero chance you'd confuse it for real music.

>>5274557
PSG and PCM only.
Even better when PSG and PCM are combined like the C64 sample enhanced SID-Tunes (despite that the soundchip was never designed for sample playback, so this was just a hack).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfYsDQqzhk8


FM synth at least to me always sounds like those horrible 90' PC games with their generic instruments/sound banks... it just sounds cheap like those awful MIDI files that people even used for their front pages in the 90's

This also is one of my gripes with the audio of Final Fantasy VII. Despite bing praised for it's music there are some (or few) good songs in this game but the other ones just sound like those horrible Adlib/Soundblaster whatever bleebs.

>>5279348
Ever heard of good Genesis music?, CPS1 FN music of SF2, KoD and specially Strider? what about some of the X68K!?

>>5279348
Dunno man, doesn't really sound similar to me. I mean, MIDI doesn't inherently "sound" like anything, but neither generic windows nor soundblaster sounds like FM to me. Other than actual FM out of a soundblaster, of course. Most early 90s PCs support both FM and MIDI and you could directly compare them if you had a Soundblaster 16 or 32. PC soundtracks sucking has nothing to do with the tools.

whatever it is that the snes does
it sounds tite

FM, the BASS1 sound turns my dick to diamonds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBgdpJgqCs

>>5276912

Follin can do all 3 equally well though

>>5279158
>he was disappointed with the bleep and bloop sound of videogame music at the time. He went with the sample based sequencer route to emulate the sound of real instrumentation.
He was specifically trying to improve on the PSG sound in the Famicom though, that’s part of the story.

In theory, you can reproduce any real instrument sound with FM. With certain types of instruments it’s relatively easy to do so but with others it’s extremely hard to program. Still, it’s a good solution.

Kutaragi tried to go further with PCM, but the technology wasn’t quite there in 1990. In typical Kutaragi style like with Cell he was driven by pure excitement rather than practicality of a new technology.

>>5279331
>Super Nintendo music sounds very "video game like". There is exactly zero chance you'd confuse it for real music.


Yeah, in retrospect it does. But back in 1990/ 1991, it was impressive hearing sampled guitar strings and other instruments in Super Mario World. For the time period, the SNES audio did stand out from the competing consoles.

>>5279948
>Kutaragi tried to go further with PCM, but the technology wasn’t quite there in 1990. In typical Kutaragi style like with Cell he was driven by pure excitement rather than practicality of a new technology.

True. But the S-SMP was expanded upon with the SPU in the Playstation 1, whichw as capable of producing higher sample rates, had way more channels, 512KB of RAM and other audio improvements. Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 is a fine example of the ADPCM/ PCM sequencing for the in-game music.

>>5274557
Personally, I like a mix of all three. The NeoGeo's sound chip (YM2610) would've been a pretty decent example of that if more of its dev's had used the capabilities of the chip more fully instead of just going crazy with the adpcm channels, half-assing the fm, and completely ignoring the SSG for anything other that an sfx here and there. The only game I can think of on the NeoGeo that used all three in music form was Super Dodge Ball by Technos, although you can barely hear the SSG in any of them, it is used.

https://vgmrips.net/packs/pack/super-dodge-ball-neo-geo

>>5279692
>FM, the BASS1 sound turns my dick to diamonds
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBgdpJgqCs [Embed]

Gauntlet IV on the Genesis/ MD has some crazy music tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eja9CQ8PUfc

>>5280050
Well the PS1 SPU is basically the S-SMP when the technology finally caught up with Kutaragi’s ambition.

I actually didn’t think Super Mario World was that impressive of a S-SMP demonstration. Most of the instruments are rather FM-friendly. Super Castlevania IV was better because a lot of the orchestral string sounds it uses would require insanely fine tuned FM channels to replicate (probably beyond the theoretical capabilities of even 4 channel operator channels that the MD and arcade machines used).

>>5280050
Well the PS1 SPU is basically the S-SMP when the technology finally caught up with Kutaragi’s ambition.

I actually didn’t think Super Mario World was that impressive of a S-SMP demonstration. Most of the instruments are rather FM-friendly. Super Castlevania IV was better because a lot of the orchestral string sounds it uses would require insanely fine tuned FM channels to replicate (probably beyond the theoretical capabilities of even 4 operator FM channels that the MD and arcade machines used).

>>5279605
>>5279674
Yes, I still don't even like most of Genesis Music. And the stuff I played using a x68k emulator sounded exactly like the aforementioned PC games.

Maybe a better comparison than calling it MIDI would be to compare it to those cheap keyboard for kids, that sounded exactly as limited as the PC (and console) games, which was no wonder since they were using the same sound chips.

And after all, indeed do I think that it were indeed those flawed FM sound chips that made me dislike FM synth, because there was a ways to make those shitty MIDI files from the 90's (or those ripped straight from the games) sound much better (and I'm not talking about the Roland MT-32).

My Amiga wasn't able to play back FM synth without the aid of external hardware at all, but with some additional software and a sample bank I got much better results than playing said MIDI files on dedicated hardware like one of the PC sound cards.
http://aminet.net/package/mus/midi/GMPlay13
(a more modern version of a tool like that would be the OSS FluidSynth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FluidSynth )

Of course this solution had other limitations, since mixing the FM voices took a lot of processing power. And when too many voices were used without a faster CPU (anything better than the 68020EC that I used with my A1200) the music started skipping very often. And also some hacks were necessary to play back these samples in 14 bit on a sound chip that without tricks only supported 8 bit samples. It was quite tedious to calibrate the Amigas DAC with some small tool for best results using 14 bit.

PCM is when videogames finally stopped sounding like complete shit, so I'm going with that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=985B5DSVrYw

>>5281492
PC FM Synth often sounds weird because most consoles and arcade sampled the percussion. Adlib/Soundblaster is doing the percussion in FM with weak sounding instruments.

>>5274557
FM Synth for Jesper Kyd/Sub Terrania
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD5njzGdfLE

Wavetable for Tim Follin and Spiderman/Xmen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we6Hg-fFc5A

You people have no appreciation for FM.

>>5275916
>>5279075
>PSG
>Too simplistic. Music is more than just a melody
>he was disappointed with the bleep and bloop sound of videogame music at the time
That's not the inherent nature of PSG. All PSG are just to simple and it was also a design choice. This SID piece is not bleeps and bloops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G33RX9vVd70
Just upping the SID channels to 6 results in an amazing sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQh22NEphA4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZmIfqCHcXo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbhd9nRsGIs

>>5279348
>PSG and PCM only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8vuPXMF0is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSk9qE6_2Oc

>>5279692
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZCghKRIAa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5cjp5jdKPE

>>5278493
All soundchips aren't really good compared to actual, professional synthesizers. When does FM get good to you? How many operators and how many types of sine waves does it need?

>>5282648
isn't that spiderman music pcm, not wavetable?

>>5282768
>music pcm, not wavetable?
same shit, different wording. snes uses adpcm.

>>5276141
> Literally never happened. If you grew up outside of Japan you NEVER would have heard an NES game with sound expansion chips, and you're a fucking liar if you say you did.
> what are imports?
> no, people didn't buy consoles or carts from japan to play in other countries.
please, tell us more about how this never happened. my fucking sides.

>>5276093
> PSG is cool, but peaked early with the C64
has gone to:
> the fact noone made a better PSG soundchip afterwards
imagine being BTFO this hard where you have to change the story like a compulsive lying idiot? absolutely amazing.
>Because almost nobody actually composed for the Adlib. It's all untuned MIDI garbage.
you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. your autisic raging, because you're continually BTFO is a great source of amusement. I like how you can just think of only one composer. that's how little you know.

>>5282697

>How many operators and how many types of sine waves does it need?

It needs 88 sine waves so you can bypass the FM entirely and use it as a PCM soundchip..

>>5276378
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FehpU0sjXrQ

SCC up in this bitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beZgnmoYdPg

>>5274557
psf

If the PC Engine, Famicom Disk, Virtual Boy and SNES are all wavetable, why is it only the latter sounds like realistic instruments while the others are shitty beeps and bloops?

>>5284567
>SNES
>sounds like realistic instruments
wahahahaha

>>5284582
SNES sounds almost as if it were low quality samples of synthesizer sounds. Almost as if that's exactly what it is.

>>5284582
I mean, yeah?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrPX01xD7e8

>>5274557
Don't care as long as the actual music sounds good in the end.

>>5284764
If you think this sounds like real instruments....you've been listening to too much video game music and not enough to real-world music.

No love for Q-Sound?

>>5284910
>No love for Q-Sound?


Q-Sound is nothing more than an virtual surround sound system that uses stereo audio output. It was around since the 1980's, but there were game developers in the past that used it too. Capcom made use of it for their arcade cabinets.

Q-Sound was also used in some SegaCD/ Mega CD games as well. Ecco the Dolphin 1 and 2, Sonic Cd and even The Terminator uses Q-sound.

>>5284998
Yeah, seems like only Capcom and Sega cared about using it. Was it just not as good as Dolby or something?

>>5274557
Sound Canvas

>>5285010
>Yeah, seems like only Capcom and Sega cared about using it. Was it just not as good as Dolby or something?


There were some PC audio cards that supported Qsound through hardware or driver software. It was supported in some PC games and even a few 3DO titles as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtQ6jNjIONI

Not sure why it didn't take off and was supplanted by Dolby.

>>5285196

Qsound Labs are still around and their virtualized 3D stereo mixing software is still some of the best for mobile applications and stereo headphone use.

The Mega CD uses the YM2612, PSG and MCD RF5c68 PCM for the BIOS music track.
BIOS 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF1o2XIB5AM

BIOS 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RekLHkjrghI

It was meant to be a small showcase of the Sega CD features like PCM and sprite scaling.

>>5285363
it's interesting to note that the JAP/EU BIOS had the exact same song which used only the PCM.

>>5285369

Oh yeah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhnrYmRvU_0

The Japanese Sega Master System has a BIOS that detects the YM2413 module and uses the PSG and YM to create the main track from Space Harrier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzi7VJfhtEA

>>5285010
>Was it just not as good as Dolby or something?
This. I read around the internet that some people just didn't find Qsound impressive, and that you need to be situated at the right spot between the speakers to get the full effect. As for Capcom's use of it in the arcades, it was just your typical 16 channel pcm sampler with some use of it dsp for stereo space manipulation and occasionally a reverb affect here and there (not faked echo via replaying sfx on different channel at lower volume which was more commonly used on it).

>>5275074
I wonder why Hudson decided to go with a wavetable synth chip instead of a more popular (and arguably superior) FM synth one.

>>5285860
Probably because in 1987 they would have realistically been limited to 2-operator FM sync chips.

FM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQY5_r7mG8o

>>5285959
MSX2's, PC-98's, and Sega Mark III's all could do FM by '87, so they really didn't have an excuse.

>>5286670
The Sharp X68000 came out in the same year also and it had 8 FM channels. Of course it was way more expensive though.

Gotta love the brappy bass at 8:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlfO32hG2TE

>>5284790
>samples of real life instruments don't sound like real life instruments

>>5284567
The 8-bit systems that could do wavetable synthesis had a pitiful amount of memory, enough for a short tone to make waves that couldn't be made through the PSG.

>>5287739
While I won't agree with them not sounding like real instruments at all, snes audio samples have a very noticeable compression applied hat kills some of the high frequency sound and makes them kinda muffled, you won't notice it when playing on a tv but with a decent audio setup it stands out compared to FM

>>5275074
My nigga, WSG really is the best. Not as simplistic as PSG, not as harsh as FM, and not as "un-chiptune" as PCM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JeXbDpV06A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibul_fSlT3E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpIjT-LhNwg

>>5282768
Sample based synthesis

>>5286670
Maybe the just didn't like it? WSG is really cool afterall.

>>5288375
The FDS' channel is actually pretty good and canc even modulate the other channels. It's very underutilized.

>>5288817
>FM
>harsh
someone has never heard yu-no

>>5290396
You can't deny that FM usually is very abused (mostly by Americans)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGWSijvWxFI&list=PL1EEC16B0D7BCC626&index=5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxP0n7h_914&list=PLQ2p-PY8hDn1ONjNyUkNGeFO7-nGMkMx1

>>5290429
To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ in order to program FM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFavaYTduzQ&t=23.5s

What makes that one cute note in NeoGeo Pocket music? Is it three square waves being played at once?

>>5284357
>psf
saturn had a better sound chip desu. go listen to any game made for saturn and then ported to psx (like grandia), and it always sounds richer on saturn

People, bitpop is not all that PSG can do. Even back then, even on the NES.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhDC-VStQmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjZXguqmKM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlpzbIl1Bg

>>5288817
>>5288817
FM has no inherent sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6cfv_zevLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtKTwJlgHiY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsVDFP6f8ME
I think WSG is usually harsher, but I certainly don't dislike it.

>>5274557
I barely know what any of that means. Is there a handy YouTube video series that can school a moron like me on sound similar to the way I'm learning about various display technologies, cables, inputs, outputs, scaling, etc?

>>5292737
To make things simple, the NES used psg, the Megadrive/Genesis used FM (primarily), and pcm is a generally used for prerecorded audio samples like real instruments. The snes probably technically qualifies as pcm based but most of that is severely cut down and sample quality is reduced and compressed in order to not only fit on a rom cart, but also the 64kbs of ram. A better example of pcm based audio would be Capcom's CPS2 boards with QSound chips.

Some more WT Synth goodness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O80nHe9_Y7M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kJb82ih1o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NCecWm4e6g

>>5290429
>>5290442
at least use non emulator recordings, and GEMS games only used the basic 6 channels.

>>5287739
It’s due to the fact that the SNES can’t module instrument samples with the timbre variations you could achieve with real instruments. Hence, it can sound rather artificial.

>>5286670
Most of these either had 2-operator FM or a ridiculously low number of 4-operator FM channels. Or they were really expensive like the Sharp X68000.

Putting in a 6-channel 4-operator FM chip into something as affordable as a console was actually the cutting edge in 1988 when the Mega Drive was released.

>>5274557
I like PSG and FM equally, but don't care for PCM too much.

>>5293538
Thanks, that helps a bit.

>>5292737
Look into the various synthesis techniques and documentation for the chips which implemented them.

bampu

Sampled synth, since it's hard to fuck up so at worst game soundtracks are just forgettable, never irritating like bad Genesis music (ie GEMS) can be.

>>5297484
>never irritating like bad Genesis music (ie GEMS) can be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVSLoLo0d5I

>>5293604
muffling it up still keeps it being complete shit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1404015209&feature=iv&src_vid=EGWSijvWxFI&v=Su2E9U9csu8

>>5297491
Even the most muffeled snes music sounds not bad compared to worst kind of BWAAANG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewscjsxYRCc&list=PL76D40D00CA8D096A&index=12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6LSpx1INL4&list=PL76D40D00CA8D096A&index=14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEOh-MP0Zhg&index=15&list=PL76D40D00CA8D096A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwXuzKLfq6o&index=17&list=PL76D40D00CA8D096A

>>5297643
Oh you SNESies with your whimsical farty music

I´m sorry o´ master of flatulence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG2HwH1JkAI

>>5297806
t. fartloving SNESie

>>5274557
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Sgk4t_FAE

This is your future.

>>5297484
both genesis music and SNES music sound good when done by a good artist

but SNES wins out for me personally, because it really was just a newer and more advanced chip
i have never really found anything to top FF6s music

me into NeoGeo now so me choose PCM

>>5298787
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQCRNtrTlj8

Is Deflemask good for creating chiptunes on real hardware?

PCM "sounds" don't have to do with the chip itself but are more often than not sampled with a lower bitrate from popular workstations of the late 80s-mid-90s.
Look into instruments like the Korg M1, E-Mu Proteus series, and the Roland JV-1080 (as well as its dumbed down cousin, the SC-88 series)

FDX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knQfxsYaZpE