All posts by Beatscribe

Beatscribe is an full-time indie musician with a long-standing obsession with tall things 8-bit. He has composed soundtracks for tons of mobile and homebrew games and tries to infuse them with the nostalgic flavor of the early days of gaming. Check out his latest adventures on www.beatscribe.com.
ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, Features, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

Chiptunes = Win Volume 2 Is Here!

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Monday night, the world got to hear 51 brand new chiptune songs for the first time on the 8bitX 8-bit Power Hour. Out of  146 different artist submissions, these colorful tracks made the cut. The listening party was well attended, not only by fans but by a huge collection of the artists as well. This review is actually going to talk about EVERY SINGLE TRACK!

It was clear by the reaction in the chat to every new track that there was not a bad song on this compilation. They’re all incredible upbeat and unique. Obviously a lot of time went into each and every one of them.

There is a huge amount of variety on this release.  Talkboy, SubPixel and Apoc all contributed excellent Famitracker songs. There are also some great Genesis-styled FM Synth tracks from Snooglebum, Jameson Sutton and The Flight Away really bring back some Sonic the Hedgehog nostalgia for me.

What I was really impressed with are the LSDJ tracks. The Gameboy has become the most common chiptune instrument. That’s not a bad thing, but on some compilation tracks, the LSDJ tracks are often the weak links. That’s not the case here. Every LSDJ track stands out and holds its own. Auxcide and Zef both contribute totally epic LSDJx2 songs as well.

The slower tracks really stand out as well, sleepytimejesse’s SNES inspired Riparian Woodland, Viciosul SID’s and Foil Variant’s tracks also provide a nice break from the constant thump of awesomeness without sacrificing a moment of quality.

I really like how a lot of people are using new tools to create the classic sounds. I know some won’t agree, but I see this as a good thing. It keeps things fresh. No new synth is going to exactly match the NES or the DMG, but this adds new dimensions to the classic elements we all know and love. There is nothing here that suffers due to the fact it was created in a DAWs and not on hardware or a tracker.

I normally highlight just a few tracks when I review a compilation, and usually when I buy one, I end up deleting a few songs that just don’t do it for me. This is not the case with Chiptunes = Win Vol 2. There really is not a bad track on this entire album.

So I’m going to do something crazy and write a small review of every song on the whole thing (except my own, because that’s just tacky). Read on to get a quick look at each track!

Continue reading Chiptunes = Win Volume 2 Is Here! →

GAME MUSIC, MUSIC, PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS

Music Stuff: Getting Started with Chiptunes

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This is an excerpt that Cutman wrote about a year ago as a guest blog author. While this is some stuff many of you probably already know, it goes great with our indie musician series and is the perfect place to start if you’re thinking about delving into creating your own tunes!

8-bit music, or Chiptune, is the art of creating new music with classic, nostalgia-inducing sounds found in antiquated video games and computer hardware, like the Nintendo Entertainment System and Gameboy. Originally restricted to almost exclusive use within video games, Chiptune music has now grown well beyond the cartage into its own unique style of electronic music.

The word Chiptune was affectionately applied to this sub-genre of electronic music in the 90′s, as communities of musicians around the globe began to assemble around the love of this classic sound. The word “Chiptune” was given because the music was primarily created on a system with a single hardware sound chip (much unlike modern computers and recording equipment) Now-a-days, there are many ways to create this type of music, from running homebrew software on a modified Gameboy, to downloading standalone software and plug-ins for modern Digital Audio Workstations (DAW).

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CHIPTUNE, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC, PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS

Life as A Freelance Video Game Musician: Part 1: What It Takes

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beatscribe007ySQURWe’re starting a little series on here that takes a look at what it’s like to be an indie video game composer, offering tips for the business side of things as well as insight into the process of designing music and sound for video games.

Years ago, the prospects for an indie game composer – especially one influenced by chiptune and classic gaming tunes – were slim. If you weren’t an uber-talented genius with the right connections, it was not a viable way to make a living. While it’s still not the easiest lifestyle, I can say it is possible. Read on to find out exactly what it takes and feel free to add any questions you have to the comments.

I have spent the last year and a half supporting my family on freelance endeavors in the gaming world. Right off the bat, I want to say that I don’t consider myself the top-of-the-line expert in the world or production and sound design. I have a background of playing in ska bands as a kid and just being nuts about game music since the NES came out. I’ve never worked on an AAA game, I don’t have an agent or a $50,000 home studio. That being said, however, thanks to the explosion in video game design and advances like the iOS market, I can make a decent living doing what I love.

This series will answer questions like, “what’s the bare minimum you need to get started?”, “how do you find clients?” and other things like that. Feel free to post in the comments any topics you have questions on. I plan to consult with other indie musicians for feedback as well.

Part I: What It Takes

Flexibility

If you’re thinking of having a go at making music for a living, there are some things you need to make sure you are aware of. First off, you probably will have to make types of music you don’t know or particularly like from time to time. For example, if all you do is dubstep or chiptune, you’re narrowing down the type of clients and the type of games you’re music applies to. Be prepared to emulate everything from classic orchestral tunes to hard-driving electronic and industrial music. You can’t be picky, this is how you make your living, you might be making nothing but little kids game music for months. You have to be able to make it your own and find some fun in the process if its not the music of your choice.

Continue reading Life as A Freelance Video Game Musician: Part 1: What It Takes →

PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS

Music Stuff: Digital Audio Workstations

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The Digital Audio Work Station is the core application for music producers and sound engineers. This is where you build songs, master them and do everything in between. Most of us can’t afford all of them, so this article will help you make some decisions on which ones work best for you.

 

Cubase

cubasePrice: $249.00

Trial: 30-day free, no restrictions.

 

 

 

 

Pros: Feels like Pro Tools and Logic pro. Very user-friendly and intuitive interface. Works great with most VSTs and third-party plugins. Scales well, meaning it can use SSD drives, load massive samples and other high-end things like that.

 

Cons: Cubase is a little dated, sometimes you’ll find it lacking in some newer features. Real exotic VSTs sometimes are not compatable as well. It’s also quite pricy if you want the version that comes with everything you need.

 

Cubbase has been around a long time and expanded from an Atari tracker released in 1989 up to a full blown digital audio workstation. It’s great for recording stuff live, running VSTis and is an overal stable and familiar environment.

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