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Little Sound Dj

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71 pointsTomte42 comments

Love these live LSDJ sets. 2x DMG gameboy through an amp = incredible bass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6t2FENK7KQ - Chipzel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHV-0VZ33LA - Monodeer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKQmAtcQWbA - Monodeer

The first track on that second Monodeer mix is outrageous. Wild that he can pull that sound from a Gameboy!

This is probably my favourite (4x!) LSDJ set: https://youtu.be/cFz43VTRyE4

Trey Frey gets some incredible sounds out of these Gameboys.

Other video game console sound interfaces:

* Synthcart (Atari 2600): http://qotile.net/synth.html

* MSSIAH (C64): https://www.mssiah.com/

* Wayfar MidiNES (NES): https://www.matrixsynth.com/2006/01/wayfar-midines-and-nesfx...

* Super MIDI Pak (SNES): https://www.supermidipak.com/

LSDJ, war-dialing and dumpster-diving on the front page - are we feeling nostalgic today, HN? (:

Another era is coming to a close!

You can't feel it?!

If you’re into this kind of thing check out the Dirtywave M8. LSDJ-like but includes some nice improvements like a nice 4op FM synth, some nice FX, etc. In addition, the sole developer has been incredibly responsive on rolling out fixes and features. Highly recommended. One of my favorite pieces of gear I own.

And if the price tag and availability puts you off there is a headless version that costs around $30-$40. I played with the headless for a few months before I committed to the purchase of the actual M8. But LSDJ was my gateway drug to this whole thing and I love it too.

What’s the $40 model called?

https://github.com/DirtyWave/M8Docs/blob/main/docs/M8Headles...

It's not so much that there's a cheaper model, but Dirtywave releases a version of the firmware that will run on a standard Teensy 4.1.

That means that you can get going for the cost of a teenst, an SD card and a micro-USB cable.

I get this is HN.

But an Ipad Mini costs less , and has more than enough to make a full album.

So why don't you develop software on your iPad Mini? It costs less than a desktop machine or a Macbook Pro, and has more than enough to ~make a full album~ write a full program.

Just because something costs less and can still technically do what another thing can do doesn't mean you should use it. You wouldn't go to a programmer and try to convince him to use a raspberryPi instead, it costs less and can do all the same things!

What makes the Dirtywave M8 Tracker unique is it's handheld format (similar to an iPad Mini), it's haptic features, say shape, surface, buttons, etc (much, much better than an iPad Mini) and it's purpose-built software. While you can exchange a purpose-built device for a general-purpose device, it doesn't make sense from a usability and efficiency standpoint.

For many musicians the tools and workflow are a big part of the enjoyment and of the creative process.

While software on an iPad or a laptop these days can essentially make any style of music without the need for additional hardware, there's a sizable group for whom that process isn't inspiring or enjoyable.

There's definitely a lot of gear fetishism in the music scene which is definitely its own problem, but I think that there's value in making music with the tools that work for you, rather than just with what's cheapest, highest-tech, or most versatile.

I didn't have a Game Boy, but I did have a GP2X and had lots of fun with the LSDJ-inspired tracker, LittleGPTracker, worth checking out for all sorts of platforms: http://www.littlegptracker.com/

Oh nice, it seems the interface is a pattern based tracker interface, similar to Jeskola Buzz or Psychle, meaning you have a multi track table with patterns, then once you click on a pattern you get to a traditional tracker interface, like OctaMed or FastTracker. See from around 7:30 in this video: https://youtu.be/V9ZxN240lr8?t=450

I'm sorry I just realised I mis-spelled Psycle, in case anyone is interested you can find it here http://psycle.pastnotecut.org/portal.php

Still have a cartridge and printed manual for LSDJ somewhere. Unfortunately I don’t have a working GameBoy to use it with any more.

The guy behind it also made one of my absolute favorite chip music records as Role Model, En tyst minut, but it looks like it’s completely impossible to find in a digital format.

You got me really curious but I came up short.. Have you tried contacting him? The label is no more.

Huh, perhaps you'd be willing to part with it? (I got a working gameboy!) Will pay for package and handling of course!

a long time ago i bought a r/w GB cart for LSDj and played with it on an original GameBoy. it sounds awesome, but at the time i found it really hard to use. it would be pretty great if there was a way to use a standard keyboard with it.

made me smile to see this on HN

I still have my Mr. Flash 64M cart. Sadly it requires Windows 95 or 98 to run the flashing software and a PC with a parallel port.

There’s a nice intro to using lsdj here: https://youtu.be/V9ZxN240lr8

Revision 2018 seminar “An introduction to Little Sound DJ”

this one, also by RoccoW, is perhaps better for complete beginners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBUyAQ3_dQ

Was too poor to have a GameBoy and don't really remember what they sounded like. It's been 30 years since I've touched one. NES sound was pretty bad, honestly. Yes, I love the handful of Dr. Mario tunes but there were like 64 samples or something. Not bad but nowhere near the actual techno tunes from Streets of Rage 2/3.

Can't remember if the legend was SNES had the better audio than Mega Drive. I certainly don't remember things being this way.

> Can't remember if the legend was SNES had the better audio than Mega Drive. I certainly don't remember things being this way.

While the soundchip of the SNES is technically superior (sample-based versus the Mega Drive’s FM synthesis), some people prefer the sound of the Sega console. Personally I lean towards the SNES, but some Mega Drive games (like the Streets of Rage examples you mentioned) can have real bangers. In the end it’s a matter of taste.

I'm YM2612 'til dirtnap.

> NES sound was pretty bad, honestly.

“Pretty bad”, I will have to disagree greatly with you there. Yes, there is plenty of awful music composed for the NES sound chip, but the same goes for the SID, YM2612, etc. As with any instrument, you need talent.

For heaven’s sake, what about Takashi Tateishi’s amazing soundtrack for Mega Man 2? As an example, here is the Woodman stage theme [1].

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDC4X8Dgxr4&t=477s

Admittedly the Japanese release of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse was helped by the addition of the VRC6 chip when it comes to sound, but the depth of the notes is astonishing [2].

[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqyoTvZ5cOE&t=2050s

Let us head west then, what about Jeroen Tel’s Overlord theme for the NES? [3] Or what many consider some of the best sound ever extracted from the NES: Tim Follin’s work for Silver Surfer [4].

[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5vccpl9hd8

[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQlLl2j5THQ&t=231s

Heck, the NES sound chip brings us great tunes to this day. Listen for example to Rainbowdragoneyes’s first half of the soundtrack for The Messenger (2018) [5]. Track 8, “Bamboo Boogaloo (Bamboo Creek)”, never fails to put a smile on my face.

[5]: https://rainbowdragoneyes.bandcamp.com/album/the-messenger-o...

Yes, the Mega Drive sound is great (despite some finding it having a bit too much “twang”). Personally, I really like the Battletoads soundtrack on the Mega Drive [6]. However, using the word “bad” anywhere in a sentence with the NES sound chip is not something I can stand hearing without speaking up – it is objectively wrong.

[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHsKEv87rY

Fair enough. I really wanted to say that even with a tiny amount of instruments, it's still possible to great music but couldn't figure out how to put it nicely. Mega Man did have some impressive tunes, that's true.

A nice tune that was made with LSDJ: Puss – Välkommen hem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPBK9e4EBw

There was a DJ called Fuckstorm that used to do some live PAs with this. I used to have some mp3s of his. I can't find any examples of his music online anymore, unfortunately.

PA? Public address?

"Live PA" is a term commonly used in the electronic music universe to describe a performance by an artist that typically involves all hardware (synthesizers, Gameboys in this instance, etc.) instead of all software or just someone DJ'ing music.

performing artist

I guess yes, i.e. live performances where gameboy audio output was connected to a PA system[1] (likely together with other instruments like drum machines or samplers).

[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_address_system

Unfortunately no samples. I once had a Game Boy and was hoping for some nostalgia ;-)

no samples of what? the ROM is freely available (donations are appreciated) https://www.littlesounddj.com/lsd/latest/rom_images/

Samples of the music it generates, presumably.

Music played by a Game Boy. I assume it has a recognizable sound.

could start here: https://www.8bitpeoples.com/?page=1

There are many chiptune artists writing music with game boy software, even doing live performance with them. A personal favorite is Klirre: https://klirre.bandcamp.com/track/sajuuk-over-and-over

Album description says that this song was "written on a classic DMG Gameboy using Nanoloop 1.7." (not the op software).

I also like Cyanide Dansen's music: https://cyanidedansen.bandcamp.com/

obligatory self plug: https://defensemechanism.bandcamp.com/album/slycology

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