Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect? - FamiTracker

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## Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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PleasePleasePepper
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### Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by PleasePleasePepper » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:00 pm

I tried reading the Wiki but it didn't make any sense to me. How do I know how fast to make it change? All I want it to do is slide between two notes I have. Am I putting it in the wrong place? Does it go on the first note, the second note, or inbetween? I'm just super confused and there are no good tutorials online for this effect. Thanks in advance
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Threxx
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by Threxx » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:07 pm

examples
all 3 here are 100% acceptable. the placement of the effect does not change the pitch slide, only the parameters and the distance between the notes in the pattern editor.

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  portaexample.ftm
    (780 Bytes) Downloaded 309 times

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PleasePleasePepper
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by PleasePleasePepper » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:10 pm

> Threxx wrote:examples
> all 3 here are 100% acceptable. the placement of the effect does not change the pitch slide, only the parameters and the distance between the notes in the pattern editor.

So can you tell me how to do it? In your example the note didn't change until after the second note was written. How do I make it change between two notes? And I still don't know how to figure out what speed to use.
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HertzDevil
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by HertzDevil » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:34 pm

> PleasePleasePepper wrote:How do I make it change between two notes? And I still don't know how to figure out what speed to use.

You cannot use the 3xx effect before the current row knows the destination note to slide to, so pitch slides are initiated by the destination note; for this reason, there is no effect that interpolates the channel pitch from the current row to the next note. The 3xx effect updates the automatic slide speed with the parameter value, so that all future notes cause the current pitch to slide to that new pitch at the given speed. Greater values produce faster bends, and 300 disables automatic portamento altogether.
You can explicitly calculate the slide speed by finding the pitch registers of the end points and then dividing that by the number of ticks and the slide speed multiplier. For example, for a 2A03 note to slide from D-3 to D-2 in 6 ticks, the parameter would be (0x2F9 - 0x17C) ÷ 6 ÷ 1 = 63.5, so 340 should be used. In general this requires more calculation involving the actual pitch registers and row durations, so trial-and-error is almost always faster than computing the speed. As an example, in the FTM above, if all you want is a pitch slide from the C-3 to the C-4 in the given number of rows, you could use this to test the 3xx parameter:

Code: Select all

`# : Pulse 1
ROW 00 : C-3 00 . ...
ROW 01 : ... .. . ...
ROW 02 : C-4 00 . 3xx
ROW 03 : ... .. . ...
ROW 04 : ... .. . ...
ROW 05 : ... .. . ...
ROW 06 : ... .. . 300
`
Check [Tracker] -> [Display register state] (or [Tracker] -> [Display active effects] in the 0.5.0 betas), and slowly increase the value of xx until the channel's pitch stays at a constant value for larger values of xx. Here, when xx is 09, 0A, or above, the channel pitch stays at 0xD5; thus 309 will be the smallest parameter that allows a C-3 to slide to C-4 on 4 rows, assuming any four consecutive rows comprise the same number of ticks (which is true if you do not use uneven tempo values; somewhere at the wiki and this forum have more information on that).
refactoring 0cc-famitracker
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PleasePleasePepper
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by PleasePleasePepper » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:37 pm

That was kind of hard for me to understand but I sort of got it... so what do I do if I want to slide between two notes that are only two ticks apart? Is that even possible?
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HertzDevil
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by HertzDevil » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:40 pm

The same principle applies, e.g.:

Code: Select all

`# : Pulse 1
ROW 00 : C-3 00 . F02
ROW 01 : C-4 00 . 36B
ROW 02 : ... .. . 300`
refactoring 0cc-famitracker
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PleasePleasePepper
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by PleasePleasePepper » Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:44 pm

Alright. Sorry for asking so many questions, this just seems so complicated. Can you try and explain it again in more simple terms? I'm pretty new to this program so I only understood every 5 words you said
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PleasePleasePepper
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by PleasePleasePepper » Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:02 pm

Here's exactly what I'm trying to do. I want to make a cover of the flower garden theme. At a certain point (The 3rd Frame), the lead track dips down and back up within 6 ticks. I have no idea how to make it do that, and I tried to put in what you gave me but it didn't work.

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  yoshi.ftm
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ollaxe
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by ollaxe » Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:14 pm

In such cases, it's generally a better idea to use Qxy and Rxy, which are note slides. Rxy slides down and Qxy slides up. x is how fast you want it to slide, and y is how many half-notes up/down you want to go. I've provided an edit of your Yoshi cover to show you kinda how it works.

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  yoshi.ftm
    Compatible with 0.4.6
    (2.63 KiB) Downloaded 197 times

Hi! I'm not really active here anymore but I still make music. Nowadays I mostly make dubstep with emphasis on good melodies and chord progressions.
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/ollaxe
Twitter: twitter.com/ollaxe
Discord server: dis.gd/tK7uRnc
I'm also on Spotify. Search "OllAxe" and you'll find me.
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HertzDevil
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### Re: Can anyone explain how to properly use the 3xx effect?

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Post by HertzDevil » Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:24 pm

340 is way too fast. Another issue is that, by putting a new note, regardless of whether the instrument column is empty, the instrument will be triggered; this is why you hear three distinct notes rather than a single sliding note. The 3xx effect is rarely used if the instrument can be triggered. (Blank instruments cannot, so the FTM example above shows smooth pitch slides.)
Here are some solutions:

- Even 301 will do:

  Code: Select all

  `# : Pulse 2
  ROW 00 : G-4 00 6 ...
  ROW 01 : F#4 00 . 301
  ROW 02 : ... .. . ...
  ROW 03 : G-4 00 . ...
  ROW 04 : ... .. . ...
  ROW 05 : ... .. . 300`
  This will still create 3 distinct notes.
- Or, pitch slides will:

  Code: Select all

  `# : Pulse 2
  ROW 00 : G-4 00 6 ...
  ROW 01 : ... .. . R01
  ROW 02 : ... .. . ...
  ROW 03 : ... .. . Q01 ; no 300 required`
  The actual pitch bend is more like this in the original song:

  Code: Select all

  `# : Pulse 2
  ROW 00 : G-4 00 6 ... ...
  ROW 01 : ... .. . R01 ...
  ROW 02 : ... .. . Q01 G02`
  Notice how the speed parameter of those effects is 0; for Qxy and Rxy, the slide speed for an equivalent 3xx effect would be (2 × x + 1).
- You cannot actually use 3xx at all because the pitch bend occurs before the instrument's attack envelope finishes. However, assuming you are using a blank instrument, the pitch slides above can be converted to:

  Code: Select all

  `# : Pulse 2
  ROW 00 : G-4 04 6 ...
  ROW 01 : F#4 04 . 301
  ROW 02 : G-4 04 . G02
  ROW 03 : ... .. . ...
  ROW 04 : ... .. . 300`
  This saves you an effect column, yet produces fairly close results. It is up to you to find a way to recreate the volume envelope if needed (e.g. using Axy).
- For maximum accuracy, create a separate instrument for this pitch slide:

  Code: Select all

  `# : Pulse 2
  ROW 00 : G-4 03 6 ...`
  Where instrument 03 uses this pitch sequence:

  Code: Select all

  `Relative: 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 1 -1 -2 -1 -1 -2 -1
  Absolute: 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 5 7 8 7 5 4 3 1 0 (requires 0.5.0 beta)`
  Why 8? From the register state display, you could see that the note G-4 on 2A03 gives a period of 0x8E, whereas F#4 gives 0x96, and 0x96 - 0x8E = 8. The pitch sequence then bends the note from G-4 to F#4 in exactly 6 ticks, which in fact do not evenly divide 8, so slide effects are either too slow or too fast. Note that this instrument would work only for note G-4; for other notes you need separate instruments and pitch sequences.

refactoring 0cc-famitracker
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