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## Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Neonchiptune
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### Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Neonchiptune » Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:25 am

I've been wanting to get into using this chip for a while, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use it effectively.
I hate to say it.. but does anyone have any tutorials or basic tips on how to get started with this expansion and its instrument editor? Thanks.
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Dr. Merio
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Dr. Merio » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:30 am

The wiki has an article on N163 which you may find interesting. Here you go.
Basically, the Namco 163 is a chip which allows you to add a variable amount of channels, ranging from 1 to 8, which work using wavetable synthesis (you draw your own waveforms and make music with them). It has several quirks. For example, when 7 or 8 channels are enabled, you will hear an annoying high-pitched sound when you play your songs. It also has a lot of aliasing, which is more noticeable the more channels you add.
You can store as many as 16 different waves in a single instrument. Also, each instrument is assigned a slot in the wave memory (via the "Wave position" option in the instrument editor), and you must always be careful to avoid playing two instruments with the same wave position at the same time. When this happens, the results are quite ugly. There is also an option for wave size, which can vary from 4 to 32. These options are accessed through the "Wave" tab in the instrument editor, which will be explained later.
The instrument editor has two tabs. The first one is the "Envelopes" tab, and it has all the options you would expect, like volume, arpeggio, pitch and hi-pitch. Additionally, it also allows you to define wave sequences, which alternates between the different waves you can define in an instrument.
The second tab in the instrument editor is the "Wave" tab. Here is where you can access the features exclusive to N163 instruments.The most important part about it is the waveform editor. This is where you draw the waves that will be used with an instrument. There are five preset waves defined here, and you can access them using the buttons below the waveform editor. You can draw waves by inputting values using the MML field below the waveform editor, or by simply using your mouse and clicking and dragging on the waveform editor.
Like I said above, you can define up to 16 different waves on a single instrument. Every wave is assigned the same size and memory position, which can be configured from this editor. Again, always make sure you never play two instruments that use the same wave positions at the same time.
I hope this gives you a basic idea of how to use this chip. Remember to experiment with it a lot! Feel free to ask if something is not clear.
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Neonchiptune
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Neonchiptune » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:59 am

> Dr. Merio wrote:I hope this gives you a basic idea of how to use this chip. Remember to experiment with it a lot! Feel free to ask if something is not clear.

Wow, thank you so much!!! Using this chip is gonna be a lot of fun!
I shortened the reply to prevent cluttering up the board.
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Mojitone
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Mojitone » Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:44 pm

I was about to make a new thread but I felt this question would belong to this topic as well, so here goes.
How does one go about making samples faithful to the source using the wavetable? I use Furrykef's waveform analyzer on Audacity, but even then the samples I use are too long to fit in 16 32-bit waveforms.
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PostApocolyptica
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by PostApocolyptica » Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:55 pm

> Mojitone wrote:I was about to make a new thread but I felt this question would belong to this topic as well, so here goes.
> How does one go about making samples faithful to the source using the wavetable? I use Furrykef's waveform analyzer on Audacity, but even then the samples I use are too long to fit in 16 32-bit waveforms.

One has to expect a decline in sample quality when using N163. Do not be disparaged at the inability to create "faithful" samples - that is, 100% sampling. This is simply the limitation of the hardware. One can, however, attempt to be as faithful as possible, without achieving 100% accuracy.
I was alternatively going to suggest increasing the waveform size past 32 bits, but for course that is not a vanilla feature.
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Mojitone
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Mojitone » Sun Jun 28, 2015 12:31 am

That...didn't really answer my question.
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Threxx
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Threxx » Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:52 am

> Mojitone wrote:I was about to make a new thread but I felt this question would belong to this topic as well, so here goes.
> How does one go about making samples faithful to the source using the wavetable? I use Furrykef's waveform analyzer on Audacity, but even then the samples I use are too long to fit in 16 32-bit waveforms.

Add sections to the waveform and break the sampled string into multiples of 16 or 32.
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Mojitone
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Mojitone » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:09 am

> Threxx wrote:

> > Mojitone wrote:I was about to make a new thread but I felt this question would belong to this topic as well, so here goes.
> > How does one go about making samples faithful to the source using the wavetable? I use Furrykef's waveform analyzer on Audacity, but even then the samples I use are too long to fit in 16 32-bit waveforms.

> Add sections to the waveform and break the sampled string into multiples of 16 or 32.

I hate to admit, but I'm a complete newb on doing these things. Can you go into detail about this?
I tried breaking the sample into segments of roughly 16ms each instead, and I found it to yield better results that breaking it into 32-steps waves.
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Threxx
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Threxx » Sun Jun 28, 2015 12:48 pm

> Mojitone wrote:

> > Threxx wrote:

> > > Mojitone wrote:I was about to make a new thread but I felt this question would belong to this topic as well, so here goes.
> > > How does one go about making samples faithful to the source using the wavetable? I use Furrykef's waveform analyzer on Audacity, but even then the samples I use are too long to fit in 16 32-bit waveforms.

> > Add sections to the waveform and break the sampled string into multiples of 16 or 32.

> I hate to admit, but I'm a complete newb on doing these things. Can you go into detail about this?
> I tried breaking the sample into segments of roughly 16ms each instead, and I found it to yield better results that breaking it into 32-steps waves.

Remember the thing that was mentioned about the N163 allowing multiple waves per instrument? Utilize that feature, and break the selection up into multiples of 32.
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Mojitone
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### Re: Tips for Nacmo 163?

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Post by Mojitone » Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:36 pm

I don't have a problem with using the N163 wavetables, I just don't know which region of a WAV sample I should convert to MML values on Audacity.
I get somewhat satisfying results with this WAV file but I'd like to git gud at it.
This project contains the wav I used for the instrument

Attachments
  gsg.ftm
    the instrument
    (3.16 KiB) Downloaded 305 times

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