Few questions on .mod music

[r0ber7]

Hi, I'm starting to get the hang of making .mod music again, and since my memory is a bit rusty in places, I'd like to ask you some questions:

- Is there a musicians subforum I've missed?
- Is there a 8bit sample pack flying around here somewhere?
- Is there a guide on Protracker's codes? I mean the ones which define the sound of the sample, like C40 sets volume at 40. I forgot a lot of them and wanna make my sound nice.

I wanna make this next mod sound great.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by r0ber7

- Is there a musicians subforum I've missed?

Nope, we have two request subforums for modules and music though...

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by r0ber7

- Is there a 8bit sample pack flying around here somewhere?

Depends on what you want to do. You could use Modcrusher or The Player 6.1 to pack the samples in your modules.

Originally Posted by r0ber7

- Is there a guide on Protracker's codes? I mean the ones which define the sound of the sample, like C40 sets volume at 40. I forgot a lot of them and wanna make my sound nice.

You can find a lot of information in the Protracker support archive.

[musashi5150]

Originally Posted by r0ber7

- Is there a 8bit sample packer flying around here somewhere?

Originally Posted by StingRay

Depends on what you want to do. You could use Modcrusher or The Player 6.1 to pack the samples in your modules.

I put the er in for your Stinger

[daxb]

You don`t have to limit on 8bit sample packs. There are tools for converting 16bit to 8bit on every platform (I guess). However, for a start you can watch Aminet what has a sample dir (I guess).

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by musashi5150

I put the er in for your Stinger

Shouldn't post when tired I guess. =) Maybe his next question would have been about sample packers though, who knows?

[r0ber7]

Here I was thinking I'd missed something. I figured out a way to turn 16bit into 8bit samples though, so I can use everything I normally do (like stuff from freesound.org)

Thanks for the replies, been very helpful.

If you're interested here's my second .mod in years, unfinished & made with the few samples I had before I started sample hunting, but hey. Supposed to be played at 150 bpm, but I haven't yet figured out the code for song speed, so it only plays right in Protracker on my system.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20272563/mod...20viking-1.mod

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by r0ber7

- Is there a guide on Protracker's codes? I mean the ones which define the sound of the sample, like C40 sets volume at 40. I forgot a lot of them and wanna make my sound nice.

Something like this... Not very newbie friendly, but it's a complete doc about the functions.

0xy - Arpeggio (used mostly on chip samples ---- modulate tick by 3 (int arpTick = currentFrame % 3) -- frame 0 play note, frame 1 play note+x, frame 2 play note+y)
1xx - Pitch slide up
2xx - Pitch slide down
3xx - pitch slide to note (slides the current pitch towards the new note number entered before the effect)
4xy - Vibrato (x = speed, y = depth -- inc/dec pitch with a sinus table)
5xy - Pitch slide to note + volume slide (xy for volume slide)
6xy - Vibrato + volume slide (xy for volume slide)
7xy - Tremolo (x = speed, y = depth -- fades volume with a sinus table)
8xx - (NOT USED IN PROTRACKER - interpret as "set panning xx 00h..FFh" in newer trackers)
9xx - Sample offset (play sample from offset xx*8 instead of beginning)
Axy - Volume slide (AFx = volume slide up, AxF = volume slide down)
Bxx - Position jump (jump to another order - decimal)
Cxx - Set channel volume (00h..40h)
Dxx - Pattern break to row (jump to specified row (or next order if D00) - decimal-in-hex -- convert to decimal)
Exy - Extended commands (see below)
Fxx - (set ticks per row/BPM-- if (xx < 32) set_ticks(xx) else set_BPM(xx))

Extended commands:
E0x - Set Amiga LED filter (E00 = on, E01 = off (everything else gets clamped to E01))
E1x - Fine pitch slide up
E2x - Fine pitch slide down
E3x - Set "pitch slide to note" settings (E30 = slide through all pitches, E31 = slide through semitones only (everything else gets clamped to E31))
E4x - Set vibrato waveform (E40 = sine (default), E41 = ramp down, E42 = square wave (everything else gets clamped to E42))
E5x - Set sample finetune (x = finetune for current sample)
E6x - Pattern loop (E60 = set pattern loop start, E6x = loop x times)
E7x - Set tremolo waveform (E70 = sine (default), E71 = ramp down, E72 = square wave (everything else gets clamped to E72))
E8x - Karplus Strong (interpolates sample[voice_read_index] in its loop every ticks, repeat, only for looped samples)
E9x - Retrig note (play note again at frame/tick x)
EAx - Fine volume slide up
EBx - Fine volume slide down
ECx - Note cut (turn off note volume at frame/tick x, don't turn on again)
EDx - Note delay (don't play note until frame/tick x)
EEx - Pattern delay (don't process/play current row until frame/tick x)
EFx - Invert loop (x = speed -- change neg/pos on sample[voice_read_index] in its loop, repeat, only for looped samples

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by r0ber7

Supposed to be played at 150 bpm, but I haven't yet figured out the code for song speed

The command to set the speed in Protracker is "F" followed by the speed, eg. F06. Check the "CIA tempo calculation" chapter in the Protracker support archive to learn how to calculate the value for the speed command (default is 06 = 125 BPM). You'll know how to set the speed to 150 BPM then.

[Foul]

Protracker V2.1A Effect Commands
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 - Normal play or Arpeggio             0xy : x-first halfnote add, y-second
1 - Slide Up                            1xx : upspeed
2 - Slide Down                          2xx : downspeed
3 - Tone Portamento                     3xx : up/down speed
4 - Vibrato                             4xy : x-speed,   y-depth
5 - Tone Portamento + Volume Slide      5xy : x-upspeed, y-downspeed
6 - Vibrato + Volume Slide              6xy : x-upspeed, y-downspeed
7 - Tremolo                             7xy : x-speed,   y-depth
8 - NOT USED
9 - Set SampleOffset                    9xx : offset (23 -> 2300)
A - VolumeSlide                         Axy : x-upspeed, y-downspeed
B - Position Jump                       Bxx : songposition
C - Set Volume                          Cxx : volume, 00-40
D - Pattern Break                       Dxx : break position in next patt
E - E-Commands                          Exy : see below...
F - Set Speed                           Fxx : speed (00-1F) / tempo (20-FF)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E0- Set Filter                          E0x : 0-filter on, 1-filter off
E1- FineSlide Up                        E1x : value
E2- FineSlide Down                      E2x : value
E3- Glissando Control                   E3x : 0-off, 1-on (use with tonep.)
E4- Set Vibrato Waveform                E4x : 0-sine, 1-ramp down, 2-square
E5- Set Loop                            E5x : set loop point
E6- Jump to Loop                        E6x : jump to loop, play x times
E7- Set Tremolo Waveform                E7x : 0-sine, 1-ramp down. 2-square
E8- NOT USED
E9- Retrig Note                         E9x : retrig from note + x vblanks
EA- Fine VolumeSlide Up                 EAx : add x to volume
EB- Fine VolumeSlide Down               EBx : subtract x from volume
EC- NoteCut                             ECx : cut from note + x vblanks
ED- NoteDelay                           EDx : delay note x vblanks
EE- PatternDelay                        EEx : delay pattern x notes
EF- Invert Loop                         EFx : speed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter "CRAYON" Hanning /Mushroom Studios/Noxious

[Crown]

Rober7,

You can use AMP's forum right here: http://amp.dascene.net/forum/

A lot of musicians hang around and will be happy to help you with technical issues.

[Anakirob]

8xx - (NOT USED IN PROTRACKER - interpret as "set panning xx 00h..FFh" in newer trackers)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 8xx often used as a trigger for syncing code with MOD music? Jesus on E's being a prime example.

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by Anakirob

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 8xx often used as a trigger for syncing code with MOD music?

Yes because the 8xx command is unused in Protracker, i.e. it can be used for anything.