gameboy soundcard as an instrument/fx

kim · Post by **kim** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:13 pm

so i've a few old gameboys (advance, color, originals), a nes and snes lying around here, and i'm thinking..how cool would it be to turn a gameboy into a pedal for guitar/bass usage (reduce your sound to 8bit, 16bit, some kind of bitshifter pedal..) or into a synth,
i love gameboy music, i admit, but i'd like to take things a little further and combine them with a guitar or bass instead of a keyboard/synth.

i know about special software and cards being available but i'm a cheapass so i can't be bothered buying software.
is there free software that makes it possible to use (for instance) garagebands keyboard as a controller for your gameboy's soundcard (connected to your laptop) ?
also, do you know about any bit shifting guitar pedals ?

Tweez · Post by **Tweez** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:23 pm

I remember seeing some stuff on a circuit bending site once, I'll try and find it for you.

You planning on recording some Chiptune?

kim · Post by **kim** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:52 pm

would be cool yes, stuff like sidabitball is great, but only for a couple of tunes tho, then it gets irritating..
but those lo-fi computer sounds are amusing to mess around with, music like that has been around for quite some time, dj's hooking up gameboys to their synths and laptops, and rock bands are starting to incorporate them into their setup as well, so it's possible, but it costs money, and i'm always broke, haha

so yeah, that's why i'm looking around for some freeware to be able to connect a gameboy to my laptop (i have an audio program that sounds similar, and i can record sounds with it, but it's just not the same)

then i also heard about certain (boutique..i guess) fx pedals that work like bitshifters..

euan · Post by **euan** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:33 pm

Have a listen to this band Kim

Most stuff on 8 Bit Peoples is available to download. I recommend Bitshifter and Nullsleep if you dont know them already.

The problem is the Gameboy doesn't actually have an audio input. The soundchip itself is actually only 4bit as well, which 4 channels of sound, one of them being exclusively a noise channel. Anything is going to require hacking of a Gameboy or buying a special cart.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:38 pm

not quite a gameboy.....but

http://www.wayfar.net/0xf00000_overview.php

euan · Post by **euan** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:43 pm

Oh and Kim, check out anything by

Tweakbench

Post by **Doog** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:49 pm

heavium wrote:s
also, do you know about any bit shifting guitar pedals ?

Probably a bit too specialised, and I don't imagine ADA converters are too cheap.

euan · Post by **euan** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:54 pm

I think RG Keen or Tim Inventor of The Uglyface made an analogue cicruit that did something similar.

kim · Post by **kim** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:33 pm

thanks for the links and stuff, did a lot of bookmarking, hehe
i didn't know nullsleep, sounds good.

kim · Post by **kim** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:40 pm

nooo, aple'd again, those plugins are windoze only.

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:52 pm

learn to play like dragonforce!!!

Post by **Doog** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:47 pm

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:12 pm

"tell your friends that herman ri is coo or i will shit on your head"

hahahahahahahahahah!!!!

JJLipton · Post by **JJLipton** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:55 pm

nintendo sounds have sparked entire "genres" of music such as "Nintendocore". Examples of this would be the ever so funny, Horse the Band.

Post by **Doog** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:00 pm

My Boss 8track has a "lo-fi box" selection of FX for the phono line inputs, including bit reduction simulation (I'm presuming). Wish it worked on the 1/4" inputs, guess I just need a adaptor to try it out on guitar..

iCEByTes · Post by **iCEByTes** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:33 am

have way plug the Sega megadrive ?

Yamaha YM2612 is Pure ownage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YM2612

Yuzo Koshiro , Got an Yamaha YM2612 And putted over an Keyboard , and did the Streets of Rage magic sound

more about yuzo
http://www.saindodamatrix.com.br/mob/ar ... ro_th.html

streets of rage tunes
http://www.saindodamatrix.com.br/mob/ar ... hiro5.html

amazing how they did that in song on an Video game maded in 1988
they literary taked all Yamaha YM2612 can do

streets of rage 1-2-3 and Shinibi are genious work sound ....
real genious

kim · Post by **kim** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 12:08 pm

i got this for the time being:

http://www.ymck.net/download/

works great in garageband with musical typing, i can get weird bends out of it and it sounds pretty similar to the real thing...easy to install too.

i can turn garaband's drumtracks into gameboy beats with it too.

but it's still a synth, i'm still interested in some kind of bit shifting fx pedal.

learn to play like dragonfly ? please.

the video you posted is funny

gameboy soundcard as an instrument/fx

gameboy soundcard as an instrument/fx

Re: gameboy soundcard as an instrument/fx