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Square's RPG samples are obviously recordings of real instruments, but for games like SMW and F-Zero, does anyone know what the instruments actually are? We're they sampled from a keyboard synthesizer? Did they just use whatever midi samples their computer came with?

Synthesizers were a big source of instruments, I think. I would bet more than a few SNES games sampled the popular Yamaha DX7.

I think I remember hearing that DKC (I don't know about the other 2 games though) used a "Korg Wavestation" synthesizer.

This is what it sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fokDelaxM

The best part is, I just noticed someone said this:

Andre Bismara (whoever that is) wrote:2:06 reminds me of some music in Donkey Kong Country. Oh, the memories...

Wikipedia wrote:Price
$2195

Holy crap!

Or perhaps Nintendo signed a deal with some manufacturer of samplers to provide some samples with the example sound driver. Bregalad thinks it's a Roland SC-55.

It's funny how much of what I thought of what was "Super Nintendo" style music, when I was little, ended up actually being the sound of keyboard synths that were around at the time. Childhood ruined.

I seem to remember that one of the Yamaha synths was patch-compatible with the YM2612 in the Genesis. Which was it? Because if someone sampled that synth in a Super NES game, then Genesis does nothing that Nintendon't.

tepples wrote:I seem to remember that one of the Yamaha synths was patch-compatible with the YM2612 in the Genesis. Which was it? Because if someone sampled that synth in a Super NES game, then Genesis does nothing that Nintendon't.

It was patch-compatible with the YM2414, used most famously in Yamaha TX81Z. Also, the chip was a sort-of-successor to the YM2151, another 4-operator chip used in DX100 et al (and many famous arcade boards), so up-converting patches from that chip was mostly possible.

Really, the synthesizer part of the Mega Drive sound chip is extremely awesome (IMO!), but it was let down by the poor PCM channel and general misuse.

Tim Follin said in one of the interviews that his samples was recordings from the real instruments.

Optiroc wrote:Really, the synthesizer part of the Mega Drive sound chip is extremely awesome (IMO!), but it was let down by the poor PCM channel and general misuse.

In my mind, the problem with most MD soundtracks is that it takes a lot of skill/effort to make good FM synthesis patches, whereas samples are relatively easy to put together. In the right hands, it was amazing, but most people weren't up to the task of making FM sound well.

I can see how it might be possible to algorithmically fit a patch for Roland's Linear Arithmetic synthesis to a sample because Linear Arithmetic is related to LPC, long used in speech coding. I wonder why such a thing was never figured out for the Bessel functions that underlie Yamaha's competing FM synthesis.

Is there any software synth program that can create samples, and is also a tracker?

I hear a lot of Roland samples in SNES soundtracks, especially percussion ones.

As far as FM goes, Yamah's 4op chips are all nearly fully compatible, some have few parameters that others don't but all the beefy bits work in identical manner.

psycopathicteen wrote:Is there any software synth program that can create samples, and is also a tracker?

TFM Music Maker by Shiru is a tracker for Windows simulating the YM2612, and you can export a module as a wave.

Mega Man X and sequels are heavy on guitar and bass samples from the Korg M1 and 01/W, including the same slap bass patch made famous by the Seinfeld soundtrack.

A lot of games also used patches from the SC-55 and friends (Slayers is one really blatant example that I can think off offhand...)

Battle Cars and 3 Ninjas Kick Back use loads of samples from the original Amiga Soundtracker "ST-xx" sample disks, but where all of those are sourced from is worth a thread in itself...

Is there any software synth program that can create samples, and is also a tracker?

Good soft synth programs are a bit pricey... Absynth5 costs $200(US).

You might be able to find a free VST plugin that simulates a popular old-school synth, and run it in a free Audio Workstation, and produce samples with it. I don't know any good free ones...I use a program called Reaper. You can download the evaluation version for free.