For all you FM lovers out there...

[Jbravo]

How do I import the preset? When I use the import button, I just get an error message saying "Err can't find file"

Am I doing something wrong?

[Xenobioz]

For me my host(buzz) crashes after importing any of the presets

[Jbravo]

yeah it crashes FLstudio too - shame

[gdog]

Edit:
Do you also have the FX of those games as presets?

I was going to ask this too!

[Nokenoku]

For me it works in FLStudio.
But we really need those FX now!

[ruckus49]

For me it works in FLStudio.
But we really need those FX now!

yeah i dont really understand where these sounds are contained.

[TankEyes]

Anyone got any favourites from the collection? I have to sort these down to a manageable collection.

[DrWashington]

OMG OMG OMG OMG !!!!!

There's no way to write down how thankful I am for those sounds!
Shiiiiiiiiit ... this is better than christmas.

Instant retro-feeling!



Edit:
Do you also have the FX of those games as presets?

No, 'cause the FX were either DAC-based (part of the ym2612 chip was a DAC that could handle low-quality samples--keep in mind, this was all from ROM memory in these cartridges, which was expensive as hell), or they were synthesized by the chip directly, in which case they WOULD be available to use. Those are usually drum sounds, and they're littered throughout the collection. If somebody has dumped all the FX samples from the original ROMs, yes, I too would love to know about it! But, of course, VOPM would not be able to play those back. A lot of them are FM sounds, but I don't know where those are stored, or how. I wish the project2612.org crew would dump those, too, into some usable format, but your guess is as good as mine as to how to get them.

If you listen carefully to the original tracks, the composers often cleverly used doubling of the same sound on each channel for a delay-effect that made it sound really wide-stereo. You can do this by panning all the way in one direction and adding a non-feeding back delay to the other set to (usually) quarter notes.

Also, that 'haunting' Sega Genesis square wave sound is easily recreated. I use Plogue's excellent "Chipsounds" VST, but there are surely other options. Just stack two SN76489 chips and detune just slightly, delay one a quarter note behind the other. Blammo! There you have it, the missing link!

One final note: VOPM sounds LOTS better at 96kHz. So, if you're using, say Cubase 5, as I am, just set your project settings to 24-bit/96kHz, and you'll hear an immediate boost in fidelity, far beyond what the Genesis was capable of. Very clear and punchy waveforms with little aliasing in the middle of the keyboard, at least.

God, how I wish somebody would take Mr. Sam's source code and finish VOPM, already! What an amazing little synth... could be an absolute monster in the hands of a truly dedicated developer. Imagine 16-voice unison w/ alias-free oscillators on some of these sounds! BOI-YOING!!!

Oh, yeah... if you want to compare these to the original songs, go to project2612.org. There are 617 game soundtracks up. I couldn't get the complete torrent to seed, so I just got a Firefox addon called "DownloadThemAll!" and went and grabbed the whole site from the 'show all' page! Just filter for .zip files, and it will grab all 617 of them! Takes a while, but that's how I did it. Then, just get the VGM-IN or IN-VGM or whatever plugin for Winamp and away you go! Don't forget to open the prefs for said plugin and change the volume for the YM2612 chip to 100, and the SN76489 to 200 for proper balance between the two. Also, turn on weighted filtering for sound that's easier on the ears.

Glad y'all are having fun! Me, too!!

Note: As for FL Studio, I really have no idea... I use Cubase. If I just use the Import button on the VOPM GUI, everything works just fine... usually about 5-10 instruments show up per .opm file, sometimes more, sometimes less. Wish I could help!

[Technosaurus]

Thank you so much. KID CHAMELEON!

[DrWashington]

Thank you so much. KID CHAMELEON!

You're welcome!

[DrWashington]

Wow, 188 downloads and counting!

I'd love to hear what you all are doing with these sounds. Please post your experiments/finished tracks here, even if you only use the presets as a starting point. I'm really curious to know how some of these are being used!

I still find FM to be an incredibly evocative form of synthesis... The only other way I know of to create such rich, unique waveforms is additive, and though I love Alchemy to death, sometimes the sonic character and bite of VOPM just fits perfectly, and I can't believe how well it sits in the mix.

Whatcha got people?

[ruckus49]

hey im using reaper and when i load in the sega presets they work fine but as soon as i hit stop vopm goes back to the initial sine wave. i then have to click one of the instrument numbers again to get the preset back.

edit: it stopped doing it somehow lol.

[Front End Audio]

I have learned that in the audio industry you are always learning something new well that being the case today was a great day! Thanks for the post!

Cheers,
Nicholas

[DrWashington]

Nicholas, you're welcome! Hope the sounds are coming in handy for you.

My hope is that someone will pick up the source code and really flesh out VOPM. A master volume slider and internal limiter would be great, as well as a portamento switch w/ a time knob.

I think this is a great little synth that could benefit very much from further development, since it's author seems to have pretty much dropped it. Any takers??

Now with this enormous classic soundset as a starting point, I think it'd be totally cool if someone were to finish it, maybe consolidate the sounds into fuller banks, say on a per-game (rather than per song) basis, and include it with the download.

What do you all think?

[Mplay]

Thanks for this post, im having a lot of fun here!