Slashdot Mirror


Nanoloop: GameBoy Advance Hard Disk Recording

parasew writes "Nanoloop 2.0 for GameBoy Advance is Out! The GBA-Cartridge features a 8-voice Synthesizer an 8-Track Sequencer, a Song Editor and a HD-Recording Option, rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot. Extra-gear is a GameBoy-MIDI-Adapter and a Lowpass Filter Cable. Some Reviews of Nanoloop are available in the Web from samplepoolz, HarmonyCentral, nanoloop.de and a German one from Parasew. Demo sounds in MP3 format can be downloaded from the site."

122 comments

  1. Thug Passion by clinko · · Score: 4, Funny

    "rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot. "

    Nothing says Rock Star or Street Thug like a GameBoy.

    1. Re:Thug Passion by prescot6 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > "rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot. "
      > Nothing says Rock Star or Street Thug like a GameBoy.

      I'm failing to make the connection between "cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot" with rock star and street thug.

    2. Re:Thug Passion by Sv-Manowar · · Score: 2, Funny

      musician --> rockstar --> rappers ---> street thugs. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/401 8597.stm

    3. Re:Thug Passion by glassjaw+rocks · · Score: 1

      "rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot. "

      Sure, you could get out rough ideas with it, but could you really do anything serious with it?

      --
      -gjr
    4. Re:Thug Passion by PurdueGraphicsMan · · Score: 1
      I believe the answer to this is obvious... No. Considering you can't really get anything "serious" out of most PCs without spending a good deal of money on better equipment for signal conversion, audio interface, etc., I doubt you could create anything worth listening to on the GBA...

      However, just like PC recording the equipment you use to create the music will have a much greater impact on the quality of the recording than the sequencer or medium will.

      --


      The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
    5. Re:Thug Passion by GTRacer · · Score: 1
      (assuming sarcasm) Well of course "Gameboy" doesn't sound street, unless you say it right:

      [vanillaice]Game-boyYYY-eee![/vanillaice]

      GTRacer
      - escaping GT and LT too tiring

      --
      Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
    6. Re:Thug Passion by Maznafein · · Score: 1
      I believe the answer to this is obvious... No. Considering you can't really get anything "serious" out of most PCs without spending a good deal of money on better equipment for signal conversion, audio interface, etc., I doubt you could create anything worth listening to on the GBA...
      I can't believe somebody would post something like this. Sure 8bit may not sound good, and it is probably noisy as fuck, but who cares? Good music doesn't always take the best instrument or recording medium to make it so.

      Look at Kid Koala's Some of My Best Friends are DJs. Tell me that's not good music, and it's noisy as hell. Then again he did make it with two techs and a four track cassette recorder. I 3 that album for it's music style and just how beautiful it is.

      Of course random Joe Kid is going to sound like hell on a '57 Les Paul while somebody like Clapton is going to rock it on a 100 dollar Yamaha. It's all in how you do it.
      --
      <happiness>beer</happiness>
    7. Re:Thug Passion by PurdueGraphicsMan · · Score: 1

      I don't believe the intent of the parent was to figure out whether or not this machine would allow a pro musician to record their music. Obviously if it's a HD recorder you can record music. The parent was asking whether or not the QUALITY of the recording would be good. Your post didn't do anything to answer that question. The fact is that a noisy recording is only desirable to those that are creating artistic music for a limited audience. If you're looking to create something with wide appeal (i.e. something professional) you're not going to do it on a GBA.

      --


      The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
    8. Re:Thug Passion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing says Rock Star or Street Thug like a GameBoy.

      I'm confused - I thought they said this was for musicians.

    9. Re:Thug Passion by creep · · Score: 1

      Truthfully, no. But I saw Beck play this song he'd written using a GameBoy Color at Coachella '04, and it was pretty cool. Nothing too extravagant, but (like most of the tweaks and hacks on Slashdot) he did it mostly because he could.

  2. Yes!!! 8-tracks!!! by bgarcia · · Score: 2, Funny
    The GBA-Cartridge features a 8-voice Synthesizer an 8-Track Sequencer
    Cool! I'm going to dig all the 8-tracks out of my mom's attic!
    --
    I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
    1. Re:Yes!!! 8-tracks!!! by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of a couple years ago when we had a "White Elephant Gift" party. I found a Partridge Family 8-Track at Goodwill. The look on the recipient's face was priceless!

      Now I am wondering how many slashdotters even know of what the "Partidge Family" is?

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    2. Re:Yes!!! 8-tracks!!! by PurdueGraphicsMan · · Score: 3, Funny
      Now I am wondering how many slashdotters even know of what the "Partidge Family" is?

      Well duh!!! Everyone knows who the Partridge Family is... I love the episode where Marsha gets hit in the nose with a football. She was so annoying.

      --


      The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
    3. Re:Yes!!! 8-tracks!!! by stanmann · · Score: 1

      That was the Addams family, The partridge family is the one with the kid dracula.

      --
      Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed
  3. I knew it! by thedarb · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just knew 8-track would make a come back!

    *TheDarb

    --
    This sig intentionally left blank.
    1. Re:I knew it! by qray · · Score: 1

      Dang, you guys beat me to it.

      Everything old is new again.

  4. Things of the past by Lobishomen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know.. I remember when cell phones were used to make calls, and video game systems were used to play games. Is branching development truely that advantageous?

    1. Re:Things of the past by MORB · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ...And USB was used as a data port.

    2. Re:Things of the past by Enaku · · Score: 0

      And the internet was a place where people got along in harmony and respected people's opinions. Yeah... those were the days..

    3. Re:Things of the past by JThundley · · Score: 3, Funny

      development truely that advantageous?

      You need your web browser to branch it's development and get a spell checker.

    4. Re:Things of the past by beyonddeath · · Score: 1

      Eventually what will happen is all cell phones will become video games, and all video games will become cell phones, life will be grand. However, we can exepct at least 30-40 more hybrids untill this happens.

    5. Re:Things of the past by Epistax · · Score: 1

      Everything will turn into a megadevice so expensive that only the government will be able to afford it. One will be given to each baby at birth. Unfortunately a large portion of the population will eat their device before they know better. This will be the new lower class.

      I just hurt myself.

    6. Re:Things of the past by secretsquirel · · Score: 1

      I remember when my carphone was a 24x12x6 in. box, videogames were played in arcades and to use an 8-track recorder you actually had to have an 8-track recorder, so I'd say it's got a few advantages.

    7. Re:Things of the past by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

      And the internet was a place where people got along in harmony and respected people's opinions

      That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard! :)

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    8. Re:Things of the past by peterprior · · Score: 1

      What? Your digital camera can't make phonecalls yet?

    9. Re:Things of the past by Daverd · · Score: 2, Funny

      You need your web browser to branch it's development and get a spell checker.

      You need your -- forget it.

    10. Re:Things of the past by Mr.Progressive · · Score: 1

      I dunno. I don't think this has much in common with the cell phone feature explosion. While games/PDA features/etc on cell phones are intended for mass consumption, this is primarily a niche product for musician-types who want a new to express themselves. I think it's pretty cool.

      --
      Okay, so a philosopher, a philologist, and a philatelist walk into a bar...
    11. Re:Things of the past by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      Maybe you need to rely a bit less on a spell-checker and rely more on knowing the funamentals of the English language. You should be using "its" instead of "it's." Remember, if the sentence does not make sense when you substitute a contration with the words in that contraction, then you are doing something wrong.

      "You need your web browser to branch it is development and get a spell checker."

    12. Re:Things of the past by Maznafein · · Score: 1

      Maybe he should get this.

      --
      <happiness>beer</happiness>
    13. Re:Things of the past by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You missed the point. For us electronics hackers developing boards are extremely expensive beasts, while most cheap consumer appliances can be modified to work as embedded controllers. Most Wi-Fi access points contain MIPS+Linux based boards at 1/5 the price of a similar board, and the GBA itself is an excellent uber-cheap ARM based controller.
      Take a look here and here for some great examples of what can be done with a GBA.

    14. Re:Things of the past by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "...I just hurt myself."

      What...? Did you eat your cell phone again?

    15. Re:Things of the past by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you tell gameboy programmers that this sucks! If you write gameboy games or make sound for gameboys. Would you rather lug a laptop around or would you rather use this to make a sound and know exactly what it is going to sound like?

    16. Re:Things of the past by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 1


      I remember when typewriters were used for writing text documents, and paper-tape calculators were used for arithmetic, and turntables were used for listening to music... and today the desktop computer is a single device that does all those things for me.

      The same convergence is now happening in pocket-sized devices, and I consider this a Good Thing. The gestalt of general-purpose computing is greater than its parts.

    17. Re:Things of the past by nEoN+nOoDlE · · Score: 1

      Yeah... and it was really great when I had to carry around my digital camera, cell phone, portable game device, mini tape recorder, and PDA instead of 1 device that handles all of the above. Specialization in one thing is fine, because usually the specialized devices do the task a lot better, but putting everything into one device is still useful to some... like for those without a lot of pockets.

      --
      Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
    18. Re:Things of the past by pommiekiwifruit · · Score: 1

      Funny, I remember when a Commodore 64 video game system was used to run an accounting package by my dentist. That was, oh, twenty years ago.

    19. Re:Things of the past by Robmonster · · Score: 1

      I couldnt agree more....

      Its hard to get a mobile phone these days that DOESNT come with a camera, music player and radio.

      I already have a digital camera, radio and mp3 player that are all far better quaility than one that could be built into a phone.

      I just want to get a decent phone that is good for making phone calls. Is that too much to ask?

      --
      I have no sig yet I must scream.
    20. Re:Things of the past by xgamer04 · · Score: 1

      God forbid we use a CPU to process things other than what the box says it should.

      --
      When you look at the state of the world, how can you not become a radical, liberal anarchist?
    21. Re:Things of the past by sam.union · · Score: 1

      convergence is such a horrible thing... that you have to post a link to a prog that is a great Game AND a Great Utility. Not that I think it isn't. I have no idea what it is, but your post WAS ironic.

      --
      I came here to do two things; chew bubble-gum, and kick ass. I'm all out of bubble-gum.
    22. Re:Things of the past by Robmonster · · Score: 1

      Two separate links to two separate programs my friend.

      --
      I have no sig yet I must scream.
    23. Re:Things of the past by Threni · · Score: 1

      > I just want to get a decent phone that is good for making phone calls. Is that
      > too much to ask

      Nokia 6230 is such a phone. It also has a camera, radio, bluetooth support, decent (java) games etc. You don't have to use the extra features, and your phone call quality certainly doesn't suffer because of it. Every single time there's a story on Slashdot about phones someone posts with a comment like `all i want to do is make phone calls on my phone`. Well, you're in the minority, so stick with old phones or get with the program.

  5. Out/Out of Stock by xanderwilson · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Did the site say it was "out of stock until mid-November" (as it does now) when his article went up, or did they sell out that quickly? I for one would like to see some photos of what it looks like, because my first thought is that it might be bigger than your average cartridge.

    Alex.

    1. Re:Out/Out of Stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well unless they mean November 2005 I am going to guess it was up there before since we are at the backend of mid-November.

    2. Re:Out/Out of Stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first batch had some small glitches. Those of us that have it already have to send it back to get the bug-free second batch which is supposed to arrive today.

      It looks just like a normal cartridge, but the cart comes in a really cool shiny metal case.

  6. Want video game music? by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Informative

    Look no further than OC remix. Free video game Mp3s for a shitload of games. Site has been up forever. Great stuff.

    http://www.ocremix.org/index.php

    1. Re:Want video game music? by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      Or if you like the originals and enjoy net radio, check out Kohina.

  7. Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by Mulletproof · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot.

    Unless you own a powerbook or some other laptop. And don't want to look like a fool in the process. And don't have time to load linux onto your toaster. And pardon me while I load my GBA emulator onto my alienware laptop.

    --
    You need a FREE iPod Nano
    1. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by }InFuZeD{ · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Honestly, musicians that travel are normally professionals... and like the parent said, we do our work on laptops.

      I've got my laptop setup to be a complete portable studio. Sure, this little guy would be fun to play around with, but it's a toy, it's not something that a musician would WORK with.

    2. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are assuming that he means musicians that travel for their music. I am an amater musician who travels for my regular job. Of course, I have about zero interest in this product but that is just me.

    3. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by fishbowl · · Score: 1
      "I've got my laptop setup to be a complete portable studio. Sure, this little guy would be fun to play around with, but it's a toy, it's not something that a musician would WORK with."



      I agree, but then, it depends on the musician. I would like to hear the 4-bit crap that comes out of this thing, into a MoogerFooger LPF, for instance. The sort of folks who use circuit-bent instruments might make use of this toy.

      Anti-Musicians are always looking for something different.

      I've been building a synth based on a 6581 (C64 SID) chip. This gameboy thing is no cheezier than that.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    4. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by zoeblade · · Score: 1

      rendering the GBA one of the most cool digital gadgets for musicians that travel a lot...

      ...unless you own a powerbook or some other laptop...

      ...or any of the Yamaha QY products.

    5. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 1

      Bud Melvin uses one onstage. Well, actually he uses a regular GB with Nanoloop, but same idea.

      It's kitsch. If you only need a little bit, and want the retro sound, why not?

      --

      ---
      Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
      (I read with sigs off.)
    6. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by Afrosheen · · Score: 1

      Hey, don't diss the C64's sound chip. It remains one of the best analog synth chips ever. It takes a very fast PC to even think about emulating it and the filters it contains. Don't forget it was created by the geniuses at Ensoniq also.

      The coolest synth I've seen is the portable SID player, that thing is tight.

    7. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by fishbowl · · Score: 1

      > Hey, don't diss the C64's sound chip.

      Hey, never! That's why I'm building my synth!
      I do feel bad taking them out of C-64's though.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    8. Re:Real Ultimate Power GBA workstation by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Toaster? A second ago, we were talking about GameBoys.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  8. Modem? by Tyrdium · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Besides normal line-recording, nanoloop also allows to transfer song data digitally through the audio port by playing a chain of rectangular pulses which represent song data bytes stored in the cart memory. These pulses can be decoded by a PC client software and then stored in the same format as on the cart.
    Sounds like a modem to me... Granted, the line noise is probably less than that of a telephone, but what kind of bit rate are they expecting to get with this? Wouldn't it be better to just stick a USB port on the thing? Also, I assume this means that the hard drive function is Windows-only? :-/
    1. Re:Modem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No worries, modems work just fine with Linux. Just mount your favorite AOL coaster into your CDROM drive and type: wine aol.exe & in a console. You're good to go.

    2. Re:Modem? by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 1

      It is a modem. Modulate (encode song data into PCM) and demodulate (inverse process).

      A lot easier than doing USB, honestly. And it isn't Windows-only - the data format ought to be very easy to reverse engineer, and all you technically *need* to decode it is an audio file recorder and some C code.

      --

      ---
      Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
      (I read with sigs off.)
    3. Re:Modem? by justforaday · · Score: 1

      Also, I assume this means that the hard drive function is Windows-only?

      Wow, talk about a case of finish RingTFA: It currently runs under Windows but since it is a simple console application, there should be Mac- and Linux versions soon.

      --
      I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
    4. Re:Modem? by blackmonday · · Score: 1

      Its probably digital MIDI data, not analog audio. Bands, get yourself a portable minidisc recorder and a stereo microphone, there you have a nice way to record song ideas.

  9. Hmm, that is awesome, but by mcc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What made the first Nanoloop so incredibly awesome was its aphexy 8-bit glitch aesthetic. The new one looks like a great piece of software for music creation, but will it be able to have the same degree of crazy bleepy soul?

    1. Re:Hmm, that is awesome, but by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      Man, I feel like I missed out. "8-bit glitch aesthetic" just about describes the sound I'm looking for, but this is the first I've heard of nanoloop, and it looks like nanoloop 1.2 is no longer available but will be later in ROM form.

      Anybody looking to sell one? =)

    2. Re:Hmm, that is awesome, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey I can get behind seom crazy bleepy soul. where can I DL someone's nanoloop creations to rock out to? I wanna hear what the output sounds like. Someone post their stuff!

    3. Re:Hmm, that is awesome, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "8-bit glitch aesthetic" just about describes the sound I'm looking for

      try resampling at 8 bit. or if you use Pro Tools, i'm sure there are plugins that will do it for you.

      Or just compress the hell out of your audio files with your favorite WAV editor, that's some serious "glitch aesthetic".

    4. Re:Hmm, that is awesome, but by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      The main tool I use to get that sound currently is a Korg Electribe ESX. One of the effects is the decimator, which varies the bitrate on the fly. It works well for samples, but it's a pain to run other audio through it (if I want a nasty synth or whatever without sampling).

      I used PT for a short time, but I didn't care for the free version, so I'm hesitant to purchase the full.

    5. Re:Hmm, that is awesome, but by TheLittleJetson · · Score: 1

      i agree with you, but there's some perks to the GBA version, mainly the quality of the sound you can produce. as far as a synth goes, for the capability/portability/price/coolness, it's tough to beat (no pun intended). get yourself 2 GBA's, 2 carts and a mixer, and you can throw a party! :-P

  10. Nintendo DS by lxt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Cool as it is, I'm wondering why they chose to release this product so soon to the DS being released...although the DS will probably be able to use the cartridge with no problems, the two screens and networking features the DS offers might have been quite useful...

    1. Re:Nintendo DS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would have also required re-writing the whole thing to take advantage of it.

  11. Hah. by Tufriast · · Score: 1

    So I guess its only a matter of time before some incriminating evidence is recorded in a GBA. This also makes the GBA a privacy threat, LOL. So you think little bobby is harmless playing games on "bring your kid to work day" ...right...

    --
    Help me, help you. - Jerry McGuire
    1. Re:Hah. by mcc · · Score: 1

      Nanoloop is a synth/sequencer. You can't record sound to it.

      The Nintendo DS, however, will have a microphone built in... I can't wait to see what the Nanoloop people eventually release for it ^_^

  12. Travelling Musician? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Heh :) I can't see this... the Busker on the street with his gameboy out trying to grab people's loose change.


    I'll stick with my laptop, Audiophile USB my Oxygen 8 (where's the link?) and Reason.

  13. What do you use with a GBA SP? by kuwan · · Score: 1

    To get the sound out of a standard GBA all you need to do is plug it into your stereo using a standard stereo mini-jack to RCA type cable, but what about the GBA SP? I've seen custom headphones that you can buy that will plug into the SP's custom port, but where would you get something to convert that to a stereo line out? I haven't seen any of those anywhere.

    --
    Sounds like a scam, but it works.
    Free Flat Screens | Free iPod Photo |

    1. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I've seen one pair of headphones that plug into the SP. I've seen about three different headphone adapters which convert to a 1/8" stereo miniplug. And I saw them all at Gamestop. They sell them in $15-20 GBA accessory kits, or separately for about ten bucks.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by mcc · · Score: 1

      I haven't seen any of those anywhere.

      Look harder. They'll run you about $3, looks like.

      I got mine in one of those Mad Catz "kits" or whatnot and I like it because there's no dangling cable, it's a little tiny blue hard plastic box that one end sticks into the GBA and the other end has a 1/8 inch stereo miniplug on it.

    3. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pardon me, sir... Your greed is showing.

    4. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by oman_ · · Score: 1

      What kind of geek are you MAN?

      Grab that soldering iron and get to work!
      I swear sometimes we need a nerd bootcamp.

      --
      Rats would be more funny if they could fart.
    5. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by MysticalMatt517 · · Score: 1

      Actually, most of those "custom headphones" are really regular headphones with an adapter included. I know when I purchased mine I threw the cheap crappy headphones out and just plugged my big gigantic puffy earmuff-like headphones.

      Nothing like listening to the GBA through the same headphones I use when playing PC games...

    6. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by PalmKiller · · Score: 1

      . php/cPath/29/products_id/73>

    7. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by kuwan · · Score: 1

      Ah yes, silly me. I was googling for '"gba sp" "line out"', and '"gba sp" headphones.' It wan't until later that I thought of googling for "adapters."

      I'll go back to my hole now. Please ignore the grandparent.

      --
      Sounds like a scam, but it works.
      Free Flat Screens | Free iPod Photo |

    8. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by mcc · · Score: 1

      It wan't until later that I thought of googling for "adapters."

      You could also just call wal-mart. I think they carry the mad catz kit.

    9. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've seen custom headphones that you can buy that will plug into the SP's custom port, but where would you get something to convert that to a stereo line out?

      The hardware store. They're called "wire-cutters". Use in conjunction with soldering iron, or if you're a lazy bastard like me, electrical tape.

    10. Re:What do you use with a GBA SP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you put your spam in the sig box instead of pasting it directly into the post? Asshole.

  14. A Gameboy musician by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's actually a Finnish musician called Huoratron (roughly translated Whoretron) who uses Gameboys for making music. I saw him live once and the show kicked ass. He makes a sort of rough electro.

    He has also a web site http://www.huoratron.com/

    1. Re:A Gameboy musician by ziggy_zero · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Beck tried to do something with his Gameboy at the Coachella music festival in southern California this past spring...but it wasn't working or something so he had to scrap it.

      And yeah, I can definitely see GB's being used for lo-fi electro stuff...people that love circuit-bend keyboards and such would get a kick out of it (you can pry my old Casio SK-1 from my cold, dead hands!).

      --
      I belong to the ______ generation.
    2. Re:A Gameboy musician by Drantin · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Bitshifter!

      --
      Actio personalis moritur cum persona. (Dead men don't sue)
  15. Harmony Central has some great reviews there by Lisandro · · Score: 4, Funny

    Price Paid: US $140 used

    Ease of Use: 7
    my bandmates and i call it "anal lube" if you have used one you know why. shave and a haircut, 4 bits. toggling thru the menus can be annoying but you get used to it, moving linear just like playing legend of zelda.


    Yep! Priceless!

  16. Out? by ezthrust · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I don't see it available for download as a ROM or to buy anywhere there. How is this considered "out"?

    I am really disappointed that they don't offer the original Nanoloop for GameBoy unadvanced as a cart. There have been tests shown that the first GameBoy model had much better sound circuits that had little to no noise, while each newer model added static and buzz.

    Would there not be a market for both?

    If anyone out there could point me in the direction of the cheapest flash cartridge set-up for ROMs that would be great.

    1. Re:Out? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I ordered nanoloop as soon as it came out, and it arrived from germany last week.
      So just to clear up a few things - it is not a cheesy midi sequencer, it sounds analogue-ish, but mostly it sounds 8-bit, and the recording is windows only :(
      But the fellow who wrote it is looking for folks to port it to other systems.

    2. Re:Out? by beoch · · Score: 1

      The best GBA flash ROM information that I can find is http://fafaq.gbaemu.com/. I would really like to hear recommendations from people that have a working set up, you can compile eliteTNK for GBA!

  17. Sounds Like A Suped Up Pocket Music by szyzyg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've been a long term user of Pocket Music advance, I had to get my family to send me a copy since for some reason it was never released in the US. (which says a lot about the US gameboy market). I've used it to come up with structural outlines for tracks, not the best sound quality, but a lot more compact than say Reason on my iBook.

    But this looks like a huge step up, especially if the output can be fed into other applications in a meanigful way.

    Now all I need is an mp3 player with seamless pitch shift (The archos does pitch shifting but it glitces when you change it) and multichannel output/Mixing so I can DJ from a pocket size box.

  18. Gameboyzz Orchestra by Incadenza · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sure, this little guy would be fun to play around with, but it's a toy, it's not something that a musician would WORK with

    Well, these guys do. This Sunday, November 21st, 20.30 h, Utrechtsedwarsstraat 134, Amsterdam (from the STEIM website):

    Gameboyzz Orchestra
    The Gameboyzz Orchestra Project is an experimental sound and visual project, based on the use of GameBoy console as a music instrument.
    From a musician's point of view the GameBoy device is a kind of simple analogue synthesizer, with a raw and at the same time interesting retro-sound. While connected with suitable software, often self-written, it can be used as drum machine or groovebox.
    The console's interface is rather poor (just a few buttons), so the sound structures created by the Gameboyzz are rather simple, too. In order to have a certain amount of complexity in the music, the Polish Gameboyzz Orchestra exists of six people.
    The Gameboyzz Ochestra uses elements from archives and current pop culture, which in relation to their motionless choreography of their concerts, creates a kind of anti-performance commenting on the performance practice of avant-garde electronic music. The Game Boyzz Orchestra are also inspired by the aesthetics of 8 bit computers and old school games. And a sense of irony is never far away in their music.

    1. Re:Gameboyzz Orchestra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GAMEBOY ANALOG SYNTH
      GAMEBOY = DIGITAL!

      The sound of the gameboy can be emulated(EXACTLY) on any digitial platform.. this is not like the c64 that had a analog synth.. everyone using the gameboy when they have a notebook computer allready.. is waisting(literally) their time!

  19. Re:USB is for data by starman97 · · Score: 1

    How boring, it only uses the USB for power...

    --
    Starman97@Gmail.com (bring it on spammers)
  20. Doesn't sound like a hard disk recorder to me... by Dominic_Mazzoni · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The title is misleading. I read the specs page, and it doesn't sound like it's a hard disk recorder to me. It sounds like it's a basic MIDI sequencing program, of the type that could be used to create "classic" videogame soundtracks. The "hard disk recording" option is just a protocol that allows digital transfer of the raw sequencer data, and then a client program that turns it into a clean WAV file. This means that you can get a clean, noise-free recording of your cheezy retro music sequence, that's all.

    Not saying you couldn't have a lot of fun with one of those - heck, composing music is a lot more creative than playing a sidescroller, but this is NOT a tool for pro musicians to use to record jam sessions, which is what was implied.

  21. speaking of circuit bending: circuit bent ipod by pneuma_66 · · Score: 1
  22. Re:True...True by commonchaos · · Score: 1

    I for one welcome our Automatic Slashdot Trolling Spambot overlords.

  23. Dr. Sample? by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 2, Informative

    It seems to me that anyone willing to shell out for this would probably be better off with a used Boss Dr. Sample, the Dr.S being the de facto industry standard for cheesy little loops,etc. It'd certainly hold more respect in the biz than showing up on stage with a gameboy advance, which will be difficult to use under the (no)/lights, etc.

    --
    stuff |
    1. Re:Dr. Sample? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not just cheezy little loops, but full blown albums as well. I know that Madlib used a Dr. Sample instead of his SP1200 to produce the entire Madvillain album. Pretty impressive for a $300 piece of equipment.

      Then again, most of you probably don't listen to hip-hop and wouldn't appreaciate an album like this.

  24. difficult by ColonBlow · · Score: 1

    This isn't bad for a bit of fun, but for real recording and music production, there are a lot of much better choices out there for not that much more money. Such as Qy-100 , (which you could pick up on ebay for about the price of a DS), or the Roland SP-505. You might want to have this as a sound source, otherwise i would just find it a pain in the ass. *shrugs*.

    --
    free online diet tracking.
  25. Re:True...True by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The auto troll just happens to be truew in this case.

    When was the last tiem you saw a game and said to yourself

    "Wow, that is revolutionay not just a repackaged (X) with better graphics."

  26. GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH
    GAMEBOY = DIGITAL!

    The sound of the gameboy can be emulated(EXACTLY) on any digitial platform.. this is not like the c64 that had a analog synth.. everyone using the gameboy when they have a notebook computer allready.. is waisting(literally) their time!

    1. Re:GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH by marsu_k · · Score: 3, Informative
      this is not like the c64 that had a analog synth
      ...which didn't have an analogue synth. The sound chip (the beloved SID) did include a multi-mode analogue filter (which could only be used on one oscillator out of three), but the oscillators were digitally generated waveforms, not even DCOs (i.e. analogue oscillators driven by a digital clock, like Juno-106 for example). Which is not to say it wouldn't sound nice, it certainly does. But analogue, hardly.
  27. What about GTA? by Nursie · · Score: 1

    Mindless, pointless violence hasn't been done much before :)

    1. Re:What about GTA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is true GTA revolutionilized the entertainment value of car jacking and crime. before GTA the only "be a criminal" games where a couple where you sold drungs and LSL where you tried to get laid.

  28. The HarmonyCentral review is of the original by ragingmime · · Score: 1

    The review of Nanoloop on HarmonyCentral is of nanoloop 1.x for the original game boy - the article didn't really make that clear.

    --
    I produce electronic music and write little games. Have a look.
  29. Re:GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH - false (!) by faragon · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're, simply, not right:

    i) Both {Gameboy | Gameboy color} and Gameboy Advance have hardware analog FM synthesis capabilities.
    ii) Gameboy Advance features also digital sound processing (PCM).

    Sure you know that not al "chips" do digital operations, there are usually called "digital", "analog" and "hybrids". Every transistor produces an analog output, the point that make a circuit labelable as "digital" is the tollerance ranges that would convert/consider an analog value to "0" (aka false) or to "1" (aka true).

    (the meaning of this post is informative, not flamebait or whatever, sorry if I sound too much pedantic)

  30. Re:And? by shadowzero313 · · Score: 1
  31. something that a musician would WORK with by muel · · Score: 1

    You sure about that?

    (that site includes info about a band that makes music with such 'instruments' as a "1977 Atari 2600 game console, a 1986 portable 286 PC, a 1983 Commodore 64 computer, and a 1985 Epson dot matrix printer." good music, too. I've seen them live in my hometown and they're amazing. /. the mp3s.)

  32. Re:And? by OrangeTide · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I wonder who marked this as Flamebait?

    The truth hurts, don't it.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  33. Related link... by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 1
    It's not quite the same as the topic at hand, but Wired ran an article about a group that uses the original eight-big Game Boys to make music. The article is here. This is more advanced, but the basic idea is similar: the Game Boy becomes a tool for making music that's unique.

    Does this mean that Nintendo has the monopoly on game consoles used as intruments?

    --
    Goo goo g'joob.
  34. Ummm... just a port of a MOD editor/player to GBA? by Not_Wiggins · · Score: 1

    Seems like a simplified port of a MOD editor minus the sound samples and replaced with waveform generators. It looks similar to some (very simple) tracking software I've used in the past.

    Anyone had a chance to use this software yet that has done MOD or other tracking before? How does it compare?

    --
    Diplomacy is the art of saying, "Nice doggie!" until you can find a rock.
  35. Other Retro VG Music Stuff by Paul+Slocum · · Score: 1

    Although Nanoloop 2 doesn't do what most people consider to be "hard disk recording", it's a cool sequencer, and the original Nanoloop for the old Gameboy was cool too. Here are some other related links:

    LSDJ, a powerful Gameboy tracker:
    http://www.littlesounddj.com/

    A NES Midi cartridge:
    http://www.wayfar.net/0xf00000_overview.php

    My own Atari 2600 Sequencer Kit:
    http://qotile.net/sequencer.html

    Prophet 64, a C64 sequencer/drum machine prog:
    http://www.prophet64.com/

    8BitPeoples, musicians into this kinda stuff:
    http://www.8bitpeoples.com/

    Micromusic, more musicians into this stuff:
    http://micromusic.net/office.php3

  36. Re:GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH - false (!) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually he is correct. No GameBoy has ever had FM synthesis capabilities. The GameGear did, but not the GameBoy. A GameBoy (Original, Pocket, and Color) all had two square wave channels, a noise channel, and a programmable wave channel. Each of these can be reproduced accurately without emulating any hardware. See http://www.netaxs.com/~gevaryah/GBSOUND.txt

  37. nanoloop by phi6180339 · · Score: 1

    i actually bought nano 2.0 and was one of the lucky ones to get the first batch. it's fun to use. i am an oldschool tracker as well and i can say that it's not really anything like a mod sequencer. what it's designed for is creating loops and performing live. the hard disk recording feature will be cool but creating serious music with this would be difficult. while its true that it does not have a sample set like lsdj, it has fm synthesis and some high/lowpass filtering, so you can get some interesting sounds. it has a nice range of timbres from harsh to soft, but it's nowhere near as glitchy sounding as midi-nes, lsdj, or nanoloop 1. i use a lot of different software and hardware to make music, and this is definitely something i consider a toy. you can make some surprisingly nice patterns with it. oh, and it's a normal sized gba cart.

  38. nice addon by torrents · · Score: 1

    but i doubt anybody is gonna rush out and buy a gba to use this thing

    --
    Get your torrents...
  39. Re:GAMEBOY != ANALOG SYNTH - false (!) by faragon · · Score: 1

    The output can not be as acurated as the original, as square waves are not ideal, then, you'll have an approximation, but not exact (you can try to fine tunning the sound with low pass filters, etc., but as a mere and subjective and depending on your ear, approximation).
    In the original GameBoy, and succesors, you're able to perform FM synthesis, as you can deal with a patterned sinusoidal functions (or whatever other pattern you preffer) modulated at desired frequency. The Yamaha chip installed on GameGears works this way, still it does the major part of the work internally, for the programming is just like to working in a higher abstraction field.