Overtone 32

Discuss NSF files, FamiTracker, MML tools, or anything else related to NES music.

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tepples
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Overtone 32

Post by tepples »

What makes the NES triangle wave distinctive is its stepwise nature, which creates 31st and 33rd harmonics. For example, the lowest note the triangle wave channel can play is also the lowest A on an 88-key piano, or 27.5 Hz. But because of its 16-level, 32-step, sample-and-hold waveform (FEDCBA98765432100123456789ABCDEF), there are prominent harmonics at 852.5 Hz and 907.5. This creates a net effect of a pitch 32 times the fundamental frequency, and log[2](32) = 5, this sounds five octaves up.

The following piece was composed in FamiTracker and is best heard through dinky little laptop speakers that filter out the triangle's fundamental.
Attachments
overtone 32.ftm
(3.75 KiB) Downloaded 444 times
overtone 32.nsf
Play this on your PowerPak
(6.14 KiB) Downloaded 601 times
overtone 32.ogg
Vorbis encoded FamiTracker export
(324.26 KiB) Downloaded 623 times
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rainwarrior
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Re: Overtone 32

Post by rainwarrior »

Neat.
ionustron
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Re: Overtone 32

Post by ionustron »

That's a nice idea!

With a tiny dpcm sample for another high octave c scale, you could prolly make some quiet 4-tone chords. Like, shifting pulse/pcm triads quietly over a sustained bass/high note drone as a song intro or segue.
tepples
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Re: Overtone 32

Post by tepples »

Update: Attached the FTM file
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