I know a lot of the pros using older trackers used very few channels and instruments to make some crazy stuff...figured with sunvox we could make something even crazier >:)
THIS COMPETITION WILL BEGIN AFTER SUNVOX COMP #1 ENDS.
Edit: *The competition has begun and will end on January 14th*
The entire idea behind Minimalism is to get the most out of the least.
Goal: Create a track 2 minutes in length or longer
Rules:
-Must be made with SunVox (any version)
-Only allowed three channels, no exceding that amount
-Can use as many tracker effects as you'd like (pitch sliding, retrigger, changing controller values, etc.)
-Can use any number of modules
-Only allowed one sampler (Edit: This rule is now up again. You can use one sampler, but no more than that)
-No sampling your own music then putting it in the sampler
-Can be any speed or style
-Must be an original new track made by you (no remixes or edits of old tracks you've already made)
-No multisynths allowed
Entry must include download link for SunVox file and audio (soundcloud users include sunvox file in description of the track)
After entry is uploaded, make a post here with a link to your submission.
One point will be given for each module and channel used.
Those with the fewest number of points and the most complex and creative tracks will be declared the winners.
Judges are yet to be determined (Edit: I will be the judge, and I promise to be a fair one)
It's funny, I'm using >50 modules on my compo #1 entry, and only one (excluding the output one) on what will be my entry for this compo.
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:44 am
by NightRadio
Nice song! :)
I think it is a cool idea to prohibit to use the Sampler and the Vorbis Player at all in this Minimalist Compo. Only pure synths and nothing more. What do you think?
Also it reminded me of this old song from Purple Motion. With only two channels!
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:03 am
by The Handle
Holy crap nightradio that is one wicked track for two channels O_O. And the reason I allowed one sampler is because I wanted to see more people play with them more. I was able to sneak in a snare on the beat with a sampler and an echo when the other two channels were taken up by generators and FMs, though I wouldn't be opposed to ammending it to no samplers allowed
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:06 am
by The Handle
beefinator wrote:I can do it in one generator.
See but now you don't have any percussion . This is why I love minimalist competitions, you have to balance everything perfectly and think critically about what you need and what you don't, and you can get extra sounds in there if you're clever enough. It's creativity meets intelligent use of resources
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 8:36 pm
by SolarLune
@Night - That is an extremely sick song for just two channels.
@Handle - One sampler's better than none, but most old trackers required the use of samples (i.e. they didn't have built-in generators like SunVox has). Anyway, this is looking like quite an interesting concept. I'm in.
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:20 pm
by organic io
NightRadio wrote:Also it reminded me of this old song from Purple Motion. With only two channels!
Never heard of that one. But his tune "Minimum Velocity" has always been a favorite of mine (also 2 channels)
Obviously there are some chord samples in there, so it's not strictly "never more than 2 notes at a time".. but still the song structure is really impressive, and it's a catchy tune. I like how he just uses a snare drum (no room for the kick) but it still accomplishes that pop beat feel
This compo sounds like fun. I'll probably be in too!
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:01 am
by beefinator
Okay, so I decided to upgrade to a whopping 2 generators.
Both still square waves, so now it's 2 bit audio.
And I meddled with the patterns and got good sounding percussion to come from square wave generators!
Re: Minimalist SunVox Competition?
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:25 pm
by The Handle
beefinator wrote:And I meddled with the patterns and got good sounding percussion to come from square wave generators!
Congrats! You're learning to think like a minimalist
That's actually an old idea, if you listen to a lot of the older chiptune you'll notice that they even use the square for making snares, but back then it wasn't called a square, it was called a pulse wave (because the pulse could create several different versions of the square wave: 25%, 50%, and 75%, hence the term "pulse width modulation")
The pulse wave at 50% is a perfect square (the square in sunvox starts off at a default 50% in the duty cycle controller of the generator....hint )
What they would do to make a kick is trigger the square wave and slide the pitch down rapidly (I'm still trying to get the exact same sound, will post my findings once I'm satisfied with the quality). So far I find I get a good sound out of playing a square at octave 3 or 4 and then sliding it down for 4 lines at a speed of 0110 (at ticks=3 in song properties. Shortening the ticks from 6 to 3 will decrease the amount of time each line takes by half. So all you have to do is place your kicks every 8 lines to stay onbeat. This also gives you more control over the controller values and tracker effects, allowing you to make much more complex sounds and patterns.).
Well, yeah, kick drums with square/pulse waves are simple. And yes, I know about pulse width modulation...
But I figured out you could get pretty good 1bit noise, for snares and whatnot, by playing random notes on a square wave oscillator really fast. For example, random notes with the arpeggiator effect in sunvox at 800 BPM. (oh no I've revealed my secret) I used that random notes method to make 1bit drum sounds on the sequencer I made last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE-Xv_6xOZY
Edit: I just looked at the links you posted, I had found that zizibum song (and his other stuff) a couple months ago, it's literally one of my favorite chiptune songs. Atari POKEY FTW!