How to make C64/Nintendo/Chiptunes songs with Sunvox

[FutureTracker]

Hi dear SunVox community

I have recently started working with SunVox, without any prior experience of trackers, with the goal to make retro-sounding chiptunes ala nintendo or C64. I have read the manual somewhat and picked up on the basics using videos on youtube but I am still a bit confused as to how to create that old-fashioned chiptune sound.

What modules should I use in SunVox to get these kinds of sounds? Should I stick to the available tools and mostly go for the Generator? Should I use the Echo, or the Vibrato module in conjunction with the Generator - if so, what are good settings for these modules?

Or should I download other modules/samples available somewhere on the internet and if so - where can I find these samples?

[artrad]

If you want to simulate simple chip sounds, replicate the limitations of a chip in SunVox. Generators with a Polyphony of 1, bit crushing (less possible volume values) with a Distortion module, use the 08 command (arpeggio) instead of putting notes on several tracks, etc. If you want echo, do it the hard way: manually putting in the repeated notes in the pattern. Search for a MSSIAH drums sample pack. Spend time reading up on what exactly the SID (C64 sound chip) and 2a03 (NES sound chip) can make sound/channel-wise and listen to chiptunes (ex. ReclusiveLemming on YouTube). Theses are just some suggestions.

[Koekepan]

An obvious start is a selection of generator modules, set to appropriate waveforms. I'm pretty sure that saw, square, noise and ... triangle? were in those chips.

As for effects, you can definitely use the distortion module, set to 8 bit, and possibly adding some noise and distortion (after all, it's not exactly a sonically pristine kind of thing you're trying to emulate).

I'm not sufficiently familiar with the details of C64 (or similar) synthesis to take it much further, but this should get you started.

[El Nino]

Or you could use the sampler module to loop up single cycle waveforms sampled directly from those chips (you could even do one single cycle waveform per key, but most of the time you'd only need a few per octave and they'd stretch out over a few keys).