You might have heard of the AY 3-8910 chip, AY 3-8912 or maybe of their Yamaha clone l the YM2149, and of that the former practically resides in the NEC PC98's chip, the YM2608 ... Well, bad news - you're not gonna use the FM synths in this format! D:

Just three channels. But you really might make it look like you're using not three, but all six.

'[#[Rook Tutor - ZX Spectrum Edition]

'[t[b2]Instruments, Tone and Noise'[/t]

First off, download Vortex Tracker II or, to be more specific, its' enhanced version called Vortex Tracker II Improved which is gonna make your life easier here just a bit.

VTII affords three types of sounds to ya, all of which can be combined with each other: tone, envelope and noise. The former can have different notes on all three channels, but the two latter can't.

Now, VTII's interface might be a bit tangled for you, but it might be somewhat cleaner once you squeeze off your first note. You will need to refer to the "Samples" tab in that case - that is instrument editor for you. Change the first instrument from this:

'[o]00 [ tne +000_ +00(00)_ 0_'[/o]

...to this:

'[o]00 [ Tne +000_ +00(00) F_ ***************'[/o]

Don't forget to use spacebar to make the "T" in here capital or vice versa!

So we've defined that we're gonna use tone and bring it on maximum volume. As you're done with this, return to the pattern editor, and place try to place a couple or two of notes this way:

'[o]00 | C-3 1..F ....
01 | --- .... ....
02 | C#3 1... ....
03 | --- .... ....
04 | D-3 1..D ....
05 | --- .... ....
06 | R-- .... ....'[/o]

There you go! The "F" and "D" placed in this pattern will change the channel's volume, while "1" stands for the instrument that will be played on it. "R--" is, obviously enough, the rest note.

Now, you've really gotta get back to our instrument editor - just to make a small modification of it. By playing around with Length and Loop values as well as, again, the spacebar, try to make the following instrument:

'[o]00 | TNe +000_ +00(00) F_ ***************
01 | TNe +000_ +00(00) E_ **************
02 [ Tne +000_ +00(00) E- **************'[/o] '[b]< place loop here'[/b]

Replay the pattern and see how the sounding has changed! For the curious, we've got a blend of tone and noise in the sample's first two frames - which means they will play simultaneously. In the last frame (the one that loops), the volume will automatically decrease. The opposite of this thing is, obviously, "+".

More coming soon. ._.

'[#[Expy Tutor - ZX Spectrum Edition]

Coming soon!

'[#[See Also]

'[[Vortex Tracker II]
'[[Vortex Tracker II Effects List]