nsf
4095
1,024kb
Music made for the 2A03-chip, featured in the Nintendo Entertainment System
no expansion chips allowed!
::|CONTENTS
- Tools
- Restrictions on submit
- Accepted file format
- Playback (for voting)
- Render to MP3
- See also
The nsf format is a specific format of music created on the
2a03 only, available in
NES/Famicom consoles. See
nsfplus (format) on the nsf extended format and
nsf_classic (format) for the more limited format.
NSF stands for
NES Sound Format, but this is frequently mistaken as Nintendo Sound Format.
Tools
-
FamiTracker - now abandonware, most current users are on one of its forks
-
0CC-FamiTracker a FamiTracker fork by
BotBr HertzDevil, last updated in 2018
-
Dn-FamiTracker - the most popular, stable, and recently updated FamiTracker fork*
-
PPMCK
-
it2nsf
-
DefleMask Tracker
-
NerdTracker II
-
NTRQ
-
NesTracker
-
s3m2nsf
-
FamiStudio
*Note: If using Dn-FamiTracker, it is recommended to stick with the older version 0.4.0.1 as newer versions' nsf exports may have discrepancies in the sound compared to the tracker. (There are also issues with exporting multi-expansion .nsfs, but those aren't allowed in this particular format.) Backwards compatibility with .ftm and .0cc (both of which are also BotB formats) also breaks beyond this version. If you used a newer version to write the entry already and are stuck, try exporting text via the File menu and importing that into the older version - or paste all your patterns into a new 0.4.0.1 module and load the instruments in the same order.
Restrictions on submit
The nsf format is
for 2a03 only; expansions are accepted in the
nsfplus format.
Accepted file format
.nsf
A common beginner's mistake is to submit a FTM (FamiTracker Module) to a NSF compo instead of an NSF file (
please don't do this).
Playback (for voting)
Examples of tools that can play .NSF files include:
-
NSFPlay
-
VirtuaNSF (version 1.0.8.2 is recommended)
There is a more comprehensive list with compatibility info
here.
For playback on actual hardware, both the
PowerPak and the
EverDrive N8 PRO (but not the original EverDrive N8!) have built-in NSF players. There is also
EZNSF to convert NSF file(s) into a .nes ROM.
Render to MP3
Both
NSFPlay and
VirtuaNSF can render .wav files from .nsf files; note that in some cases, such as when a song is longer than five minutes or loops forever, the output length will need to be specified and/or the resulting file will need to be trimmed. After rendering to .wav, a sound editing tool such as Audacity can be used to normalize the sound file, add a fade out to a looping track, and convert the (minimally) edited song to an .mp3.
See also
All related Lyceum articles:
referencing to:
-
2a03 (soundchip)
-
NES Famicom (console)
-
nsfplus (format)
-
FamiTracker
-
0CC-FamiTracker
-
Dn-FamiTracker
-
PPMCK
-
it2nsf
-
DefleMask Tracker
-
NerdTracker II
-
NTRQ
-
NesTracker
-
Split DPCM Guide
-
s3m2nsf
-
I Am New To NSF
referenced from:
-
Format
-
NES Famicom (console)
-
nsfplus (format)
-
nsf_classic (format)
-
Split DPCM Guide
Want to listen music ripped from the console’s games? check out the ripped chiptune repository!;
-
Complete list of ripped chiptunes repositories