Some words on software/VST-plugins for bitpop and chiptune making
“Which tools/plugins/tracker/DAW do you use?”
This is a question I’ve gotten quite often over the years, and since I'm bored I thought I’d try to make a little list of the stuff I’ve found worked well for me, who knows, maybe it’ll help someone else get going.
Anyway, for starters the path I’ve come to choose is to make what I like to call bitpop or blipblop (some people refer to it as "fakebit", but how sad does that sound?). The difference being that I’m not strictly using one piece of hardware (like only using C64, 4ch chip .MOD, NES or Gameboys) or even try to emulate that. It's awesome when people stick to one hardware since there’s so much cool stuff to be made when you have limitations, but in my case I like to… draw outside of the borders a bit.
I come from a tracker background, I grew up tracking 4ch mods with Noise/Protracker on the Atari and moved on to multichannel via Fasttracker 2 on PC later on. This made Renoise a perfect choice for me. It’s a tracker with full VST plugin support and it’s free to try out (everything works except exporting to wav), if you do decide to buy it it’s quite cheap too. For the record, all of Kantarelle EP was made in Renoise.
Nowadays I’ve moved on to use more conventional DAWs, I’ve tried quite a few of them but came to stick with Ableton Live. Picking between a tracker and a sequencer is a bigger choice than just picking between sequencers (Ableton Live, Reaper, Logic, Bitwig Studio, Cubase, Reason.. those are just a matter of taste, although Reaper is free to try for.. ever?). But if you’ve never used a tracker before, Renoise might be a bigger step with its vertical layout and tracker heritage. It's still awesome though, and worth trying.
No matter which DAW you choose, remember that it’s just a tool, they all pretty much do the same thing, but learn it so it doesn’t stand in your way when inspiration strikes. If you’ve got a killer track in your head you’ve got to lay that shit down, not RTFM on how to make arpeggios or pitch bends in whichever software you’ve chosen.
Allrightie then, since I’m a VST kind of guy, I thought I’d list the ones I really like and have used a lot (or just think can be useful). So take a look, check out the demos and see if it’s something for you. Some of them are free, some of them aren't.
YMVST (Free)
Free little plug that emulates the Atari ST YM2149 chip, I love this little sucker but unfortunately it's Windows only. PLS SOMEONE, PORT IT.
ARTURIA CS-80V
Emulates the Yamaha CS-80, I think I've used some presets on Kantarelle EP. Yummy-sounding.
ARTURIA MINI-V
Minimoog! Awesome stuff.
PLOGUE ART’S CHIPSOUNDS
Emulates pretty much every chip you need (C64, NES, VIC20, Gameboy, Atari 2600…). Can be quite a CPU-hog, at least for me, but still worth it.
KHS ONE
Nice, Swedish-made software synth. Give it a go! There's sweet sounds in this one.
LENNARDIGITAL SYLENTH1
Probably the plug I use most these days, and also the plug I rely on for live performances. It's not free, but it's versatile and I love it.
REFX QUADRASID
For all your C64/SID-chip needs!
ICHIRO TODA’S SYNTH1 (Free)
It might not be the prettiest, but it’s completely free, and you can get quite nice sounds out of it (I've heard Radix/Mosaik make amazing stuff with it)
CHIP32 (Free)
This is a basic one, but hey, it’s free.
YMCK MAGICAL 8BIT PLUG (Free)
It might not sport the prettiest interface, but it sounds 8 bit... and it’s free.
KORG LEGACY COLLECTION
A whole bunch of Korg’s classic synths packed in one deal
MEATSCIENCE BITSMACKER (Effect, Free)
Here’s a free little plugin for distortion/bitcrushing, worth trying!
SONIC CHARGE BITSPEEK (Effect)
While not free, it works wonderfully well on vocal samples for that old-schooly feel.
CAMEL AUDIO CAMELCRUSHER (Effect, Free)
I apply this to a lot of stuff, and it’s free
CAMEL AUDIO CAMELPHAT (Effect)
The big brother to Camelcrusher, way more features, not free though.
So, why not get yourself a couple of drum samples, bitcrush 'em a bit and give the plugins above a go?
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