Friday, December 13, 2013

Nanoloop

Nanoloop

Nanoloop 1.6  is a sequencer for the Game Boy. Sound that is generated by Nanoloop 1.6  uses the Game Boy’s analog sound chip which is restricted to raw rectangular waves, noise and a 4-bit wave form. Nanoloop 2.5 is a version for the Game Boy Advance, which can produce filtered waves, filtered noise and simple FM. The iPhone version of Nanoloop, the version I used for this project shares the same sound engine, file format and a similar interface that Nanoloop 2.5 uses. It combines an enhanced version of Nanoloop 2.5’s synthesizer with a simple sampler. It also allows the user to record audio onto their mobile device and then may import it to a PC.

I used Nanoloop to create “chiptune” music to be played as the soundtrack for a small fast paced third person arena style shooter that I am working on. Technically, only Nanoloop 1.6 may be considered “chiptune” as known as “8-bit” instruments, because it runs on an 8-bit system with a soundchip while the other newer version are digital synthesizers for a 32-bit system. Nanoloop for the iPhone however does not simulate vintage hardware, nor was it designed to sound like a “Game Boy”. However the general minimalism and lack of effects often lead to raw, chippy results that may sound like “chiptune” music, but if refined and worked on the music crated can sound very different.

This project was the very first time I have ever done anything in the realm of music creation. So because of my inexperience with any sort of audio design I needed a program that would be incredibly user friendly, not very difficult for someone to pick up and understand, as well as produce the type of sound I was looking for for the game I am working on. After asking numerous experienced audio designers and digging through countless forum posts I decided on using Nanoloop. Not only did Nanoloop meet all my requirements but it also has a beautiful and simple UI, it’s also mobile which allowed me to work on my project at any moment which was a huge selling point for me. So for $2.99 Nanoloop was a steal!

“DESIGN! This user interface should be in the design museum. It's a bit hipster but you can adjust the volume, attack, decay, LFO depth and speed (doubles as filter envelope), cutoff frequency and pulse width OF EACH INDIVIDUAL NOTE from the step sequencer screen. Excellent for making chip music but also has a sampler. If you can't make good music on this you should think about doing something else with your time.”  -Ian Hamlett

While researching for the program I would use for this project did my research on what kind of chiptune audio style I would like create. I listened to hundreds of different track by many different artists, some of my favorite were: “So Gentlemen, Here’s the Plan” and “Exit Dungeon Left” by Pixel Storm. These were the songs that had the feeling I would plan to emulate with my project.

Nanoloop uses a sequencer that displays its pattern as a grid of 4 x 4 rectangles. Notes can be set, removed and edited just by tapping and swiping. This editing without mode allows for changes on the fly coupled with its generous layout provide a great environment for a smooth workflow. Unlike the Game Boy versions, Nanoloop for iPhone only allows the user to set pitch and one additional value step in the sequencer. All other sound parameters use controlled channels through the synth panel.

The simple but powerful synthesizer allows the user to create a great bandwidth of sounds, including beats, noises, basses and pads. Available synthesis types are: rectangular wave with filter, FM, and LFSR noise generator. Rectangular wave and LFSR sound similar to the Game Boy’s and other console’s soundchips but offer more fine control and additional effects. The FM synth is the simple type with two sine wave oscillators, with fixed base frequency and variable modulator frequency. An envelope / LFO can be applied to modulation amplitude or frequency. For a sweeping spatial effect, the modulator can be slightly detuned, with inverted phase for left/right. Each synth channel is two-voice polyphonic and a stereo effect can be applied. Samples of one second length @ 44 kHz, mono cannot just be used in a drum-machine style, but also be pitched and played as notes.

Nanoloop allows for multiple recording sources for samples such as the built-in microphone (iPhone only), a headset microphone (iPhone, iPod touch 2nd gen only) and Nanoloop’s own sound output. The latter allows the user to create new samples from scratch, using up to five channels to create one single sound!

With Nanoloop for the iPhone, you can send your saved projects to other Nanoloop users via e-mail. If Nanoloop is installed on the recipient’s iPhone / iPod, they can simply tap on the files name in the received e-mail to start Nanoloop and import the attached file so that it is available for editing. This makes collaboration very easy, multiple users around the world can work on the same project by simply e-mailing the file back and forth. This function may also be used to backup projects on a PC. It also works with other mobile device apps such as Dropbox and Google Drive, making the music crated with Nanoloop very accessible.

This however doesn’t mean that files are sent as audio files, data received is in the native Nanoloop format which can be read only by Nanoloop. I found this to be incredibly annoying and it caused a lot of headaches on my part. I found that you can save the project you’re working on within Nanoloop as a .wav file and then plug the mobile device into a PC and import it through iTunes. After many frustrating hours of trying to figure out how to get my music off of my phone in a version that could be played by music players that is the solution I came up with and to my knowledge that is the only way so far. There are options to copy and paste the .wav file to applications such as Dropbox, Google Drive and attach it to an Email, but it wasn’t working.

After many hours spent on the bus, walking to and from class/work, lunch breaks and any other moments of downtime that I found myself without something to do, I plugged away at my audio tracks. Here they are:





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