The revelation of a Korg synth for Nintendo DS was big news for modern-style soft synths on mobile Nintendo game systems. But what about some good, oldskool 8-bit Game Boy sounds? Most cartridges have focused on sequencers, not synths and performance — that is, not playing your Game Boy like an instrument. The Pixelh8 project got our attention last summer by attempting to do just that. Now, project creator Matthew (Pixelh8 himself) lets us know his Music Tech Pro Performer, a complete remake of his original project, is available:

Pro Performer Project Page

V1+ brings new features, including nineteen (count ‘em!) pitch sweep options and seven volume envelopes. It maps to scales (major, natural and harmonic minor, whole tone, pentatonic), so you can keep your playing on the right notes. And with intervals/chords, performances modes (porta., tremolo, vibrato, arpeggio), sound effects, unison, and other features, you can get a decent range of sounds. If you’re looking to make your Game Boy into a synth, it’d be hard to go wrong with this one.

Compatible hardware: GBA, GBA SP, & DS Lite (in slot two).

Cost: £30.00 GBP + £5.00 International Recorded 1st Class Shipping for an actual physical cart. No ROM will be made available.

More vids:

Want that vintage-y goodness of a real Game Boy’s sound, but want new-fangled color and MIDI? Pushpin is for you. First introduced seven years ago, it’s finally been released. Brian Whitman writes:

Hi, thought you’d like to know that Noah and I have finally released Pushpin, which turns your Game Boy Color into a fully controllable MIDI synthesizer. It’s a ROM download and parts list to build the cable. We first finished it in September 2000 but are finally getting around to releasing it, open source and free.

Pushpin includes:

• ROM file, to be flashed to a cartridge
• Instructions for a cable that connects GBC’s link port to MIDI (standard DIN)
• Receives 90 MIDI Control Changes, note messages, pitch bend, program changes
• Four channels, multi-timbral

In other words, Pushpin makes your Game Boy into a full-blown hardware synth. Awesome.

Pushpin Project Release Page

Someone can feel free to just leave me the parts in a stocking, and I’ll have a happy Christmas Day.

You know how drummers tap desks, objects, and anything around them incessantly, often unaware of the fact that they’re doing it, until people get annoyed? Well, now you don’t need a drummer around: you can program a Game Boy to do the same thing.

Jowan Sebastian has built a brilliant, elegant application for Game Boys called kBANG. Wire up a Game Boy to other objects — like solenoids, simple mechanical devices that can perform a tapping action — and you’ve got a real-world drum machine. Enough glitchy beats: physical objects become percussion.

kBANG: Game Boy Drum Machine

Here it is in action:

If you want to try this yourself, he has posted a ROM, but you’ll be on your own building the interface.

Related:
music albums and synths on Game Boy, a tracker-style music app for Nintendo DS, and, very much along these lines, how to build a mechanical “sequencer” controlled by Game Boy.

Thanks to Pedro Marques for the heads-up!

Look out: it’s the return of the cartridge!

We’ve seen loads of chiptune and Nintendo-based music before, but Alex Mauer has gone so far as to release an entire album on NES cartridge (and emulator, if you must). Some of you wondered what the preferred setup was for the chiptune virtuoso; for Alex, it’s evidently everything, from Yamaha sound modules to SoundBlasters, Sega, TurboGrafix, and, yes, Nintendo.

Alex Mauer Artist Page (Via Music thing.)

Ah, imagine the hours we’ll spend, thumbing through shelves of cartridges for an obscure Finnish death-punk artist who plays only Atari 2600s. I can see it now:

But it’s not just albums popping up on carts. If you’d rather have a more active experience, look to Pixelh8 for Game Boy. Whereas many previous Game Boy cartridges have focused on tracker/sequencer functions for arranging tunes, this new software emphasizes hands-on playability — mash the buttons, play a tune. If you’re savvy enough to make your own cart, or want to play in an emulator (bah), you can get the ROM file itself for £15; a ready-made cartridge is shipping soon worldwide for £20 + £5 p&p.

Pixelh8 Project Page, via Matrixsynth and GameMusic4All

Here’s the intro:

And the creator has been furiously adding new features:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat some delicious fireworks or watch some barbecue exploding like a real American.

How much does circuit bender Gijs Gieskes love circuit boards? Enough to make them into puppets. A little paint, lots and lots of colored lights, and the ability to receive clock signal (MIDI sync) from LSDj, the homebrew music app for Game Boys, and you have a geeky, wonderful animated character who can flash along to your Game Boy beats:

gieskes.nl/visual-equipment/pcb-puppet

Gijs conceived it as a way to add to his Game Boy performances.

This may be not safe for work. It depends on how what you think those flashing circles are. I do think someone in comments on Gijs’ site is reading way too much into the eyes, though.

It’s like mastering engineer: the game. Craig Harris has a great review for IGN of the new GBA Bit Generations series in Japan. Soundvoyager has you don headphones and play using your ears:

There are various different game styles in Soundvoyager, but they ultimately boil down to “find the center channel.” In one mode, you’re a dot sliding along a forced-scrolling environment trying to find an invisible dot on the grid by listening for its sound in the left or right channel. Center up your on-screen dot, and snag the soundmaker.

Previews: Bit Generations Part II [IGN]

Stereo phase as a game? I’ll bite. Now all we need is a whole series of games to retrain our less-than-golden ears and teach us how to properly mix, apply compression, and use EQ. Any game programmers - slash - audio engineers up to the challenge?

No word yet on whether Bit Generations will get a US import (sounds like a good idea, given the slim pickin’s for GBA these days). But given Nintendo’s adventurous, experimental releases and the fact that games are light on text, I’ve got my fingers crossed. Readers in Japan or bold importers, let us know if you pick this up!

Gijs Geikes has been hard at work since we last saw his latest bizarre Walkman Tape Player / Game Boy Sequencer. A new model sync with the Little Sound Dj cartridge: plug in a Game Boy, and other goodies (like a Walkman tape player and Stylophone keyboard), and you can create wild, screaming patterns like this. (A must-listen, experimental punk/hip-hop chiptune creation.)

Gijs has schematics up, so adventurous makers, you can make your own. Or you can just go buy one of those nifty Stylphones.

SEQ05 Pictures, Sounds, Schematics [Gieskes.nl Instruments]

Updated: That link exceeded its bandwidth restrictions, but you can hear the sounds via a new link! (Thanks, Gijs!)
Related:
Gameboy Music with LSDJ: Workshops, Tips, Photos, MP3s

An incredible amount of stuff coming up here in NYC:

VJ Book: Paul Spinrad’s new The VJ Book is packed with interviews and how-to information and ships with a DVD full of VJ samples, mixable content, and demo software. (Paul and I got to work together on an upcoming issue of Make Magazine, which you’ll be hearing more about soon.)

VJ party Wednesday: It’s a book launch party edition of Eyewash, the live video series. I’ll be VJing with Korg hardware and Quartz Composer-generated visuals, along with the book’s DVD creator Melissa “Miixxy” Ulto (previously on CDM). Jay Smith from Livid Instruments will be demoing the new Tactic M2 wood-paneled VJ control surface (see previous story). I’ll be trying to steal it from him. Watch your drinks, Jay.

VJ: The Movie Video Out documents the history of VJing and live video art from the 1960s to today. It’s premiering in the East Village November 11, but if you clamour hard enough, it may come to your town, too.

Music Player Live: Les Paul is keynote speaker for this weekend full of of music stars, gear, and instruction. The crew from Keyboard, EQ, GuitarPlayer, BassPlayer, and Frets will all be there. Catch my live video and VJing for musicians seminar Sunday, if you can, but there’s plenty of other good stuff happening.

Game Boy Music Saturday: There’s a major lineup Saturday night of Game Boy and chiptune musicians at Manhattan’s The Tank (which is still looking for a permanent home). Performers: DAVID SUGAR (UK), RECEPTORS (US), HEY KID NICE ROBOT (US), M-.-n (BE), GLOMAG (US), BUBBLYFISH (US), OMAC (US), NULLSLEEP (US) and BIT SHIFTER (US).

Now, attention rest of the world: aside from Paul’s VJ book and the movie, we want to make sure you get to enjoy some of this, too. So, New Yorkers, aside from my own feeble attempts to photograph and document these events, if you’re going and want to help, please drop me a line. And certainly say hello; I’ll buy you a drink or steal you some video hardware.

Gameboy guru Gijs Geikes rocks LSDJ with workshop participants, and even the mysterious interface of this tracker-style instrument for Nintendo systems can capture audiences’ imagination. Gijs has just posted some photos of his workshops in action, complete with sample MP3s and (best of all) some great tips for making sounds with LSDJ. Click the “Instruments” menu on the right for synthesis ideas and more.

LittleSoundDJ Workshop Photos, MP3s, Tutorials [Gijs Geikes]

LittleSoundDJ [Main site]

And yes, that’s my friend Bubblyfish at one of the workshops, so LSDJ’s “rival” Gameboy app Nanoloop makes an appearance, too. And what’s with the PSP? Emulation, baby. Though I’m sticking with my vintage Gameboys at about 3% of the price of the Sony.

More news soon as I resume a normal broadcast schedule this week . . .