Advertisement

Tutorial: converting wav/mp3/ogg to tracker format

Started by July 26, 2008 12:59 PM
-1 comments, last by Forestknight25 16 years, 5 months ago
My first attempt at a tutorial contribution. NOTE: this requires a keen ear for rhythm and "beat counts," as well as a lot of patience, but other than that, it is not too hard. Now I'm not sure of the actual utility of this technique, but as I've noticed, it may reduce the filesize (albeit with lower sound quality in the long run.) The trade-off is that you will now be able to play .ogg files (my pre-recorded format of choice) using libraries that only support tracker, like GM BASSMOD for Game Maker. I also highly recommend using tracker compression tools to convert the internal WAV samples into MP3 or ogg for much smaller filesize. Anyways, here goes: 1.) Open pre-recorded song in sound editor (I personally prefer Goldwave,) and set it to mono (I use 8-bit mono, but 16-bit works fine too, and gives higher sound quality.) Create a directory for this project in your music projects folder, wherever that may be, then create a subfolder within this directory called "samples." Save this song as "master.wav" or whatever format you use. 2.) Play song, and listen for the first 2 or 4 beats. After the fourth count (forgive me, I do not quite know my official music terms) copy the sample and paste into a new file. Save 4-beat or 2-beat sample, again as mono, in "samples" directory as "01.wav" or whatever format you use. 3.) Repeat for the remainder of the song. One very important tip I can offer is if the song features any parts that are repeats of patterns you have already recorded, skip them and move onto the next new set of patterns. This reduces the amount of samples required. 4.) Open ModPlug or whatever tracker program you prefer. Import all the samples you have saved from the master file into "samples" or "instruments," depending on what tracker format you are using. I generally use XM or IT, and I do not recomment MOD. It has a way of making your samples sound strange. As for S3M, I am not familiar what it is like. It definitely helps to create a new pattern for every new point in the song. 5.) Save the file, and it is ready to use! If you have any questions, drop me a line. Cheers matey
I am merely a part-time Gamedev member. I do not have much to contribute. If you have any suggestions for how I can contribute to the Gamedev community, let me know (though FYI I suck at tutorials)

This topic is closed to new replies.

Advertisement