Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

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re:dream
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Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by re:dream » Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:01 pm

Diode mA makes music using the MS DOS command line to drive a Yamaha YMF262.

Soundcloud and bandcamp

Interview here

8O :roll: :mrgreen:

Samuel L. Jizzle
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by Samuel L. Jizzle » Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:54 pm

What a pretentious asshole. :x

njh
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by njh » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:57 pm

I really enjoy watching video's of people making music on old systems. It seems like twice a week I will search for some one making music with an atari or amiga running old versions of cubase. What I would really like to see is a video of some one using the first version of protools.
I remember my dad having a commodore 64 long after it came out and I would use some program to play sounds on the commodores keyboard for hours wishing I had a guitar instead of the computer.

jestermgee
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by jestermgee » Mon Feb 17, 2014 12:29 am

Well it was great back "in the day" when there were no other options.

My intro into the world of DAWS is a memory like yesterday. March 1996 I was introduced to 2 DOS based sequencers (or trackers) called Fasttracker II and Cubic Player. Both used the XM and MOD file formats which were all sample based. No effects, no VST (wasn't even a thing at the time) just crube WAV only samples and creativity.

I honestly feel I was more creative with less at hand than I am now but I was also 2 decades younger and had way more time to kill. I still have that first win95 PC in the shed as a reminder.

tedlogan
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by tedlogan » Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:05 am

Yeah, I too started on trackers wayyy back around 1991, when I was 12, with ModEdit, MS DOS. I might be mistaken, but I remember it having only four tracks to play with. Just crude WAV samples yes, and a hell of a lot of patience to program, for example, just a simple volume fade/rise. I loved it.

Then moved on to Fast Tracker and Scream Tracker, and then Impulse Tracker, and finally ModPLug Tracker for Windows, which lacked the charm of the DOS programs, but was vastly more powerful.

It does make me appreciate how fortunate we are today with proper DAWs.

Good ol' ModEdit:

Image

jestermgee
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by jestermgee » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:58 am

Ah, a fellow tracker... You started younger than I.

Yeah the original tracker formats only allowed 4 tracks I believe which was the MOD file format probably from Module Tracker. XM (I think for eXtended Module) allowed more tracks but man I saw some very interesting ways of making complex sounds using just 4 tracks.

I stuck with FT2 until I switched to Buzz Tracker. I simply could not get into Mod Plug tracker because as you said, it just didn't have the same feel or flow (or even sound). There was also FT3 which never made the light of day. Still have my hundreds of XM files saved away and I find soe really cool ideas that never made it.

I learned a lot about creating stereo fields from mono materials with offset delays and slight tempo changes. Making phase sounds with commands 201 and 101 to slide thee portamento up and down... I recon if I got in front of FT2 again I would still remember all the keys. And listening to a newly created track while playing Nibbles at 2am. Wish things could just be that simple again.

Oh Fasttracker. RIP. 1996-2002

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tedlogan
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Re: Never mind Bitwig, here's MS DOS

Post by tedlogan » Tue Feb 18, 2014 8:15 pm

Wow, seeing Fast Tracker II again...the memories flooding through my brain...so long ago and such a wonderful time. I think it recorded audio directly into its built-in "sampler". I stuck with FTII for quite a while before moving on to Impulse Tracker, and then ModPlug. Even though it didn't have the charm, I was becoming more serious about my hobby at the time, so ModPlug Tracker was pretty awesome.

Here's a pic of Impulse Tracker, just to stir up memories for the handful of people on these forums who might have used it:

Image

And here we have ModPlud tracker, extremely bland look, like depressing old office software, but it was a lot more powerful:

Image


I should be studying tonight and not talk about old trackers actually.

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