Many people could make the NES sing, but Tim Follin knew how to make it dance

@BP-ep5pe

2 жыл бұрын

Tim made it sing the language of gods

@LavaCreeperPeople

3 ай бұрын

Yes

Rest in peace Geoff, you'll be missed.

When you really wanna be in a prog rock band but the only instrument you play is the NES.

@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE

3 жыл бұрын

Tim & Geoff Follin, David Wise and Rob Hubbard: *this* *looks* *like* *a* *job* *to* *me-*

@toyotaae86trueno

10 ай бұрын

​​@@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVEthey are the kings of 80's game music

@earx23

3 ай бұрын

Tim played the lute IIRC.

Geoff, your legacy will forever live on in the hearts and minds of millions. Love from Earth

Rest in peace King

So cool how the triangle wave has those little "stairs" that give it that awesome treble tone

@Dubanx

Жыл бұрын

Ah, that's due to technical limitations on the music chip. They all have that.

@TransistorizedCharlie

Жыл бұрын

@@Dubanx Yep

@SPCOOKIE

6 ай бұрын

yeah thats what makes it work as a bass, perfect triangles with no steps don't really work as basses unlike 2a03 triangles

@TransistorizedCharlie

6 ай бұрын

@@SPCOOKIE Yeah. I see people using triangle bass on c64 sometimes and even with my bassy headphones it's just not audible enough

@LavaCreeperPeople

3 ай бұрын

Yeah

It's amazing that a game with such horrid gameplay can have such an amazing soundtrack. Very few chiptune composers could ever match Tim Follin.

@turrican4d599

3 жыл бұрын

I love this game.

@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE

2 жыл бұрын

I really don't know what to those Europeans were using when making music, but I want some. The Follins, Jeroen Tel, Martin Galway, Mark Cooksey, Alberto Gonzalez, Rob Hubbard, Chris Hülsbeck, and so forth. The Japanese were amazing, but the Europeans took the concept of amazing music to a whole other level.

@mr._2994

2 жыл бұрын

@netunof Source?

@boingledink4332

2 жыл бұрын

@@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE what about geoff....

@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE

2 жыл бұрын

@@boingledink4332 "And so forth" Geoff was a genius and actually, Tim would not be as good as he is without him.

Even modern chip tune artists can’t ever match the absolute power those snares have

@excellent_tea

Жыл бұрын

Looks like the triangle momentarily jumps to add a bass layer during each snare hit on the noise channel

@TransistorizedCharlie

Жыл бұрын

@@excellent_tea wow

Tim/Geoff: "Look mum, no sample channel/enhancement chips!" Speedrunner: "Look mum, no turbo controller!"

Great soundtrack! Although most people in the comments are talking about Tim Follin, we can't forget his brother Geoff, he played a big part in the composition here too. Edit as of 2024-06-07: Very sad to hear of Geoff's passing; May what I said stand true - we cannot forget the legacy he fulfilled with Tim. R.I.P. Geoff you're well missed : [

@woodshelf

Ай бұрын

Ironic I clicked on this video the day he passed away.

This is a legendary NES soundtrack -- probably the best ever made.

@timoloef

10 ай бұрын

agreed

S-tier soundtrack

Geoff Follin and his bro could really make the nes sing even only just using 4 of the 5 channels of the NES dual sound system (APU).

I don't think humans are meant to obtain this knowledge

@AWISECROW

Жыл бұрын

Now that we have it we must use it for good!

This guy's insane. In some songs he makes jumps by as much as 4 octaves(!) in the arpeggios!

@WhoLover

3 жыл бұрын

Mind explaining what that means? Lol (for those of us that are uninitiated)

@DelayRGC

3 жыл бұрын

@@WhoLover Arpeggios, in the case of 8-bit music and chiptunes, rapidly vary the tone played in a sequence. An example I could think of right now is the intro of the C64 port of Second Reality. It's very recognizable. (In "real" music they refer to the same thing of playing chord tones separately, but in much more general ways.) As for what an octave is, I think you already know. An increase by one octave means a doubling in the frequency.

@WhoLover

3 жыл бұрын

@@DelayRGC thanks man! Beautifully explained :)

@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE

3 жыл бұрын

@@DelayRGC Follin is essentially the god of arpeggios in chiptune. He used this trick in almost ALL of his chiptune OSTs. And his brother Geoff actually followed suit.

@BixenteFabregas

3 жыл бұрын

@@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE Also Ben Daglish and Anthony Crowther (Ben & Ratt from W.E.M.U.S.I.C) made a lot of arpeggios to hide the 3-sounds only C64 limitation.

A few observations -Clearly Stage 1 was (will be?)somehow composed in the year 3744 A.D. -Stage 2 is basically a nightclub remix of two seperate songs linked with a DJ style drum interlude. -The music definitely conveys the sense of being an intergalctic, immortal, metallic skinned, evidently naked, space lord on a surfboard, and indeed it does that very, very well.

I wonder what would the people who designed the NES sound chip would think if they listen to this. Probably not even they thought the hardware was capable of producing such amazing soundtrack.

When the oscilloscope view feels like a modern demo on an old computer

Tim was way ahead of his time on limited hardware.

This soundtrack is fking phenomenal.

Now these are some solid chip tune tracks.

@thomasingram1727

2 жыл бұрын

"Solid" is a extreme understatement

Best.sound chip composer

Why's the triangle wave so funky? It almost looks like a sawtooth.

@ozzie_goat

6 жыл бұрын

The NES uses a special counter to generate the triangle wave, hence why it has steps on it.

@jonasschievink5699

6 жыл бұрын

The hardware generating that wave only has 4 bits of resolution, that's only 16 values (count them!), so you can clearly see the steps. wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/APU#Triangle_.28.244008-400B.29

@warmCabin

6 жыл бұрын

Interesting stuff! I guess that explains why it sounds kinda different from a real triangle wave like you'd hear on onlinetonegenerator.com/

@solstakao

5 жыл бұрын

i’m fairly certain that it’s affecting the sound, it appears to be a more extreme version of the ramping up/down of the pulse and noise channels. i’m not sure why it happens, but i wish i knew (edit: i now understand, its caused by a high pass filter)

@Whelkman

4 жыл бұрын

@SArpnt Your eyes don't deceive you: the NES' triangle wave is indeed shaped like a shark fin due to asymmetrical rise and fall. This and the aliasing caused by the stepping is what gives the NES's triangle a distinct and easily identifiable sound.

This is easily one of the best Nintendo soundtracks maybe ever This game and Skate Or Die 2

omg the high score theme

Awesomeness

A creatively crafted sound chip driver routine takes you anywhere.

@thorndust5329

4 жыл бұрын

He wasn't using a driver

@T3KNUG3T5

4 жыл бұрын

he was

Music so good it probably helped people play this game

Me at 0:40 *jamming, looks at bottom left* "WHAT, THIS IS A TITLE SCREEN THEME?!"

2:54 always reminds me of the final battle music from Bowser's Inside Story

Noticed how he uses arpeggios not just by changing pitch but often also by only changing waveforms. And how he makes an echo effect using a single channel by quickly lowering pitch of a note.

OMG, I can see the funk!

Did Tom Follin not use DPCM samples for the soundtrack?

@TheGreatGario

4 жыл бұрын

Nope. Time Follin did the entire soundtrack using only the two rectangle waves, the triangle, and the noise channel, combining the triangle and noise channels to generate a rich drum set. It's... unbelievably good NES sequencing, literally the best I've ever heard, and I've done a lot of time in the Chiptune scene.

@lucianothewindowsfan

3 жыл бұрын

No, they decided to not use it as doing so will waste cartridge space.

@deprecated8036

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheGreatGario The rectangle channels are pulse waves

@BottomOfTheDumpsterFire

3 жыл бұрын

DPCM actually would have messed with the triangle, eaten up a LOT of space, and it also fucks with the controller inputs.

@Mr.Atari2600

3 жыл бұрын

@@BottomOfTheDumpsterFire Sunsoft used the DPCM as the BASS in Batman: ROTJ & Gimmick!

I C C E D D U M M Y

@Laundry_Hamper

4 жыл бұрын

rt 4 free ipod

@dava_arvarabi

4 жыл бұрын

Y O U M A Y N O W A C C E S S T H E O C T A H E D R O N

@cvni81

3 жыл бұрын

upvote for free macbook pro

"Alright, this is Silver Surfer... Silver Shit."

Nice

Someone NEEDS to do a channel by channel deconstruction of this (and Tim Follin's NES music in general) so we can break down how they all work, especially in regards to the triangle and noise channels.

The entire budget went to making banger soundtracks, instead enhancing the gameplay.

I CANT TOUCH THAT RED POT?

@skylinefever

4 жыл бұрын

@Gellért Borsay It was from the AVGN review of the game. One thing that sucked about the game is that you couldn't tell what was part of the background and what was in the foreground. The AVGN episode is worth watching.

@fuzz11111111

3 жыл бұрын

Silver surfer.... MORE LIKE SILVER SHIT!

@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE

3 жыл бұрын

You can. AVGN just got hit by an falling obstacle.

@supermariobro93

2 жыл бұрын

@@fuzz11111111 *_"HE LOOKS SO STUPID!_* I mean, what the hell's wrong with him?! He's like......like......" 😠 (Imitates title screen pose)

@supermariobro93

Жыл бұрын

"You die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, *DIE!"* (Imitates Silver Surfer's defeat pose) _"Oh God, I can't fuckin' stand it..."_ 😣

Wow!

if we make first contact with aliens i say these are the frequencies we send them first

Interesting, never seen a triangle wave that looks like that

@radrolla3406

2 жыл бұрын

i believe the horizontal parts are the data of the triangle wave that isn't played. I could be wrong but i remember triangle waves not looking like pyramids XD

@paulblart7378

Жыл бұрын

@@radrolla3406 NES couldn't make a perfect triangle waves, so it made one in 16 vertical steps. Yeah it's not a true triangle and if you listen closely you can hear a higher pitch coming from it that isn't there in a perfect triangle. This video explains it more kzread.info/dash/bejne/aoams9R6hNG-iLw.html

@radrolla3406

Жыл бұрын

@@paulblart7378 thx fam, that makes sense now that i think about it

The Soundtrack of The Power Cosmic itself.

Never heard this before but the opening track is sprinkled with the Follin genius. Still listening. Stage music 1. My socks have just been blown off. Am I right in thinking the Nes sound chip is fairly similar to the C64 SID?

@ConnorR.mp3

2 жыл бұрын

the C64 has much more possible variety in sound textures, the SID has some insane capabilities, even though it is limited to only 3 channels

@binguloid

2 жыл бұрын

the SID has three channels: each one can be a pulse, saw, triangle, noise, or some combination thereof. It also comes with a filter that any channel can pass through. the NES has five channels: two pulse, one triangle, one noise, and one sample.

@NEStalgia

Жыл бұрын

@@binguloid It's also important to mention one of the NES's extra chips, such as Konami's VRC6, with +2 pulses and 1 sawtooth

@saltedmutton7269

Жыл бұрын

@@NEStalgia those only came in certain games though, and they were inside the cartridge, not in the console itself. most games didn't use any extra chips, including silver surfer. imagine what the follins could do with an extra sound chip!

@NEStalgia

7 ай бұрын

​@@saltedmutton7269 It'd be mind-blowing

*I* *C A N ‘ T* *T O U C H* *T H E* *R E D* *P O T ! ? ! ?* >:(

3:46 this part really looks like how it sounds

im gonna quote a comment i saw that got deleted "how did such a bad game get such a good soundtrack"

@theallknowingsause8940

3 жыл бұрын

Okay so, your profile picture is seriously freaking me out

@HiddenGemVGM

3 жыл бұрын

@@theallknowingsause8940 ok

5:15

I’m seeing noise as well as sin and square waves (I think), but where is the triangle channel? Maybe someone with a better understanding of NES audio output can help me out?

@acrouzet

5 жыл бұрын

The triangle channel is the third channel down.

@Isoquant

5 жыл бұрын

@@acrouzet Ah thanks, makes sense. Thought I was seeing a sine wave.

@solstakao

4 жыл бұрын

Vikrinox its not a hardware bug, it’s caused by a high pass filter

@cfothough

4 жыл бұрын

@Juguertox I don't see anything disrespectful about what he did

@cfothough

4 жыл бұрын

@Juguertox Because some people can't see humor just through text, it's different in person

7:15 That sounds familiar.

@TheTauntalus

10 ай бұрын

@doopdee it's very similar to a few different early funk tunes. Notably it reminds me of Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man, with a tinge of Chameleon thrown in there.

Is this a video game soundtrack or a tech demo?

@tomhsia4354

3 жыл бұрын

It's the soundtrack for the NES game "Silver Surfer".

@deprecated8036

3 жыл бұрын

The tech demo came with a free game!

@gaymothaunt

3 жыл бұрын

Yes

@Plasmariel

2 жыл бұрын

@@gaymothaunt unironically

5:15 5:23

sounds like keygen

What on earth does 2:03 remind me of???

Try 0.25 times

Such a good soundtrack wasted on such a bad game

5:20 fuck

You know what I hate? That some guy can learn digital production and buy a bunch of physical modelled instruments to make a real orchestra at home.... but they can't IN THEIR LIFE, make something this creative. Hollow knight's soundtrack sucks.

@paulblart7378

Жыл бұрын

The magic of old game music comes from limitations. Modern composers have so many tools in their hands but can't recreate music like this. I mean, listen to modern pop "music", it's shit.

@kes7774

Жыл бұрын

A modern musician who has so many tools to build an orchestra at home but can't make creative music. They're human, so they're a little better. Soon, the era will come when AI musicians will rage. AI will fill the world with golden shit, selecting only the most popular and selling elements of the catchy but shitty music that modern musicians have accumulated. The scary thing is that the new generation that will be born in the future will accept without any resistance the images, characters, paintings and music that are composed only of imitations created by AI. Just as the use of the Internet and smartphones has been the norm since the young people of today were born, For them, the world created by AI is natural. In such an era, human creators, genius or not, can no longer compete with AI. EDIT: Maybe post-AI generations can't logically understand when they listen to Tim and Geoff Follin's music whether it's the creation of human genius or AI-created golden shit It is even possible. : end of editing But we do know some great music created by human geniuses who have overcome their limitations. We have no choice but to think of it as the highest honor as a human being that only the generation that knows the pre-AI era can get.

@NEStalgia

7 ай бұрын

​@@paulblart7378 That's exactly it! Very well said👏