MOD Tracker modules

[leilei]

Does anyone track anymore?

I find it odd I can't find any .MOD files of Final Fantasy music, just .s3ms, .its and .xms; so i'm doing something about this "problem" and tracking a few in MOD by ear. These are not conversions.

[Roogle]

Can you tell us more about what the MOD filetype offers over the other filetypes you mentioned?

[leilei]

It's not bloated with features I don't use. The limitations are also fun to work with. The usual perception of MOD files is often "amiga trash". I also want to prove that it doesn't have to sound like that.

another one

[Roogle]

So it is similar to the limitations of the MIDI format? I enjoy MIDIs and I wish that I was around five or ten years ago to speak with MIDI creators and communities.

I believe that the Sound Test section of RPGamer used to feature numerous MOD tracks.

[leilei]

No, the limitations are different.

MIDIs can have precisely timed notes. MODs can not (and i mean for appregios and rolls, you would have to speed up the song temporarily to get them down, or if the channels allow, use clever note cuts and delays. See ff5g.mod and ff5.mod)

MODs can have as much redundancy as it wants since you don't manually copy and paste, like a MIDI. You arrange an order of patterns. It reduces size bloat that way too

MODs can loop where you want them to loop

MODs have a limitation of 64 rows per pattern, no more and no less, though you could have less by just inserting a pattern break on some instrument on the appropriate row. XM, S3M, and IT solves this issue and adds features like independent sample rate for C note on samples (MOD samples are based on 8363hz) and instruments with independent note cuts and offs with customizable pan, volume and pitch envelopes. MOD doesn't have that either, MOD is just raw samples playing and that's what makes it challenging and fun for me.

MOD doesn't have echo or reverb, but I try my best to fake it. The vibratio can't be as precisely subtle either so that is why I leave that out for horns and such.

MODs can have a lot of channels, but I usually use 8. The original amiga module formats that are created and played for Amiga in 4 channels only, with fixed panning, and limited octaves.

[Roogle]

Which file type would you say has a better sound quality when played on an average computer? Assume that this computer does not have an advanced chipset or sound font.

[Mirage]

Tracker modules are similar to midi in some ways, yes. However, as far as i can remember, modules let you use custom samples and instruments, unlike midis, where you're always bound by the instruments dictated by the standard of the format.

:edit
You guys totally posted while i was typing

[leilei]

Which file type would you say has a better sound quality when played on an average computer? Assume that this computer does not have an advanced chipset or sound font.

i'd pick the MOD. And by 'not have an advanced chipset' i'm recommending at least a Sound Blaster Pro, and a 33MHz 486SX processor. MODs were once very popular during the OPL2/3 MIDI music era in the 90s

Today's average computers usually have a sound card without any hardware midi capability so anything in Microsoft Synthesizer sounding like Roland Sound Canvas or even the Roland Sound Canvas itself are automatically inferior and unfaithful.

Another thing to note is the file size. I don't exceed 100kb, though it is easy to do that with large samples. It's not really a limit, but a personal challenge :P

[Roogle]

I think they may be pretty similar in terms of filesize, though. I have seen some pretty large MIDIs.

[leilei]

whoops I goofed up the trumpets on this one