homebrew music applications for the Nintendo DS
Alexander, from music supporter magazine, mentioned that Switch Sound File Converter does a great job of converting .wav files to .raw files for use in glitchDS and repeaterDS. I tested it out and he’s right!
The output format should be:
Format: 8 bit signed
Sample Rate: 22050
Channels: Mono
Another version of glitchDS is ready! Go get it in the download section. Remember: glitchDS must be installed on the root of your card. This version introduces some new features:
1) Volume control of each sound. Volume parameters are saved along with your snapshot.
2) I added a “pad play” page — which is of questionable value — but it was easy to add. If there are too many sounds playing at once, glitchDS might ignore your incessant tapping. However, if you stop the sequencer, you should be able to play these like drums.
3) Quickly save new versions of snapshots: This is easiest to explain with an example. If you select a snapshot named “Bevis” and hit the Right directional button, a new snapshot named Bevis.1 will be saved with your current settings. If you select Bevis.1 and hit [Right], a new snapshot, “Bevis.2″ will be saved. nitro2k01 suggested this new feature and even programmed it for me! Thanks nitro2k01!
4) On the Trigger and Frequency Modulation pages, when you select a swatch, the filename will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
5) Loading snapshots works the same as before if the sequencer is stopped. If the sequencer is running, loading a snapshot “queues” it for loading. The snapshot will load after the sequencer is completed with its current cycle. Usually this transition is smooth, but sometimes it produces small digital “artifacts” if the sequences are significantly different.
Upgrade instructions — As usual, if you already have glitchDS installed, download version 1.3 and copy the rom files (glitchDS.nds and glitchDS.sc.nds) over your existing roms. For complete install instructions, read the documentation. Your version 1.2 snapshots will load properly in version 1.3.
Enjoy! - Bret
Hello! A quick update….
Bug fix: I made a little memory-allocation boo boo which caused repeaterDS to crash if you loaded sounds repetitively. I went ahead and updated the .zip file on the download page, so please go download the updated version.
New Sample Set!! - Boy do I owe :dcp: for all his support! He contributed another great sample pack for repeaterDS. Find it in the download section.
Small UI enhancement: As you probably know by reading the documentation, you can shift the playback of gestures by holding down [A] while pressing the directional buttons. That could get tedious since it only shifted the gestures by 1 pixel. You can now shift the gesture by “10″ pixels by holding [B] instead of [A]. I made this update to version 1.0, so just download it again and reinstall.
Undocumented feature: Woops! I left out a feature from the documentation. Let’s pretend that you recorded a few seconds of gestures. It sounds good, but you want to alter a portion of the gesture. Hold the [Up] directional button while drawing on the bottom screen to inject new gestures into your existing recorded gesture. It’s difficult to explain, but you can see me do it in the video demos or try it yourself.
Pop, pop, pop: Yes, I know that some samples have an annoying “pop” sound between loops. Eventually I might be able to fix those, but in the short term I’ve found that some samples are far less prone to popping than others. Keep experimenting. 
This just in! The ever elusive and rare glitchDS has been seen in the wild for the first time:
repeaterDS is a free music application for the Nintendo DS that allows you to “play” a sample by drawing on the DS screen. The vertical axis controls repeat length. The horizontal axis controls the playback offset into the sample.
Download repeaterDS here. Read the documentation.
Features include:
Check out these video demos:
If anyone could contribute sample packs for this new application, it would be much appreciated.
Hit up the download section for another sample set, donated by TheAdjectiveNoun.
glitchDS version 1.2 is available. Unfortunately, it breaks your snapshots again. Snapshots from previous versions probably will not load correctly. Sorry!
PS: My first posting of version 1.2 had a bug with the BPM. If your BPM freaks out, download 1.2 again for the newer version.
I hoped to get DSMI compatibility in this version, but it’s just not going to happen. I need suggestions from the DS community. I’ve found it near-impossible to get my WiFi MAX dongle working - which I will rant about someday. Unfortunately, DS Serial and DS Midi both seem to be unavailable. Any ideas for BPM syncing to midi? Does anyone have schematics for a midi-in port to the DS?
The good news is that the new version is pretty cool. Here’s what’s new:
New Features:
- More granular control of pattern length. On the main sequencer control page, hold down the A button while pressing Left or Right to increase or decrease the pattern length by 1.
- Quick-save pattern slots, as described in the previous post. To summarize, in the sequencer control page, hold Down while touching a quick slot to save your pattern to the slot. Touch the quick slot without holding A to load it.
- Pagination on the “choose sounds” page. You can paginate between pages of sounds using the X and B buttons.
I know that there have been a lot of feature requests posted in the comments section. I’ll do my best to implement them. However, it might be a while until the next update. I hope to spend some effort on a new DS project that should be really cool. Next update will probably be volume control for swatches.
Thanks,
- Bret
Now that version 1.1 is out, here’s what’s on the horizon. I’ve completed coding on “pattern storage” buttons. You can store a pattern by holding the Down directional button and touching a storage block. You can load a pattern by touching a block. It’s quite intuitive once you start using it. Stored patterns are saved with your snapshot.
I really want to get some DSMI (Nintendo DS Music Interface) compatibility before the next release — at least tempo control. This could take a while, so please be patient.
Finally, I’ve been asked to allow individual volume control. (I attempted pan control and failed terribly.)
Thanks!
- Bret
glitchDS v1.1 is out!
Be aware, your old snapshots will not load in the new version since the format has changed.
Download glitchDS_1_1.zip
NEW FEATURES
Improved snapshot management - Snapshot management acts more like a file system, with real names and a limit of 200 save files. I’ve attempted to keep the interface simple and clean.
Ability to change sequence length - Sequence lengths of 32, 16, 8, 4, and 2 can be selected by using the right and left directional buttons on the sequencer control page. Sequence length is indicated by a small gray bar at the very bottom of the sequencer control page.
BUG FIXES
- BPM can be changed while the sequencer is stopped.
- Certain errors should no longer cause the program to halt, such as missing files. However, error handling is still weak.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
If you are installing the new version from scratch, follow the installation instructions in the documentation.
If you are updating an older version, your old snapshot files aren’t compatible with the old system, so make a backup of version 1.0 and install the new version from scratch. Make sure that you backup any sounds that you have copied in to your old /sounds directory and, after installing 1.1, restore your custom sounds back to the /sounds directory.
THE FUTURE
Two new upcoming features include directory support and DSMI (Nintendo DS Music Interface) support. I can’t promise that I’ll be successful at coding these features, but I’ll do my best.
Thanks for all your support and feedback. A special thank-you to the beta testers of version 1.1!
- Bret
:dcp: has created a fantastic collection of 87 bleeps, zaps, thuds, and other fitting sounds for glitchDS. Download them here:
www.dietmarpier.de/data/dcp_collection.zip
Here’s a little demo I did using these sounds and the glitchDS version 1.1, which will be out soon:
http://www.glitchds.com/downloads/dcp-example.ogg
Thanks :dcp:!
nitro2k01 has released a brand new sample pack for the glitchDS and is hinting at future glitchDS related projects:
Here’s my first sample pack for the really cool up and coming DS homebrew music/sound app DSGlitch. It’s a sequencer and sound glitcher based on John Conway’s Game of Life where each position in the grid can trigger one out of six samples.
The sound is kind of random and I like it so much that I’m planning to make a concept album with sounds processed by the program, with the corresponding sample pack to go with it. (I’m making some tight ass samples for it!)
Until then, I’m going to release a number of sample packs based on the incredibly jazzy and moody sounds of Mortimer Twang’s Amiga mods. More packs coming when I feel like it!
Thanks nitro2k01!
Please note - there’s currently a limit to the amount of sound files that you can browse in a directory. It’s something like 300. I’m working to up that to 800 and add the ability to use sub-directories.
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