![]() MMX) and companies began to push Hardware Abstraction Layers, like DirectX, the AWE and GUS range became obsolete. As processors got faster and acquired special multimedia processing abilities (e.g. From the typical 4 MOD channels of the Amiga, the limit had moved to 7 with TFMX players and 8, first with Oktalyzer and later with the vastly more popular OctaMED (all Amiga programs), 16 with ScreamTracker 3 on the PC, then 32 with FastTracker 2 and on to 64 with Impulse Tracker.Īs such, hardware mixing did not last. The responsibility for audio mixing passed from hardware to software (the main CPU), which gradually enabled the use of more and more channels. Inevitably, the balance was largely redressed with the introduction of the Sound Blaster AWE32 and its successors, which also featured on-board RAM and wavetable mixing. Coupled with excellent developer documentation, this gesture quickly prompted the GUS to become an integral component of many tracking programs and demos. Understanding that the support of the tracker/ demo-scene would benefit sales, Gravis gave away some 6000 GUS cards to participants. For a time, it offered unparalleled sound quality and became the choice of discerning tracker musicians. Although the IBM and compatibles initially lacked the hardware sound processing capabilities of the Amiga, with the advent of the Sound Blaster line from Creative, PC audio slowly began to approach CD Quality (44.1 kHz/16-bit/Stereo) with the release of the SoundBlaster 16.Īnother soundcard popular on the PC tracker scene was the Gravis Ultrasound, which continued the hardware mixing tradition, with 32 internal channels and onboard memory for sample storage. Schism Tracker with a classical ASCII based GUI, typical for trackers of the 80s and 90s, playing a module by Finnish composer Skavenĭuring the 1990s, tracker musicians gravitated to the PC. This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. Well-known formats include MOD, MED, S3M, XM and IT. Several module file formats are supported by popular music player programs such as Winamp or XMMS. Tracker music is typically stored in module files where the song data and samples are encapsulated in a single file. These programs are also often called "trackers". Many of these programs are designed for creating music for a particular synthesizer chip such as the OPL chips of the Adlib and SoundBlaster sound cards, or the sound chips of classic home computers. There are also some tracker-like programs that utilize tracker-style sequencing schemes, while using real-time sound synthesis instead of samples. Patterns can be repeated across multiple orders to save tracking time and file space. A pattern usually represents an even number of measures of music composition.Īn order is part of a sequence of patterns which defines the layout of a song. Some modern trackers simulate polyphony in a single track by setting the "new note action" of each instrument to cut, continue, fade out, or release, opening new mixing channels as necessary.Ī pattern is a group of simultaneously played tracks that represents a full section of the song. If not, the previous sample is usually stopped when the next one begins. ![]() Of course bass and hats could be interleaved on the same track, if the samples are short enough. of one track and putting some hihat at rows 2, 6, 10, 14 etc. Tracks typically contain 64 rows and 16 beats, although the beats and tempo can be increased or decreased to the composer's taste.Ī basic drum set could thus be arranged by putting a bass drum at rows 0, 4, 8, 12 etc. Tracks have a fixed number of "rows" on which notes and effects can be placed (most trackers lay out tracks in a vertical fashion). Whereas the original Amiga trackers only provided four tracks, the hardware limit, modern trackers can mix a virtually unlimited number of channels into one sound stream through software mixing. Common tracker effects include volume, portamento, vibrato, retrigger, and arpeggio.Ī track (or channel) is a space where one sample is played back at a time. These effects are then applied during playback through either hardware or software. C, C#, D, etc.).Īn effect is a special function applied to a particular note. By increasing or decreasing the playback speed of a digital sample, the pitch is raised or lowered, simulating instrumental notes (e.g. Most trackers allow a part of the sample to be looped, simulating a sustain of a note.Ī note designates the frequency at which the sample is played back. There are several elements common to any tracker program: samples, notes, effects, tracks (or channels), patterns, and orders.Ī sample is a small digital sound file of an instrument, voice, or other sound effect.
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