Re: your favorite sound chip?
I've always been a junky for wavetable/psg/sample chpis. So, roughly in order, my favorite sound chips are:
1. The sound chip used in the PS1 and PS2 (when music is sequenced, not streamed). It's basically an upgraded version of the Snes's SPC700 but it has more channels and better reverb.
2. Snes (SPC700). It has a warm sound that I like because of gaussian interpolation. It has very limited memory though for samples (I know this from experience because I write Snes music). So, it's a special kind of challenge to combine the warmth of the SPC700 with the low amount of sample memory.
3. Nes (2a03 and 2a07). I'm not a fan of the simple stuff, but the complex stuff is really cool.
. 4. Konami VRC6. If you enjoyed using it once, you'll never stop using it afterwards.
5. mos Technology sid (c64). Not a fan of how overboard some of the music can get to squeeze more out of the limited channels, but the chip is literally a high quality subtractive synth, just with limited polyphony. YOu can't fault it for having the emphasis on traditional synth design. If it had more channels, then making music for it would be scarily similar to doing it in an 80s studio with all your modular setups. Furthermore some people developed cool strategies to play samples on the C64, so I find the chip intriguing.
6. PC Engine, can't remember what the sound chip is. From what little i"ve heard, it sounds like it oculd really be made to do awesome things if used right. Would absolutely love to see music for a Castlevania game or something like it be made for that chip. Maybe it exists, I just haven't gotten around to looking it up. The Konami KSS chip is also tied for this spot because while the PC Engine has slightly better specs in most cases, I'm spoiled by the very few soundtracks I've heard for the KSS which have all been awesome. It's late 80s Konami though, what do you expect lol
7. Namko N163. Would tie it with the other wavetable chips above, but it has a lot more distortion. Still, in the right context it sounds really cool. I'd also put the Famicom Disc System (FDS) here, but it only has one channel and 1 channel is boring lol. That said, it can make interesting sounds and it is cleaner than the other wavetable chips.
8. Paula (amiga). Too few channels for my taste, and also not a fan of how you're locked to a certain stereo seperation, but people have done cool things with this chip. I also like how raw and gritty the samples become. It's a polar opposite to the Snes and playstation, which for me, isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, it's just different. I suppose if you're going for a natural sound that's clean, it would be a bad thing, but obviously that will depend on what you want to do.
I'll admit I really am not an FM fan. I appreciate and enjoy the sound when it's done super well, but otherwise I don't like it as much because it sounds like it's trying too be something it's not, if that makes any sense.
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