the apeal for a tracker on the gp32 is definitally a portable composition tool. good tracking software running on the GP32 would make it the ultimate in portable composition. right now the competition is the qy series from yammaha (which are fairly expensive and sport general midi sounds), a similar deal from roland, a few music sketch pads on pdas (inexpensive but hardly serious music tools), and LSDj on the gameboy.
Currently I think LSDj is on the top of the market, but it's really a hacker's tool. You have to own a cart writing set up if you want to save your games and putting your own samples in the program is a guess-and-check process.
None the less, it's the only portable system that you CAN load samples into, and altho it lacks the mini-keyboard of a qy, the tight tracker-like interface that makes it super fast to work in (well, if you know trackers
... note entry, and organizing patterns into a song, etc can all be done with lighting speed if you know the correct key presses (it's like doing all the special moves in a fighter except music comes out
Btw, there is an option in LSDj that allows it to be controled by a modified PC keyboard. However, many people have commented they find it easier to work without it, using only the controls on the gameboy
Another thing limiting LSDj is that you can really only make chip tunes with it, so it has a sort of nitche. the yamaha/roland/pda stuff generally sends out midi so you can finish off a tune with all you sound modules when you get back home. this is another place gp32 could shine--if you track something out on the road and want to finish it off at home, just load the mod up in your favorite modern tracker and tweak it to perfection!
Currently I think LSDj is on the top of the market, but it's really a hacker's tool. You have to own a cart writing set up if you want to save your games and putting your own samples in the program is a guess-and-check process.
None the less, it's the only portable system that you CAN load samples into, and altho it lacks the mini-keyboard of a qy, the tight tracker-like interface that makes it super fast to work in (well, if you know trackers
... note entry, and organizing patterns into a song, etc can all be done with lighting speed if you know the correct key presses (it's like doing all the special moves in a fighter except music comes out Btw, there is an option in LSDj that allows it to be controled by a modified PC keyboard. However, many people have commented they find it easier to work without it, using only the controls on the gameboy
Another thing limiting LSDj is that you can really only make chip tunes with it, so it has a sort of nitche. the yamaha/roland/pda stuff generally sends out midi so you can finish off a tune with all you sound modules when you get back home. this is another place gp32 could shine--if you track something out on the road and want to finish it off at home, just load the mod up in your favorite modern tracker and tweak it to perfection!
