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Recording directly into computer/Ripping soundtracks

Started by Altissimo, August 30, 2015, 08:09:15 PM

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Altissimo

So as my signature and all of my arrangements thread indicate, I want to arrange Hamtaro music. My ultimate goal really is to have most, if not all, of the Hamtaro soundtrack(s) arranged on site, there's only four games after all and they're sorely unappreciated!! But because they're sorely unappreciated... the music simply isn't on the internet. There's an OST of the first game, Ham-Hams Unite, with several major tracks and none of the smaller tracks. There's a couple videos of some of the early big tracks of the sequel Ham-Ham Heartbreak. There's absolutely nothing for Ham-Ham Games.

What I've been doing, in order to arrange these tracks/provide Youtube videos for quality checkers, is record them myself from my emulator, with QuickTime Player. The only problem is it doesn't record the audio as it is in the computer - it's more like if I held my GBASP up to the mic and recorded it directly from the GBASP. Same key, you can hear everything, but it's a bit distorted, "airy" and quiet. Not really the best for arranging off of, or providing a quality check based on.

So I'm wondering if anyone knows a way to record audio directly from an emulator to a sound file, or alternatively, if someone knows how to/knows someone that can rip the soundtracks directly from the game's code.

Thanks!

mikey

Fairly sure you can pm jdmek5 about this iirc he's big on game rips
unmotivated

Maelstrom

I've heard audacity works well.
Here's a 42-track ost for heartbreak, albeit unnamed.
http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/hamtaro-ham-ham-heartbreak-gba-
Idk where to find other stuff.
Just try googling it without looking for youtube videos in particular.

JDMEK5

Ah yes I know exactly the airy sound you're having and yes, I do know a better way. Use this.

To make it work properly I believe the input has to be set to your speakers. If you have it set to your microphone then you'll get that same airy sound you were before.
"Today's goal strongly involves not dying. Because nobody likes to wake up dead."

My Arrangements
Finale Version(s): Finale Notepad 2012, Finale 2012, Finale v26

Altissimo

MAELSTROM THANK YOU YOU ARE FANTASTIC

JDMEK5 thank you too I will try that out and hopefully it will be awesome. Then I can upload my own OSTs if I don't find them elsewhere \o/

JDMEK5

#5
Also if these are GBA games, Echo had an awesome system for ripping MIDIs right off the ROM files. Ask him/her about that. At least I think he/she did if memory serves..
"Today's goal strongly involves not dying. Because nobody likes to wake up dead."

My Arrangements
Finale Version(s): Finale Notepad 2012, Finale 2012, Finale v26

Maelstrom

Quote from: JDMEK5 on August 30, 2015, 08:24:27 PMAlso if these are GBA games, Echo had an awesome system for ripping MIDIs right off the ROM files. Ask him/her about that. At least I think he/she did if memory serves..
This I want to hear about.

JDMEK5

"Today's goal strongly involves not dying. Because nobody likes to wake up dead."

My Arrangements
Finale Version(s): Finale Notepad 2012, Finale 2012, Finale v26

Echo

Quote from: Altissimo on August 30, 2015, 08:09:15 PMSo I'm wondering if anyone knows a way to record audio directly from an emulator to a sound file

Get pretty much any version of a VisualBoyAdvance emulator, but not the latest version of VBA-M. At the top of the emulator there will be some menus, and you should be able to go Tools > Record > Start sound recording. When you want to stop, go back that menu and then click 'Stop sound recording.'

By the way, a cool thing is that you can selectively mute 8-bit/chiptune/whatever you call it track stuff, which applies for some GBA games, and for every GB/GBC game. You do this by going to Options > Sound, and then un-check Channel 1/2/3/4.

Quote from: JDMEK5 on August 30, 2015, 08:24:27 PMAlso if these are GBA games, Echo had an awesome system for ripping MIDIs right off the ROM files.

Quote from: Maelstrom on August 30, 2015, 08:27:44 PMThis I want to hear about.

Look up a program called GBA2MIDI. Basically, you take a ROM, and then you can extract the MIDI data for it, but there might be some quirks depending on how the game's programmed (for example, a track in the MIDI might be in a "wrong" key to accommodate for the sound/instrument sample in-game). I don't think you can rip MIDIs in mass if I recall though, so you have to go through them in a list individually while ripping them.

There's something similar for DS games called VGMTrans, which is even better because it shows you all the MIDIs in the ROM, and they're even named in the game's files.

It's funny that you ask though, because I'm pretty sure I learned all this from this site, haha.

QuoteAsk him/her about that. At least I think he/she did if memory serves..

He. ;)


Oh yeah! Back to the ripping GBA music thing, look up something called gba_mus_riper. I've never used it myself, but I remember hearing about it before being used to rip GBA music in high quality and such (like, better quality than listening to it in-game), so it's probably worth looking into.

Altissimo

I don't think VBA works on my computer, I tried it once when trying to set up emulators a couple years back and it wasn't good (and the sound quality certainly wasn't), cause I use a Mac. But thank you anyway.

JDMEK5

Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PMBy the way, a cool thing is that you can selectively mute 8-bit/chiptune/whatever you call it track stuff, which applies for some GBA games, and for every GB/GBC game. You do this by going to Options > Sound, and then un-check Channel 1/2/3/4.
This is what I was originally referring to.

Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PMLook up a program called GBA2MIDI. Basically, you take a ROM, and then you can extract the MIDI data for it, but there might be some quirks depending on how the game's programmed (for example, a track in the MIDI might be in a "wrong" key to accommodate for the sound/instrument sample in-game). I don't think you can rip MIDIs in mass if I recall though, so you have to go through them in a list individually while ripping them.
I have that but my biggest complaint is that you have to listen to every track to tell what it is. And that it needs an external media player to show you. And how it's linear where VGMTrans has a list. But yeah that works too and I use it.

Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PMThere's something similar for DS games called VGMTrans, which is even better because it shows you all the MIDIs in the ROM, and they're even named in the game's files.
This is what I use.^

Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PMHe. ;)
Ah ok cool.

Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PMOh yeah! Back to the ripping GBA music thing, look up something called gba_mus_riper. I've never used it myself, but I remember hearing about it before being used to rip GBA music in high quality and such (like, better quality than listening to it in-game), so it's probably worth looking into.
Hm. Sounds familiar but now I have to look into it for myself.
"Today's goal strongly involves not dying. Because nobody likes to wake up dead."

My Arrangements
Finale Version(s): Finale Notepad 2012, Finale 2012, Finale v26

Altissimo

#11
Quote from: Echo on August 30, 2015, 08:51:13 PM[snip]

If you're still around, I was wondering if you could help me extract music data from one (or two, if you feel like being especially nice) GBA roms. I don't know enough about roms and how shit functions to be able to confidently download something and expect to be able to use it to get data I can *work with* out of it, especially since I use a Mac. The game I need music data for most prominently has many tracks that are not associated with any area of the game specifically, they just play at random times in the overworld, and there seem to be a shitton of them since I keep hearing ones I'm not familiar with despite the game being one of my childhood games. To make matters worse, there's no sound test and no way to identify what these songs are called, since there's an option where you can change the music but the titles you choose don't seem to be congruent to specific songs since I just save-scummed and opened the same state to change to the same music title multiple times in a row and it did a new one each time. Trying to work out the soundtrack for this on my own, and then record it, is going to be a complete nightmare. (The other game, it would just save me time if you ripped, but it's not impossible for me :V)

Actually, if anyone has the know-how and equpiment to help me rip a soundtrack or two, not just Echo, feel free to show up lol. Any assistance appreciated. :D


Altissimo

Do I take that to mean you can help me rip GBA midis

Dude

if only they had a sappy engine then i could but rn i can't because i suck with debuggers and stuff