fmfridays:

Something a little different for y’all instead of my usual mashup goof.

I think it’s interesting how the chorus effect in “Outride A Crisis” from Super Hang-On is achieved. Most enthusiasts are familiar with how multiple sound channels can be used to simulate reverb or delay, but essentially any time-based effect is possible, given enough channels and fine enough control.

If you don’t know what chorus is, it duplicates a signal many times with slight variations in pitch and timing, creating a thicker and richer sound. Used in a certain way, it is an identifiably “80′s” type sound, as it was very popular with guitarists at the time.

In “Outride A Crisis”, Mr. Hayashi uses a total of five channels (six during the guitar solo) playing the same three notes roughly in unison (with slight variations in pitch and timing) to create a chorus effect that simply would not be practically possible with most other chips. And that’s precisely why I find it so interesting: it uses so many of the YM2151′s sound channels that I think achieving only a single effect on a single instrument would be seen as a “waste” by many composers. But Mr. Hayashi, apparently, thought it was very important to have a chorused guitar in his song.

I think this is an illustrative example of how making something special while working with limited resources is not always a matter of how far you can stretch your “budget” (in other words, not how full or complex an arrangement you can create), but rather how creatively you can use the materials.

Thanks to Sonic of 8! for the VGM.