On The Musical Capabilities of the SEGA Master System and SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis

This is a follow up post to the SEGA Music Competition.

In regards to the limitations of the SMS or SMD / GEN:

SMS:

SN76489:
- 3 pulse channels
- 1 noise channel
- more information here: http://soundprogramming.net/electronics … asheet.pdf
- possibilities for use:
- sample pack here: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2008/1 … ample.html

YM2413:
- 9 pitched FM channels
- 2 operators per channel
- drum mode: 6 pitched channels plus 5 drum sounds
- 15 presets
- 1 custom instrument
- more information here: http://www.smspower.org/maxim/Documents … tionManual
- sample pack here: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2009/1 … mples.html

SMD / GEN:

YM2612:
- 6 FM channels
- 4 operators per channel
- DAC mode for channel 6
- LFO for tremolo and vibrato
- More information here: http://www.smspower.org/maxim/Documents/YM2612
- Sample pack here: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2008/0 … -pack.html

SN76489 (as above).

Possibilities for using the above two consoles in terms of making music:

SN76489:
MOD2PSG: http://www.kontechs.de/product?name=mod2psg
Chipsounds: http://www.plogue.com/?page_id=43
SN-EMU: http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=56653
XPMCK: http://jiggawatt.org/muzak/xpmck/
SN76489 Samples: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2008/1 … ample.html

YM2413:
XPMCK: http://jiggawatt.org/muzak/xpmck/
YM2413 Samples: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2009/1 … mples.html

YM2612:
TFM: http://shiru.untergrund.net/software.shtml
XPMCK: http://jiggawatt.org/muzak/xpmck/
YM2612 Samples: http://little-scale.blogspot.com/2008/0 … -pack.html