[Audio] Pokémon FRLG Midi Code Properties

SK94 · Sep 4, 2017

I often find myself editing music and inserting them into FireRed. I try to make my remixes sound as authentic as possible, but I believe that there are a lot of properties which are lost when importing the existing OST into Midis. For example, I recently got taught that there are a few properties known as "lfos" (used for altering modulation speed) and "bendr" (making the pitch bends stronger). I believe there are a lot more of these properties which are lost during conversion. Is there a way to find out if there are more properties, or if anybody knows where a complete list can be found?

RoadToCerulean · Sep 5, 2017

If you are using Sappy, the most precise way (albeit a bit exhausting) to explore the song properties of FR is to "Export Tracks" (to copy the binary codes directly from the ROM and write them to newly created blank files).
As far as I have found out, at least these codes are the controller events for every track in the songs:

Spoiler:

SK94 · Sep 6, 2017

Road_to_Cerulean said:
If you are using Sappy, the most precise way (albeit a bit exhausting) to explore the song properties of FR is to "Export Tracks" (to copy the binary codes directly from the ROM and write them to newly created blank files).
As far as I have found out, at least these codes are the controller events for every track in the songs:

Spoiler:

B0: A blank bar;
B1: The end of a track;
B2 XX XX 00 00: XX XX determines where the whole track loops from;
B3 XX XX 00 00: XX XX determines where duplicated bars loop from;
BB XX: XX determines the playing speed of the whole song. It only exists in the first track;
BD XX: XX determines the number of the instrument the following track section plays. A rare variant is BD XX A0 YY, where XX is instantly replaced by YY when the track is played;
BE XX: XX determines the volume of the whole track;
BF XX: XX determines the panpot;
C0 XX: XX determines the pitch bend;
C4 XX: XX determines the modulation;
C1 XX, C2 XX and C3 XX: Currently unknown, but they affect the range of pitch bend and the extent of modulation. They will be lost (if a track contains) when a song is exported into midi and assembled into the ROM again, so it is mandatory to manually insert them back. For a FR song, a sequence of C2 2C C1 0C is the most common.

The properties you mentioned here aren't lost in any conversions. I can often use my DAW to alter these properties. I already mentioned two properties that I have to add into the processed .s file (lfos and bendr). I was just wondering if there are any other 'lost' properties I have to add in that are typically used for the FRLG OST.

SK94 · Sep 8, 2017

Road_to_Cerulean said:
If you are using Sappy, the most precise way (albeit a bit exhausting) to explore the song properties of FR is to "Export Tracks" (to copy the binary codes directly from the ROM and write them to newly created blank files).
As far as I have found out, at least these codes are the controller events for every track in the songs:

Spoiler:

B0: A blank bar;
B1: The end of a track;
B2 XX XX 00 00: XX XX determines where the whole track loops from;
B3 XX XX 00 00: XX XX determines where duplicated bars loop from;
BB XX: XX determines the playing speed of the whole song. It only exists in the first track;
BD XX: XX determines the number of the instrument the following track section plays. A rare variant is BD XX A0 YY, where XX is instantly replaced by YY when the track is played;
BE XX: XX determines the volume of the whole track;
BF XX: XX determines the panpot;
C0 XX: XX determines the pitch bend;
C4 XX: XX determines the modulation;
C1 XX, C2 XX and C3 XX: Currently unknown, but they affect the range of pitch bend and the extent of modulation. They will be lost (if a track contains) when a song is exported into midi and assembled into the ROM again, so it is mandatory to manually insert them back. For a FR song, a sequence of C2 2C C1 0C is the most common.

I know that some properties are lost, like the ones I mentioned (lfos and bendr) but the ones you mentioned aren't lost and can usually be edited in the DAW. I was wondering whether there were any other hidden/lost properties that have to be added into the .s file manually via something like Notepad.

RoadToCerulean · Sep 9, 2017

SK94 said:
I know that some properties are lost, like the ones I mentioned (lfos and bendr) but the ones you mentioned aren't lost and can usually be edited in the DAW. I was wondering whether there were any other hidden/lost properties that have to be added into the .s file manually via something like Notepad.

Editing .s file can be dangerous if one is not experienced enough, I think. I tried a lot of times attempting to edit the .s files and every time the songs crashed upon playing, until I switched to editing the track data directly and the songs perfectly kept their quality.
I mean, not all the properties I have mentioned are lost. Most basic properties are well kept, but there are a few controller events (C1, C2, C3) that exist in the ROM code and when a song containing them is exported and dragged on to mid2agb.exe, it cannot correctly convert these few events into .s file (as the program will simply skip them). You will definitely hear a wierd song if you extract No.297 Trainer Battle and insert it back again. Some other advanced controller events like Expression do not exist in GBA ROM codes at all, and there is no way to keep them.

[Audio] Pokémon FRLG Midi Code Properties

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