Samples in the YM 2151 Module of DefleMask are a great tool for when you want to add more elements to your music. Whether it be power chords, strings, piano notes, drums, etc. – you can take advantage of this feature to give more meat and personality to your music. However, if you are like me, maybe you never completely understood how to use the feature that allows you to manipulate the pitch of the sample. Today, I’ll give you a hint on how to use it. Let’s take a look at it!
Command 20 manipulates the sample’s playback speed using the formula ‘delta*(31250/255)hz = sample hz‘. Now, use this formula every time you want to change the note might be a little annoying, so here´s a little cheat sheet.
| Command | Semitones | Example | Example | |
| Original Sample | C4 | G#5 | ||
| 8C | +1 | C# | A | |
| 94 | +2 | D | A# | |
| 9D | +3 | D# | B | |
| A7 | +4 | E | C | |
| B1 | +5 | F | C# | |
| BB | +6 | F# | D | |
| C6 | +7 | G | D# | |
| D2 | +8 | G# | E | |
| DF | +9 | A | F | |
| EC | +10 | A# | F# | |
| FA | +11 | B | G | |
| One Octave Lower | 42 | -12 | C3 | G#4 |
| 46 | -11 | C# | A | |
| 4A | -10 | D | A# | |
| 4E | -9 | D# | B | |
| 53 | -8 | E | C | |
| 58 | -7 | F | C# | |
| 5D | -6 | F# | D | |
| 63 | -5 | G | D# | |
| 69 | -4 | G# | E | |
| 6F | -3 | A | F | |
| 76 | -2 | A# | F# | |
| 7D | -1 | B | G | |
| Two Octaves Lower | 21 | -24 | C2 | G#3 |
| 23 | -23 | C# | A | |
| 25 | -22 | D | A# | |
| 27 | -21 | D# | B | |
| 29 | -20 | E | C | |
| 2C | -19 | F | C# | |
| 2E | -18 | F# | D | |
| 32 | -17 | G | D# | |
| 35 | -16 | G# | E | |
| 38 | -15 | A | F | |
| 3B | -14 | A# | F# | |
| 3E | -13 | B | G |
Even when you can reach up to three octaves down from the original pitch, I would not recommend getting more than one octave low (I just included the values for two octaves). That is because, depending on the sample, sometimes the timbre can be lost. Also, you can only reach eleven semitones upwards. Since this command (20) changes the sample’s playback speed, it’s natural that it sounds better when you get higher than when you get lower.
You can use this feature to tune your kicks, snares, or percussions in general. It will just be a matter of moving the samples a few semitones.
I made a little cover of Petzold’s ‘Minuet in G’ (attributed to Bach) to show you how this works. I understand this isn’t the main focus of the module nor the program, but here’s the result:
I hope you find this useful! See you next time!
A Square Meal 