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THE IRON GOAT
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presents

GAME: Contra
SYSTEM: Nintendo NES/Famicom
YEAR: 1988
COMPOSERS(S): Kazuki Muraoka, Hidenori Maezawa, Kiyohiro Sada

SOURCE: Modded front-loading NES / dual-channel audio recorded directly from 2A03 chip
AUDIO CAPTURE HARDWARE: Amplified by FiiO E6, captured by Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro
AUDIO CAPTURE SOFTWARE: Audacity 2.0.3

TRACKS: 14
TOTAL TIME: 12:38
FORMAT:
--FLAC: Original dual-channel output from 2A03, full stereo separation, recorded at 24-bit/96kHz
--MP3 Stereo Mix: Custom mix with 55% channel crossover, LAME-encoded at maximum quality settings
--MP3 Mono: Full mono mix, LAME-encoded at maximum quality settings

DATE OF RIP: June 24, 2013

NOTES: Here's a description and how-to for the NES audio mod: NES Sound Modification - How to and Why to. (http://www.alone-music.co.uk/2011/10/nes-sound-modification-how-to-and-why-to/)
I'm rocking an Everdrive N8 (Everdrive N8 (http://krikzz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=59)) now, so I was able to load the Japanese version of Contra and use the sound test mode. Woo-hoo!


MediaFire
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(1/1): http://www.mediafire.com/download/5htk6y6eh3a7ys1/Nintendo_NES_-_Contra_OST_(1988).rar





Full list of releases: Thread 174131

thank you! :D

Hey, good job. I look forward to seeing more NES recordings from you.

So the NES chip outputs separate channels, interesting.
There's one one thing about this set up that boggles me: does the chip output the DPCM channel too? I've never been sure if it's a feature of the chip itself or the machine, 'guess I'll find out in the rips. By the way, some Japanese carts deliver extra sound output, the sound was channeled through a pin the Famicom slot that was moved to the expansion slot on the NES, I don't know if the Evercart solves the problem.

So the NES chip outputs separate channels, interesting.
There's one one thing about this set up that boggles me: does the chip output the DPCM channel too? I've never been sure if it's a feature of the chip itself or the machine, 'guess I'll find out in the rips. By the way, some Japanese carts deliver extra sound output, the sound was channeled through a pin the Famicom slot that was moved to the expansion slot on the NES, I don't know if the Evercart solves the problem.
Yeah, until reading about NES modding a few months ago I actually didn't know about the 2A03 having separate outputs. Anyway, the 2A03 has five sound channels. It mixes the two pulse wave channels and outputs them through one pin of the chip, and mixes the triangle, noise, and DPCM channels and outputs them through the adjacent pin (I don't remember which is which). So yes, the DPCM channel is part of the chip's output. The two output signals are ordinarily routed to the mixer/amp circuit of the NES where they are, of course, mixed into a mono signal, amplified, and then output through the RCA jack on the side. By intercepting the audio signals as they come out of the chip, you can keep them separate. Also, the NES has some natural line noise (a distinct buzz, as well as a high-pitched electronic "chatter" with certain MMC chips) that seems to travel through the same chip pin as the T/N/DPCM output. When amplified with the NES's own amp circuit, this line noise seems to get bumped up in the "mix". I've noticed that with the direct audio mod, this line noise, while still present, isn't as prominent, making this a much cleaner way to record audio from the console.

The downside of this mod is that you bypass the amp circuit, meaning the output signal is fairly weak. I solved this problem by passing the output through a FiiO E6 headphone amplifier. I selected the E6 because it's battery/USB powered, meaning no line noise is added, and because its specs indicate that it has a good SNR and frequency range with minimal distortion (so no real degradation of signal or audio quality). It provides a modest boost to the signal, enough that I can get a quality recording and make up the difference with software-based amplification.

As for the expansion audio, here's where things get tricky. A NES (as opposed to a Famicom) will necessarily need to be modded in order to create a pathway for the expansion audio signal. You simply bridge pins 3 and 9 of the expansion connector on the underside of the motherboard. From what I understand, this should be done with two 47k-ohm resistors connected in series. I've already done this mod on my console. The other consideration is the pin converter being used to run the Famicom cart on the NES. You may need to bridge two of the connector pins just to get the audio signal into the console. Many pin converters don't bother to include the pins or pathways for expansion audio, since the NES doesn't ordinarily support it anyway. The 72-pin version of the Everdrive N8 (which is what I'm using), routes any expansion audio through the correct pins by design. The 60-pin EDN8 will require a pin converter, which may need to be modded. Note you need to mod the NES motherboard, regardless.

The EDN8 emulates some of the expansion audio chips, although they're currently imperfect. (VRC6 sounds decent, while the Famicom Disc System channel is atrocious.) Consequently, I decided to obtain an original Akumajou Densetsu cart from eBay. Guess what - it arrived in the mail yesterday, and I'll be ripping it in the very near future. I still need to dig out a pin converter (I know I have at least one lurking within a Stack-Up cart somewhere up in my attic) and do the mod on that thing, but my console is already good to go. (I even have the expansion audio going to its own phono jack; this NES does three-channel output!) If all goes according to plan, I'll likely be releasing CV3J in my next batch of rips.



Update: OMFG, it WORKS. O_o

These rips are incredible. Thanks so much for sharing them!

Thanks!

thank you

Thank you share!

Thanks.

thank you