Ultimate Soundtracker

This article is about the Amiga-based tracker. For the Unix-based program, see SoundTracker (Unix). For other uses, see Soundtracker (disambiguation).
The Ultimate Soundtracker
Original author(s) Karsten Obarski
Initial release 1987
Stable release v2.6 / 1992[1]
Operating system AmigaOS
Platform Amiga
Type Tracker (music software)
License Public domain

Ultimate Soundtracker, or Soundtracker for short, is a music tracker program for the Commodore Amiga. It is the creation of Karsten Obarski, a German software developer and composer at a game development company EAS.[2][3]

History

Soundtracker started as a tool for game sound development for the Amiga.[4] The program allowed for four-channel hardware mixing on all Amiga computers, but unlike subsequent versions, limited the number of samples/instruments in a song to 15. It allocated the four channels in strict fashion: melody (lead), accompaniment, bass, and percussion.[5][6] It could export the tracks as a sequence of assembly instructions.[7]

Soundtracker was released as a commercial product in mid 1987. It did not enjoy success as a general music development software,[2] with reviews calling it "illogical", "difficult" and "temperamental"; it was eclipsed in that market by programs such as Aegis' Sonix and Electronic Arts' Deluxe Music Construction Set.[6] It became however a standard for games sound on the Amiga.[7] The original code of Sound Tracker was disassembled and the modified versions of the program were spread across the burgeoning Amiga underground.[2] A disk of instrument samples (ST-01) was distributed together with the program.[6] In 1989, the program was improved upon by two Swedish programmers, Pex “Mahoney” Tufvesson and Anders “Kaktus” Berkeman, who released a version known as NoiseTracker. Later versions of the program used the MOD file format, which stored both instrument samples and the tracks in the same file.[7] These versions turned out to be incompatible with the Amiga OS 2.0, causing crashes. ProTracker was another successor, released in 1991, which solved the stability problems and made several changes to the user interface.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Broomfield, Mat (1992-10-01). "Soundtracker 2.6: music utility". CU Amiga. p. 139. Retrieved 2011-02-21. 83%
  2. 1 2 3 Kotlinski, Johan (2009). "Amiga Music Programs 1986-1995" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  3. ↑ Collins source says the company is Reline but Obarski speaks of EAS in the interview for Bitfellas
  4. ↑ Driscoll, Kevin and Diaz, Joshua (2009). "Endless loop: A brief history of chiptunes". Transformative Works and Cultures no.2. doi:10.3983/twc.2009.0096. Retrieved 2011-02-13. Most importantly, Soundtracker provided an environment in which nonprogrammers could access the sophisticated music tools in their home computers without needing to learn a programming language.
  5. ↑ Collins 2007
  6. 1 2 3 4 Wright 1998
  7. 1 2 3 Collins 2008

References

Further reading

External links

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