- Is chiptune the same thing as 8-bit?
- They overlap heavily but are not identical. Chiptune names a method — composing inside the channel limits of a sound chip — and stretches to the FM synthesis of sixteen-bit hardware. 8-bit points at the specific square-triangle-noise palette. Describing the channel layout beats either label in a prompt.
- How do I avoid getting a synth with a filter on it?
- State the constraint out loud: "two square waves, one triangle, one noise channel, no pad, arpeggios instead of chords." Voice count is what sells the illusion. However convincing the timbre, eight simultaneous parts will never read as chip music. Take parts away before you add any.
- Why is everything arpeggiated?
- Because one channel plays one note at a time. To imply a chord you cycle through its notes fast enough that the ear fuses them, which is where the characteristic warble comes from. Ask for "fast single-channel arpeggios at sixteenth or thirty-second speed" to get it.
