Impulse Tracker
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Impulse Tracker is a multi-track digital sound tracker (music sequencer) which proliferated on the DOS platform. It was authored by Jeffrey "Pulse" Lim, and demo music was done by Jeffrey Lim and Chris Jarvis.
The software was distributed as freeware, though the author supplied extra features, like saving stereo WAV files and the possibility to use an IPX network mode, in exchange for some cash (on the order of US$30). Once the stereo WAV writer plugin was publicly pirated, the author announced that he would discontinue it after version 2.14. Impulse Tracker's interface was very similar to and could be considered the continuation of ScreamTracker 3. It was comparable to its rival FastTracker. Noteworthy is that the entire program was coded straight in Assembly language.
Like in most modules editors, music is arranged into a grid of channels, each channel containing key-on and optional key-off instructions much like MIDI. Impulse Tracker modules have an extension of .IT.
One of the features which set this MOD editor apart was NNAs, New Note Actions. If a new key-on command is received in the same channel as another instrument which is still being played, NNAs allow the user to customize the action that next occurs:
- Cut: New instrument sound replaces current playing instrument.
- Continue: Old instrument continues to play following its defined ADSR curve.
- Off: Old instrument instructed to begin release section of its ADSR curve.
- Fade: Old instrument fades out to 0 volume at a designated rate overriding any ADSR information.
Last version was v2.14 Patch #5 which was released April 8, 1999.
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[edit] Impulse Tracker clones
CheeseTracker is a GNU General Public License Impulse Tracker clone created by Juan Linietsky also known as Reduz, based on the Qt graphical toolkit, it runs on Mac OS X, Linux and some other Unix-like operating systems.
Schism Tracker is intended to match the look and feel of Impulse Tracker as closely as possible. The user interface is built on Simple DirectMedia Layer, which makes it highly portable: Schism Tracker can be run on FreeBSD, Linux, Mac OS X, MorphOS, Windows and ZETA for example. The LibModPlug library is used for player features. Supported formats include IT, S3M, MOD and XM. WAV saving and MIDI are also supported. It is free software available under the GNU General Public License.
BeRoTracker is a closed source freeware modular tracker which not only supports the loading and saving of MOD, XM, S3M and IT files, but also its own native format BRT. It supports VST/VSTi and various MIDI-related operations (MIDI in, out, import and export), plus it supports the extensions to legacy formats introduced in ModPlug Tracker. Now it also comes with an experimental interface which mimics that of Impulse Tracker. BeRoTracker is only available for Windows, However a Linux build is currently in the works.
reViSiT is a Virtual Studio Technology instrument, developed by Chris Nash, which has an interface derived from Impulse Tracker 2. The VST architecture allows the program to run within a host application (examples include AudioMulch, Jeskola Buzz and Psycle) - allowing tracking and sequencing in the same song. The program supports MOD, S3M, XM and IT files, and saves its own songs either automatically with the host's own document data, or in a ZIP archive containing module information in XML format and samples in Microsoft WAV format. reViSiT supports both MIDI (e.g. external devices or other VSTi) and sampled instruments. The software is closed source freeware, but a professional version, designed for surround sound with improved audio routing, is planned for the future. Versions supporting non-Windows platforms, such as Unix and Mac, are also planned.
ChibiTracker is an Impulse Tracker clone created by Juan Linietsky also known as Reduz or Reduzio. It was released 24th November 2006. The tracker features custom skins and an advanced sample editor. It is OpenSource and can be compiled on, as the author states, Windows, MacOS, Linux, FreeBSD and BeOS. ChibiTracker can load and save modules in .MOD (ProTracker Module), .S3M (Scream Tracker 3 Module), .XM (FastTracker II Module) and .IT (Impulse Tracker Module). Currently, it has problems reading ordinary TakeTracker Modules.
[edit] Software that play .IT files
- XMPlay (Win32), supporting many modular formats (MOD, STM, XM, IT) as well as MP3 & OGG.
- Winamp (Win32), a popular MP3 player that also supports modular formats.
- XMMS, an X11 (Linux/Unix) MP3 and modular music player modeled after Winamp.
- MODPlug Tracker, a tracker with support for VST Effect plugins, DLS and SF2 sound banks and Dolby ProLogic Surround
- SoundPlay, an MP3 and modular music player for BeOS and ZETA systems.
- EvilPlayer, an audio player for Windows
- Renoise (Win32 and Mac OS X), music tracker software
