FM music or PSG music?

[Arkhan]

I was playing a bunch of games yesterday and couldn't decide if I like the warm chirpy PCE style PSG music in games more, or the synthy FM stuff like you hear in Genesis games.

The games I played were Rtype, Bonk, Final Soldier, and Sinistron on PCE

and

Streets of Rage 2, Aleste for MSX (FM music), and Undeadline (MSX).

I just couldnt decide which sound of music I like better!

Keep in mind by PSG, I specifically mean the PCE or the SCC (konami) chip ones, I don't mean the NES or SMS.  Those two PSGs are in a league of their own especially since they're at a slight disadvantage when you compare them to the PCE/SCC PSG. 
  RTYPE FM  RTYPE PSG

[Joe Redifer]

If you don't mean SMS, why did you post a link to the SMS R-Type FM soundtrack?  I think the PCE should be compared to the Genesis, etc instead of the measly SMS whose FM tracks are most often VERY bare-bones and tinny.

[Tatsujin]

i'm more the fm type. but more some hi-fi arcade than lo-fi console.

what i mean:

[Necromancer]

In general I prefer PSG over FM, though there's nothing wrong with well done FM.  Truth be told, though, I'm a redbook whore and would rather listen to a well done disc.

[Tatsujin]

FM has this warmness which i miss in PSG.

[SignOfZeta]

Its tough. The FM stuff has so much more depth to it, but its usually so gritty and grainy and low-fi. The PSG of the PCE is so much cleaner and has such an identity of its own...although it really does just sound like a bunch of beeps and boops most of the time. Sometimes they really nail it though (Super Star Soldier).

My favorite sound chips are the ones in the SFC (Mother 2) and Saturn (Azel). They were also the most powerful sound chips to actually see decent use before eventually CD audio (or compressed recorded audio of some other type) that was recorded with unrelated equipment became the norm.

[Tom]

FM has this warmness which i miss in PSG.

 Yeah, but it can really suffer from the generic "twang"..over usage. Some tunes I prefer in FM, some in PCE PSG. But I know what you mean. I love the love the warm base type sounds from FM. The CD unit should have added a generic FM chip for those low/warm base tones.

 When it comes to R-Type, the PCE chiptunes are better than the Arcade FM versions. There's no contest.

 And for the record, I think arcade FM is kinda lacking. It's thin and steely. I don't care for it. Especially Capcom's stuff. Arcade FM that's ported to the Genesis, almost always sounds warmer and better. It's just that Genesis FX are almost all FM and I'm not a fan of FM fx.

[Tatsujin]

true words. but the system 16 FM was right used, nothing to complain about for me it's still the definite FM.

[Tatsujin]

but still nothing can beat the good old SID chip from the c64, when it comes to uniqueness and warmness, even it was very limited in channels etc.

[Joe Redifer]

Although it definitely had some good tunes, I am not a fan of the SID, generally speaking.  I find it more annoying than anything due to the constant use of arpeggios. 

As far as PSG vs FM, hard to say.  Both can be used wrongly, but FM done wrong sounds much worse than PSG done wrong.  I think it takes more skill and talent to make FM sound right, but since PSG has such a narrow range of sounds, almost anyone can make it sound fine.  Pretty much the only thing that differentiates most PSG tracks is the actual composition.  When they are both done right, they are both awesome, but I think I prefer FM done right as it has much more bass and seems to have a much broader spectrum of sounds as well as frequency response.  However all FM versions of R-Type I have heard simply doesn't even compare to the PCE version!

[Tatsujin]

Although it definitely had some good tunes, I am not a fan of the SID, generally speaking.  I find it more annoying than anything due to the constant use of arpeggios. 

yeah. it really depends of who used it. there are 100'000s of sid out there and just about few hunderds are master pieces. but this is fairly nuff to keep me alive for say the next upcomming 50 years

[ccovell]

FM has the technical edge, for sure, but more classic games on classic systems (NES, PCE, SMS, GB, MSX, C64...) use PSG, so I gotta love 'em!

[nat]

I'll take well-done PSG over FM any day. FM is usually too abrasive (that "twang" Tom referred to) for my ears. That said, I really dig the Sonic the Hedgehog FM soundtracks. But I still think great PSG (Air Zonk, etc) sounds way better.

[Joe Redifer]

I have a hard time with the music in Air Zonk.  I think it is mainly because of the ultra-scratchy drums and other scratchy digitized sounds used in the music.  The composition of the music itself is good in some stages, but it is no masterpiece.

Jackie Chan's Action Kung-Fu (and boy oh boy is it ever action packed!) has some fantastic PSG.

[nat]

I feel Air Zonk's soundtrack is superior to Jackie Chan's, but to each his own. The Gunhed/Soldier games are another example of great PSG.