M-NES: 8-bit Chiptune Studio

That 8-bit sound — with the real mechanism behind it.

M-NES is a chiptune workstation that recreates the RP2A03 APU, the sound chip of the classic 8-bit game console, at the register level. Two pulse channels, a triangle, a noise channel, and 1-bit DPCM samples: the five channels the hardware actually has, laid out on a piano roll. You are not composing with presets that sound "close enough" — you are driving the chip itself.

FIVE-CHANNEL APU SOUND ENGINE • Two pulse waves with four duty cycles, hardware sweep, and envelopes • Triangle with the linear counter — that round, fat bass • Noise with 16 periods plus the 93-step short mode; pick the period by note pitch • DMC channel playing 1-bit DPCM samples • Switchable NTSC, PAL, and Dendy clocks and frame rates • 48 kHz mono output, just like the hardware

A PIANO ROLL THAT FEELS RIGHT • Tap to write, drag to move, pull the edge to resize • 8th, 16th, and 32nd quantize • Note velocity maps straight to the APU volume registers • Per-track mute and solo, undo and redo, autosave

BUILT-IN NSF PLAYER • Open .nsf or .nsfe and the built-in 6502 CPU and APU emulation play the original • Multi-song files show a track list with titles and durations • Single, repeat, and play-all modes

TURN A SONG INTO EDITABLE NOTES • Re-emulates the selected song and tracks every APU register write, frame by frame • Recovers pitch, timing, velocity, duty cycles, and noise periods into five editable tracks • Use it to study, remix, or continue a track — transcribed songs play back immediately

DPCM SAMPLES • Import raw 1-bit .dmc data • Convert WAV, AIFF, and CAF to hardware-spec 1-bit DPCM automatically • Place drums and voice clips with a waveform preview

HARDWARE-ACCURATE EXPORT • NSF and NSFe export with a built-in 6502 driver and APU register stream • 48 kHz mono WAV master • .nesseq project files containing all editing data

PRIVACY • No account, no ads, no tracking • Composing, playback, and export all happen on your device, fully offline

MADE FOR • Chiptune musicians who want the real sound, not an imitation • Game developers preparing hardware-spec music and sound effects • Anyone who wants to learn how 8-bit sound actually works — duty cycles, DPCM, noise periods — hands on

M-NES is an independent product. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any video game console manufacturer. NSF and NSFe are community file formats used to preserve 8-bit game music. NSF files may contain third-party copyrighted material; import and export only within the rights you hold.