If you've skidded here from the index, let me make one thing clear. To get a real understanding of the subject, you really *should* read all the relevant parts of this FAQ before suffering online by asking a 'dumb' question. Like all of us, I'd rather dive straight in than read any manual but most everything I finally learned about MODs and tracking actually did come from a good dose of RTFM's<g> There any many good - if not extraordinary - tutorial sites on the web that really help to close the distance between learning and doing. Most people who started tracking when I did (ie 1992 or so) had to gain that knowledge by massive amounts of trial and error - it's nice to see that doesn't hold true anymore. So, you're all fired up by hearing a couple of tracks that drive you wild, and you want to compose a couple of your own miesterwerks<g> This is where the essential tracking ingredient comes in - the MOD tracker (or MOD editor as it's sometimes known). MODs come in a bewildering array of formats and styles. The bigger the scene gets, the more kit there seems to be that goes with it. The most important thing with all the trackers we are about to cover is to understand that you really should *read* the manuals. Yeah, yeah, I know... Banging on about that again, ain't I? Well, there really is no other way... Actually, there *is* another way, and it's almost as effective as RTFM's. Download as many different MODs as your harddrive/modem can stand and *study* them. What made a composer use this effect, or that pan. What made them choose particular types of samples? You can learn a lot by studying and duplicating moves you've seen other trackers do. Before all this, you'll need the tracker...and here they are...
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