HAL Laboratory music equipment

Jun Ishikawa playing a KORG X3 keyboard.

While electronic instruments have been a large component of popular music since the late 1960s, musicians began more heavily relying on the technology in the late 1970s. The emergence of the synth-pop genre in 1977 established the mainstream credibility of synthesizer-driven music, while the introduction of the Fairlight CMI, the first polyphonic digital sampler, in 1979 presented an economical alternative to hiring live musicians that gave composers greater autonomy over the final product. Both of these developments would have profound effects on the emerging field of video game music: early systems used downscaled digital synthesizers, and hardware advancements in the mid-late 1980s allowed video games to incorporate sample playback as well.

HAL Laboratory's composers have used many pieces of gear for their music since the late 80s, including samplers, sound modules, synthesizers, or real instruments. This page documents all of the known music equipment that composers at HAL Laboratory (such as Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando) have used specifically throughout the Kirby series' music. Official sources for these are referenced if available.

List[edit]

"Since" is based on first recorded usage (independent of it being in a Kirby game or not).

Noteworthy sound samples[edit]

The most well-known sound samples in the Kirby series come from Roland keyboards. These samples were first utilized in Kirby's Dream Course, but entered their most iconic form in Kirby Super Star. Many of these instruments were used through the '90s and beyond into the 2000s in games like Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, and Kirby: Squeak Squad. The last game to use these instruments extensively was Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but they still occasionally appear in newer games, especially in songs by Jun Ishikawa and Yuki Shimooka. The "retro" samples used in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and subsequent games are directly taken from the SNES, N64, GBA, and DS games; they weren't re-recorded from their original hardware.

Not all sounds are directly recorded from factory sound module presets though; Jun Ishikawa is known to heavily edit presets and program his own synths occasionally (an example of this would be the analog "quack" and bass synths used since Kirby's Dream Land 3 up until the DS games), and many composers play live instruments on their tracks. Hirokazu Ando plays ukulele, bass, and melodica; Shogo Sakai plays guitar, and even sampled his own playing for sequence-based games like Mother 3 and Kirby Mass Attack; Megumi Ohara plays flute; Yuuta Ogasawara plays drums and guitar. Jun Ishikawa also sampled guitar feedback for "Studying the Power Plant" using an electric guitar and his own reading glasses.

Sound samples recorded from HAL's sound equipment have been utilized by other composers, as well. In the early 90s, HAL and Dice co-developed the games Vegas Stakes and Othello World, thus several classic HAL Laboratory sound samples that ended up being used in the Kirby franchise were used in them; as another example, due to HAL co-developing Kirby & The Amazing Mirror alongside Dimps and Flagship, numerous samples from that game ended up in games developed by Dimps that had no involvement with HAL — such as Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, which uses many Kirby samples (even ones that were originally lifted from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards). The opposite has happened too, as HAL Laboratory didn't rely completely on their own samples either; when the SNES was released, Nintendo provided a software development kit (SDK) to developers. In this kit there was a collection of sound samples recorded by in-house Nintendo composers for other composers and sound programmers to use, thus many SNES games (especially early ones) from different companies used them. Hal's Hole in One Golf relied completely on these samples. Alcahest and Kirby Super Star's string hit sample (used in Arena Showdown in the latter) comes from this SDK, and it can also be heard in the SNES port of SimCity, in Mario Paint and in the SNES port of Gradius III. As another example, the bongo used in Kirby's Dream Land 3's bad ending music also comes from it and is also heard in EarthBound and Terranigma.

Classic Era[edit]

"Classic Era" refers to games that used sound samples and sequenced music stored in their files, a few of these samples have become famous in popular media and among the video game music scene for providing the characteristic "Kirby sound palette":

Jun Ishikawa - Bass Waveform

This waveform was made by Jun Ishikawa himself, which he referred to as "two piles" since that's what it looks like.^[3] It was used in most Game Boy Kirby games. While not a sample by itself, the waveform was sampled and used in Kirby Super Star and Kirby's Dream Land 3. The sampled SNES version of the waveform was later used in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and in Kirby: Planet Robobot.

Roland U-220 - P-21: Syn.Vox 1 [021]

This sample, a recording of a woman singing a sustained note, is commonly called SARARR or ARR1. The audio dates back to 1980, originating from the Fairlight CMI factory library before being borrowed by Roland.^[18] It is notable for being heavily used by Jun Ishikawa in almost every Kirby game he has composed for (with its first usage actually being in Alcahest, albeit with a much shorter loop point). This sample was common in music released during the 80s; a few examples of well-known tracks that use it include Jean-Michel Jarre's "Zoolook", Tears For Fears's "Shout", and Art of Noise's "Moments in Love".
An example of the Kirby sample being used in popular media would be in Kero Kero Bonito's "Flamingo".

Roland D-20 - I-A53: Pan Pipes

This pan flute preset was edited by Jun Ishikawa to remove the pitch envelope at the beginning, and he commonly used it in the 90s, starting with Arcana and lastly in Kirby's Dream Land 3. This one is also famous (more specifically, the PCM sample at the beginning is, as the rest is synthesized) in pop culture, as it was also part of the Fairlight CMI factory library, with its original name being "SWANEE" (although Roland calls it "Steamer"). A common and noticeable example of it in pop culture would be its usage in the Rugrats theme song.

Roland D-20 - P-51: UserPattern

This percussion kit was prominently used by HAL in the NES games they developed in the 90s, noticeably Adventures of Lolo III, Uchuu Keibitai SDF, New Ghostbusters II, and most importantly, Kirby's Adventure. It was used one last time in Arcana.

Roland SN-U110-10 Rock Drums - 10-002 ELEC DRUMS

Another percussion kit. This is probably the most well known one, as it is the source of many percussion sounds used in Kirby games since the 90s. The TR-like electric snare sample was used for the first time in Vegas Stakes, but the whole percussion kit was used heavily on the SNES version of Wario's Woods's soundtrack, due to Tadashi Ikegami and Hiroaki Suga composing and arranging it.

Roland U-220 - P-41: Fantasia [041]

Another very famous sound. Originating in Roland's D-50 synthesizer, this sound became another staple of 80s and early 90s music, and numerous other sound companies tried to imitate it. Jun Ishikawa used this sound for the first time in "Milky Way Wishes". Subsequently, it was heavily used throughout Kirby's Dream Land 3's soundtrack. It was re-recorded and used again in the series' GBA and DS games. The SNES version of the sample was extensively utilized in the Kirby's Return to Dream Land soundtrack, and made one last appearance in the Kirby: Planet Robobot soundtrack, with its sole usage being in the track Bountiful Star.

Ueberschall Drum 'n' Bass Resonance - 4indoorfloor

Ueberschall Drum 'n' Bass Resonance - Speedomat

Drum loops used in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, coming from a drum 'n' bass sample CD called Drum 'n' Bass Resonance by Ueberschall. While not used often, they are notable for providing the game's songs with a very distinctive sound palette compared to the rest of the series. The first is a 180 BPM loop that comes from track 30, "4indoorfloor"; this is used in "Boss" and "Miracle Matter", with the latter also using it at half speed. The second is a 165 BPM loop that comes from track 64, "Speedomat"; this is used in "Heading for 0²" and in "Forgo's Treasures."

Roland D-20 - I-A23: Celesta 1

This preset was used heavily in all SNES Kirby games composed by Jun Ishikawa. A remarkable use of it would be the background chords of Ripple Field: Ocean Waves.
An example of the Kirby sample being used in popular media would be in Snail's House's "My Valentine".

Roland SN-U110-02 Latin and F.X. Percussions - 02-034 ORCH HIT

This orchestra hit was used in Boarding the Halberd, Havoc aboard the Halberd, throughout the Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards soundtrack and, most famously, in Masked Dedede's Theme, including its Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival renditions. The sound is based on a similar preset from the Fairlight CMI, which sampled the opening note of "Infernal Dance of all Kashchei's Subjects", a movement from Russian composer Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet The Firebird, as performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra circa 1965.^[19] The Fairlight sample and its soundalikes on other systems became ubiquitous in music throughout the 1980s, appearing in songs such as New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle", Kate Bush's "The Dreaming", and Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill", among others. This specific sound sample has also been used as a sound effect in some anime since the 90s.

Modern Era[edit]

"Modern Era" refers to games that use streamed music instead of sequence files:

AudioNerdz - Delay Lama

This is a VST that has gained popularity on the internet due to its old CGI aesthetics and because of its simplistic nature in regards to voice synthesis, with people often joking about it. This VST was actually used by Jun Ishikawa in "Air Ride: Machine Passage", with the head size setting set to 7.95cm.

Whole Lotta Country - MANDOLIN TREMOLOS

This preset comes from the Whole Lotta Country sample library by Sampleheads and has been used since Super Smash Bros. Melee, with its first usage in the Kirby series being in Kirby Air Ride. Only three presets have been used from this library, and this is by far the most used one, appearing in almost every Kirby game since Kirby Air Ride.

Synthogy - Ivory

Ivory is a highly advanced and realistic grand piano sound library. It was first used in the Kirby series in 2010's Kirby's Epic Yarn, where both Tomoya Tomita and Hirokazu Ando used it.^[12] Ivory has since become a signature part of Ando's composition style in modern Kirby games, thanks to his focus on acoustic, piano-driven pieces. Ando himself does not play piano, and instead programs the piano pieces heard in his music.^[20]

Suzuki - Andes 25F

Suzuki - Melodion

The Suzuki Andes 25F and Suzuki Melodion are both melodicas, a type of aerophone. A melodica resembles a small keyboard, but is played by blowing into an air pipe attached to it while pressing the keys. The Andes 25F is smaller and has a sound resembling a recorder, while the Melodion is slightly bigger and has a sound resembling a harmonica. Melodicas became popular in Japanese indie music in the 90s and 2000s due to their quirky acoustic sound. They were first used by Hirokazu Ando on the "Stage Medley" track on the Kirby Ultra Super Deluxe Original Soundtrack in 2009, and have appeared in most of his work for the Kirby series since then.

Kirby's Epic Yarn Green Greens music live rendition by composer Hirokazu Ando Load video YouTube YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy Continue Dismiss Hirokazu Ando playing "Green Greens" on his Andes 25F. This video comes from the Iwata Asks interview about Kirby's Epic Yarn.

Ricoh - 2A03

The Ricoh 2A03 is the microprocessor and sound chip used for the Nintendo Entertainment System (a.k.a. Famicom) game console. Many songs in modern Kirby games reproduce the 2A03's sound. What makes this remarkable is that the 8-bit waveforms (pulse, triangle, noise) used in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby: Planet Robobot, and Kirby Star Allies were individually sampled from a real Twin Famicom. ^[21] In contrast, later games use the Magical 8bit Plug VST.

Sampletank 2.5 XL - Soprano Ahs lite

Sampletank 2.5 XL - Soprano Ahs lite - Legato Ahs

A female soprano sample used by Hirokazu Ando starting in Kirby's Return to Dream Land (such as in "The Birthplace of Steel"). This preset is notable, as it had an important role in both "Fatal Blooms in Moonlight" from Kirby: Triple Deluxe and "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" from Kirby and the Forgotten Land, especially in the former, as it gave the song the sense of "bewitching feminine beauty" that Shinya Kumazaki was looking for ^[22]. The preset uses a technology called "Formant Shifting" which changes the harmonic frequencies in the sound to simulate a real human voice without changing pitch or using too many different sound samples.

Native Instruments - Discovery Series / Spotlight Collection: Balinese Gamelan

A sample library which emulates the essential instruments for gamelan, a type of traditional Indonesian ensemble music. Specifically, it consists of three core pieces: the roots (large gongs) that make up the main melody, the gangsa (metallophones) that create fast-paced and interconnected patterns, and the kettle gongs that add texture and variance. Because Shinya Kumazaki wished for Hyness's primary motif to be gamelan-style music, this sample library provides the core to all of Hyness's themes in Kirby Star Allies, though it is used in very non-traditional ways (such as in "La follia d'amore"). Other notable instances of this library being used in video game soundtracks include the songs "Master Koco Trial" in Sonic Frontiers - The Final Horizon and "Alpine Skyline - Twilight Bell Path" in A Hat in Time.

Sound Effects[edit]

While most sound effects used in the Kirby series are engineered using small waveforms by the series' composers, some of them are taken from actual SFX libraries or have some interesting stories behind them.

Hissatsu! Series Sound Collection

These sound effects come from the Hissatsu! Series Sound Collection library, some of these are recognizable for being used in many anime and Japanese TV shows in general. In Kirby Super Star these are used for the Fighter, Yo-Yo, cannon, and slash sound effects respectively. Some of these are still used in modern Kirby games. Other Japanese video games like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Persona 5 also make use of some of these sound effects.

The Premiere Edition 1 - PunchFaceHit4Sharp PE100401

This is a sound effect that was used a lot in media from the 90s and 2000s, be it TV shows, video games or internet animations and videos. In the Kirby series it has been used mostly for the Fighter ability, but it's also used for explosions, high-impact sound effects and for the Hammer ability. The audio showcases most of the different sound pitches the sound has been used at. While the series have used many sound effects from this library, this is the most notable one.

Sound Ideas - The General Series 6000 - CONSTRUCTION, BACKHOE - CASE 680: START, IDLE, SHUT OFF, TRACTOR,CONSTRUCTION

The Premiere Edition 1 - CrashMetalShatter PE110201

The Premiere Edition 1 - CrashMetalShatter PE110401

Various sound effects from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. The first sound effect, a backhoe engine, comes from the General Series 6000 sound library; the Kirby series has used this sound library for many sound effects. This one is notable because it's used in "Studying the Factory" (as well as "Miracle Matter"), and it's commonly joked about around the community because "it sounds like a car that won't start".

The second and third sound effects are similar metal crunching sound effects from the Hollywood Edge Premiere Edition sound library. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the PE110201 sound effect is used when the mine cart driven by Waddle Dee crashes, while the PE110401 is used as a percussive sound in "Studying the Factory". Notably, in the Kirby: Planet Robobot rearrangement ("Studying the Power Plant"), the PE110201 sound effect is used instead.

Novation Nova

This sound effect is used up to this day for the Warp Star since Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. This sound was made by Jun Ishikawa in search of something that didn't sound dissonant with the music and he specifically mentions using the Novation Nova synthesizer for it^[3].

Trivia[edit]

• There are two sample libraries officially credited for their use in Kirby soundtracks, usually appearing within the booklets of soundtrack releases: Vienna Symphonic Library and Synthogy Ivory Grand Pianos II. This is because of the license agreements for these libraries, which make the credits mandatory. Commercial products using VSL had to include a copyright notice indicating "orchestral samples in this recording from the Vienna Symphonic Library". This term was removed in 2022, but as of the Forgotten Land soundtrack, it is still credited. Ivory Grand Pianos II is subject to Synthogy's EULA, which still requires credit in the liner notes.^[23][24]
• Jun Ishikawa bought his first synthesizer, a Roland SH-2, with his allowance as a student.^[3]
• Hirokazu Ando uses colored fretboard markers on his bass, with each color representing a note: C = Red, D = Light Grey, E = Yellow, F = Green, G = Blue, A = Dark Grey, B = White.^[2]

Gallery[edit]

• 
  Megumi Ohara's office (2016)

  
  Pictured:
  Roland Fantom-XR
  Yamaha MOTIF-RACK ES
  Yamaha NP-30
  Logic Pro X
  Yamaha NS-10
  Sony MDR-V6
• 
  Hirokazu Ando's office (2017)

  
  Pictured:
  Cubase Pro 8
  Suzuki Andes 25F
  Suzuki Melodion
  Music Man Bongo 4HH
  Yamaha S80
  Fostex NF-01A
• 
  Tadashi Ikegami's office (2001)

  
  Pictured:
  Kurzweil 2000R
  Roland SC-8850
  Yamaha DX100
  Yamaha MU2000EX
  MIDI Express PC and XT
  E-MU Virtuoso 2000
• 
  Jun Ishikawa's office (2017)

  
  Pictured:
  KORG X3
  KORG microKEY
• 
  Shogo Sakai's office (1997)

  
  Pictured:
  Logic Audio 2.6
  Roland JP-8000
• 
  Yuuta Ogasawara's office (2022)

  
  Pictured:
  Roland A-88MKII
  Fostex NF-01A
  Airline Deluxe 3P LTD Indigo
• 
  Yuki Shimooka's office (2019)

  
  Pictured:
  KOMPLETE Kontrol S61
  Focal Shape 40
  Sony MDR-V6
  Cubase Pro 8
• 
  Jun Ishikawa with his KORG X3.
• 
  Jun Ishikawa playing his KORG X3.
• 
  Megumi Ohara writing music on her Yamaha NP-30.
• 
  Megumi Ohara being supervised by Shogo Sakai while on Logic Pro X.
• 
  Hirokazu Ando composing in his office.
• 
  Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival

  Pictured:
  Music Man Bongo 4HH
  Roland Fantom G6
  Sequential Prophet-6
  Yamaha Montage 7
  Vintera '70s Telecaster Thinline
  POD HD500X
  Roland Aerophone AE-10G
  Pearl Masters Premium
• 
  Picture of the staff who worked on Kirby's Dream Course. Hirokazu Ando is seen holding a Yamaha DX100, although this synthesizer wasn't actually used in the soundtrack.

See also[edit]

• NEWER VGM Sound Sources Spreadsheet

References