7 songs, looking for someone to teach me more about intrument editing

[Reactinator304]

So I've been using FamiTracker for a couple years now, and have a folder filled with 170 songs I've started, few of which I consider to be in a usable state. Lately, I've been getting a better grasp on the orchestration, rhythm, and notation. The main thing I lack in is the Instrument editor. (Well, that and some of the stuff regarding soundchips other than 2A03, VRC6, and MMC5) I was hoping someone could give me a tutorial in the finer aspects of instrumentation with FamiTracker, so that I can both enter a song of mine in a contest or two, and use it personally.

Here are 6 recent original songs I've made, as well as a song I made a while back and the edit someone helped me with before:

[Teuthida]

What particular parts of the instrument editor don't you understand? If you tell me, I can give better advice.

[Reactinator304]

I understand most of the volume part, and a little bit about duty/noise, but the rest I've seen others use and have no idea how to use them well. I cant tell what makes it better or worse through those. that would be mainly the DPCM, but also a little bit in tuning with pitch and fine pitch, and then the different editor modes like in VRC7, FDS, and N163. I'd also love to be able to put together a soundchip configuration using more than one type. My aim is to try and make the instruments sound more like real instruments to differentiate them, rather than relying on the Vxx Command and multiple octaves. i.e. piano sounds, guitar, etc. I'm trying to understand how to make the sound waves resemble something else I guess.

So, like, for Ebbin' Flow, I'm trying to get the 2A03 Pulse 2 Column to sound more bubbly, like they're coming up from the bottom of the ocean

[Teuthida]

The key to stuff like that is practice and experimentation. I'd recommend finding Famitracker songs that contain something like what you're looking for and study what makes them sound like they do. Should that fail, just mess around with the instrument settings and take note of what each setting makes.
Although I'm still relatively new to Famitracker, I do know how to make a few instruments. For instance, a piano is usually a V02 or V01 coupled with Axx effects, an acoustic guitar tends to be V01, and a flute can either be V02 with an upwards volume slide at the start or just the triangle channel.
It's important to remember that unless you're using advanced chips like VRC7 and N163, your instruments will likely not sound just like real ones. Also, keep in mind that "Vxx command and multiple octaves" is what differentiates most NES instruments.
Additionally, to make the "bubbly" sound you're talking about, I'd make the instrument start one octave lower and then quickly jump to the regular octave. V02 and a short, punchy volume macro can help with this, too.
I hope this helps you out. I'm sorry if this got a little textwall-y!

[Reactinator304]

That'll be pretty useful to start with.

[graypesoda]

If you'd like to discuss some things in a little more detail, feel free to message me on skype @graypesoda. I'd be happy to do a quick little tutorial with you!