Greetings. I'm making this guide because I've been struggling trying to add sounds effects to my custom theme and I've found no in-dept tutorial explaining how to do so, thus I decided to write my own tutorial. I'm still fairly new to this website, and have limited knowledge on the subject, so please bear with me.

THIS GUIDE IS NOT ABOUT CREATING A THEME FROM SCRATCH. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN THEMES, READ THIS.


I. Tools
To create and add custom SFX to your themes, you'll need:
- Audacity by the Audacity Team - Create/Convert audio files
- CTR-SDK by Nintendo (Copyrighted software. You'll have to find a legal copy on your own.) - Convert .wav to .bcwav
- YATA+ by exelix11 - Add .bcwav files to existing themes


II. Getting the audio files
Currently, YATA+ allows you to import SFX for Moving Cursor; Launching App; Creating/Deleting Folders & Accept; Closing App & Back; Opening 3DS from Sleep Mode and Bottom Screen frame 1; frame 2 and frame 3. Note that you can ignore any SFX you do not want.

1. Find/Create an audio file for one of the mentioned operation.
2. Open the file with Audacity.
3. Export the file as WAV
4. Repeat all steps until you have all the SFX you want.


III. Converting .wav files to .bcwav
As mentioned previously, you'll need the official 3DS SDK to convert .wav to .bcwav . Obtaining it legally can be quite tricky and I wont't help you find a pirated copy. With some effort however, you should be able to find a copy.

1. Open CTR_SDK-x_x_x-xxxxxxxx-en with Winrar or 7zip
2. Go to CTR_SDK\tools\CommandLineTools\
3. Extract the following files to a same folder:

• ctr_WaveConverter32.exe
• SoundFoundation.dll
• SoundFoundation.LegacyFormats.dll
• SoundFoundationCtr.dll
• ToolDevelopmentKit.dll
• WaveCodecCtr.dll

4. Open cmd
5. Type:

• "[path to extracted files]\ctr_WaveConverter32.exe" "[path to .wav file]\file.wav"

You should get:

• [path to .wav file]\file.dspadpcm.bcwav

Example:

• "C:\Users\Tommyco13\Desktop\Converter\ctr_WaveConverter32.exe" "C:\Users\Tommyco13\Desktop\SFX\Move Cursor.wav"

Gave me:

• C:\Users\Tommyco13\Desktop\SFX\Move Cursor.dspadpcm.bcwav

6. Repeat step 5 for all .wav files you want to convert.


IV. Add .bcwav files to a custom theme

1. Open YATA+
2. Open the theme you want to modify.
3. Go to Edit\Create CWAVs chunk
4. Select which .bcwav file (if any) you want to play with each operation.
5. Select Import
6. Save the theme

Congratulations! You have added custom SFX to your theme! ​

If you have any question, suggestion, anything, feel free to post in the thread.

 

[Deleted User]

Nice! I've been looking for a tutorial like this for ages, now!

 

[ketal]

Just converting to WAV won't always work, you need to specify a certain bitrate & bitdepht

 

[Deleted User]

Just converting to WAV won't always work, you need to specify a certain bitrate & bitdepht

Just a quick heads-up, the WAV has to meet the following requirements:

• It needs to be stereo.
• It needs to be no more than 3 seconds long.
• The frequency has to be 32000Hz.
• And the bitrate need to be 32-bit float.

(Note that these requirements can also lead to a successful banner jingle. If the sound doesn't match up to these preferences, then the sound will most likely cause clicking noises.)

 

[Philip3ds]

Hello. How can I change the sound when I open and close a application?

 

[LunaticShock]

What does mean "Frame 1,2 and 3"?

 

[Deleted User]

What does mean "Frame 1,2 and 3"?

Frames 1, 2, and 3 refer to the bottom screen. When you scroll through the Home menu on your 3DS, those frames interchange as you scroll, giving off an animation-like effect on the bottom screen.

 

[LunaticShock]

Frames 1, 2, and 3 refer to the bottom screen. When you scroll through the Home menu on your 3DS, those frames interchange as you scroll, giving off an animation-like effect on the bottom screen.

Oh... thank you, btw there is no way to change the cursor sound of the upper icons (Notifications, Friend List, etc) the sounds only changes when I navigate in the apps.

EDIT: Someone knows a way to change that?

 

[Deleted User]

Oh... thank you, btw there is no way to change the cursor sound of the upper icons (Notifications, Friend List, etc) the sounds only changes when I navigate in the apps.

EDIT: Someone knows a way to change that?

I don't think it's possible.

 

[Hiccup]

Why can't an unofficial software be used for the WAV to BCWAV conversion?

 

[LunaticShock]

Why can't an unofficial software be used for the WAV to BCWAV conversion?

Cause the .bcwav format its exclusive from nintendo, if someone make that tool, he (or she) could be arrested by copyright charges or some shit like that :v

 

[Deleted User]

Cause the .bcwav format its exclusive from nintendo, if someone make that tool, he (or she) could be arrested by copyright charges or some shit like that :v

Not really. xD I've seen at least one unofficial WAV to BCWAV converter before, but I can't remember the name of it. Oh, and just so you know, the author wasn't arrested.
that's gonna tickle me for ages now.

 

[LunaticShock]

Not really. xD I've seen at least one unofficial WAV to BCWAV converter before, but I can't remember the name of it. Oh, and just so you know, the author wasn't arrested.
that's gonna tickle me for ages now.

#TheMoreYouKnow :v

 

[Deleted User]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-every-file-explorer.373615/
^ This converts Wav -> Bcwav -> Bcstm for themes etc.

 

[LunaticShock]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-every-file-explorer.373615/
^ This converts Wav -> Bcwav -> Bcstm for themes etc.

Oh, rly? I get the complete SDK instead :v welp that could be usefull in a future.

 

[Deleted User]

Oh, rly? I get the complete SDK instead :v welp that could be usefull in a future.

I can't really complain much because I already have the SDK and the official bcwav tools which YATA+ relies on.

 

[Hiccup]

Cause the .bcwav format its exclusive from nintendo, if someone make that tool, he (or she) could be arrested by copyright charges or some shit like that :v

Are you serious?
You can't be serious.

 

[ketal]

Cause the .bcwav format its exclusive from nintendo, if someone make that tool, he (or she) could be arrested by copyright charges or some shit like that :v

you can be charged if you share the copyrighted tool, not if you make one on your own

 

[LunaticShock]

Are you serious?
You can't be serious.

you can be charged if you share the copyrighted tool, not if you make one on your own

Nope, I was wrong, and there are unofficial converters too :v, you just have to search bc they are not easy to find :/

 

[NickCox01]

I seem to be having trouble with my YATA+, as I can't seem to convert my .wav files to be .bcwav files anymore, and i think an update to my laptop kinda hurt the app, as whenever i try to convert my wav to bcwav, Windows tells me that YATA+ has stopped working, and the conversion fails drastically, leaving my next theme project as being incomplete

any fix to this issue? i would gladly appreciate it