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Synthesizers, Commodore 64 Style
A reader writes: "Elektron, a little company in Sweden, has been selling a MIDI synthesizer module based on the MOS 6581 SID chip pulled out of old Commodore 64 Computers, called the Sidstation. It's pretty slick looking, and makes some pretty amazing bleeps and blurps. Its complete with an operating system which controls a huge number of features of the SID chip, and even a little built-in sequencer. They've been manufacturing these things for almost 2 years now, but but they are about to stop production (roughly a little over 100 units left), due to the lack of SID chips around."
Search for it on you favourite file sharing service - this track was *massive* in the clubs last year and even entered the UK single charts at number 2.
The original mix had the main riff played on a SIDstation.
But! The actual hook was stolen from a the soundtrack to the classic C64 game 'Lazy Jones' - Dave Whittaker is Getting a fair chunk of royalties from the 'cover version'.
I hear there are rock bands who have done covers of C64 tunes also.... check out remix.kwed.org for more info
Alison
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein
I've owned one of these for about 6 months now, and it's the most unique, interesting synth I've ever owned. It can produce sounds you will NEVER hear another synth make. The noise from the chip is bad, but I use a noise gate or I sample it and use Cooledit to remove the noise. Either way it's definitely worth the ~$500. And Elektron is seriously one of the coolest companies I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with. The guys who designed it are on the mailing list and are incredibly helpful and friendly.
As for some of the complaints (memory loss, flakiness) most of those can be contributed to bad power supply. It doesn't come with one, and some people go out and pick up the cheapest one they can find. the Sidstation requires a reliable power supply. I got a nice AC adaptor and surge protector and haven't had a problem yet.
And for the people saying it's hard to program I only say "WHERE DO I GET WHAT YOU'RE SMOKING!??!" Seriously, this synth is so incredibly easy to program. The only thing that took me awhile to get used to was the tables, because it's an idea I've never heard of/played with before. Once I got used to it, making sounds was easy. Of course, even if I never use it again, it's still worth it for me, cuz I loved the Commodore64, and the Sidstation makes a nice addition to my 5 functioning C=64s :)
Anyway, I really can't say enough good things about Elektron and the Sidstation. I'm just anxiously awaiting the Machinedrum (their next product)
corey
PICs are pretty powerful these days.
But they're not an analogue/digital hybrid! You need custom silicon for that.
Of course, you can emulate the entire C64 in software now anyway, wo why not just build a small PC into a C64 style case?
Because you can't perfectly emulate the C64! You can only approximate it in a digital-only system! In fact, all current emulators are flawed - C64 coders can tell, in software, whether you are using a real C64 or an emulated one.
Does my bum look big in this?
You should have a HardSID card in your PC. Because sometimes, emulation just doesn't cut it.
http://www.hardsid.com/
Having blown up my own SID chip at the age of 11 while trying to wire it directly to an amplifier (to avoid the distortion caused by the RF mod/dem stages of the TV), I can claim to be a true fan of the sound these chips make. The emulation you'll find now is pretty good, but very CPU-intensive. Still, nothing beats the real thing.
P.S. I don't get money from these guys; I don't even know them. I just think it's cool.