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SNES Audio Unit As Stand-Alone Player
An anonymous reader writes "Raphael Assénat successfully turned the SNES' audio processing unit into a stand alone unit which can be controlled through a parallel port, allowing people to play SNES music separate from games and the SNES' main unit. Elsewhere there is also a tutorial about adding S/PDIF digital sound output to the SNES."
i think that's very cool. i love to see new efforts being drawn on retro hardware.
but i do wonder why one would bother building a parallel port unit to play the music when there are software emulators doing that work for us already?
if it were truly *standalone*, then it would be a fun, useful way to incorporate it into music projects or just have fun - but as it's tied to the computer already, why not just use the software?
Yeah, I know why bother? But most of the time when new gaming hardware comes out it is only used to a fraction of its full potential before the next generation arrives. So part of me really thinks it's cool to squeeze out some of that perhaps untapped potential like this. Maybe Tree Wave will play something with this.
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For things like the commodore audio chip you can't get exactly the same sounds without the real hardware. But for SNES I think that zsnes + roms + alsa does a pretty faithful rendition of the sound. And if I fiddle with the sound options you could argue that however unfaithful the sound becomes, it is actually superior in quality to that of just an SNES.
That's one thing the SNES did have over the Genesis. The sound quality was vastly superior. I remember the "echoy" cave noises in super mario world, that was something else.
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because it's innovative, techy and causes other techs to laugh. It's a "because it's there" kinda thing.
For things like the commodore audio chip you can't get exactly the same sounds without the real hardware. But for SNES I think that zsnes + roms + alsa does a pretty faithful rendition of the sound. And if I fiddle with the sound options you could argue that however unfaithful the sound becomes, it is actually superior in quality to that of just an SNES.
That's one thing the SNES did have over the Genesis. The sound quality was vastly superior. I remember the "echoy" cave noises in super mario world, that was something else.
I agree on all counts. I have a soft spot for the SNES's defining sound (Actraiser in stereo really cemented it for me), but the Commodore's SID is just on a whole other level. Occasionally a piece of hardware--be it audio, film, video, or whatever--is released that has such a unique character and artistic potential that it outlives its generation. Personally, I think the SidStation is the quintessence of reborn game audio hardware.
But in the world of synths every piece of gear has its nuances, and even the dookie sound chip in the MD/Genesis could be refabbed with an interface that liberates it and affords it a special niche all its own.
Oh someone beat me to it. OC Remix is insane if not superior to anything out there.
If anything today's games don't have any original music. They just buy tracks from already existing artists. Which if I may add... mainstream is 70% hyped up over marketed garbage anyways. Good stuff is all in the underground.
I have a band concept that will be a reality soon. It's hard finding dedicated people though. You'd be suprised how many people play guitar, until you need a guitar player. Ugh.
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