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Propeller SID emulation??? — Parallax Forums

Propeller SID emulation???

cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
edited 2006-11-04 18:43 in Propeller 1
With the exciting audio demos coming from Chip recently, anyone think a SID (Sound Interface Device) could be emulated on the Prop? Or maybe just a generic synthesizer with ADSR abilities, white noise, etc?

I'm sure a tone generator wouldn't be too hard. I want to see a Propeller Demo Scene! hahaha

cbmeeks

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Comments

  • cgraceycgracey Posts: 14,133
    edited 2006-11-01 13:34
    cbmeeks said...


    I want to see a Propeller Demo Scene! hahaha

    cbmeeks
    Me, too! Those old 4KB 'demo'·programs written back in the '386 days were amazing on the PC. That kind of programming is really inspiring, as it squeezes more out of the hardware than you would guess is possible (by about 10x). The PC has become so varied in hardware·and reliant upon drivers these days to do the work, that it is no longer a venue for such programming stunts. The Propeller is ideal for that discipline, though,·because the chip is capable and the playfield is absolutely level.

    You could do a SID in one COG, I think, no problem.

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    Chip Gracey
    Parallax, Inc.
  • cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
    edited 2006-11-01 13:43
    Chip Gracey (Parallax) said...
    You could do a SID in one COG, I think, no problem.

    Well, *I* couldn't but someone with your advance knowledge, experience, wisdom and good looks could definately do it. (ok, I am brown-nosing here) hahahaha

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  • ciw1973ciw1973 Posts: 64
    edited 2006-11-01 14:43
    The SID chip itself is actually quite simple, and I'd say there should be few problems recreating it functionally in a single COG.

    However, it was the quirks, bugs and analogue aspects of the chip (it was actually an analogue-digital hybrid) that made it special, and most of the sounds we'd recognise from the good old C64 days were more the result of good 6510 programming pushing the chip to its limits than the chip's actual capabilities. It was a combination of hardware limitations and the very real passion that the industry/scene had back in the early-mid 80s that gave rise to the amazing level of creativity we saw from the greats like Rob Hubbard & Martin Galway. Truly the greatest time there has ever been for computer music, and sadly, something I don't think we'll ever see again.

    If I had a little more time, and fewer items already on my Propeller to-do list, I'd have a go myself.
  • cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
    edited 2006-11-01 14:49
    Of course, I think you are right. Especially with the passion. "The Passion of the SID" ....ok, I won't go there...lol

    ANYWAY, seems like if you look at the pure SID technology, and if memory serves me, you are looking at ADSR applied to square, triangle, sawtooth and white noise. Was there a sine wave?? Take that and multiply by 3. I wouldn't really be interested in 100% emulation (like the analog in/pots/etc).

    Ultimately the coolest version could convert SID music either on the fly or with a converter so that we could enjoy the thousands of SID tunes out there. Run on two cogs and you have SID+stereo. With maybe 1-3 cogs for sampled sounds? That would really be a great 8-bit retro computer sound system.

    cbmeeks

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  • ciw1973ciw1973 Posts: 64
    edited 2006-11-01 15:04
    You'd need at least SID and 6510 emulation to have a chance of playing the SID files that are available on the web, but it should certainly be possible.

    I'd love to have a portable/pocket device (rather than a PDA) that I could play C64 tunes on. I really am such a nerd.
  • Ym2413aYm2413a Posts: 630
    edited 2006-11-03 20:17
    The Mos6581 (SID) is a walk in the park, I've already writen much more advanced sound chips in the propeller.

    I started working on the SID engine already for a C64 project.
    The only thing is it doesn't support is Ring-Modulation and the Filter at the moment.

    Cbmeeks you seems to be showing a lot of interest in sound systhesis at the moment.
    Maybe I'll send you some of my code to play around with. I've been sort of interested in writing a sound-chip that uses all of the propeller's power. I've already gotten 7 monophonic channels out of a single cog with mixing and volume control! So picture what 8 COGs could do?

    (btw) talking about the demoscene, I've writen 9 songs already that play on the propeller using my sound firmware.
    I'm hoping to see a Demoscene move to the propeller as well with the release of the Hydra.

    rolleyes.gif

    --Andrew Arsenault.
  • cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
    edited 2006-11-03 20:20
    You just made my day. Yes, I am highly interested. I plan on being a little "wasteful" with my homebrew computer. The idea of 32 voices on the sound system would, well, ROCK! hahaha

    My homebrew is going to be controlled by a 6502. Right now I'm thinking of three props which some may see as overkill. One for audio, one for video, and one for I/O, etc.

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  • cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
    edited 2006-11-03 20:21
    PS, any way of getting some of your songs either in mp3 or maybe even Prop code? smile.gif

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  • Ym2413aYm2413a Posts: 630
    edited 2006-11-04 17:17
    Don't worry cbmeeks, I'm already putting something together for you. ^^
    Until then you can listen to this song I wrote under (HSS).
    Recorded right from the propeller demoboard output.

    www.andrewarsenault.com/hss/Ym2413a_Sine.mp3
  • Cliff L. BiffleCliff L. Biffle Posts: 206
    edited 2006-11-04 17:44
    Not bad, "Ym2413a." Not bad at all.
  • cbmeekscbmeeks Posts: 634
    edited 2006-11-04 18:20
    Very nice!

    It's amazing what you've done with only two cogs.

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  • Ym2413aYm2413a Posts: 630
    edited 2006-11-04 18:43
    Not to mention that the above song can play along with 2 synthesizer emulaters for sound FX and a compressed WAV stream all at the same time.
    The above song still only uses 4 out of the 7 channels available. In (HSS) the 3 last channels, WaveTable 5 and 6 along with ADPCM are saved for sound FX and samples. This way the programmer can play sounds and wave samples without cutting into the music or stealing channels from eachother.
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