C64 SID

The SID CMOS IC in the C64 delivers an interesting eight bit sound colour in the C64

When I first heard the C64 SID as a kid it was nothing to throw your hat at. I've had experiences with concert piano's, tenor saxophones, percussion instruments in the electric range professional synths, bass guitars so I knew this bleep bloop ssshtt IC could never sound the way of the pro musical hardware, especially not the acoustic instruments.

Last Ninja I

It was when I heard the music of Last Ninja I knew that with it's severe limits, the Sound Interface Device has something special to offer. The composer of the music of this game did something marvelous.

He used arpeggio techniques to make the SID play chords

SID does not play polyphonic sound
Arpeggio gives the illusion of chords due to the rapid succession of notes played
Iconic music was spawned with Last Ninja
Unique arpeggio chords created on the SID are still seeked by those who were kids in that period
Others copied the technique and a cult music genre was born
People still create SID chords on emulated C64's to this day, since the machine is long gone in the anals of history

Background & history

Personal POV

Being brought up with acoustic instruments of all kind, I know how good and a great instruments should sound
I have perfect pitch
I can hear up to the 1/100 of a Hz if a instrument is in tune
It's annoying when instruments are out of tune for me.
That distuned instrument, sounds like a kakaphony of cats squealing making the played music horrific in my head
I came with a high level of raw musical talent enabling me to easily pickup all different kinds of acoustical instruments
Behind a piano, without any formal training, I could easily play a song in minutes with the chords and the lead tune in a good manner
I loved to play on the electric bass, so the bass track which I first compose in my head, when I play the piano, is played in sequence
I would then pickup one of the brass instruments (I love the Tenor Sax) and play the lead well in munutes too
All that was left was playing the chords on any synth or keyboard available (usually one of the Korg or Yamaha synths)
I can hear and mix the levels of instruments in my head
It's easy to remix a sound in my head without having to touch a mixing console
All of these talents combined give me good insights in music as a whole and computer (SID music then) as a detail
I can work on electrical equiment on the pcb level, something I picked up as a young kid
From the age of three I disassembled tube radios with expert precision, making me fluent in the disassembly and assembly of tube radios
I assembled them back in working order from the age of four, after complete disassebly!
This gives me great insight in the hardware level of electronics

Last Ninja+

I naturally dismantled my C64 again when I heard the game.
Why did the game sound that way from a hardware POV
What makes the IC tick
I've got the manuals of all the IC's
I had already replaced the PLA906114 Program Logic Array with a new one on a socked, with no qualms
The PLA9016114 got too hot in the tropics (max temp 70C) so it never lived long without a heat sink.
My PLA's were programmed by a friend of mine who was an expert in the programming field
The new PLA's came blank
I did all the extraction, socked soldering and other work myself

The answer was in the C64 hardware manual

SID does just 8 bit audio
has zero polyphony
a limited frequency range both low and high
has scratchy output (which I later learned to appreciate)
has monophonic, single channel analog output
is in actuality a fair sounding IC but far from great

The Yamaha 8 bit sound IC of that period was much better

Yamaha had less succes than the SID for a simple reason

Mass deployment

SID was everywhere!
C64 machines were sold like warm bread in the morning at the old baker
Mass deployment means much more software programmed for the IC
SID won on mass deplyment and lower price in comparison with the lead 8 bit Yamaha audio IC of that period
The ammount of games making use of the SID was staggering in comparision
Games drove the success of the SID to astronomical heights
I got used to the SID, later seeking it's sound when I transitioned to my Amiga A500 with

Paula

Paula is polyphonic with 16 bit (14 bits actually) sound
Paula sounds much cleaner
has 4 channels 0 1 2 3
hard panning of channels in the stereo analog output
more stability
more joy

Motivation for seeking SID after it was gone...

Simple
NOSTALGIA
We all have it
even kids do

Ode to SID

You've been great

Seek last Ninja on the C64 Archive sites for listening pleasure

source:
https://ioc.exchange/@blitter/116188246749642825

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