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C64-HISTORY

 

 

the SID chip

 

computer music pioneers

 

THE 8-BIT HERITAGE

When you tell people that you're playing an instrument called 'computer' you will
quite frequently hear that this is not really a big deal since 'the computer does
all the work on its own' and anybody could master it in a few days - mainly because
it does not require year-long training of the motorical skills. But this is only
partly true since anybody can learn to play a piano too - and a computer definitely
does not produce nice, innovative music out of its own. To be good with this
particular instrument it DOES require year-long training of skills too, but skills
of the MIND mostly, which are not that obvious to see.

So the creation of an instrument-machine that can really contain an unlimited number
of constantly improving instruments and that is operated by the MIND only was one of
the biggest achievements in musical history ever. The impact this new technology had
and has on the way music is produced, perceived and how it sounds became more and
more apparent in the last few years only.

Today many people are quite used to graphical music editors and production
environments like CUBASE, ABLETON or LOGIC and to the amazing capabilities of modern
sound chips. The result are loads of innovative releases every month, which were only
made possible with this very technology (our records included of course). But the
development which brought us all these blessings took its start 20 years back, with
the creation of a TOY (as it is often perceived) - the COMMODORE C64 Homecomputer.

So this is the story of the rocky road named 'COMPUTER MUSIC' that also presents the
(unconcious) background of the soundtrack of our youth - COMPUTER GAME MUSIC.

1. the history of the C64 and the homecomputer movement
   
   
2. the history of the Sound Interface Device (SID-Chip), mother of all soundchips
   
   
3. the (unknown) pioneers of computer music: Rob Hubbard, Ben Daglish, Martin
   Galway, Chris Hülsbeck and others
   
   
4. DOWNLOAD section: lots of tools to play, process and produce SID-sounds.
   Including reFX's QUADRASID-plugin for VST!
   
   
5. LINKS section: SID-related links for further reading, playing and rocking in
   8bit.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to download the SID-plugin for the browser or the SIDAMP-plugin
for WINAMP first at the download section! And then don't forget to turn up your amp!
(you should hear some nice in-game music from 'DELTA' by Ron Hubbard right now)