SID Station is a music synth based on the classic commodore 64
sound chip 6581, each with their own unique voice.
Sourcing
The most difficult part of building the SID Station was sourcing
the materials. The SID chip itself is one of the last chips to
product analog noise to create sound rather than using samples.
This is what gives each one a unique voice, as each chip
converts electricity to create sound.
This makes these chips incredibly saught after, however
production of these chips stopped in 1990 when the last batch of
Commodore 64s where produced. Since then the only reliable way
to find them has been to source old Commodore 64s and strip
them.
In February 2013 the last ever batch #30 was created by
enthusiasts pooling together resources. I was lucky enough to
receive the final chips i had been looking for since 2009.
Learning
Although i had played around with Arduinos before this was the
first project where i had to work with more serious micro
electronics. This normally would not effect me too much, however
given the scarcity of components each stage had to be checked,
rechecked, and checked again. There could be no mistakes since
there would be no telling when i would be able to find another
chip.
Thankfully there was a great community on uCapps that were
specifically looking into building synths with the SID chip. I
spent the next few months learning everything i could about the
chips and the MIDIBox hardware platform.
Assembly
I managed to get in touch with a few people who had a pre made
circuit board which meant i no longer had to print my own. This
saved quite a lot of time on both debugging my own wiring and
putting the pieces together. From this stage it was more
therapeutic Lego.
Launch
This project would not have been possible without the help of
the MIDIBox community and their guidance. The SID Station is now
currently in use at a studio in London.
