kokoon

one sid = 3 oscillators = 3 note polyphony. four sids = 12 oscillators (obviously) but the super-poly mode hasn't been implemented yet. though you can route midi events to the separate sids manually (each sid can be assigned it's separate midi channel)

that's fantastic! that's a software feature right? is there a SID application version with this already released? thanks alot Thorsten!!!

yeah absolutely there are pluses and minuses with both. that's why i'm doing a 2 + 2 configuration.

i'd say it's best to use the connector like the original one. that's 7-pin DIN, if you find the female connector that is. offtopic - but regarding the DIN connectors - i just found a shop in my town where i was able to buy a "domino" din male connector. domino is the funniest DIN configuration i've ever seen - it has 5 pins in a 4-pin symmetrical square positions plus one in the middle. it can be plugged 2 different (180 degree) ways (at lest in my tape recorder, which i needed it for)

all of them are encoders. there's a nice list on the ucapps.de MBSID page.

i guess your 8580 is dead. try to turn every osc ON and OFF and back ON. and check for sounds every time. you sending it any notes?

i sent them the mail: and i got 6 flex sensors, one touch-potentiometer and one membrane switch.

i got the samples from spectrasymbol but didn't get the xy pad :(

TK thanks alot for your time.

okay i get it now. so you're aware that the cutoff parameter curve isn't completely smooth? i know that. could you decribe a bit what that flag does? change the curve? i'm talking about 3 different 6581 chips. their filters sound nothing like 2-pole (12dB) filters. i've probably read absolutely everything on the subject of SID filters here on ucapps and midibox.org and i've also read some other sites. but from the ucapps MBSID page i got the idea that you feel the 6581 filter is better than 8580 filter. i know those tables and samples were updated later but it doesn't say that the 8580 filter is now better. actually what i wanted to know is whether the cutoff parameter reaches from min to max of the actual SID filter cutoff value. now that i know that i can conclude that the prophet64 wouldn't sound any better filter-wise than MBSID does. right? i guess the next step from MBSID will be an external filter. i'm thinking something like you did (a moog ladder) or maybe a WASP filter. that wasp sound is fantastic. don't get me wrong - i don't want to start a fuss or anything - i hugely respect everything you've done and am building my MBSID with great confidence in its powers. it was just that the samples on the prophet64 site got me thinking that MBSID doesn't use all the headroom of the filter. by the way - i do know how a substractive synth's soundpath looks like and i've built quite a few in reaktor and pd so i have pretty good idea how this works - but just in theory. i haven't done anything like this in assembler and i understand that there are many limitations/ tricks needed.

i looks like you leave that one as it is yes. but better have someone who built the optimized psu answer that.

i haven't built the optimized one yet but what i can gather from the pdf: - the sid boards are left as they are - the core boards have the 7805 removed and shortened 1-3 (as seen in the pdf) - the psu circuit needs 4 caps, one resistor, four diodes, a double switch and a 7809. - connect everything as shown in the pdf. and don't forget the terminating cap @the last sid/core pair (since you have only one you put it after it)

thanks alot for the detailed reply. so - if i understood this correctly - the "cutoff" setting doesn't reach to the max cutoff value because it needs to leave some for both the potential envelopes? if so then what about LFOs? so what you're saying is that for the filter to reach the max i'd have to put some envelopes on the filter and modify it positively? i know the filters are device-specific but i'm almost certain that no c64 had filters with such low filters range. what about the stepiness of the 8580 filters? you know what i mean by that?

so i've built the box to a stage when i can tweak the filters with an encoder. i have one 6581 and one 8580. and now some questions. they're all regarding the LP filter. i'm using the latest SID version (midibox_sid_v1_7_303beta9) 1. the 6581 filter has such a low range! it's almost unusable. from the samples off the http://www.prophet64.com/ tb-303 emulator i'd say the filter is capable of pretty serious resonating but not from the midibox. is there anything that can be done software-wise? apparently the 303 version of the SID application "changes the filters behaviour" and that's why i'm asking. i've tried a ton of different filter caps and ended up using the original ones from the c64. 2. the 8580 filter isn't completely smooth. towards the low-end there are some weird "steps" (i can look the precise value) that make the filter feel non-analogue. anyone else noticed this? can this be fixed? how did the guys from http://www.prophet64.com/ achieve such great filter sounds? 3. am i talking nonsense?

you have build a small circuit: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_sid_c64_psu.pdf and the optimized version: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_4xsid_c64_psu_optimized.pdf

if you want your sid to work with 10 buttons instead of default 5 you'll have to change cs_menu_io_tables.inc a bit (really easy) and also main.asm for 10 items to be shown instead of 5. after that you'll have to recompile the project. but it's all really easy. but if you just want to see if your stuff works (without the 5 extra buttons and the right half of the display) just upload setup_8580_with_cs.syx and you can modify the app later.

i'm interested. but i'm not sure yet.

haha i used a hifi remote for batteries enclosure as well :) as far as PIC sockets are concerned - i rarely stuff it all the way in. just put it on, make sure all the pins touch the contacts in the socket and that's it. if you stuff it all the way then you'll have a hard time getting it out. "PIC not recognized" - everybody gets this the first million times but eventually it gets recognized, i got this problem too. i had to try (really, no exaggeration) like 30 times before it worked.

uhh i'm really sorry but i can't be of much help from here on... maybe check if anything was written to pic if you can read it. when i got it to identify the PIC correctly everything worked okay for me. if i remember correctly. it's even possible that i got the same error you're getting but it worked at the end anyway. not sure though. also - everywhere says you should use +3V where you're using 4.5 from your LPT. maybe you should try again with the 2 x batteries... i really don't know. if everything else fails we can arrange that you send the PICs to me and i'll program them for you and send them back. i'm from slovenia so that wouldn't be so awkward.

so it compiled okay? do you have the LPT port set allright in bios setup? not sure but it might be port address problem, look into the source files to change it if you find out yours.

guys i just found this: http://www.itn.liu.se/~nikro/diy/delay/index.html and it's got the pcbs too. about digita vs. analogue - yesterday i was playing a bit with my zoom studio 1204 (the cheapest multieffect ever ;) and i was thinking like this - okay, the delay is just a delay. but the analogue delay sound is so characteristical because of the specific decay/slight resonating feedback... so i used my zoom just for delaying the signal and connected its output back to its input but via an old analogue param EQ. MAN this combo sounds NICE!!! the best thing is that the EQ has 2 bands (low - 40-960 and high - 0.5k-16k) and you can use one band for general attenuation of the signal (let's say the low end) and the other one for spacy out-of-control growing feedbacks :D just don't try this while very stoned cause once i almost blew my whole gear when i couldn't get my head back together to get the feedback back under control ;) still the best thing is a tape delay - when you slow it down you can hear the loop pitching down! but i heard that on my friend's delay also and i'm pretty sure it wasn't a tape one.

okay Wisefire here go your pics. i've been working 15 hours a day for the last week and it'll be so for the next few weeks too. that's what took me so long. i know mine is very messy - i didn't find a connector so i soldered the lpt cable directly ;) bottom shot: top shot: another top shot:

elko means electrolytic polarized capacitor. you can get them anywhere. not that small value though. but since it's just for stabilizing the voltage (so it doesn't vary that much) i think it could be higher also (not too high though - you may have troubles charging it - if i understand this correctly) i don't know if ceramic can be used but if i had to guess then i'd say yes. regarding OS: i think it's easier to make it work on ms dos or win98 because of the low-level port access which you don't have in winXP. but if it still won't work - i got it to work only in linux. it's really easy - just burn yourself a live distro cd ( http://www.kubuntu.org for instance ), download linux source, compile and run!

hmm i'm looking for real analogue... how come there aren't any DIY projects for those? i'm pretty sure analogue chips can still be fairly easily found...

by the way - has anyone maybe any DIY analogue echo/delay project scematics? i'd love to have that!