euphoricgrey Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 i was wondering what it costs to build a sid desktop using the commodore original casing, with 4 voice. Also... do I need to buy the modules that arent included with the sids or do i read the schematics and build them myself? Please.. just wondering.. with the LCD and all the led's and encoders and modules.. we talking about 500 bucks or more or what? thanks so much! can't wait to start on my new SID next week!!! :)-Luigiwww.euphoric-grey.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdutcher Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 500 bucks!!!! Â no way, man. Â i built my basic, 1 chip sid with control surface for about $60 total. Â haven't built a 4 chip sid, but i would guess that it would cost you about $250 in the US and if you order kits from SmashTV (this does not include cost of SIDs). Â if you buy a custom made front panel, though, it would cost you more. Â i just made mine myself so it only cost a few bucks. Â look on the sid page at the ucapps site....thorsten describes the basic costs there (middle of the page):http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid.htmlEDIT: Â in my opinion, 4 sids is complete overkill. Â you'd be surprised at how powerful one sid can be. Â remember, all C64 game music was done with a single sid....P.S. your flash website has some bugs you might want to investigate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurbo Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 My dual SID 8580 with CS will total about 400 euros. All modules as kits from Claudia, housed in a self-made metal case, C64 psu. The amount includes some neat things like a joystick for filter which alone was 20 euros. Yes, I'm spending more money than I thought at first, as I thought I'd get by with about 200-250 euros.But the main cost is time - actually a large part of this whole thing is the building and learning experience. I started my project in last August (hopefully finish in about a month), first I went through these pages for about two weeks, then ordered (most of) the parts. I have been building slowly and always thinking ahead - and everything has went well so far. Enjoyable brain teaser, this project.About the polyphony - yes the original SID music is done on a single SID chip, but the MBSID doesn't really let you play three different instruments on one SID, so several are needed in my opinion (I have two hands so I decided to make it a dual SID). ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdutcher Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 My dual SID 8580 with CS will total about 400 euros. :o :o :o  jeez.  i wouldn't have dreamed that it could cost that much.  how much was your lcd?  and are you including the cost of SIDs in that $400?  my $250 estimate did not include SIDs.  i really think that one could build it for less than $300....certainly less than $400!!!!  like i said, i built my 1 sid 6581 with CS for about $60 (not including SID or shipping costs) with PCBs from SmashTV.About the polyphony - yes the original SID music is done on a single SID chip, but the MBSID doesn't really let you play three different instruments on one SID, so several are needed in my opinion (I have two hands so I decided to make it a dual SID).  ;Dtrue.  i guess my point was relating more to the individual sounds that can be heard on good C64 tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shed Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 My sid has cost about £45 so far including the sids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK. Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 true. i guess my point was relating more to the individual sounds that can be heard on good C64 tracks.you can do this by using keyboard split zones. Each oscillator has it's own zone, by default they are spreaded over the whole keyboard range. By reducing the zones to dedicated ranges and transposing the notes to the desired octaves you are able to play the oscs individually (with different sounds)Best Regards, Thorsten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdutcher Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 you can do this by using keyboard split zones. Each oscillator has it's own zone, by default they are spreaded over the whole keyboard range. By reducing the zones to dedicated ranges and transposing the notes to the desired octaves you are able to play the oscs individually (with different sounds)exactly. that's certainly enough for me. using this method and a sequencer, you can make tracks just like old C64 tunes! thorsten you are a genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havensole999 Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 my setup is costing me roughly 300-400. i did save alot of money by going to the microchips site and ordering some samples of the pic18's and the 4 bankstick chips. as long as you're prepared to deal with burning the os onto the pic's, go for this method. as thorston (if i remember right) said in another forum, i don't sudjest everyone and their brother going and ordering samples from microchip as this is a disservice to them. i only ordered samples as i am still pretty novice at this all, and this is my first mios project, but not my last. i was also lucky enough to have pack rat friends who had a few c64's lying around in their garages, so that was some money off the go. though in my design, i am using 2 c64 chips and 2 c128 chips (sorry, but i've been working all night and can't remember their model numbers). The 2 from the c128 i am buying from cestible.com for roughly 15 bucks a pop. you can get the c64 chips their too if you don't feel like rumaging around swap meets and whatnot for roughly 25 if memory serves. as far as lcd's go, check around some electronic suplus sites. you can usually find them for really really cheap. just make sure you can find a data sheet. i bought my 2x24 for 6 bucks. if you do a search on yahoo shops, you can find leds at a site (sorry, i don't have the link on this system) in bulk of 100 3mm or 5mm for 2 bucks. i can almost gaurentee they aren't the brightest things in the world, but if they work... they work. all the pcb's and rotary encoders (my frontpanel uses 20 encoderes) will be bought from smashtv's sitei'm buying all my buttons from the same electronic surplus shop i bought my lcd from as they usually have good deals of 4 for a dollar. the power supply i will be using is from one of the c64's my friend game me, so there is some more money savedmy unit is going to be a 3space rack which i am buying at as small electronic shop down the road. all in all, most of the money i'm spending is for the pcb's, casing, and high quality connectorsEDIT: Correction. After looking at my price estimates, the synth is actually only costing my about 275 US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurbo Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Sorry for not knowing the split technique and forwarding misinformation. As my MBSID is still in the works, I haven't been able to fully explore the system's capabilities, I have only managed to scratch the surface so far (enough to enjoy the presets and wiggling a little with the filter and so on - basically to check everything works - my bankstick system doesn't fully do so, just one stick works so far).About prices of the parts - I think I spent about 130 euros at Claudia's (LCD, 2 core kits , 2 sid module kits, 3 DIN kits, 2 DOUT kits, JDM, ribbon cables, some midi leads etc. plus shipping), then I spent maybe about 90 euros at Voti's (encoders, breadboards, leds, push-buttons etc. plus shipping). I got my sids for about 12 euros a pop. Then I spent some tens of euros at Farnell, some tens of euros at Elfa, some tens of euros for miscellaneous parts and accessories all around the neighborhood. It's surprisingly easy to make it 400 euros... Once I'm finished, I will be able to check the costs very precisely. Not that it matters - the sid sound justifies the costs and the trouble! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arumblack Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 It's still far cheaper and better than a SIDSTATION!I really couldn't say how much I've got in mine, and it's not finnished. I started oct 2003....(that's when i decided to definitely build it) in the mean time i decided to go to school and study electronics(I always found it interesting, had some little project labs when i was younger, but the sid did inspire me more).The best thing about theese projects (for me) is that you can build a module at a time, spreading out the cost. of course it is easy to lose track of total cost this way, I don't really care anymore. build one core and one sid, listen to it, be inspired. Add the basic controls, love it more. order the rest of your parts and try to get life to leave you alone so you can finnish the darned thing!one day I will finnish.AB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphoricgrey Posted January 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Heya guys, I'm wanting to build a 4x SID and So far..it seems like for:4 Core Kits (i guess you cant get these from the c64's?) 95.803 Din's 30.002 Douts 20.004 sid kits 60.0015 encoders 15.00=220.80+99 Led's+1 2x20 LCD (where is the best place for colored screens like red with black numbers and letters?)+4 SID chips from the c64's to stick into the sid kits you buy?+27 buttons+FrontPanel (who does the best job with taking a frontpaneldesigner file and making it into a punched out frontpanel? prices? collored aluminum you think?)+what about midi? do you buy a midi module as well?thanks so much guys, just getting ready to start buying parts, thanks so much-luigi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illogik Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Hi,+FrontPanel (who does the best job with taking a frontpaneldesigner file and making it into a punched out frontpanel? prices? collored aluminum you think?) I think Sheaffer (company which also made the FrontpanelDesigner softw) has a fair price if you concider it's probably the best/most proffesional option, around EUR 100,- depending on your design. And when you open or make a design in FPD you can check the pricing by clicking a button.You could also check out this;http://monopole.ph.qmul.ac.uk/~thomas/synthdiy/cnc.htm it's a synthDIY-er who started his on CNCdrilling/engraving service. Dunno all the options you have here, but its about half the price of a Schaeffer panel.+what about midi? do you buy a midi module as well?Read the info-page of the core module; the core is also your midi-interface (which you can expand with the LTC module (midi-thru)), it has two ports which you connect to midi(din) sockets.cheers, marcel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphoricgrey Posted January 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 so for a 4x sid you need 4 sid chips and 4 cores right? does each core have it's own midi in/out or? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illogik Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 so for a 4x sid you need 4 sid chips and 4 cores right? does each core have it's own midi in/out or?yes, but you (need to) chain the cores internally, so you eventually have 1 midi-in and 1 midi out on your box (and optionally with the ltc module a second midi out and a midi through port)http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid_cs/sid_csB_connections.gifcheers, marcel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted January 24, 2005 Report Share Posted January 24, 2005 You could also check out this;http://monopole.ph.qmul.ac.uk/~thomas/synthdiy/cnc.htm it's a synthDIY-er who started his on CNCdrilling/engraving service. Dunno all the options you have here, but its about half the price of a Schaeffer panel.Ohh.... I like this! It looks like this guy can do everything I'd want to have done with my panel ideas. Some of them have nothing to do with synthesizers. For homebrewed computers (build the CPU out of 74xx series chips and have lots of switches and blinkenlights), this sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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