moonfaze Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 If I were to go with a design using (4) 6581 or (4) 8580 or 2 of each... How should I expect them to differ in sound? I have been lurking on this board for a couple of days and have been doing a lot of research on the web... I stumbled onto this site after looking at the SID Station. I have seen other DIY projects, and was curious what poeple have come up with for the MOS SID chips. Looking at what you guys have done collectively is amazing. Some of the sound clips and pics posted just blew me away! I can't wait to build my own ;D Although, I can see it takes some serious work/dedication/patience. I have plenty of reading and research to keep me busy for a while, as I have never attempted anything like this. In my mind I see something a little bit different, I hope it is possible to make it. I would like to discuss my ideas and plans to see if they are realistic, but I'm going to do a bit more research first (so I don't ask 1k questions ;) I'm good at that). Looking forward to boring some of you guys, hehe 8)-Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultra Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 welcome to the forum. sorry i can't answer your sid related questions, but as someone who is new to electronics and is building a seq, i can tell you that the kits and documentation are all very well done. also the help given by this community is outstanding.have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi Stephen,Building any of the MIDIbox projects, especially for a newbie, takes time and patience. If you're interested enough to have lurked here for a couple of days then you're probably able to do it, but there is always a certain amount of frustration involved.As far as building a MIDIbox SID, the nice thing is that you can start really small and then just keep expanding until you have realized your project. It's not a huge investment to build a very basic MIDIbox SID with just a "Core" and a "SID" module. If it works for you, then add a display, some buttons and a rotary encoder so that you can control it using more than just MIDI. If that works for you, consider adding more Cores and SIDs. If that works for you, consider building a control surface. There's no commitment and you can stop when it becomes too much.The community here is mostly pretty helpful, but you won't get many polite answers if it looks like you're not trying to find info yourself. In the case of the 6581 vs. 8580: there is a very audible difference between the two. Which you prefer is quite subjective, with the general consensus that the 6581 (older one) sounds more like video games while the 8580 sounds more like an analog synth. But -- I've already said enough. There are posts in this very forum with audio examples of both. I think there are even examples to be found right on Thorsten's site at http://ucapps.de that are played on both types of SID. I would say try this: build a Core and SID module. If you have both types of SID chips, try out both kinds and judge for yourself if you want to favour one over the other, or use both. (Don't forget to change the regulator on the SID board when you change your SID chip).The MIDIbox SID is arguably the most comprehensive, flexible, and best sounding SID solution there is, but it is also the most work.Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 would say try this: build a Core and SID module. If you have both types of SID chips, try out both kinds and judge for yourself if you want to favour one over the other, or use both. (Don't forget to change the regulator on the SID board when you change your SID chip).... and also don't forget to change the caps!C1, C2: 470pF for 6581, 6,8nF for 8580greetsDoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 My completely biased opinion ;D Start with (invest in) one 8580 and get it going. If you're scavenging from a C64, you're more likely to get a perfectly working 8580 than a perfectly working 6581. You might find the sound and filter of the 8580 sounds great to you, nice squelchy basslines, less noise than the 6581, etc. Then once you're hooked on the SID sound, you might try out a 6581 for comparison.In other words, you're better off getting one of each before deciding the final choice of all your SIDs, so you might as well start with an 8580 and enjoy the "303" mode! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonfaze Posted January 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Thank you for the replies :) It seems I do need to just try out both chips for myself, and make a decision from there. And it seems like its a bit harder to get a solid 6581, so I think I will try the 8580 first. I am also going to hunt down as many books as I possibly can to cover the various areas of what goes into building a synth. I'm open to suggestion, but I'm sure there are quite a few threads on the subject. I really don't want to just slap one of these together, I would like to have some level of understanding of what it is I'm doing... From coding to soldering. So I'm going to hold of on building right away, and get some more knowledge and understanding first. I see some great achievements here, and I think there are more on the way. I would like to be able to help push the envelope someday, and make a contribution too. Thanks again for the help and advice everyone.-Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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