Emulating the SID the HARD way

emulation SID 6581 8580
chipresearch episode 0x08

00:00 Intro
01:04 What's a SID?
01:56 "Fake SIDs" and sidbench
02:46 Reading OSC3/ENV3 registers
04:11 "Old" bank: Monitoring filter capacitor voltages
04:31 "New" bank: gigabytes of DC recordings per chip
06:20 Listening test preliminaries
07:23 Advanced SID Engine issues
08:11 QA Song Choice
10:21 The "Unicorn" R1
10:45 MDFourier C64 edition

Listening test songs are a mix and match of PAL and NTSC speeds we know.
(our emulation can do both)

A lot of songs chosen for QA were taken from this list here: (sorry I forgot to mention it):

Tracks used:
chipsynth C64 - 4Mat.
From the official old-school C64 "chipsynth C64" demo from 4Mat

Channel intro/outro:
Apoplexia - Vega Genesis
From the official chipsynth MD launch album

Support us by getting an C64 license (or gifting one to a musician friend!)
Thank you!

[plgDavid]

Thank you so much for all the comments and questions. Just have some little points to clarify:
This should not be interpreted as me implying that anything here is in the best research or the best results you can get out there. That's for others to decide. Think of it more like a journal of our own journey into it, without taking other project’s implementations. I have huge respect for the work done by others on the SID over the years, don’t get me wrong.

Something that was not ill intended but got wrongly interpreted however: In the Song QA section: each time you hear a song, and there is a picture of a specific SID, you are actually hearing THAT SID, not our emulator’s take on it. The goal here was to highlight each original chips sonic differences more than anything. Show the challenge it represented as it were. I could have posted the A/B and will probably do it somewhere, or you can also do it yourself with the app.

Thank you!

[dysamoria]

In a tech world dominated by soulless, clueless & disinterested "investors", brand vultures (like the one that just ate Moog, FFS), and sociopathic corporate executives, Plogue/David shows what true love for music tech (and its community) looks like.

Some of these videos' contents go well over my head (dyscalculia, among other limitations), but they've also made me into an admirer. Witnessing David's passion and respect for computer-music tech is inspiring.

My own love of tech has mostly been killed by ultra-capitalism and abusive corporations, but some of it still lingers on within me (and is why I have a retro/classic-computer setup in my studio). This part of me seriously wakes up, gurgles with nostalgic joy, while witnessing the immense amount of obsessively-detailed work done by David/Plogue, and his efforts to describe and explain his work to us in these videos.

I don't consider myself a chip-music fan in specific, but my music-making life started with a Tandy 1000 TL/2, game music has always been meaningful & influential to me, and so this is all quite inspiring. Thanks for all the amazing work you do!!

[lis]

i just can't imagine amount of work put into understanding what is "the average SID chip" and then all the deviations from this average.

[SJSsesco]

6581 still in my original 64 from 1984 and still sounding great👍🤟

[xero]

Every now and then I get a little hope that the internet wasn't a mistake. Thanks.

[xTJ]

Wow, this is genuinely incredible! This is the kind of data capture that you normally only dream of!

[ponponpatapon]

man, all this immense care and attention to detail really makes me wonder what will come in the future. i wish these videos had more engagement

i wasn't even alive for the SID, but i still have a soft spot for its sound and chips like it. in the far future i'm hoping for something like the DMG-CPU, or TIA/POKEY — but either way, i look forward to the next thing, whatever it may be; it's distilled brilliance each and every time

[McAlby]

The amount of research and effort you've done is mind blowing. Congrats for the release!

[MajrBthryd]

Everything counts in large amounts.

Thank you for your service.

[avrilcadabra]

I will have to give this a shot, usually disappointed in accuracy of replacement sids and emulations but you have gone peak nerd here, and this is no doubt as good as we will ever get, bravo

[JustWastedHoursHere]

Your commitment to getting accurate data is truly inspiring!

[ShamblerDK]

My second computer was a C64. I've known for a few years how hard it is to emulate the SID, and your video provided an even more in-depth view into the difficulties surrounding that emulation 🙂

[darwiniandude]

This is crazy! I also recorded a friend's C64 to a boombox to bring home before I had one, and when I did have one, cut up a DIN cable to get the audio line out into a proper old radiogram I had for proper amplification instead of the tinny TV speaker. Thank you for all your hard work, I can't wait to get it :)

[soundfx]

I'm so getting Chipsynth! I have a 6581 based SidStation (Ninja!) - while the filter is so dirty and full of character it 'breaks' too soon when playing, for example, Terra Cresta. EDIT - this research is mind blowing!

[Average-AL]

That is very impressive attention to detail. Almost worth buying it just as an applause.

[BarnokRetro]

Wow! Glad your buddy had a C64 growing up to draw you in, this has been fascinating!

[collect-thor]

While i already bought a bunch of chipsynths/speech from you on the black week i just also bought the c64 chipsynth. Keep up the great work <3.

[francoisleveille]

Dear David, there are many things you stumbled on which I could have helped you so much with. Recently I moved away from C64 stuff to do more complex things.

[ChironMusic]

I'm seriously blown away by the amount of effort you put into each release! I absolutely love these videos, even if some of the coding/mathematics side of things is above what I can understand. Chipcrusher is one of my go-to effects to always use! Brilliant, David!

[HiskoArt]

Absolutely astounding! The sheer magnitude of effort involved truly boggles my mind. The SID chip and C64 shaped my childhood, and I am profoundly grateful for all the endeavors dedicated to ensuring its everlasting presence!