my new hardware : MidiBox SID...
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1349 posts since 12 Jan, 2003 from Paris
Hello,
I found this DIY project http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid.html 2 or 3 months ago in a KVR thread and decided to give it a try....
This is maybe the reason why i don't write music anymore... (I hope so...)
For those who don't know what a SID is, it is the sound chipset of the old commodore 64.
I've just finished my box.... which is not as nice as the one on the website but i'm happy to have made it working.
This was not very complicated to do. But it takes much time...
And costed more than expected.
Here are some pictures of my new (and only one) hardware synth
And it sounds great !!!!
Now i have to make a song with that !!!
Xavier
I found this DIY project http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid.html 2 or 3 months ago in a KVR thread and decided to give it a try....
This is maybe the reason why i don't write music anymore... (I hope so...)
For those who don't know what a SID is, it is the sound chipset of the old commodore 64.
I've just finished my box.... which is not as nice as the one on the website but i'm happy to have made it working.
This was not very complicated to do. But it takes much time...
And costed more than expected.
Here are some pictures of my new (and only one) hardware synth
And it sounds great !!!!
Now i have to make a song with that !!!
Xavier
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- KVRAF
- 2017 posts since 21 Mar, 2002 from Hutchinson, Kansas
Wow wow wow! I have been wanting to build one of these for some time...Very nice work you've done!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1349 posts since 12 Jan, 2003 from Paris
Hi Scot,Scot Solida wrote:Wow wow wow! I have been wanting to build one of these for some time...Very nice work you've done!
In fact, you were the one who posted the link 3 months ago !!
So thank you
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- KVRist
- 142 posts since 14 Dec, 2003
Wow congrats! I love the sound of these boxes and the SID chip, have been thinking alot about building my own, but decided to wait until I start my computer engineering studies next year, just so that I know a little more about what I'm doing and don't screw up
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- KVRian
- 565 posts since 16 Dec, 2002 from Pittsburgh, PA
That looks awesome! How difficult would that be for someone with no relevent experience? Since I only have used VSTs, how does it output the sound and what equipment do you need to play it? Does any MIDI controller work and do you even need to coneect it to your PC?
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- KVRian
- 1120 posts since 4 Jun, 2003 from Skanky Manc
F*ckin cool Ixox
I've always wanted to do one of those, but I think my electronics skills aren't up to it
I've always wanted to do one of those, but I think my electronics skills aren't up to it
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1349 posts since 12 Jan, 2003 from Paris
Thanks...
Read, read and read again the web site and its forum and you'll know quickly if you can do it.
It works without any PC. (but with a keyboard) the control surface "Step A" (Cf website) allows all parameters to be changed.
A PC will be required to load the preset.
It's not hard to build if you have some minimal knowledge in electronics (and computer science if you want to have a custom control surface... i had to change the code and recompile it to have the filter part of the SID available without the full control surface).tk421 wrote:How difficult would that be for someone with no relevent experience?
Read, read and read again the web site and its forum and you'll know quickly if you can do it.
It has midi input to control it... and audio output.. like all commercial synth boxes of this kind.tk421 wrote:Since I only have used VSTs, how does it output the sound and what equipment do you need to play it? Does any MIDI controller work and do you even need to coneect it to your PC?
It works without any PC. (but with a keyboard) the control surface "Step A" (Cf website) allows all parameters to be changed.
A PC will be required to load the preset.
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- KVRAF
- 2278 posts since 8 Apr, 2003 from Texas
If you want hardware SID sounds but can't afford a SidStation and don't have the electrical skills to make a MIDIbox:
http://hardsid.com/
http://hardsid.com/
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- KVRAF
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
Oh... you got a PSU built into the box. Does that mean you use a MOS8581 with the C64 PSU, however custom power connectors? I always forget that this thing needs to be powered, haha.
You also built the "minimal LCD" design with added controllers. Were they hard to reprogram? I still fear that I'll totally mess up if I should build my own mbSID and want ADSR filters. And I can't build the maximum version, cause I only have 1 SID, however I'd like to have the versatility of the SIDstation (then again, there's a VSTi that can help, but it can't generate presets for upload/download yet - so I can use the most minimal version with LCD easily).
Anyway, nice work. Respect to those who actually build such things (or a Mixer desk like on the Ucapps page - woha!).
You also built the "minimal LCD" design with added controllers. Were they hard to reprogram? I still fear that I'll totally mess up if I should build my own mbSID and want ADSR filters. And I can't build the maximum version, cause I only have 1 SID, however I'd like to have the versatility of the SIDstation (then again, there's a VSTi that can help, but it can't generate presets for upload/download yet - so I can use the most minimal version with LCD easily).
Anyway, nice work. Respect to those who actually build such things (or a Mixer desk like on the Ucapps page - woha!).
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1349 posts since 12 Jan, 2003 from Paris
No C64 PSU here, 2 simple voltage tranformers. More expensive but easier to put in the box. (and very easy to plug into the module).Compyfox wrote:Oh... you got a PSU built into the box. Does that mean you use a MOS8581 with the C64 PSU, however custom power connectors? I always forget that this thing needs to be powered, haha.
Compyfox wrote:You also built the "minimal LCD" design with added controllers. Were they hard to reprogram?
The assembly code is very well documented. And i only had to change constants....
You can build the full control surface with only one SID. (except the buttons to chose the SID of course)...Compyfox wrote:I still fear that I'll totally mess up if I should build my own mbSID and want ADSR filters. And I can't build the maximum version, cause I only have 1 SID, however I'd like to have the versatility of the SIDstation (then again, there's a VSTi that can help, but it can't generate presets for upload/download yet - so I can use the most minimal version with LCD easily).
Thanks...Compyfox wrote:Anyway, nice work. Respect to those who actually build such things (or a Mixer desk like on the Ucapps page - woha!).
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- KVRist
- 424 posts since 6 May, 2006 from over there
Congratulations dude!! It's been my lifelong dream to build a Midibox (well, since a couple years ago). Glad you got it working right.
"Is it me or does the Roctave stuff seem like a rip off of the Babya stuff?" - Liquidclear
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thecontrolcentre thecontrolcentre https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=76240
- KVRAF
- 35168 posts since 27 Jul, 2005 from the wilds of wanny
cool looking machine, @ixox ... will you be posting any sound clips?
your VSTplugins look very nice too ...
will try them out tonight .. been looking for a flute vst
thanks
your VSTplugins look very nice too ...
will try them out tonight .. been looking for a flute vst
thanks
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- KVRAF
- 14658 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
There wasn't a "how to build a PSU" on the page, was it?Ixox wrote:No C64 PSU here, 2 simple voltage tranformers. More expensive but easier to put in the box. (and very easy to plug into the module).
What about the Preset Banks. Where did you put them? YOu maybe have some pics of the board and the chips?
Ah I guess I stick to the minimal LCD version, maybe 2 chip version if I don't need additional controllers and the like. I'm not good with programming stuff. Then again, the SIDstation has only 1 chip, too. And it sounds that good. And my music style is not related to C64 sounds either. So I don't necessarily need the bigpack.Ixox wrote:The assembly code is very well documented. And i only had to change constants....
Ixox wrote:You can build the full control surface with only one SID. (except the buttons to chose the SID of course)...
Like I said... the SIDstation only has one chip, too. And I'm fairly sure I'll only use this thing for basses and random C64 arps.
So I guess a normal 1U 19" rack would be more than enough. heh.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1349 posts since 12 Jan, 2003 from Paris
Nothing to build, you just have to plug a transformer (9V for the 8580 and 5V for the core module) on the power in of each of the 2 boxes... But then you have to deal with dangerous high voltage which is why it isn't recommended.Compyfox wrote:There wasn't a "how to build a PSU" on the page, was it?
A picture of my custom board (you can see it in the box in the first picture ubove). It includes 2 memories (the 2 little chips) to store 2 * 128 presets.... I can upload a bank to one of the bank and still have the other one for me...Compyfox wrote:What about the Preset Banks. Where did you put them? YOu maybe have some pics of the board and the chips?
Xavier