Just an idle though: I wonder how many MB SID builders out there are doing it because they’re genuinely nostalgic about the C64?
I must admit, that was never a big part of my motivation for embarking on the project, as I never had one when I was a kid (or owned any other computer in fact, until I bought a second-hand Atari ST from one of my lecturers, when I was at university).
I was more interested in the project because it’s definitely one of the most flexible and powerful self-build synth projects out there, and seemed to me quirkier and more interesting than the myriad modular analogue synth projects.
There is definately the nostalgia factor for me, I did have one as a kid. But more than that, the Sid chip creates the perfect sound for the music I make, which is mostly electro.
i didn’t own a c64 either, first time i heard it as sidstation promo sample on a keyboards magazine cd i believe end of the 90ies and that was making it clear i would have to play that thing. the sound of the sid differs from both analogue & digital synths i’ve known. but now listening to the demo videos and sound samples here & on ucapps you wouldn’t probably need more reasons for building a MB SID. so, i’ve just started…
I never owned a C64 when I was a kid.. we had an Apple IIe.. so the whole 64 thing is a bit lost on me..
My motivation for building a SID synth was I wanted something that sounded different to all the other synths I have. And It does sound very different to your average analogue or VA or digital synth..
Easy one to answer, not really a fan of the C64 as I had a Tandy TRS80 back in the day.
But I’m a musician in search for different sound sources every time, programmer, and also like to build electronic/etc. stuff so the mbSid fits quite well, 2 built so far and one more chip waiting to be desoldered from a C64 board, for a mono CS A version.
Yeah, i’m a reborn C64 enthusiast and SIDaholic, and i have several C64s with different SIDs modded for music making using the new MIDI soft/hardware called MSSIAH. My childhood computer was the C64 and i love the SID sound!
I have been lurking here in these pages a lot of times the last few years, but now i couldn’t hold back anymore so i just recently managed to build a stereo MB SID which turned out to be one of my most satisfying achievements in a long time
I was more interested in the project because it’s definitely one of the most flexible and powerful self-build synth projects out there, and seemed to me quirkier and more interesting than the myriad modular analogue synth projects.
I’m a musician in search for different sound sources every time, programmer, and also like to build electronic/etc. stuff so the mbSid fits quite well
I had a lovely VIC-20 as my first computer. I would write BASIC programs on that thing and run out of memory constantly. It drove me crazy. I wanted a Commodore 64 so bad, I could taste it. Never realized that dream. And my mom sold my VIC-20 at a garage sale when I went off to college. She also sold my surfboards. Thanks, Mom.
Fast forward 20 years later, and I’m loving electronic music by this time. I started to get interested in how electronic music is created. I discovered Sony Acid Pro and Ableton Live and tried them out. Ableton blew me away. It was fun to play with pre-recorded loops. But, this wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to get down to the brass tacks and find out how you make all those crazy sounds I’ve heard in Techno, Chill and all other flavors.
Then, one day, while googling, I ran across the SID Station. And the light bulb came on. I read up on the SID chip and was fascinated by the fact that it was so advanced for it’s day. I was also fascinated by the fact that the creator of the SID chip wasn’t able to see the full potential of his idea realized. I was also eagerly wanted to fulfill that teenage dream of owning a Commodore 64. Sid Station was discontinued at the time and it was pretty expensive. I found Prophet64, bought a cartridge and about 10 old C64’s on eBay and played with those for awhile.
Firestarter, on the P64 Forum had a pretty slick MIDI interface for the P64. Out of curiosity, I started googling around for subjects on “SID” and “MIDI” and somehow ended up here…
After reading through Thorsten’s website, picking my jaw up off the floor and changing my undepants, I immediately took a C64, painted it black, painted the keys white, added some funky keyboard labels, hooked up a SID2SID inside and sold it along with my P64 Cartridge on eBay. I took the proceeds and purchased a Core Module and two SID modules from Smash.
Looks like I’ll be spending the rest of my life building MB-6582, MB64, MBSEQ, MBFM, etc…
I grew up playing games on the C64 way before there was a thing called nintendo. I am afraid all those hours have warped and burned the SID sound into my brain. I can probably still hum the entire soundtrack to one of my favorites Epyx “California Games”…The opening theme which I believe is a SID rendition of “Louie, Louie” is pure gold.
I sacrificed my original C64 to build the minimal sid and still couldn’t stand to let that plain old “6581” from the 24th week of 1984 go. It now has a home in the mb-6582 where it is stereo paired (poorly I might add) with a 6581 R4AR.
My mother said, that the first word I’ve ever spoken was “knob”. Basicaly that’s why I’m here. I found uCapps searching for a DIY MIDI controller, but later I found that there are more fun projects than a controller. If you can build it, why won’t you do it? So I bought my first C64s last year, ripped the guts, and now I’m a proud owner of a stereo mbSID (well… sort of, only one module connected atm) with a minimal control surface and plans for life:) Great projects, great community!
c64 demo scener in the house… so hmmz, yeah, I’m here because I love and use and own several c64’s. I’m not cannibalising my c64’s. They’re too precious to me (well, spareparts to keep one working, although all 7 orso are still in working condition :P)
and SIDaholic, and i have several C64s with different SIDs modded for music making using the new MIDI soft/hardware called MSSIAH. My childhood computer was the C64 and i love the SID sound!