Gear: The Sound of the Legendary SID Chip, Part 2

May 28, 2009 7:28 PM, By Ben McFarlane

In Part 1 of this SID Chip feature, I talked about the possible pitfalls and dead ends you may encounter if you're trying to capture the unique sound and capabilities of the SID synthesizer chip that originated in the Commodore 64 (C64) computers. Some of those you'll run into in the process of connecting a C64 machine via MIDI.

Nonetheless, you can connect MIDI to a C64 with two methods: 1) load a program from a floppy drive and connect a MIDI controller via an independent interface or 2) plug the MSSIAH hardware ($65) into the C64 expansion port and use its GUI to control several MIDI functions.

The Software (Dis)Connection

First a disclaimer: Buying all the components to trigger MIDI on a vintage C64 will cost at least as much as buying the HyperSynth HyperSID ($299) or HardSID 4U ($380, or $500 for the Studio Edition). You'll also spend at least twice the amount of time trying to get this kind of system to work, and you run the risk of worn-out components and systems that don't quite interact. In the end, your assembly might all have been for nothing. To me this looked like a happy challenge, so I began collecting the pieces of hardware and software I would need to make the C64 talk to my M-Audio Axiom 49.

My first step was to buy an FB-MIDI interface ($35) from Fotios Kotsiopoulous in Australia, a vendor I highly recommend. The interface arrived quickly and in perfect shape. My second step was to download MIDI controller software. Kotsiopoulous's site has a list of compatible MIDI, but you have to get that software from your PC onto a floppy disk. That lead to buying an XE-1541 cable ($16.50), a serial cable that connects the most recent Pentium computers to the Commodore-compatible floppy drives, such as the 1541. Step 4, of course, was to buy the Commodore 64 itself, which I found on Ebay with a monitor, drive and cables for about $100 plus shipping. Finally, I paid about $10 for some 5 ¼ floppy disks from someone in town.

Step six was where it all went bad. I formatted a floppy disk so that it could receive files and connected the 1541 drive to my LPT1 port using the XE-1541 cable. So far so good. Next I had to install and run Star Commander (freeware), which is a file transfer program that allows you to write files from a PC onto a 1541 drive, but you need to run it in DOS or from a command prompt, and no matter what I did, I could not get it to function in the command prompt within Windows XP. After checking all my equipment -- reviewing page after page of documentation and installing fixes for Windows and faithfully following every single instruction -- I came to the conclusion that Star Commander wasn't going to work.

I had everything I needed to trigger the SID chip sitting in my studio, but I couldn't send a few bits of data across one little cable. In fairness, Star Commander is an extremely useful application, but in a multi-tasking Windows system such as XP, it requires careful tweaking to run properly, and it may not run at all. Really, the older your OS, the better your chances are of using Star Commander.

I finally managed to verify the functionality of my C64's SID by keying in a music program using the C64's basic programming language. I copied the program from the programmer's manual that came with the C64, but the 20 lines of code it took to make a few beeps hardly seemed worth the effort. The classic songs that accompanied my favorite games must have taken days, if not weeks, to program. I now have a far greater appreciation for the effort that went into the incredible sounds that I used to dismiss as game music, and also for the fluidity of contemporary music production software. Sad as I was about my failed connection, at least I knew my SID chip was working.

Saved by the MSSIAH

All that trouble I went through is the reason 8bit Ventures created MSSIAH, the successor to the device known as Prophet 64. MSSIAH is an all-in-one MIDI interface/MIDI software suite that you can use to program your C64 as a synth sound module. The software suite is divided up into a mono synth, drum synth, bass synth, wave player and sequencer. Though it still requires your buying vintage gear (for example, the 1351 mouse), your chances of success are far greater than mine were by assembling a system of several components. The only disadvantage to triggering the C64 directly is noise: A real C64 is never going to be as quiet as a SID Station or a HardSID 4U Studio Edition.

MSSIAH, the former Prophet 64, is still an under-appreciated contribution to the SID world, probably due to the lingering shadow of its predecessor. I'd like to own one. If I had to make a decision based on my experience of writing this feature, I'd buy a HardSID or a HyperSID. The emulators gave me a satisfying fix, but I sure would like to program sound using the real deal. Purchasing a system to interface with a real C64 proved risky, costly, and time-consuming, but it wasn't all in vain. I have my C64 now, and when the MSSIAH comes in, I'll finally be able to use it.

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