I've been working on a Tracker sequencer for the Commodore 64 Atari emulator to add fantastic Commodore sound to Atari 2600 games.



The incredible SID



The Commodore SID chip is a sophisticated subtractive analog synthesizer with programmable waveforms, ADSR envelopes and analog filters to create harmonic resonance effects between three oscillators.



Here is the D64 with a BASIC prototype and an Assembly Beta version:



ataric64d2.d64



The BASIC prototype programs the SID registers from a tuned TIA Chiptune to create complementary waveforms and special effect sounds.



The Assembly version in the Atari 2600 Emulator additionally programs two of the analog filters on the SID creating harmonic resonance between the voices.



There are two Atari 2600 games on the D64 image with advanced soundtracks that mix with the gameplay to sequence Cannons, Arpeggios and other musical structures to compare, Fluid City and the New Space Invaders:

NewSpaceInvaders.bin

FLUIDCITY_B_Side_PlusCartClub_ThrottleControl.bin



Which plays better the real Atari hardware or the C64 Atari emulator? I can't decide, but it's a lot of fun playing them both back to back if you have both systems! :)

Both sound awesome on the Atari and on the C64 Atari Emulator, but they have a distinctive sound that is different and I think the C64 is enchanting. Playing Atari games with SID filter effects is a captivating experience!

The SID is such an incredible Sound Machine that a real Commodore 64 is needed to fully hear analog filter effects, or an Electron SIDStation:

ElectronSIDStation.jpg.2d3eb038c9c5909e1ea6c6ba5db15474.jpg

The SID is used in electric instruments like this high-end Sound Machine used by professional recording artists.



SIDTIATracker design was inspired by the SIDStation Sound Machine to program the ADSR envelope and wave form registers and apply two of the analog filters.