8BIT IS

History of 8 Bit Music and the Chips that Made it Possible
Part 1, SID and POKEY

8 bit chiptune music history begins around 1982, as home computer manufacturers raced to undercut each other and themselves and produce the cheapest, highest-specification machines. Faster 8 bit processors and falling computer memory costs favored those companies with the technical resources to do research and develop new 8 bit and 16 bit chip sets and software.

In December of 1982, the Commodore 64 is impressive as an 8 bit computer and costs about $600. The soon-to-be-famous 8 bit SID 6581 sound chip was designed specifically to appeal to musicians, although Commodore did not initially include any command-driven controls for the 8 bit sound chip. The range of components on the 8 bit SID - three voices, four possible waveforms, each with envelope and ADSR control - were matched only in part by competitors. An analog filter allowed further manipulation of the SID sound, resulting in a distinctive 8 bit sound that digital SID emulators can only approximate.

Better operating systems evolved to control the 8 bit chip, and the C64’s falling price tag helped to open up sound synthesis to people who were otherwise shut out of electronic music, due to the high equipment costs. The popping idiosyncrasies of the first 8 bit SID chips, latter filtered into oblivion, are today coveted reminders of this first raw, unique chip sound.

Despite a corporate identity crisis, Atari regained some foothold in the home computer market in 1983 with their 8 bit Atari 600/800 series. Atari’s sound chip, the 8 bit POKEY, has four independent synthesized voices, no noise channel, and the worst name anyone could ever choose for a computer component. POKEY generates only square waves, but Atari provided a music processor that allowed users to combine the 8 bit sound channels to produce 16 bit sounds. Atari follows up in 1985 with their XL and XE machines, also 8 bit CPU machines using the POKEY chip.

The SID versus POKEY war continues today. Each has its own unique sound and a place in 8 bit music history.

Write a Comment