The High Voltage SID Collection
Encyclopedia
The High Voltage SID Collection (abbreviated "HVSC") is both the name of a project to build a collection of music created on the MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID
sound chip in Commodore CBM-II
, Commodore 64
and Commodore 128
home computers and the collection itself. The word "SID" can refer to both the chip itself and the filename extension
of the music files made for it.
. The chip has a highly distinctive sound, and the relatively complex music it could produce was an important factor in the creation of the demoscene
.
However, much of the music was effectively made unavailable as a new generation of computers became more and more prevalent by the late 1980s. Far more powerful than the Commodore 64 and its kind (but also too slow to properly emulate the old C64 yet), the new machines were also incompatible with them, and much of the data on the older computers was rendered inaccessible and largely forgotten by the general public. Even those who were interested in the old SID music were forced to ignore it simply because they could not easily access it.
CPU, the actual tunes were (and had to be extracted from) software code, and other collections often had broken or error-ridden tunes.
By comparison, The High Voltage SID Collection, as it came to be known (so named after a CD full of Commodore 64 disk images, named the High Voltage Collection), featured songs that had been carefully ripped
from the original files and verified to be correct, usually by checking with the original composers. Also, other collections tended to be fairly small, as even the largest ones generally only contained hundreds of tunes, a very small fraction of the total SID music ever created. Originally, the intention was to address the lack of a comprehensive MS-DOS
based collection of SIDs, as the Amiga
already had a well-received collection, called NemeSIDs. However, the project soon became a multi-platform endeavor, with the SID player software being ported to Microsoft Windows
, Apple Macintosh and Linux
.
Currently, the collection includes over 40,000 (as of 25th of June 2011) SID tunes and is widely regarded as by far the most comprehensive collection of SID music in existence. Despite the great amount of content, the collection's actual compressed
size is fairly small, less than 80 megabytes in popular ZIP
file format and less than 50 megabytes when compressed with modern algorithms such as LZMA. This illustrates well the era this music comes from: the average SID tune is only around 4 kilobytes in size; even the most complex ones or ones with digitized samples are rarely considerably larger than 30 kilobytes. The tunes themselves are both from the numerous Commodore 64 games and the demoscene. Among others, it features the work of C64-immortalized composers like Martin Galway
, Chris Hülsbeck
, Rob Hubbard
, Jeroen Tel
, Richard Joseph
and Ben Daglish
.
While nostalgia
is an important motivation for many listeners of the collection, it's worth noting that in addition to the music itself, the tunes also often include the composers' comments on how the tune was composed and the working conditions of the time. This aspect of the collection enhances its historical value as a snapshot of the state of the digital entertainment industry's early days. In many cases, the collection has also managed to acquire previously unreleased tunes from the original composers. As there are still composers who use the SID chip, the collection also includes new music in its fairly frequent updates.
The collection can be freely downloaded from the project's website. As SID music is based on the SID chip itself, it cannot be played on a regular media player (unless a suitable plug-in is found). Rather, a SID chip or a SID emulator
program, such as SIDplay
Java-based players also exist which allow the SIDtunes to be heard directly through web browsers. Should the user possess a real SID chip and one of the interface devices (Sidstation, HardSID
or CatWeasel
perhaps) scantly available, a program like ACID64 Player
could play the files using that true SID chip to achieve maximal fidelity. For those who want to listen to the collection on a regular media player who supports MP3
the SOASC= project is an alternative to the HVSC#49 who has recorded the entire collection as Mp3 for regular listeners.
MOS Technology SID
The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID is the built-in Programmable Sound Generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers...
sound chip in Commodore CBM-II
Commodore CBM-II
The Commodore CBM-II series was a short-lived range of 8-bit personal computers from Commodore Business Machines , intended as a follow-on to the Commodore PET series, released in 1982.-Technical description:...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Commodore 128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
home computers and the collection itself. The word "SID" can refer to both the chip itself and the filename extension
Filename extension
A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding of its contents or usage....
of the music files made for it.
Background
At the time of the Commodore 64's release in 1982, the SID chip offered sound capabilities far more advanced than those of other home computers or video game systems, and the music composed on it soon proved to be extremely popular among users, especially in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The chip has a highly distinctive sound, and the relatively complex music it could produce was an important factor in the creation of the demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
.
However, much of the music was effectively made unavailable as a new generation of computers became more and more prevalent by the late 1980s. Far more powerful than the Commodore 64 and its kind (but also too slow to properly emulate the old C64 yet), the new machines were also incompatible with them, and much of the data on the older computers was rendered inaccessible and largely forgotten by the general public. Even those who were interested in the old SID music were forced to ignore it simply because they could not easily access it.
The Collection
Started originally in 1996 by "The Shark" of the old Commodore 64 group INC, the High Voltage SID Collection started to take shape after the SID chip was already generally considered to be outdated. Originally, the purpose was merely to collect the most classic SID tunes, but eventually the project assumed a more comprehensive goal. It was not the first such collection, but as SID music was composed by actually manually programming the chip in interaction with the C64's 6510MOS Technology 6510
thumb|300px|Image of the internals of a [[Commodore 64]] showing the 6510 CPU . The chip on the right is the [[MOS Technology SID|6581 SID]]...
CPU, the actual tunes were (and had to be extracted from) software code, and other collections often had broken or error-ridden tunes.
By comparison, The High Voltage SID Collection, as it came to be known (so named after a CD full of Commodore 64 disk images, named the High Voltage Collection), featured songs that had been carefully ripped
Ripping
Ripping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
from the original files and verified to be correct, usually by checking with the original composers. Also, other collections tended to be fairly small, as even the largest ones generally only contained hundreds of tunes, a very small fraction of the total SID music ever created. Originally, the intention was to address the lack of a comprehensive MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
based collection of SIDs, as the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
already had a well-received collection, called NemeSIDs. However, the project soon became a multi-platform endeavor, with the SID player software being ported to Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Apple Macintosh and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.
Currently, the collection includes over 40,000 (as of 25th of June 2011) SID tunes and is widely regarded as by far the most comprehensive collection of SID music in existence. Despite the great amount of content, the collection's actual compressed
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
size is fairly small, less than 80 megabytes in popular ZIP
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
file format and less than 50 megabytes when compressed with modern algorithms such as LZMA. This illustrates well the era this music comes from: the average SID tune is only around 4 kilobytes in size; even the most complex ones or ones with digitized samples are rarely considerably larger than 30 kilobytes. The tunes themselves are both from the numerous Commodore 64 games and the demoscene. Among others, it features the work of C64-immortalized composers like Martin Galway
Martin Galway
Martin Galway is one of the best known composers of music for the Commodore 64 sound chip, the SID soundchip, and for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum...
, Chris Hülsbeck
Chris Hülsbeck
Chris Hülsbeck is a video game music composer from Germany.He has written soundtracks for more than 70 titles, the latest being Star Wars: Rebel Strike for Nintendo GameCube. Many of his scores for the Commodore 64 are regarded as classics among enthusiasts today, most notably The Great Giana...
, Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard is a music composer best known for his composition of computer game theme music, especially for microcomputers of the 1980s such as the Commodore 64...
, Jeroen Tel
Jeroen Tel
Jeroen Godfried Tel is a Dutch composer. Best known for numerous computer game tunes he wrote in the 1980s and early 1990s for the Commodore 64, Tel is a founding member of the computer music group Maniacs of Noise....
, Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph was a British computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning some 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats through to the present day.After being diagnosed with lung cancer, he died on 4 March...
and Ben Daglish
Ben Daglish
Ben Daglish is a composer and musician. His parents moved to Sheffield when Daglish was aged one year old. He is known for creating many soundtracks during the 1980s for home computer games, including Commodore 64 hits as The Last Ninja, Trap, and Deflektor...
.
While nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
is an important motivation for many listeners of the collection, it's worth noting that in addition to the music itself, the tunes also often include the composers' comments on how the tune was composed and the working conditions of the time. This aspect of the collection enhances its historical value as a snapshot of the state of the digital entertainment industry's early days. In many cases, the collection has also managed to acquire previously unreleased tunes from the original composers. As there are still composers who use the SID chip, the collection also includes new music in its fairly frequent updates.
The collection can be freely downloaded from the project's website. As SID music is based on the SID chip itself, it cannot be played on a regular media player (unless a suitable plug-in is found). Rather, a SID chip or a SID emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
program, such as SIDplay
Java-based players also exist which allow the SIDtunes to be heard directly through web browsers. Should the user possess a real SID chip and one of the interface devices (Sidstation, HardSID
HardSID
The HardSID is a family of sound cards, produced by a Hungarian company Hard Software and originally conceived by Teli Sándor.The HardSID cards are based on the MOS Technology SID chip which was popularised and immortalized by the Commodore 64 home computer...
or CatWeasel
CatWeasel
The Catweasel is a family of enhanced floppy disk controllers from German company Individual Computers. These controllers are designed to allow more recent computers, such as PCs, to access a wide variety of older disk formats using standard floppy drives....
perhaps) scantly available, a program like ACID64 Player
ACID64 Player
ACID64 Player is a music player application by the High Voltage SID Collection team-member Wilfred Bos, that plays Commodore 64 music files through an MOS Technology SID sound interface device chip, using an instruction cycle-based emulation of the C64's core processors to achieve true fidelity.The...
could play the files using that true SID chip to achieve maximal fidelity. For those who want to listen to the collection on a regular media player who supports MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
the SOASC= project is an alternative to the HVSC#49 who has recorded the entire collection as Mp3 for regular listeners.
External links
- The High Voltage SID Collection website
- A list of the composers featured in the High Voltage SID Collection
- Search interface for the High Voltage SID Collection at ExoticA
- Online SID player for the HVSC at Lemon 64
- The SOASC= project. A Mp3 alternative of the entire HVSC#48