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{{Short description|MOS Technology sound chip}}
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[[Image:SID chips.jpg|thumb|MOS Technology SIDs. The left chip is a 6581. The right chip is an 8580. CSG stands for Commodore Semiconductor Group. The numbers 3884 and 0692 are in WWYY form, i.e. the chips were produced week 38 of 1984 and week 06 of 1992. The last number is assumed to be a batch number.]]

The [[MOS Technology]] 6581/8580 '''SID''' ('''Sound Interface Device''') is the built-in [[programmable sound generator]] chip of the [[Commodore CBM-II]], [[Commodore 64]],<ref name="C64Ref">{{cite book|url=http://www.classiccmp.org/cini/pdf/Commodore/C64%20Programmer's%20Reference%20Guide.pdf |title=Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide |chapter=6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) Chip Specifications |edition=1 |location=Wayne, Pennsylvania |publisher=Commodore Business Machines, Inc. |year=1982 |page=457 |isbn=9780672220562 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705125534/http://www.classiccmp.org/cini/pdf/Commodore/C64%20Programmer's%20Reference%20Guide.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-07-05 }}</ref> [[Commodore 128]], and [[MAX Machine]] [[home computer]]s.

Together with the [[MOS Technology VIC-II|VIC-II]] graphics chip, the SID was instrumental in making the C64 the best-selling home computer in history,<ref name="CNN 2011-05-09">{{cite news |last=Griggs |first=Brandon |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/09/commodore.64.reborn/index.html |title=The Commodore 64, that '80s computer icon, lives again |work=[[CNN]] |date=2011-05-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704124841/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/09/commodore.64.reborn/index.html |archive-date=2019-07-04 |access-date=2014-11-17 }}</ref> and is partly credited for initiating the [[demoscene]].

== History ==

The SID was devised by engineer [[Bob Yannes]], who later co-founded the [[Ensoniq]] digital [[synthesizer]] and sampler company. Yannes headed a team that included himself, two technicians and a [[Computer-aided design|CAD]] operator, who designed and completed the chip in five months in the latter half of 1981. Yannes was inspired by previous work in the synthesizer industry and was not impressed by the current state of computer sound chips. Instead, he wanted a high-quality instrument chip, which is the reason why the SID has features like the [[envelope generator]].<ref name="ieee85">{{cite journal |title=Design case history: the Commodore 64 |journal=[[IEEE Spectrum]] |date=March 1985 |last1=Perry |first1=Tekla S. |last2=Wallich |first2=Paul |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=48–58 |issn=0018-9235 |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.1985.6370590 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/ns/pdfs/commodore64_mar1985.pdf |access-date=2011-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704125437/https://spectrum.ieee.org/ns/pdfs/commodore64_mar1985.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-04 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[IEEE]] |s2cid=11900865 }}</ref><ref name="design">{{cite book |last1=Bagnall |first1=Brian |title=On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore |year=2006 |edition=1 |location=Winnipeg, Manitoba |publisher=Variant Press |isbn=9780973864908 }}</ref>{{rp|235}}

{{Blockquote|I thought the sound chips on the market, including those in the [[Atari]] computers, were primitive and obviously had been designed by people who knew nothing about music.<ref name="design" />{{rp|235}}|Robert Yannes|On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore}}

Emphasis during chip design was on high-precision frequency control, and the SID was originally designed to have 32 independent voices, sharing a common wavetable lookup scheme that would be time multiplexed.<ref name="design" />{{rp|235}} However, these features could not be finished in time, so instead the mask work for a certain working oscillator was simply replicated three times across the chip's surface, creating three voices each with its own oscillator. Another feature that was not incorporated in the final design was a frequency look-up table for the most common musical notes, a feature that was dropped because of space limitations.<ref name="design" />{{rp|236}} The support for an audio input pin was a feature Yannes added without asking, which in theory would have allowed the chip to be used as a simple [[Effects unit|effect processor]]. The masks were produced in 7-[[micrometre|micrometer]] technology to gain a high yield; the state of the art at the time was 6-micrometer technologies.<ref name="design" />{{rp|236}}

The chip, like the first product using it (the Commodore 64), was finished in time for the [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in the first weekend of January 1982. Even though Yannes was partly displeased with the result, his colleague Charles Winterble said: "This thing is already 10 times better than anything out there and 20 times better than it needs to be."<ref name="design" />{{rp|237}}

The specifications for the chip were not used as a blueprint. Rather, they were written as the development work progressed, and not all planned features made it into the final product. Yannes claims he had a feature-list of which three quarters made it into the final design. The later revision (8580) was revised to more closely match the specifications. For example, the 8580 slightly improved upon the ability to perform a [[Bitwise operation#AND|binary AND]] between two waveforms, which the SID can only do in an odd and illogical manner that results in messy, and in some cases nearly silent, waveforms. Wave combinations on the 8580 result in cleaner waveforms than on the 6581, although irregularities are still present. Another feature that differs between the two revisions is the filter, as the 6581 version is far away from the specification.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

== Design ==
{{original research|section|date=March 2019}}
[[file:MOS6581.svg|thumb|6581/6582/8580R5 Pin configuration]]

The SID is a [[mixed-signal integrated circuit]], featuring both digital and analog circuitry. All control ports are digital, while the output ports are analog. The SID features three voices, with four types of waveforms able to be selected per voice: pulse wave (with [[pulse-width modulation|variable duty cycle]]), triangle wave, sawtooth wave, and pseudorandom noise (called [[white noise]] in documentation). Multiple waveform types may be selected simultaneously, which produces certain complex/combined waveforms. The oscillators of each voice are built on a 24-bit [[phase accumulator]]. A voice playing a triangle waveform may be ring-modulated with one of the other voices, where the triangle waveform's bits are inverted when the [[most-significant bit|MSB]] of the modulating voice's accumulator is set, producing a discontinuity and inversion of direction with the triangle's ramp. Voices may also be hard-synced to each other, where the synced voice's oscillator is reset whenever the MSB of the syncing voice's accumulator is increased. If both ring modulation and hard-sync are set to affect the same voice, the two effects are combined. The voice that ring modulates and/or syncs a given affected voice is determined by the following pattern: voice 1 affects voice 2, voice 2 affects voice 3, and voice 3 affects voice 1.

Each voice may be routed into a common, digitally controlled analog {{nowrap|12 dB/octave}} multimode filter, which is constructed with aid of external capacitors to the chip. The filter has lowpass, bandpass and highpass outputs, which can be individually selected for final output amplification via the master volume register. Filter modes can also be combined. For example, using a combined state of lowpass and highpass results in a notch (or inverted bandpass) output.<ref name="Klose">{{cite web |url=http://ucapps.de/index.html?page=midibox_sid_manual_l.html |title=MIDIbox SID V2 - User Manual |last=Klose |first=Thorsten |work=MIDIbox Projects |date=2019-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704133551/http://ucapps.de/index.html?page=midibox_sid_manual_l.html |archive-date=2019-07-04 |access-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref>
The programmer may vary the filter's cutoff frequency and resonance. An external audio-in port enables external audio to be passed through the filter.

The ring modulation, filter, and programming techniques such as arpeggio (rapid cycling between frequencies to make chord-like sounds) together produce the characteristic feel and sound of SID music.

Due to imperfect manufacturing technologies of the time and poor separation between the analog and digital parts of the chip, the 6581's output (before the amplifier stage) was always slightly biased from the zero level. Each time the volume register was altered, an audible click was produced. By quickly adjusting the amplifier's gain through the main 4-bit volume register, this bias could be modulated as [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]], resulting in a "virtual" fourth channel allowing 4-bit digital sample playback. The glitch was known and used from an early point on, first by [[Electronic Speech Systems]] to produce sampled speech in games such as ''[[Impossible Mission]]'' (1984, [[Epyx]]) and ''[[Ghostbusters video games|Ghostbusters]]'' (1984, [[Activision]]). The first instance of samples being used in actual musical compositions was by [[Martin Galway]] in ''[[Arkanoid]]'' (1987, Imagine), although he had copied the idea from an earlier drum synthesizer package called Digidrums. The length of sampled sound playback was limited first by memory and later technique. Kung Fu Fighting (1986), a popular early sample, has a playback length measured in seconds. c64mp3 (2010) and Cubase64 (2010) demonstrate playback lengths measured in minutes. Also, it was hugely [[CPU]] intensive - one had to output the samples very fast (in comparison to the speed of the [[MOS Technology 6510|6510]] CPU).

The better manufacturing technology in the 8580 used in the later revisions of [[Commodore 64C]] and the Commodore 128 DCR caused the bias to almost entirely disappear, causing the digitized sound samples to become very quiet. Fortunately, the volume level could be mostly restored with either a hardware modification (biasing the audio-in pin), or more commonly a software trick involving using the Pulse waveform to intentionally recreate the required bias. The software trick generally renders one voice temporarily unusable, although clever musical compositions can make this problem less noticeable.  An excellent example of this quality improvement noticeably reducing a sampled channel can be found in the introduction to Electronic Arts' game Skate or Die (1987). The guitar riff played is all but missing when played on the Commodore 64c or the Commodore 128.

At the X'2008 demo party, a completely new method of playing digitized samples was unveiled. The method allows for an unprecedented four (software-mixed) channels of 8-bit samples with optional filtering on top of all samples, as well as two ordinary SID sound channels.<ref name="C64music">{{cite web |url=https://c64music.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-revolutionary-c64-music-routine.html |title=New revolutionary C64 music routine unveiled |publisher=1xn.org |date=2008-11-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204163217/http://c64music.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-revolutionary-c64-music-routine.html |archive-date=2012-02-04 }}</ref><ref name="CSDb">{{cite web |url=https://csdb.dk/release/?id=72678 |title=Vicious Sid (2008) |author=Mixer |author2=SounDemoN |author3=The Human Code Machine |publisher=Commodore 64 Scene Database |date=2008-10-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704134637/https://csdb.dk/release/?id=72678 |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref> The method works by resetting the oscillator using the waveform generator test bit, quickly ramping up the new waveform with the Triangle waveform selected, and then disabling all waveforms, resulting in the DAC continuing to output the last value---which is the desired sample. This continues for as long as two scanlines, which is ample time for glitch-free, arbitrary sample output. It is however more CPU-intensive than the 4-bit volume register DAC trick described above. Because the filtering in a SID chip is applied after the waveform generators, samples produced this way can be filtered normally.

The original manual for the SID mentions that if several waveforms are enabled at the same time, the result will be a binary AND between them. What happens in reality is that the input to the waveform DAC pins receives several waveforms at once. For instance, the Triangle waveform is made with a separate XOR circuit and a shift-to-left circuit. The top bit drives whether the XOR circuit inverts the accumulator value seen by the DAC. Thus, enabling triangle and sawtooth simultaneously causes adjacent accumulator bits in the DAC input to mix. (The XOR circuit does not come to play because it is always disabled whenever the sawtooth waveform is selected.) The pulse waveform is built by joining all the DAC bits together via a long strip of polysilicon, connected to the pulse control logic that digitally compares current accumulator value to the pulse width value. Thus, selecting the pulse waveform together with any other waveform causes every bit on the DAC to partially mix, and the loudness of the waveform is affected by the state of the pulse.

The noise generator is implemented as a 23-bit-length [[linear-feedback shift register#Fibonacci LFSRs|Fibonacci LFSR]] (Feedback polynomial: x^22+x^17+1).<ref name="oxyron">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxyron.de/html/registers_sid.html |title=SID 6581/8580 (Sound Interface Device) reference |author=Graham |work=8 bit IC register reference |publisher=Oxyron |date=2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704135328/http://www.oxyron.de/html/registers_sid.html |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref><ref name="codebase64">{{cite web |url=https://codebase64.org/doku.php?id=base:noise_waveform#the_noise-waveform |title=Examination of SID noise waveform |last=Alstrup |first=Asger |work=SID - Sound & Music |publisher=Codebase64 |date=2015-04-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704135621/https://codebase64.org/doku.php?id=base:noise_waveform |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref> When using noise waveform simultaneously with any other waveform, the pull-down via waveform selector tends to quickly reduce the XOR shift register to 0 for all bits that are connected to the output DAC. As the zeroes shift in the register when the noise is clocked, and no 1-bits are produced to replace them, a situation can arise where the XOR shift register becomes fully zeroed. Luckily, the situation can be remedied by using the waveform control test bit, which in that condition injects one 1-bit into the XOR shift register. Some musicians are also known to use noise's combined waveforms and test bit to construct unusual sounds.

The 6581 and 8580 differ from each other in several ways. The original 6581 was manufactured using the older [[NMOS logic|NMOS]] process, which used 12V [[Direct current|DC]] to operate. The 6581 is very sensitive to static discharge and if they weren't handled properly the filters would stop working, explaining the large number of dead 6581s in the market. The 8580 was made using the HMOS-II process, which requires less power (9V DC), and therefore makes the [[Integrated circuit|IC]] run cooler. The 8580 is thus far more durable than the 6581. Also, due to more stable waveform generators, the bit-mixing effects are less noticeable and thus the combined waveforms come close to matching the original SID specification (which stated that they will be combined as a binary AND). The filter is also very different between the two models. The 6581 cutoff range resembles a [[sigmoid function]] on a log scale and varies wildly between chips, while the cutoff range on the 8580 is a straight line on a linear scale and is both more consistent between chips and close to the designers' actual specifications. The 8580 filter can achieve higher resonances as well. Additionally, a better separation between the analog and the digital circuits made the 8580's output less noisy and distorted. The noise in 6xxx-series systems can be reduced by disconnecting the audio-in pin.

The consumer version of the 8580 was rebadged the 6582, even though the die on the chip is identical to a stock 8580 chip, including the '8580R5' mark. Dr. Evil Laboratories used it in their SID Symphony expansion cartridge (sold to [[Creative Micro Designs]] in 1991), and it was used in a few other places as well, including one PC sound-card.

Despite its documented shortcomings, many SID musicians prefer the flawed 6581 chip over the corrected 8580 chip, some even seeing the flaws as actual 'features' that made the SID chip distinct from other sound chips at the time. The main reason for this is that the filter produces strong distortion that is sometimes used to produce simulation of instruments such as a distorted electric guitar. Also, the highpass component of the filter was mixed in 3&nbsp;dB attenuated compared to the other outputs, making the sound more bassy. In addition to nonlinearities in filter, the D/A circuitry used in the waveform generators produces yet more additional distortion that made its sound richer in character.

== Features ==
* Three separately programmable independent audio [[Electronic oscillator|oscillators]] (able to produce 65,535 equally spaced frequencies on a linear scale, 0.0625–4095.9375 [[Hertz|Hz]] range on a 1&nbsp;MHz clock)
* Four distinct [[waveform]]s per audio oscillator ([[Triangle wave|triangle]], [[Sawtooth wave|sawtooth]], [[Pulse wave|pulse]], [[pseudorandom noise|noise]]).<ref name="6581Spec">{{cite web |url=http://archive.6502.org/datasheets/mos_6581_sid.pdf |title=6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) |publisher=[[Commodore Semiconductor Group]] |date=October 1982 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705131001/http://archive.6502.org/datasheets/mos_6581_sid.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-05-07 }}</ref> Any combination of triangle, sawtooth, and pulse may be selected at the same time to produce additional waveforms.
* One multi mode [[Electronic filter|filter]] featuring [[Low-pass filter|low-pass]], [[High-pass filter|high-pass]] and [[Band-pass filter|band-pass]] outputs with 6&nbsp;dB/oct (bandpass) or 12 [[decibel|dB]]/[[octave]] (lowpass/highpass) [[rolloff]]. The different filter modes may be combined to produce additional timbres, for instance a [[Notch filter|notch-reject]] filter.
* Three attack/decay/sustain/release ([[ADSR envelope|ADSR]]) volume envelope controls, one for each audio oscillator
* Three [[Ring modulation|ring modulators]]<ref name="6581Spec" />
* [[Oscillator sync]] for each audio oscillator
* Two [[8-bit]] [[analog-to-digital converter]]s (typically used for game control [[paddle (game controller)|paddles]], but later also used for a [[computer mouse|mouse]])
* External audio input (for sound mixing with external signal sources)
* [[Statistical randomness|Random number]]/modulation generator (via reading the state of the 3rd oscillator or 3rd envelope generator)

== Revisions ==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2011}}
[[File:SID 6581R1.jpg|thumb|6581R1 produced in 1982]]
[[File:6581 in ceramic DIP.jpg|thumb|6581 produced in 1982]]
[[File:6581R4 CDIP 1186.jpg|thumb|6581R4 CDIP produced in 1986]]
[[File:MOS SID 6582.jpg|thumb|6582 produced in 1986]]
[[File:6582A.jpg|thumb|6582A produced in 1989]]
[[File:CSG 6582A.jpg|thumb|6582A produced in 1992]]
[[File:8580R5 USA.jpg|thumb|8580R5 produced 1986 in the U.S.]]

No instances reading "6581 R1" ever reached the market. In fact, Yannes has stated that "[the] SID chip came out pretty well the first time, it made sound. Everything we needed for the show was working after the second pass." High-resolution photos of Charles Winterble's prototype C64 show the markings "MOS 6581 2082", the last number being a date code indicating that his prototype SID chip was produced during the 20th week of 1982, which would be within 6 days of May 17, 1982.

These are the known revisions of the various SID chips: (date codes are in WWYY w=week y=year format)

The SID (Sound Interface Device) chip, notable for its fusion of digital and analog technologies, was a cornerstone in the system architecture of the Commodore 64 amongst other models. The chip boasted three distinct voices each with precise and varying waveform options—it also included a 12&nbsp;dB/octave multimode filter. Over the years, the design of this filter differed with each subsequent chip revision, lending each its unique sonic fingerprint.

One of the earliest models of the SID chip, the 6581, initially found its way into Commodore 64 computers between 1982 and around 1986. This model underwent several notable revisions including the 6581 R1, a prototype model which was only seen on CES machines and development prototypes and had a date code of 4981 to 0882.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.polynominal.com/commodore-64-sid-6581-8580/commodore-64-sid-6581-8580.html | title=Commodore 64 SID chip }}</ref>

This model was renowned for its full 12-bit filter cutoff range and while the precise number of models produced remains unknown, it is estimated to be between 50 and 100 chips, being packaged in ceramic.

Following the R1, were the 6581 R2, 6581 R3, 6581 R4 AR, and finally, the 6581 R4. The evolution of the 6581 iterations saw minor changes to the protection/buffering of the input pins, adjustment of the silicon grade, and changes to its packaging. However, no substantial alterations were made to the filter section throughout these progressions.<ref>{{Cite web | title=C64 SID shootout - 6581 vs 8580 (Page 1) - Commodore Computers - Forums - ChipMusic.org | url=https://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/17495/c64-sid-shootout-6581-vs-8580/ | access-date=2025-07-15 | website=chipmusic.org}}</ref>

Moving to the latter models, the updated 8580 SID chipped marked its introduction in newer versions of the Commodore 64 machines. Technically compatible with the 6581 software, the 8580 brought with it a unique sound character due to specific adjustments in the filter structure.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ist.uwaterloo.ca/~schepers/MJK/c64__.html | title=MJK's Commodore Hardware Overview: Commodore 64 }}</ref>

The sonic differences noticed between the two models, 6581 and 8580, were attributed broadly to the nuances in the analog filters, and intrinsic design distortions. These sound characteristics were heavily influenced by updates in the circuitry and quality differences in the material batches used in the various production runs of the chips.

The SID chip encompassed an ongoing journey of specifications that evolved in tandem with the chip design process. Not all initial features made it into the final blueprint. However, subsequent iterations like the 8580 model were meticulously revised to match more closely with the original specifications, specifically focusing on waveform combinations and filter functionality.

Some of these chips are marked "CSG" (Commodore Semiconductor Group) with the [[:image:Commodore logo.svg|Commodore logo]], while others are marked "MOS". This includes chips produced during the same week (and thus, receiving the same date code), indicating that at least two different factory lines were in operation during that week. The markings of chips varied by factory, and even by line within a factory, throughout most of the manufacturing run of the chip.

== Remarking and forgery ==

Since 6581 and 8580 SID ICs are no longer produced, they have become highly sought after. In late 2007, various defective chips started appearing on eBay as supposedly "new".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kevtris.org/Projects/sid/remarked_sids.html |title=Remarked SID Chips Sold as New |last=Horton |first=Kevin |work=SID |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704133202/http://kevtris.org/Projects/sid/remarked_sids.html |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=January 2012}} Some of these remarked SIDs have a defective filter, but some also have defective channels/noise generators, and some are completely dead.

Fake SID chips have also been supplied to unwitting buyers from unscrupulous manufacturers in China; the supplied chips are laser-etched with completely bogus markings, and the chip inside the package is not a SID at all.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

== Uses ==

=== Game audio ===

The majority of games produced for the Commodore 64 made use of the SID chip, with sounds ranging from simple clicks and beeps to complex musical extravaganzas or even entire digital audio tracks. Due to the technical mastery required to implement music on the chip, and its versatile features compared to other sound chips of the era, composers for the Commodore 64 have described the SID as a musical instrument in its own right.<ref name="NextGen03-1995">{{cite magazine |title=Making Tracks: The Noble Art of Game Music |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|NEXT Generation]] |date=March 1995 |volume=1 |issue=3 |page=49 |issn=1078-9693 |publisher=GP Publications Inc. |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-003/page/n51 }}</ref> Most software did not use the full capabilities of SID, however, because the incorrect published specifications caused programmers to only use well-documented functionality. Some early software, by contrast, relied on the specifications, resulting in inaudible sound effects.{{r|ieee85}}

Well known composers of game music for this chip are [[Rob Hubbard]], known for titles such as ''[[Commando (video game)|Commando]]'', ''[[Monty on the run]]'', ''[[International Karate]]'', ''[[Sanxion]]'', ''[[Skate or Die!]]'', and [[Martin Galway]], known for ''[[Wizball]]'', ''[[Arkanoid]]'' and ''[[Times of Lore]]''. Other noteworthies include  [[David Whittaker (video game composer)|David Whittaker]] (''[[Lazy Jones]]'', ''[[Speedball (video game)|Speedball]]'', ''[[Glider Rider (video game)|Glider Rider]]'', ''[[Amaurote]]''), [[Jeroen Tel]] (''Cybernoid'', ''[[Turbo Outrun]]'', ''Robocop 3'' and ''Myth''), [[Ben Daglish]] (''[[The Last Ninja]]'', ''[[Jack the Nipper]]'', ''Firelord'', ''[[Gauntlet (1985 video game)|Gauntlet]]''), [[David Dunn (composer/programmer)|David Dunn]] (''[[Finders Keepers (video game)|Finders Keepers]]'' and ''Flight Path 737''), and [[Chris Hülsbeck]] (''[[R-Type]]'', ''[[Turrican]]'' and ''[[The Great Giana Sisters]]'').

=== Recordings ===

The fact that many enthusiasts prefer the real chip sound over software emulators has led to several recording projects aiming to preserve the authentic sound of the SID chip for modern hardware.

The sid.oth4 project<ref name="sid.oth4">{{cite web |url=http://sid.oth4.com/ |title=The SID 6581/8580 Recordings Archive |publisher=jme |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704141600/http://sid.oth4.com/ |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref> has over 380 songs of high quality MP3 available recorded on hardsid hardware and the SOASC= project<ref name="soasc">{{cite web |url=http://www.6581-8580.com/ |title=Stone Oakvalley's Authentic SID Collection (SOASC=) |publisher=Stone Oakvalley Studios |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704141922/http://www.6581-8580.com/ |archive-date=2019-07-04 }}</ref> has the entire High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) released with 49 (over 35,000 songs) recorded from real Commodore 64s in a high quality [[MP3]] file. Both projects emphasize the importance of preserving the authentic sound of the SID chip. In 2016, the Unepic Stoned High SID Collection (USHSC)<ref name="YoutubeSID">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qhjzQ5qfoRotF-3J1N2cw|title=Unepic SID Channel|website=YouTube}}</ref> was launched. It is a [[YouTube]] channel with over 50,000 SID tunes uploaded as single videos. The USHSC is based on both the SOASC= and HVSC, but also uploads recordings of recent SID music released at the Commodore Scene Database (CSDb) site. The channel features playlists containing roughly 5000 tunes each.

== Reimplementations and derivatives ==

=== Emulation ===
{{citation style|section|date=May 2018}}

* In 1989 on the Amiga computer, the demo "The 100 Most Remembered C64 Tunes" and later the PlaySID application was released, developed by [[Per Håkan Sundell]] and Ron Birk. This was one of the first attempts to emulate the SID in software only, and also introduced the file format for representing songs made on the C64 using the SID chip. This later spawned the creation of similar applications for other platforms as well as the creation of a community of people fascinated by SID music, resulting in ''The High Voltage SID Collection'' which contains over 57,000 SID tunes.

A SID file contains the [[MOS Technology 6510|6510]] program code and associated data needed to replay the music on the SID. The SID files have the [[MIME]] media type <code>audio/prs.sid</code>.

The actual file format of a SID file has had several versions. The older standard is PSID (current version V4). The newer standard, RSID, is intended for music that requires a more complete emulation of the Commodore 64 hardware.<ref name="SIDFormat">{{cite web |url=https://hvsc.c64.org/download/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/SID_file_format.txt |format=TXT |title=SID File Format Description |publisher= High Voltage SID Collection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705131958/https://hvsc.c64.org/download/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/SID_file_format.txt |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-07-05 }}</ref>

The SID file format is not a native format used on the Commodore 64 or 128,<ref name="SIDFormat" /> but a format specifically created for emulator-assisted music players such as ''PlaySID '', ''Sidplay'' and  ''JSidplay2''.<ref name="SFJSidplay2">{{cite web |url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/jsidplay2/ |title=Java SID Player Music Library V2 |author=kenchis |publisher=[[SourceForge]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133546/https://sourceforge.net/projects/jsidplay2/ |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-07-05 }}</ref> However, there are loaders like ''RealSIDPlay'' and converters such as ''PSID64''<ref name="SFPSID64">{{cite web |url=https://psid64.sourceforge.net/ |title=PSID64 |author=rolandh |publisher=[[SourceForge]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133813/http://psid64.sourceforge.net/ |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-07-05 }}</ref> that make it possible to play a substantial portion of SID files on original Commodore computers.
* SIDPlayer, developed by Christian Bauer and released in 1996 for the [[BeOS]] operating system, was the first SID emulator to replicate the filter section of the SID chip using a second-order [[Infinite impulse response]] filter as an approximation.<ref name="SIDPlayer">{{cite web |url=http://sidplayer.cebix.net/#info |title=SIDPlayer |last=Bauer |first=Christian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705134309/http://sidplayer.cebix.net/ |archive-date=2019-07-05 |access-date=2019-07-05 }}</ref>
* In June 1998, a cycle-based SID emulator engine called [[reSID]] became available. The all-software emulator, available with [[C++]] [[source code]], is licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] by the author, [[Dag Lem]]. In 2008, Antti Lankila significantly improved the filter and distortion simulation in reSID.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bel.fi/~alankila/c64-sw/ |title=JSIDPlay2: a cross-platform SID player and C64 emulator |last=Lankila |first=Antti |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116155333/https://bel.fi/~alankila/c64-sw/ |archive-date=2012-01-16 }}</ref> The improvements were included in [[VICE]] version 2.1 as well.
* In 2007 the JSidplay2 project was released, a pure Java based SID player developed by Ken Händel.<ref name="SFJSidplay2" />

=== Hardware using the SID chip ===

* In 1989 Innovation Computer developed the [[Innovation SSI-2001|Innovation Sound Standard SSI-2001]], an [[IBM PC compatible]] [[sound card]] with a SID chip and a [[game port]]. [[MicroProse]] promised software support for the card, and Commodore BASIC programs that used SID required little conversion to run on [[GW-BASIC]].<ref name="latimer198908">{{cite magazine |title=Innovation Sound Standard |magazine=[[Compute!]] |date=August 1989 |last=Latimer |first=Joey |volume=11 |issue=111 |page=68 |issn=0194-357X |url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-08-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_111_1989_Aug#page/n69/mode/2up |access-date=2013-11-11 }}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TUCNDNJHItw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180710033122/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUCNDNJHItw&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=Replica Sound Cards - AdLib, Innovation SSI-2001, and SwinSID Ultimate.| date=9 July 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUCNDNJHItw|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* In 1997, an [[electronic musical instrument]] utilizing the SID chip as its synthesis engine was released. It is called the [[SidStation]], built around the 6581 model SID chip (as opposed to the newer 8580), and it's produced by [[Sweden|Swedish]] company [[Elektron (company)|Elektron]]. As the SID chip had been discontinued for years, Elektron allegedly bought up almost all of the remaining stock. In 2004, Elektron released the [[Monomachine]] pattern-based [[Music sequencer|sequencer]] with optional keyboard.  The Monomachine contains several synthesis engines, including an emulated 6581 oscillator using a [[Digital signal processor|DSP]].
* In 1999 [[HardSID]], another PC sound card, was released. The card uses from one to four SID chips and allows a PC to utilize the sound capabilities of the chip directly, instead of by emulation via generic sound cards (e.g. [[SoundBlaster]]).
* The [[Individual Computers Catweasel|Catweasel]] from [[Germany|German]] company [[Individual Computers]], a [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] + Zorro multiformat [[floppy disk]] controller and digital joystick adapter for [[IBM PC compatible|PCs]], [[Apple Macintosh|Macs]], and [[Amiga]]s, includes a hardware SID option, i.e. an option to insert one or two real SID chips in a socket for use when playing <code>.MUS</code> files.
* The MIDIbox SID is a [[MIDI]]-controlled synthesizer which can contain up to eight SID chips. It is a free [[Open-source license|open source]] project using a [[PIC microcontroller]]. Control of the synthesizer is realized with software or via a control panel with knobs, [[light-emitting diode|LEDs]], [[liquid crystal display|LCD]], etc., which may optionally be mounted on a keyboardless Commodore 64 body.
* The Prophet64 is a cartridge for the Commodore 64. It features four separate music applications, mimicking everything from modern sequencers to the [[Roland TB-303]]/[[Roland TR-909|909]] series. With an optional User Port peripheral, the Prophet64 may synchronized to other equipment using [[DIN Sync]] standard (SYNC 24). The website now states "Prophet64 has been replaced with the MSSIAH."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mssiah.com/|title=MSSIAH Cartridge - MIDI Hardware and Software for the Commodore 64!|website=www.mssiah.com}}</ref>
* The MSSIAH is a cartridge for the Commodore 64 that replaces the Prophet64.
* Artist/hacker Paul Slocum developed the Cynthcart cartridge that enables you to turn your C64 into an analogue synthesizer. Its successor, Cynthcart 2, added MIDI in, out and thru ports.
* The Parallel Port SID Interface allows those with very slim budgets to connect the SID chip to a PC.
*In 2003 a SID interface (and software to play Commodore 64 tunes) was released for the [[Zilog Z80|Z80]] based [[SAM Coupé|Sam Coupé]] computer supporting both the 6581 and the 8580.
* In May 2009 the SID chip was interfaced to the [[BBC Micro]] and [[BBC Master]] range of computers via the 1&nbsp;MHz bus allowing music written for the SID chip on the Commodore 64 to be ported and played on the BBC Micro.
* In October 2009 thrashbarg's project interfaced an SID chip to an ATmega8 to play MIDI files on a MOS 6581 SID.
* In March 2010 STG published the SIDBlaster/USB - an open source, open hardware implementation of the SID that connects to (and is powered by) a [[USB port]], using an FTDI chip for the [[USB]] interface and a PIC to interface the SID.
* In August 2010 SuperSoniqs published the Playsoniq, a cartridge for [[MSX]] computers, with (in addition to other features) a real SID on it, ready to use on any MSX machine.
* In May 2015 Gianluca Ghettini developed SidBerry, an open source, open hardware board to interface a MOS 6581 SID chip to a RaspberryPi and play standard SID music files
* In 2016 Thibaut Varene published exSID, a USB audio device that can control a real 6581 and 8580 SID chip and natively playback most SID tunes.
* In 2024 LouD published USBSID-Pico 1.0 or USBSID for short. A RaspberryPi Pico powered board to control 2 real 6581 or 8580 and or hardware SID replacements over USB, WebUSB, Midi and ASID. The board is supported using several different types of software on Windows, MacOs, Linux, Android and AmigaOS. In 2025 LouD published version 1.3 of the board adding support for mixed SID setup and hardware mono/stereo audio switching.<ref>{{Citation |last=LouD |title=LouDnl/USBSID-Pico |date=2025-08-28 |url=https://github.com/LouDnl/USBSID-Pico |access-date=2025-08-29}}</ref>

=== Hardware reimplementations ===
{{citation style|section|date=May 2018}}

* In 2008 the HyperSID project was released. HyperSID is a [[VSTi]] which acts like a MIDI controller for HyperSID hardware unit (synthesizer based on SID chip) and developed by HyperSynth company.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
* The SwinSID is hardware emulation of the SID using an Atmel AVR processor, also featuring a real SID player based on the Atmel AVR processor.
* The V-SID 1.0 project (code name SID 6581D, 'D' for digital) from David {{sic|hide=y|Amoros}} was born in 2005. This project is a hardware emulation of the SID chip from the Bob Yannes's interview, datasheets. The V-SID 1.0 engine had been implemented in a [[FPGA]] EP1C12 Cyclone from ALTERA, on an ALTIUM development board, and emulates all the characteristics of the original SID, except the filter which is a digital version (IIR filter controlled by a CPU).
* The PhoenixSID 65X81 project (2006) aimed to faithfully create the SID sound using modern hardware. The workings of a SID chip were recreated on an [[FPGA]], based on interviews with the SID's creator, original datasheets, and comparisons with real SID chips. It was distinguished from similar attempts by its use of real analog circuitry instead of emulation for the legendary SID filter. However, the project was discontinued, because George Pantazopoulos, who was the head of this project, died on April 23, 2007, at the age of 29.
* The [[C64 Direct-to-TV]] emulates large portions the SID hardware, minus certain features such as (most notably) the filters. It reduces the entire C64 to a small circuit that fits into a joystick while sacrificing some compatibility.
* The SIDcog is a software SID emulator running on the [[Parallax Propeller]]. All three channels can be emulated on one of the Propeller's eight COG's.
* The ARMSID is a "plug & play" replacement of the MOS 6581 and MOS 8580 with analog inputs support.
* The FPGASID is a FPGA based SID replica providing high reproduction quality of the original device including all features such as the audio filters and the paddle registers. The device is a full featured stereo solution and can replace two SID chips in a single SID socket. Hardware base is an Altera MAX10 FPGA.

== See also ==

* [[Sound chip]]
* [[MOS Technology VIC]]
* [[POKEY]]
* [[Original Amiga chipset#Paula]]
* [[Chiptune]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite journal|last=Collins|first=Karen|date=February 2006|title="Loops and bloops": Music of the Commodore 64 games|url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME08/Loops_and_bloops.shtml|journal=Soundscapes|volume=8}}
* {{cite web |first1=Stephen |last1=Cass |title=Chip Hall of Fame: MOS Technology 6581 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/chip-hall-of-fame-mos-technology-6581 |publisher=[[IEEE Spectrum]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720045641/https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/silicon-revolution/chip-hall-of-fame-mos-technology-6581 |archive-date=July 20, 2019 |date=July 15, 2019 |url-status=live}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}

* [http://sid.kubarth.com/ SID in-depth information page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521112326/http://sid.kubarth.com/ |date=2013-05-21 }}
* [http://www.waitingforfriday.com/index.php/Commodore_SID_6581_Datasheet The 6581 SID Datasheet]
* [http://codebase64.org/doku.php?id=base:sid_programming SID programming info]
* [http://visual6502.org/images/pages/Commodore_8580_SID.html MOS 8580 SID die shots]

{{MOS Video/Sound}}

[[Category:MOS Technology integrated circuits]]
[[Category:Sound chips]]
[[Category:Commodore 64]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 music]]
[[Category:Video game music file formats]]
[[Category:Video game music technology]]