c64 sampler

rauta · Post by **rauta** » 12/04/2004 - 18:38

HI! everyone! I'm new here

I'm really interested in C64 music hardware stuff (sid says:feedddd meeee).
A guy sold me a c64 sampler and told me it was a covox sampler, but It wasn't (I found some covox pics later).

Here's some pics of my sampler (the top grey box:
http://www.geocities.com/zapatasynth/home.html
It has a joystick input

Does someone knows this model or company? and maybe some recording tools? (I have the x1541 transfer).
I know sampling on c64 seems not really useful, but this is for fun!

thanx for anyhelp!

Infamous · Post by **Infamous** » 13/04/2004 - 16:35

i dont know sod all about c64 sample software sorry BUT i am here to say hi there

welcome to the board.

seeing as no one else has heh.

Feekzoid · Post by **Feekzoid** » 13/04/2004 - 17:09

Lo!

I used the datel sampler - but the software that came with it was pants if I remember correctly - and didnt produce samples that I could use in my own music.

I think I looked at their code, and then make my own sampling software. I think. Im sure I did. I may even have given it to Kenz on a floppy once. I really cant remember.

Matrix · Post by **Matrix** » 13/04/2004 - 17:54

Amiga Technosound Turbo 2 fan right here ... i never really saw the benefit of sampling with just 64k ram ... sorry. But since u mentioned samplers

Ahh the days... wanna dig it out again now - DOH !

Feekzoid · Post by **Feekzoid** » 13/04/2004 - 23:00

SAMPLE IN 8-BIT AGAIN?!?!? Are you crazy?! :P

rauta · Post by **rauta** » 14/04/2004 - 0:11

thanks for weelllcomeeeee

Too bad the grey box will remain a mystery

Anyway the midi interface works! I made one of me most stupid thing:
I used a c64 midi sequencer to play sidstation.
wooow !! saved a sequence on my old 1541 (I forgot the noise-clak-clak-clack--lovely!).

load"$",8
list

12 "datel sequencer" prg<
24 "main " prg<
1 "firsttry" " seq
alot of block free

Matrix · Post by **Matrix** » 14/04/2004 - 0:14

Altogeather now..

Poom -chakka-chaaaaPumChakka-Cha-kaa-Sta-Sta-Stormlord .... Poom -chakka-cha poom chakkacha-poom .. Ta Tata Ta ... dagadaga....

Stay A While ....... stay .......... FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

merman · Post by **merman** » 14/04/2004 - 9:17

Well, it's not a Microvox Sampler. It's not a Datel Sampler. It's not a Commodore Sound Sampler.

My guess is it's either an Amiga sampler put in a case and the C64 interface added, or it's one designed for use with Digimaster which is a general sampling program. You could try finding that software, which allows you to cut, paste, reverse and lots more tricks.

Vosla · Post by **Vosla** » 16/04/2004 - 23:07

Welcome aboard, Rauta!

Lagerfeldt · Post by **Lagerfeldt** » 16/04/2004 - 23:57

Feekzoid wrote:SAMPLE IN 8-BIT AGAIN?!?!? Are you crazy?!

Actually, the samples aren't even 8 bit are they?

I used to have a Datel sampler too for my C64 but, yeah, the software sucked beyond belief.

Post by **LMan** » 17/04/2004 - 8:07

AFAIK, c64 manages 4-bit only, cause the volume register has 4 bit.

I wonder what the max sampling rate ever done on a c64 is.

- Markus

Pex `Mahoney` Tufvesson · Post by **Pex `Mahoney` Tufvesson** » 17/04/2004 - 12:50

LMan / Remix64 wrote:AFAIK, c64 manages 4-bit only, cause the volume register has 4 bit.

Not really true. You can do higher-bit sampling by using pulse width modulation and careful timing of the processor, but this locks the computer completely and it will do nothing else than playing the sample. This produces a high-pitch noise from the root frequency of the pulse, but in the background, you'll hear that "more-than-4-bit"-sample.

Anyway, it's lo-fi, however you twist and turn it!

The best result you'll get from sampling it with any PC, and then write your own C-program to normalize it, dither it and properly encode it so that your handwritten assembly-loop will play it nicely! That's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!

The highest "frequency" that has been done using pulse width modulation is around 1 sample per rasterline (63 clock cycles on a C64 @ 1MHz), which is somewhere around 15kHz.

Anyway, I certainly don't know everything that has been done on this earth, so if anybody knows more, please tell!

Feekzoid · Post by **Feekzoid** » 17/04/2004 - 13:56

Lagerfeldt wrote:
Feekzoid wrote:SAMPLE IN 8-BIT AGAIN?!?!? Are you crazy?! :P
Actually, the samples aren't even 8 bit are they? :-)

I was referring to the Amiga, C64 sampling was... a different business altogether. I remember being determined that I was going to get a choir major and minor chord recorded and used as samples in some of my tunes. I did it in the end - but ofcourse not having any decent synth/intruments at that time I got my choir by recording my own voice going "aaaaah" 3-4 times, combined the recordings, and made short major+minor chords for use in the tune.

Think the tune was Xanadu.sid

Lagerfeldt · Post by **Lagerfeldt** » 17/04/2004 - 14:08

I actually use a bit of 8 - 10 bit quality nowadays to get a lofi sound. Combined with the use of the oversampling feature in Logics bitcrusher it sounds nice and crispy.