MusicRadar

If you’ve read our A-Z of chiptune, you’ll surely have been inspired to start making some retro, 8-bit-sounding music yourself. But what kit do you need to do it, where can you get it and how much does it cost?

MusicRadar is here with the answers to those pressing questions: whether you want old-school hardware authenticity or the convenience of software plug-ins, there’s something here for you.

Let’s start with the most iconic chiptune home computer of them all: the Commodore 64 was released back in 1982 and quickly became hugely successful. It remains popular with musicians today due to an incredible sound chip, namely the famous SID 6581 + 8580 (Sound Interface Device).

It's all down to the powerful filters and ring modulation capabilities of the three separate oscillators, which were much more advanced than those of other gaming systems and computers of the time. Even today, people are getting new sounds out of the little brown box. All you need is some software to run on it...

Price

£30-£50 for a basic set up (eBay)

Hear the Commodore 64 in action