Daniel Larsson has introduced SidTracker64, a new app that turns your iPad into ‘the ultimate chiptune production package tool’.
SidTracker64 emulates the classic SID sound chip from the Commodore 64. The app is a retro-style music creation tool and synthesizer, combined with modern features such as MIDI keyboard and controller input, Audiobus 2 and Inter-App Audio for recording in your favorite DAW-app.
MIDI clock in lets you sync to other apps and hardware drum machines and synthesizers.
Here’s a quick demo from the bathroom at Musikmesse 2015:
Here’s a demo of the app’s realtime recording features:
SID synthesizer engine specs:
- Fully emulated SID 8580 R5 chip.
- 3 separate voices
- 8 waveforms – tri, saw, pulse with pwm, noise, trisaw, tripulse, sawpulse, nowave
- Wavetable editing
- 3 volume envelopes
- Dedicated vibrato controls
- 1 multimode filter LP/BP/HP (12/6/12db) with sweep envelope
- Filter table editing. Change filter cutoff and modes up to 1/240
- Hard sync and Ringmod per voice
- PWM sweep envelop
- PWM table editing
- Hard restart
- Variable emulation speed from 25-240hz (standard 50)
- 32 instruments per song (copy/paste/rename)
Tracker (sequencer):
- 3 voice patterns
- Mute voices on/off
- Change instrument per step
- FX pattern – change volume/filter/speed per step
- Loop pattern
- Song building
- Live or step recording
- Metronome / count in
- Follow mode
- Note effects (Glide/sustain/vibrato/filter & pulse reset/tie)
- Song mode with transpose
Midi:
- Keyboard input 1-3 voices (mono, duo and polyphonic)
- CC-assignable synth parameteras
- Modulation wheel vibrato
- Pitch bend
- Midi Clock in
- Selectable input channel
Export:
- .s64 – native SidTracker 64 file
- .m4a – audio
- .sid – for use in sidplayer
- .prg – exports play data for a real Commodore 64
SidTracker64 is available now for US $12.99 in the App Store.
If you’ve used SidTracker64, leave a comment and share your thoughts on it!
Anyone old enough to remember programing SID using software such as ProTracker will be absolutely DELIGHTED with this App!! With the greatest respect to Rob Hubbard, Jeoren Tel, Ben Dalglish, Martin Galway etc. who gave us such amazing music in the 80s.
Awesome app, thank you!
ProTracker started on the Amiga, not the 64. Trackers are mostly a post-8bit phenomenon, with a lot of the great trackers for 8bits written more recently as retro throwbacks.
There were music programs, though. Believe it or not Orson Scott Card was instrumental in one of them. http://sidplayer.org/
…which is great, until you read anything beyond Ender’s Game.
Correct about ProTracker being for Amiga, but 64 trackers were around much earlier than that (-89). I bought my c64 1985 and started using Electrosound http://csdb.dk/release/?id=85170, to continue with Soundmonitor in -86 http://csdb.dk/release/?id=59929 and then Future Composer (-88) http://csdb.dk/release/?id=115100 until we made our own tracker System 6581 in -89 http://csdb.dk/release/?id=27434
Sounds great! I might have missed it somewhere, but can it load original SID tunes and faithfully reproduce them?
.sid is not a tracker/editor format. It just contains chip streaming instructuctions, and there is no data about instruments/pattern lengths etc, so it is virtually impossible to convert .sid to an editor.
Love trackers, used to track music using fasttracker 2. Still do now and then using dosbox on my mac. Great app!
Sidtracker64 can output .sid, though. And .prg for executing on a real Commodore 64!
unfortunately no it cant just import .sid files, but….
there are a few song files the app comes with that are classic C64 games running in the tracker
I believe commando is one them =)
Or you can buy a C=64 on eBay for $30-$40 and get the MSSIAH cartridge from 8bit ventures. (If you are a purist). I have one and love it, but yeah, iPad is waaaayyyyyyy less hassle. Sadly my Sidpad app from twisted electrons crashes on launch, so this looks very tempting.
Can you please add support for iOS 6.1. I’m too lazy and its too muchof a hassle for me to update to a higher OS.
TY
Days-in using SidTracker64 and I just love it more and more.
I wish I could say the same for all New Exciting apps but I think part of why SidTracker is so compelling is in it’s simplicity: it does ONE thing Really well. And of course that “One Thing” has a plethora of potential and terrain under the hood (the Tweak possibilities are incredible).
Even being less than a dedicated “chiptune guy” I find SidTracker64 completely rewarding. I say if you’re considering this one dive in: it’s a Keeper.