The RetroCade Synth is a new synth, being developed as a Kickstarter project by Gadget Factory, that boasts the capability to play the built-in Commodore 64 SID chip, the Yamaha YM-2149 chip, .mod files, and MIDI files – all at the same time.

The RetroCade Synth can be played via any external MIDI control interface or via your favorite audio/ sequencing software. GadgetFactory has built a custom VST software dashboard which gives you visual control over all the various parameters the synth has to offer.

The RetroCade Synth is a combination of the Papilio FPGA board, the RetroCade MegaWing, and a control dashboard that runs on a computer*.

Papilio FPGA

• Xilinx Spartan FPGA (Spartan 3E 500K or Spartan 6 LX9)
• High Speed USB port for programming and communication
• ZPUino Soft Processor
• YM2149
• MOS 6581 (I.E. C64 SID)

RetroCade MegaWing

• 2 – ¼” Stereo Audio Jacks with 18 bit Delta Sigma DAC
• MIDI – In, Out, Through
• uSD Card for MOD, MIDI, YM, SID, and config files
• MicroJoystick – 4 directions, Select
• 2×16 LCD Display
• 16 Analog inputs for sliders and knobs
• 16 Digital inputs for switches and peripherals
• Control Dashboard

Control all of the features of the audio chips from a computer.

• Made with SynthMaker for easy customization
• VST plugin or standalone executable

Note: The RetroCade hardware does not require the Control Dashboard or a computer. All features of the RetroCade Synth are hardware based and only require the Papilio and RetroCade MegaWing combo.