The SID has audio-in that can be summed with internally-synthesized sounds and routed through the on-chip filters before going back out.
I found this pinout in the programmer's reference guide and tinkered with it a bit as a kid, but I didn't really know what I was doing, so it never went beyond a novelty. Who knew, forty years later, that it'd get proper treatment as an effects generator!
Thanks for explaining - I had no idea there were audio in pins, and was searching the page for how they managed to route audio to the SID without any modification.
Warning to the curious: it is very easy to fry your SID connecting directly to the audio in (don't ask how I know this). Make sure of your levels before you connect, and don't plug this in with the power on in case there's a short.
In my defense, I was like 9 at the time and didn't know about AC-coupling for audio signals yet. That smoked SID is still down in my basement somewhere, I wonder how much of it still works.
That's a pretty good article. Also, the classic one-volt-or-so voltage limiter is a pair of antiparallel silicon diodes. You can put them in series for a bigger limit.
Is this still the case with recent audio hardware? I was under the impression that a typical instrument's output levels are far too low to cause any damage and that all inputs would be surge protected.
One thing to note about a wah-wah pedal[1] if you ever want to simulate it in software is that if I understand it correctly it’s a parametric equalizer and when you wobble the peddle you are affecting the Q (bandwidth) of the equalization. You can hear this for yourself if you use a normal mixing desk, just play something, set a reasonable boost to some mid frequency on the parametric eq and wobble the Q backwards and forwards. You basically get the effect of the pedal.
All true, but Wikipedia is just a reference, not an authority, right? “Wah” and “Wah Wah” are both fine. I assume the “Wha-Wha” spelling you used is autocorrect or accident?
This is fantastic, but I wonder how could I miss it in the old days. I had the full C64 reference manual and all I found was an audio in that could only turn on and off the incoming signal, which of course was a lot less fun than letting it through the SID filters; was it a different input? I'm not sure I used the DIN connector though, I probably interfaced to the user port; can't remember.
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The SID has audio-in that can be summed with internally-synthesized sounds and routed through the on-chip filters before going back out.
I found this pinout in the programmer's reference guide and tinkered with it a bit as a kid, but I didn't really know what I was doing, so it never went beyond a novelty. Who knew, forty years later, that it'd get proper treatment as an effects generator!
Tease!
In my defense, I was like 9 at the time and didn't know about AC-coupling for audio signals yet. That smoked SID is still down in my basement somewhere, I wonder how much of it still works.
[1] And it has to be a “wah-wah”, not “wah”.
When you move the wah pedal, you're moving the cutoff of the filter, not the Q. The Q is fixed.
You're also incorrect about the name. Just 'wah' is perfectly acceptable.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_pedal
Because of the Wha-Wha (or Wa-Wa) effect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah-wah_(music)
Shopping online it looks to me like “Wah pedal” is more popular than “Wah-Wah pedal”. Here’s a pile of examples of guitarists using “Wah pedal”: https://www.sweetwater.com/c976--Wah_and_Filter_Pedals https://www.guitarcenter.com/Wah-Filter-Effects-Pedals.gc https://www.guitarworld.com/features/best-wah-pedals https://www.bestreviews.guide/guitar-wah-pedals https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-best-wah-pedals
"A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal"
this is just not true. guitarists regularly call it either. i hear it called a “wah” more often these days than “wah-wah”.
anyone will clearly understand and not look at funny if you say “wah pedal”