21 Aug 2010
2025: Some corrections (links, etc.)
When I was searching for some old C64 chiptunes, I came across the Hight Voltage SID Collection, which contains almost all of them.
After listening to some SIDs, I decided to create some of my own. But with what? First, I started the C64 emulator (VICE), and I tried all the sound editors that I could find on the internet. But in my opinion, all those programs are quite hard to use (which I think is due to the age of the C64, and the different keyboard layouts). After searching the internet a bit longer, I finally found a program, which runs on recent platforms: GoatTracker. Using modern programs like this one is the easiest way to create SID tunes! Everything else requires you to get familiar with a C64 soundeditor (and as I've mentioned, they are really hard to handle), or to learn C64 assembly language to directly control the soundchip - but fortunately, this is the 21st century.