GoKawiilFor many of us retro enthusiasts, the Commodore 64’s MOS Technology SID chip (6581 and 8580) is regarded as one of the most iconic sound chips in audio history.
(Modern) Software emulation gets close, but nothing truly replaces the analog filters and warm distortion of real vintage hardware.
I am LouD (short for loudness) and I created USBSID-Pico to bridge real SID silicon directly to modern workstations, phones, and media players over USB (CDC/WebUSB/WebSerial), MIDI, ASID and in the future possibly WiFi and Bluetooth.
Powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller series (rp2040 and rp2350), the board acts as a flexible controller for up to two (and soon four) physical SID chips or modern hardware replacements.
What follows is my journey (as far as I remember) and attempt at creating a project build log detailing the start and evolution from early prototypes to the open-source hardware powering the retro audio experience for (at least some) enthusiasts today.
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