Old School!

January 30, 2007 2:08 PM

An old dog learns new tricks The venerable Atari 2600 may no longer be at the forefront of high-end gaming, but that won't keep it down for long. Its new career? Drum & Bass synthesizer(warning: ugly, ugly site), complete with MIDI.
posted by lekvar (15 comments total)

I was in a hurry to post, but I should mention that there are MP3 samples on every linked page. Enjoy the Lo-Fi goodness!
posted by lekvar at 2:10 PM on January 30, 2007

Wow, I'm digging the samples. Cool Stuff!
posted by Dr-Baa at 2:16 PM on January 30, 2007

previously...sorta
posted by kaseijin at 2:20 PM on January 30, 2007

I'm not sure "ugly" is enough warning for that site. I got motion sick after 20 seconds and had to bail.
posted by itchylick at 2:37 PM on January 30, 2007

Wow. What the hell were they thinking with that background image? Wow.

Cool, nonetheless.
posted by Jimbob at 3:00 PM on January 30, 2007

If IMG tags hadn't been banned, someone would've 'shopped the Drudge Light in front of the scrolling deco pattern. Shortly afterward, the universe would've imploded.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:01 PM on January 30, 2007

A loving god would not allow such websites to exist.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:05 PM on January 30, 2007

This is cool.
posted by drezdn at 4:17 PM on January 30, 2007

Awesome, thanks, lekvar.
posted by retronic at 4:43 PM on January 30, 2007

8-bit rules.

Thanks for the cool post, lekvar.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:55 PM on January 30, 2007

For fans of circuit bending, the folks responsible for the "Weapons of Past Distractions" (first link) have terrific tutorials for bent toys. I found them while searching for info on Mattel's Synsonics drum pad, and the info I found there is invaluable. Some benders keep their info close and secret, but that site is a huge resource for getting specific info for mods and bends. Their info on bending the Roland tr-626 is amazing.
posted by lekvar at 5:11 PM on January 30, 2007

Using old consoles as synths is nothing new, people have been doing it with the NES and Gameboy for years. I don't have any links handy, but someone around here could probably hook the thread up with videos of Gameboy djs.
posted by tylermoody at 5:38 PM on January 30, 2007

Well, f this. I never knew about nanoloop and little sound dj before. I found a working gameboy in the garbage area of my girlfriend's apartment last year. Now I want one of them, but they're so expensive and I'm so untalented.

Might get one anyway. Nanoloop looks like awesome fun.
posted by pinespree at 7:18 PM on January 30, 2007

Cool post, much thanks.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:02 PM on January 30, 2007

Hey, thanks for the post! This is Justin, from Burnkit2600. It's great to see so much love for this 2-bit, 30-year-old system!

Yeah, Paul's site is not very easy on the eyes. I had to Adblock his background. =] Also of interest is his Commodore64 synth, and Loopcart for Atari2600. And be sure to check out his band Treewave, where he uses all these fun toys.

The Highly Liquid site is great, too. Burnkit is in the process of MIDIfying anything and everything that makes a noise. Next on the slab are the Atari2600s, which we hope to use at Bent Fest. Highly Liquid also has kits for a MIDI speak & spell and MIDI casio sk1.

And while i'm at it, check out the rest of the Burnkit2600 site too. We have circuit bending guides for the Roland TR-505 and TR-626, the Yamaha QY-10, the Alesis HR-16, which was featured on Hackaday, and others. We also get some great commenters who have contributed valuable info, so feel free to join in the discussion!
posted by TechnoLustLuddite at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2007