MODCHIP V1.376
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THE HOME MICRO

ZX MICRO

THREE SQUARES, ONE NOISE, ONE ENVELOPE · CLOCK THE ENVELOPE UP AND IT IS A TONE

THREE SQUARES AND AN ENVELOPE YOU CAN PLAY AS AN OSCILLATOR.

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What it is

Three squares, one noise, and a single envelope generator that can be clocked up into the audio range, which is the buzz the whole machine is known for. There is no level envelope per channel, so the driver's own decay does the shaping, and a hat that closes is a noise period sweeping up as it fades.

  • Three square tones and a shared noise with a sweepable period
  • The envelope as an oscillator: the buzz bass, the buzz lead
  • Fifteen effects patches, because this chip was always a sound-effects chip too
  • Kits that are all edge: the beeper, the attribute clash, the mains hum

Hear it

Rubber Keys · 144 BPM · 6 tracks, every one on this chip. The app's own render, straight out of the engine; it ships in the app as a project you can open and pull apart.

The library

105 SOUNDS · 12 KITS
KEYS 27LEADS 25BASS 23EFFECTS 15PADS 10PLUCKS 5

The kits

12 kits, every pad a voice of this chip, none of them a sample. The genre kits (trap, jungle, house, dusty, electro, factory, carnival) are written for the music people make now; the rest for the music the chip was born into.

RUBBERCRACKLEMAINSBEEPERATTRIBUTEMICRO TRAPMICRO JUNGLEMICRO HOUSEMICRO DUSTYMICRO ELECTROMICRO FACTORYMICRO CARNIVAL

KEYS 27

micro bellmicro tremolomicro pulsemicro gatearp majorarp minorarp maj7arp min7arp sus4arp dimarp powerarp wide majorarp buzz minordusty keysgate arptremolo keyshall bellecho arpdub echo stabglass airshift stabcrushed arpmicro tremolo fastmicro tremolo slowarp octaves microarp min9 microarp stack micro

LEADS 25

micro leadmicro softmicro hardmicro widemicro fatmicro glidemicro trillmicro octavemicro whistletape leadam radio leadbroken speakerwah leadflange leadamp leadbuzz saw leadbuzz tri leadbuzz rise leadmicro loud leadmicro mid leadmicro quiet leadmicro triomicro fifthmicro slide upmicro slide down

BASS 23

buzz bassbuzz subbuzz softbuzz fifthbuzz risebuzz tonebuzz growlbuzz dropbuzz glidebuzz widemicro bassmicro subbuzz 808buzz knockbuzz wobbuzz half wobbuzz reesebuzz growlsquare 808micro dub subbuzz saw octavebuzz tri octavebuzz rise octave

EFFECTS 15

micro windmicro enginemicro rattlemicro staticmicro surfmicro sirenmicro alarmmicro lasermicro zapmicro dropring metalgated noisemicro hatmicro snare tonemicro thunder

PADS 10

micro swellmicro fadecassette padtrance gate padpump padphase padwide choirmicro short swellmicro mid swellmicro long swell

PLUCKS 5

micro pluckmicro harpmicro short pluckmicro mid pluckmicro long pluck

The other chips

MEGA 16FOUR-OPERATOR FM. THE CONSOLE THAT PUT BASS IN A CARTRIDGE.NE8TWO PULSES AND A TRIANGLE. THE ONE EVERYONE KNOWS.HANDBOYTWO PULSES AND A WAVE TABLE YOU DRAW YOURSELF. THE ONE THAT FIT IN A POCKET.COMP 64THREE OSCILLATORS, RING MODULATION, AND A FILTER OF ITS OWN.MOD 4FOUR EIGHT-BIT LOOPS, HARD LEFT AND RIGHT, AND THE TRACKER THAT DROVE THEM.DOS FMTWO OPERATORS AND FOUR WAVEFORMS. THE SOUND OF A PC GAME AT TWO IN THE MORNING.WAVE 6SIX WAVES YOU DRAW YOURSELF, IN STEREO, AND ONE CAN TURN INTO ANOTHER.BPC 60SIXTEEN PADS AND WHATEVER YOU FEED IT. CUT IT, SYNC IT, FLIP IT.PCM 16THE WAY IN. A MIC, A LINE, A DECK: SIXTEEN BITS OF WHATEVER YOU PLUG IN.