When I was 13 I got my first computer, a Spectravideo 728, and like many others I created some primitive music in Basic. As I recall I managed to make one real song which was about 30 seconds long and used two channels. That's about it.

A few years later I owned an Amiga and I had a lot of fun with Noisetracker and Protracker but only 1-2 songs became ok. As I grew older and started a family I totally forgot about making music and it wasn't until I was about 32 that I discovered that trackers still existed and that they had also evolved into something amazing (Renoise) where one could use VST instruments and advanced effects etc. So I spent a lot of time the next years making songs that for the first time sounded the way they had always sounded inside my head.

Allow 16 more years to pass and we are here at today.

I am now 48 years old but I have never forgotten about my dear MSX and 2 weeks ago I had this idea of trying to create a serious song on it using only 3 channel PSG. No cheats. No samples. No external sound cards. Just plain old PSG just to see what I could do with such a limited sound chip.

So bare with me it was a steep learning curve to find out how to make the most of those square waves and random noise. I wanted to make the most out of the chip and never allow any channel to be silent for too long.

So here it is: My first attempt at making a complete song for the AY-chip. I made it using Arkos Tracker 2, meaning it should be possible to play on any standard MSX1, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST. Only 3 channels used.

I call the song "Groovy". Simply because it has a nice groove. It's an original work and is not derived from any other song. I have even created all the instruments and sounds myself instead of coyping someone elses.

Please listen at least 30 seconds since it changes style a bit after that.

Please feel free to comment what you think about it.

(And yes, this is heavily inspired by my own song “Groovy” that I made with VST instruments many years ago and that is also available here on SoundCloud)

Groovy - AY-3-8910 version (PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

This is my second song for the AY-chip. 
Last time my song was very much based on the melody. This time I've worked more with the sounds. Due to the song's structure I had to constrain myself from creating a too complex melody (there isn't enough room in it) so instead I chose to focus on making as thick sound as possible. Perhaps I went a little too far into Jarre-land (or Hubbard-land) in my quest to flesh out the song with effects but without them it would have been a less interesting project for me. It's fun to work with soundscapes.

The bassline is made up of a saw wave hardware envelopes (Sound type 3 with very low periods) but other than that all sounds and effects are software only.

Pure PSG, 3 channels. No samples or tricks. Should be possible to play on a MSX1, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST etc

Feel free to write comments

Poppy - AY-3-8910 version (PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

My third track ever created for the AY-chip.

Since I used hardware envelopes to create a thicker bass sound in my last song, I thought I would experiment some more with it to see what is possible. My focus this time was to play around with resonance to give the sound some more flesh. It sounded like shit at first but I discovered that if I played notes pretty fast in a row it could make an interesting bass line anyway. However at first I only managed to create the sound I liked when using the bass note D. It wasn’t until I also found a working G that I could start making a song with it.

So I started with creating a recurring motif and then I filled the rest of the song with kindof guitar solos. Then I added a beginning and an ending and spent a few hours making adjustments here and there to make the song not too repetitive. It’s not that easy to create a full tune with only two bass notes to play with.

But I’m happy with the result and especially with the snare drum which I managed to give some PUNCH this time.

Please listen to the tune with good speakers or headphones. There is a lot going on with sub bass and lower portamentos which can be difficult to hear using a bad speaker.

So here it is: Rezzy

A pure PSG song without any samples or usage of other sound cards. Just 3 channels. Should be possible to play with any standard unexpanded MSX1, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST, etc.

Rezzy - AY-3-8910 version (PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

My fourth song for the AY-chip.

Previously I have played around some with hardware envelopes but mostly to create interesting bass sounds. This time I wanted to explore if it was possible to use HW for lead instruments and effects in the upper frequencies, mostly because this is more difficult. I wanted this tune to sound "not PSG" so I aimed for non standard sounds wherever I could fit them.

I found out that I could indeed use a small range of 4-5 notes in the upper regions if I detuned all other instruments by 1-3 semi notes. This of course limited the melody a lot so I had to be really creative with how I used the instruments and how I could "hide" the fact that I needed to use more notes than the ones available as HW.

My main concern at first was that since it's only possible to play one HW sound in one channel at a time I needed to create a SW bass that was pretty thick so I took inspiration from Jeroen Tel on the C64 who often used bass sounds that alternate between octaves at an uneven rate and it actually worked surprisingly well with the PSG square waves too.

One fun thing about HW sounds is that most of them sound like rubbish but some of them come alive when adding slides to them which easiest can be heard in the dubstep sections and at the very end of the song. However it takes a lot of time and experimentation to find sounds that work.

My biggest discovery is probably the ending sound heard at the 03.00 mark. This is a cyclic HW sound that actually fades out. This is NOT easy since you can't control the volume of HW sounds.

Big thanks to fellow chip musician Def Danny who has been available during this whole creative process with feedback, suggestions and ideas. I really appreciate it.

So, here it is. Hardy - a pure PSG song without any samples or tricks. Just 3 channels. Should be possible to play with a MSX1, Spectru, Atari ST, Amstrad, etc.

Please listen with LOUD volume ;)

Perhaps the song is a little more style rather than substance and some notes are maybe a little sour but I think I managed to pull it off relatively well and create a tune where the HW-sounds doesn't sound like shit all the time :)

Have fun... and please feel free to write a comment or two.

Hardy - AY-3-8910 version (PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

Wanted to challenge myself so I made a 2 channel song for the AY-3-8910 chip, available inside MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari ST computers (And others)

Yes, it's only using 2 channels instead of the normal 3.
Why? Not because it is easy but because it is hard.

I made the song using Arkos Tracker II but it should sound the same on the real hardware.

If you doubt it's only two channels, here is the link to the same song on Youtube where you can see for yourself.

https://youtu.be/ZNINl0A1SaQ

2Channel - AY-3-8910 version (PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

Crawlers - Intro music (AY-3-8910 PSG for MSX, Spectrum etc)

Had this idea creating an alternate version of the Crawlers IntroTune but try to make is as close to Konami-style as possible to be used inside the gameplay using only 2 channels making it possible to play sound effects too.

So it is completely intentional that the song sounds like a ripoff from old Konami Games like Knightmare or Nemesis.

I see it as a homage :)

Crawlers - Ingame music (AY-3-8910 PSG for MSX, Spectrum etc)

Just a shortie, to be used at a jousting exhibition this weekend. 

No real voices used. Only synthesizer.

The Bock hymne

Ingame music for the MSX-game Tetpuz, released in October 2023 as a part of the MSXDev23 competition.

The game itself was also created by me

Tetpuz - Ingame music (AY-3-8910 PSG for MSX, Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST)

Pure PSG with samples in channel 3. Made with Arkos Tracker II and sounds exactly the same on a plain old MSX-1 or similar machine.

Alan - Intro (AY-3-8910 PSG for MSX, Spectrum etc)

This is an original work by Rob Hubbard but I've reduced the noise and tried to improve on the stereo image and equalizer levels. No music whatsoever in this clip is made by me.

Thalamusic - Restored

A sad little tune that is played in my upcoming MSX game called "Duael Drop"

Alan Story (AY-3-8910 PSG for MSX, Spectrum etc)

Composed this track and wrote it's lyrics. Then allowed AI to improve the instrumentation and also sing the lead melody

Riddare Bockskägg

Composed the song and also wrote the lyrics (intentionally only word salad). Then allowed AI to improve on the instrumentation and also sing the lead voice. Tried quite hard trying to make it sound like a (rather) generic Eurovision song :)

Falling

Composed the song. Then I allowed AI to improve on the instrumentation. I used the lyrics from the Eurovision winner Diggiloo Diggiley which made it even more fun

Diggiloo Diggiley

Composed an orchestral track in the style of Hans Zimmer and used AI to improve it as well as perform the female voice according to my instructions

Desolate

Skrev en text om hur man ska äta julbord. Skrev sedan en låt där avsikten var att den skulle låta så lik Peter Jöbacks julmusik som möjligt. 

Frimis Julbordsskola

A medieval remix of the music in the old computer and arcade game Pooyan

Pooyan - Subtune 1 - Medieval remix

Just a small test to try out a new instrument that sounded like the old SID-chip in the C64 computer

I was challenged by a friend a couple of weeks ago to make a remix of the old Amiga song Hero Quest. Since I never have heard the song but liked it's complexity within it's simplicity, I accepted the challenge and tried my best.

The remix is made with Renoise 2.0 but I had to use Renoise 2.5 for the final render since there was a memory bug in 2.0 which made it mute some instruments towards the end.

This song uses 35 different instruments and at one point there's 14 of them playing at once. I can also say that this is the first time I've created a song which my computer wasn't able to play in real time. There's simply too much effects and complex filtering for it to cope. Especially in the dubstep part.

By the way. Renoise is NOT the optimal software for making dubstep... but it was still possible, however not pretty.

I apologise to those who think I have been unfaithful to the original by adding some new melodies inside the mix but honestly, there was not that much to re-use from the original so I had no choice.

Hero quest - Pophousedub remix

I'm an amateur- and somtimes semi-professional musician who composes music basically because it makes me feel happy.

I enjoy challenges. That's why I also create chiptunes for the AY-chip.
Why? Not because it's easy but because it's hard!

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