Jack Tramiel, who died this week, had as deep an impact on computer music for the everyday musician as just about any computing industry pioneer. While Jobs, Woz, Moore, Grove, and Gates get a lot of the attention, Tramiel’s legacy was in making computing affordable and accessible. As such, he was indispensable to the computing revolution, and his computers were early forebears of the digital music-making Renaissance. In an extraordinary microcosm of the 20th Century, Polish-born Tramiel escaped Auschwitz, served in the US army, and built the roots of the most successful desktop computer of all time in a typewriter repair business in the Bronx. And today, when you make music with a computer, you’re connected to that extraordinary story.

Take the Commodore 64. Its ground-breaking SID chip (the 6581, with three oscillators, four waveforms, a filter, an ADSR envelope, and a ring mod) remains sought-after today. It’s easy to forget, but rival computers – including, notably, Apple – were fairly tone-deaf when it came to sound capabilities. Commodore, via a design by Bob Yannes, was the first major computing hit to include high-quality sound. The C64 single-handedly transformed the sound of game music, spawning new genres of game scores, and later becoming a major part of the demoscene and chip music movement. (In fact, you might even argue that the C64, not Nintendo game systems, really produced the initial spark for what would evolve into chip music or 8-bit music.)

Or, consider Tramiel’s second leadership role, at Atari. The Atari ST’s standard inclusion of MIDI set a benchmark that still influences machines like today’s iPad. In fact, if you’ve got an iPad handy, remember that Apple’s pro music focus is led by one Gerhard Lengeling, founder of Emagic and C-Lab, whose first products were all for Tramiel’s computers: the Commodore 64, and then the Atari ST. Maybe it should come as no surprise, then, that suitably infused with Emagic DNA, Apple would make software MIDI support standard on the iPad. Ed.: Okay, I should in fairness note that the OS team at Apple is not led by Lengeling, although I’m sure he’s enjoying that MIDI support on there. Let’s at least say that *all* of us – myself included – have expectations of MIDI that were nudged along by the Atari ST. The Atari ST set the stage for a host of music software, including being the primary platform on which the “tracker” evolved (see today’s Renoise), many of today’s sequencer features (see Logic, Cubase), and, albeit to a lesser extent, graphical music notation.

Musicians who used the ST range from 808 State to Fatboy Slim to Jean Michel Jarre – and, of course, Atari Teenage Riot. In fact, I’d go as far as arguing to say the two Tramiel machines are the only desktop computers that have actually directly touched the sound of electronic music – the C64 for the SID and its influence on game music, the Atari ST for driving a new interest in sequenced sounds and the micro-editing of trackers. There’s no “sound” of an Apple or a Windows (or even DOS) PC, but there’s a personality, a style, in a Commodore 64 or even Atari ST. We love our computers, to be fair, but the Atari and Commodore might be imagined as their own instrument. (This is a debateable opinion, and I don’t want to get too carried away, so I’m happy to hear opposing viewpoints. Or just join me in singing a love song to the SID, and waxing nostalgic about the Steinberg – Emagic – Dr. T rivalry, and we’ll leave it at that.)

What’s most compelling is that the legacy of these machines is more alive than ever. Computer musicians acquire Commodore 64s the way a guitarist might a vintage instrument, and even continue to develop software for them. (When the hardware dies, I expect this will live on in emulation. Us computer musicians don’t die; we just run on a new virtual machine.)

Then, there’s what’s next. I know that Tramiel’s aesthetic of affordability, and the approach of his chips, has inspired us on the MeeBlip open source synth. Now, we can look forward, as well, to the ultra-affordable, DIY-friendly Rasberry Pi, which itself promises to become a compelling music platform. (The moment they’re available in any quantity, I know I’ll be trying that out.)

Watching as we lose our heroes, the men and women who produced the incredible technological world in which we live, could be a sad affair. But because these individuals championed businesses with real ideas and real innovation, we see instead hope. The products of their imagination, the ones for which they fought to run their businesses, are more vibrant and alive than ever. As Silicon Valley becomes obsessed with “exit strategies,” quick fixes and disposable apps, it’s heartening to think of the people who really work to put something physical in peoples’ hands. That computing power has led to the fastest technological advances in a range of fields in the history of humanity – and, boy, can it make some fun noises, too.

With that in mind, I present for your enjoyment the Tramiel machines in images and video, as seen on CDM, with a few extras. And here’s to not only Mr. Tramiel, but all the people who worked to make these machines available.

MSSIAH is still available as an actively-developed cartridge for your Commodore computer. The cart even allows you to connect a MIDI cable.

The MIDIbox SID project produced new hardware, powered by the SID chip.

Combining these projects, here’s one of my favorite mods – a gorgeous, orange, modded C64 with SID2SID expansion and Prophet64 cartridge.

Demonstrating just how significant the machine was to music composition, The C64 Orchestra transcribes classic game music back to full orchestra.

What happens when Guitar Hero meets the C64:

A Commodore 64 speaks and plays:

Digimancy: A Commodore 64 Spouts Philosophy, Plays Modular Synths

And a reminder that Commodore will never die:

Behold sequencers we use today in their early days on the Atari ST:
Main screens of Atari ST sequencers
Pictures of Vintage MIDI Sequencers

Previously:
Musical Mods of the Commodore 64, from Traktor DJing to Knobs for Prophet64 [CDM, vintage 2006]
For Love of Chips: Chipsounds Instrument and EP and the Gear That Inspired Them [this release by Plogue of a chip instrument turned out to be a window into the chip music scene - artists and equipment - as well as a way to get these sounds on more modern computers]

More:
CNET has a nice obituary, as well as an extensive look at Tramiel and his contributions

In some cross between a self-aware, intelligent computer a la HAL and an experimental sound artist, the project Digimancy presents a talking, synth-playing Commodore 64. Get through a few minutes of it spouting theory, and somewhere at about 6 minutes, 30 seconds in this video, that Commodore 64 starts to jam with danceable, glitchy sounds. It’s a bizarre laboratory sonic production – white lab coat included – but eventually, this semi-evil computer makes songs. And it’s just the sort of convergence of analog and digital we love, as the C64 chips drive a nice set of boutique, analog gear. Patch cords and chips – bonus.

Reader Jordan Bartee, the man responsible for this mayhem, sends it our way, which provides entry into, in his words, “the micro-galactic frontier.”

No reason to let him have all the fun, though. He’s shared schematics, source code, and PCB layouts:
https://rapidshare.com/files/1689835312/TLL_Release.zip

Decode that, and find an old C64, and you can go to town.

The question of whether there will ever be any music apps for any non-iOS mobile platform is apparently bothering some people. (I don’t just mean one Synthtopia post, either – James is asking a perfectly reasonable question. But in the larger tech world, some people even wonder whether there’s any need for competition at all. And on the future of Android, without naming any names, I got one query from a print music tech mag – we’ll see how I’m quoted.)

Of course, there’s good reason to ask who which platform will “win” – once one platform is dominant, there are never any others ever again. Really. That’s what happened with the Commodore 64, once it hit two million units per year and became the most dominant single model of PC in history. (Look it up, kids, or ask your Mom and Dad. Or Goo… um, Commodore it. Or ask a chip music artist, as they might actually not find this ironic, which I find oddly comforting) But I don’t have to tell you that, as I’m sure you’re using a Commodore right now. Except for Chris Randall, who’s using an Apple II, but that’s just because he’s an Apple II fanboy. Come on, Chris. Get over yourself and get a Commodore like everyone else. The Apple doesn’t even have a decent synth chip.

It’s a relief that platforms win, in this way, because it means for developers, once you’ve found one platform, you’ll never wind up having to deal with the headaches of another. Not that any such headaches exist, of course – cross-platform development and testing is fun, like munching on cotton candy. Okay… irony filter off.

I made a plea, when the iPad came out, for certain ideas – like advocating open development, open source software, content creation and not just consumption, standard ports (USB, MIDI), and competition in how you get content like magazines, music, and media. I was far from alone in interest in these things, and a lot of people – some at Apple, some at Apple competitors, some developers, some users, some journalists – have built stuff that makes each one of those areas better, on Apple platforms and on non-Apple platforms.

I think that’s what we’re here to do – not carry the flag for one company or platform or another, but argue for ideas. We shouldn’t agree on all those ideas, or it’d be a really boring discussion. But one reason to focus on ideas and not just platforms is, I don’t think platforms last. (My first computer was a PCjr. My first gaming platform was a ColecoVision. I’m sorry I didn’t get a tattoo of one. The tattoo, at least, would have aged well.)

The iPad 2 and software for it looks very cool. I’m happy just to get to know some of the people who worked on elements of it, and I’m sure they’re rightfully really proud of what they’ve done. Apple is a unique company with unique talent that makes some unique products. I think 2011 will also be a good year for other technology, too, though, and from hardware synths to other tablets to computers, I’m talking about things actually hitting the market, not in some hypothetical future. Some of it will be crap, naturally, but some won’t. It’s what isn’t crap that matters.

The point is, great engineering and great ideas outlast platforms. That’s why you can still use the same basic synthesis concepts used on the first computer synth today with Csound, half a century later, or patch with Pd using skills you learned 15 years ago and run on just about anything with a processor – including all these devices people are arguing about. You could write a great app for the iPad 2 using programming skills from 20 years ago or math skills from grade school. So… enjoy. Technology moves fast, but music — and thought — don’t have to.

And if parts of this seem silly to me when I look back at my writing next week or in a year or in ten years? Well, that’s probably a good thing; that means I probably improved with time, too.

If you’d like to contribute to the marketplace of ideas, you may do so in the comment space below. Just, if you’re thinking of trolling or getting into platform fan speak, remember…

PS, if you think this is somehow a jab at Apple or anti-Apple or anti-iPad or pro-Android or pro-open-source, you really, really, really, really weren’t paying attention.

What if all the technology you loved, everything that ran on electricity, came to life and played one epic musical performance?

That’s about as best as I can sum up the “Emergence” event happening in Ontario and in an online stream. It’s a workshop. It’s a performance. It’s Commodore 64s and surplus parts. It’s cybernetic theory. There’s a robotic singer. It’s at a computer museum. Nerdtastic.

Rod Adlers describes his own setup: “3 Commodore 64′s running Cynthcart and MSSIAH, iPod Touch using Brian Eno’s ‘Bloom’ program, Korg MS2000 and M50, and Fruity Loops.” Nice – it’s like the radio station phrase, “the greatest hits of yesterday and today.”

Valentine’s Day, indeed — if you’re dating a robot / computer / nerd (or robotic computer nerd), you know how to celebrate. There’s an online stream, happily, for all of us too unlucky to be in Ontario this weekend. If you are there, “video, photography and interviews” are all “encouraged.” Please do share with us on planet CDM. Syd Bolton writes:

You can see some newspaper coverage from today at:
http://pcmuseum.ca/files/media/ExposFeb2009EmergWeb.jpg

The show will be broadcast live the day of at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emergent-behaviour

Our page for it is at
http://www.pcmuseum.ca/emergence.asp

Full details:

The Personal Computer Museum proudly presents Emergence: A Cybernetic Musical Series that launches an international tour in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

Join Dr. David Ogborn (Regina, SK) as he takes you on a musical experience with original music, robotics, and lyrics that will make you think about the future of cybernetics.

Join us for a free workshop at noon that explains how to use microcontrollers to control robotics and then see it in action during the afternoon performance.

Classic computer musicians Rob Adlers (Kitchener, ON) and Leif Bloomquist (Toronto, ON) will open for Dr. Ogborn with a musical experience like no other.

Admission to this event is by donation to the Personal Computer Museum.

DOORS OPEN AT 10:00 AM

Browse the museum to explore the rich history of computers and making music. Various programs and pieces of hardware await you on your tour.

FREE WORKSHOP AT 12:00 PM

Sound Art with Computers, Microcontrollers and Surplus Parts: Dr. David Ogborn, creator and performer of Emergence, will demonstrate the use of readily available technologies (laptop computers, Arduino and PIC microcontrollers, surplus parts) to create art objects, musical performance devices, and cybernetic performers – such as the robotic singer CESARE featured in Emergence! The workshop is for anyone interested in music, electronics and computers, and will be at an introductory level – no prior experience is assumed or required.

They’ve gone about as fer as they can go …

Yes, just when you thought you’d seen every conceivable take on mods, customizations, clones, homages, robots, artistic reinterpretations, and other cultural artifacts inspired by Guitar Hero, there’s this — a Guitar Hero clone on Commodore 64.

There’s a lot of chatting at the beginning, but jump about five minutes in for the payoff: the Legend of Zelda Overworld theme with deliciously low-fi graphics. (All due respects to Harmonix and new Guitar Hero developers Activision, but I might point out the interface actually doesn’t need an Xbox 360.)

We’re mixing 8-bit systems here (Nintendo and Commodore), but clearly a full 8-bit collection is due. And there’s still further evidence that the Commodore 64 is the digital music platform that will outlive all the rest. Have to boot up my machine and do a C64 feature month or something one of these days.

Details, downloads at creator Toni Westbrook‘s site. Toni’s no one-hit wonder, either — dig philosophical musings on adventure gaming and programming, SQL tricks (seriously), and a do-everything interface for PlayStation controllers that allows them to be used with a variety of classic hardware.

Thanks to Josh Randall (who works for some company called Harmonix — hey, when are you guys finally going to release a C64 version?) and Yarnivore for the tip.