Any suggestions for making a sound effects generator?

The Continental Op · 23-03-2021 2:22pm #1

I'm asking here because it seems the old Texas Instruments SN76477 seems to have been used in arcade games.

I had a SN76477 years ago and found it great for playing around with and making really cool sound effects. Seems it's no longer available and the chinese copies don't seem to have a good reputation for working so I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for making a sound effects generator.

I know I can take a Raspberry Pi or even an Arduino with an MP3 player (or almost any computer) to play back wav files but I'd like to have control over the individual sounds which the SN76477 allowed.

EDIT> So creating this thread spurred me on to buy a couple of SN76477 on AliExpress, I might update (much) later how I got on.

Doge · 23-03-2021 7:25pm

Not sure about the availability of SN76477 but I found some SN76489 (used in the Sega Master System) easy to obtain on eBay a few years ago.

I’m using them to build a synthesizer project called MIDIbox Quad Genesis along with 4x YM2612s, so it’s basically like having 4 Mega Drives in one synth.

Here’s a video from the original creator who goes by Sauraen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-tgXWJ92R4

Here’s my build progress:
http://midibox.org/forums/topic/20619-build-guide-midibox-quad-genesis/

Currently having an acrylic front panel made up and will be resuming the project again.

Managed to get sound out of both chips so was happy with that, as you can see by the amount of LEDs buttons and encoders there’s still a long way to go!

The Continental Op · 23-03-2021 8:20pm

Having earlier dismissed the Pi and Arduino one possible plan is to use one of them to control the SN76477 but that is a pipe dream for a while yet.

Doge · 23-03-2021 9:22pm

Maybe you could ask this dude on YouTube for some ideas on how to control it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCsiJ8o3BEo

The Continental Op · 23-03-2021 9:32pm

I made one of those (well without the case) years ago. Great fun. My plan was to make another for the neighbors kids - really great for annoying the parents (we are friends).

The basic diagram for a bit of everything is on the last page of the original pdf here

I believe its possible to multiplex the sounds (didn't try that last time around) so you can get say a steam train whistle over the top of the sound of the steam engine.

But first off this was sort of what I was aiming for http://www.nikineecke.ch/Mysnsynth.html - also has circuit diagram.

Adyx · 24-03-2021 1:23am

A Daisy from Electro-Smith maybe? I have one that I use for effects but it can be programmed as a synth.

The Continental Op · 24-03-2021 10:26am

The Daisy looks really good. I like the idea of a tidy desk too with out all the resistors and capacitors etc stuck into bits of breadboard, although that is part of the fun

The Continental Op · 24-03-2021 12:29pm

To keep me happy I've found a few free Windows sound effects generators to play with https://listoffreeware.com/free-sound-effect-maker-software-windows/ . All good fun but none of them seem to provide the depth of sound I remember from the SN76477?

Any suggestions for making a sound effects generator?

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