Main Page
Welcome to Sound Chips Wiki!
This wiki aims to be a repository of information about sound chips from the 1970s through 1990s, primarily focused on chips supported by the VGM format and the variants and clones of each.
For a long time, technical information about retro sound chips has been spread across forum threads, Discord chats, social media posts, IRC chatlogs, shady datasheet websites and the like. This is an attempt to consolidate this information into a single point of reference.
Everything here is currently a major work-in-progress. I (natalie) am adding information as time permits, but community contribution would help move things along and is very, very appreciated. I strongly believe that open sharing of information is the right way to preserve these sound chips for the present and future.
Project scope
- Official documentation, such as datasheets and application manuals
- Historical information, such as lists of products that used a given chip, or the history of its production
- Community documentation, including detailed theories of operation, die shots, known bugs, and other reverse-engineered information
- Known clones
How you can help
- Submitting media such as images and PDF documents, including replacing existing versions with higher quality copies
- Writing about the history and development of chips and the systems that used them
- Researching the minutiae of various chips, whether related to its function or its production
Get started
- List of sound chips (and clones too!)
- List of companies
Resources
- If you need any wiki settings changed (allowed file upload types, for example) or have questions about how things should be categorized or laid out, feel free to email hello@kunoichilabs.dev for assistance.