Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack

Music Technology

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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July 8th, 2012 42

The always inspired Jeri Ellsworth outdid herself at this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area. Jeri is known for the phrase “Did you bring a hack?” and she lives by such sentiment — Jeri always brings a hack. This year, at Maker Faire, it was a Commodore 64 Bass “keytar” that makes use of the original SID 6581 sound chip. In this video Jeri gives a rundown of how she built it and the circuit designs used.

I love that she’s sporting the “As Seen in MAKE” badge I gave her at the Faire. I guess now that she’s seen in MAKE again she gets another one.

More:

42 thoughts on “Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack”

Charon PDX says:

July 8th, 2012 at 9:33 pm

Kick ass, great to see how it was made. (Also, love the Intellivision button!)
Julian Myers says:

July 8th, 2012 at 11:17 pm

So can we just nominate her as queen of the makers already?
ub says:

July 9th, 2012 at 12:03 am

Very cool – especially if you grew up with a C64…

Kurt Thompson says:

November 28th, 2012 at 9:29 am

Dang! I had a broken C64. I still have the 5.25 floppy drive and ‘brand new’ impact printer.

C64 Bass-Guitar - Nerdcore says:

July 9th, 2012 at 6:47 am

[…] Youtube Direktc64, via Make […]
cornbread ninja says:

July 9th, 2012 at 7:30 am

*always-inspired
Dave on Technology says:

July 9th, 2012 at 8:10 am

[…] Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack Jeri Ellsworth C64 Bass Guitar Hack […]
Wolfgang says:

July 9th, 2012 at 10:58 am

what about an Amiga Guitar??
MAKE | Your Comments says:

July 9th, 2012 at 11:03 am

[…] response to Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack, Julian Myers says: So can we just nominate her as queen of the makers […]
Commodore 64 Bass Guitar Hack (video) « Haroldsax says:

July 10th, 2012 at 12:48 am

[…] Source: Verge : Make […]
DIYer Jeri Ellsworth creates Commodore 64 hybrid bass keytar | Gizmo Chunk says:

July 10th, 2012 at 4:24 am

[…] Via: TheVerge/Makezine […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro says:

July 10th, 2012 at 7:09 am

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro | Portal Noticias México says:

July 10th, 2012 at 7:31 am

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro | Tease Me In says:

July 10th, 2012 at 7:33 am

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro - La Isla Buscada says:

July 10th, 2012 at 8:58 am

[…] laislabuscada | Categoría: Curiosidades Lo que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro | Compupixel says:

July 10th, 2012 at 9:45 am

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro | TECNOLOGIA Y NOTICIAS says:

July 10th, 2012 at 10:22 am

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Cómo transformar un Commodore 64 en un increíble bajo retro | Jobbr es says:

July 10th, 2012 at 8:10 pm

[…] que vemos en las imágenes es la increíble transformación del mítico Commodore 64 en un instrumento musical, en este caso un bajo con la inclusión de todos los sonidos que traía el chip SID […]
Commodore 64 Bass Guitar Hack (video) - Just Bass Guitars says:

July 12th, 2012 at 5:43 am

[…] Source: Verge : Make […]
Episódio 26 – Parte B – Apple II | Retrocomputaria says:

January 25th, 2013 at 9:55 am

[…] Como Jeri Ellsworth fez seu baixo com um C64. […]
Knights & Dragons Hack says:

May 28th, 2014 at 1:19 pm

Knights & Dragons Hack

Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack | MAKE
Toolkitman says:

December 7th, 2014 at 10:27 pm

Fantastic! Great work Jeri.

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Details of C64 Bass Guitar Hack

By Gareth Branwyn