So do you have an Atari 2600 laying around collecting dust? Perhaps you’d like to have a musical instrument to take up the time that you would spend playing video games if you had a modern console. Well, look no further than the GATARI 2600!
[cTrix] made this device with a custom EPROM chip plugged in as a cartridge. Although details of the build are somewhat vague, this custom chip allows music to be written for the device. Everything is controlled with a joystick that tells the GATARI to generate the desired track. From this basic track, the sound is modified using three pedals including an equalizer, a flange pedal, and a hold pedal.
Check out the video after the break for a brief explanation of how it was built. Skip to 1:05 if you’d rather just see it in action at [Blipfest] in Japan!
If you’d rather listen to music rather than playing it, why not build your own snap together boombox instead!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8e7g8kJIlo&w=470&h=315%5D
great job on that, not bad sound for 8 bit, but I wonder, with only 2 controls and 5 switches per control, how did you add all the extra bits, the eq and such, was that part of the gatari or did it go in after?
this is what i imagine circuit bending should be.
They’re standard BOSS guitar pedals.
A few things here. First off, the Atari is actually a “4-bit” machine… its super primitive. Secondly, the audio is nothing more than the audio signal of the Atari (possibly split from the output antenna signal) into the guitar pedals. The pedals appear to be stock, so it’s nothing more than unbalanced 1/4″ in/out all the way through all the pedals, and onto an guitar amplifier.
I am an idiot. The 2600 was indeed an 8-bit machine.
Great idea, using a staple to repair FFC! Though it looks that he tried with a soldering iron first – that don’t work ;-)
wow awesome sound !
Lets see, guys who play guitars get laid, guys who play with Atari 2600s never get laid, so will this think rip a hole in the space/time continuim?
As graceful as a convulsing chimpanzee.
Who gives a monkey left testicle what he looks like, that thing sounds really good.
guaranteed to repel any and all females within a 5 mile radius.
altho to be fair, this guy doesn’t look like being swamped with women was much of a problem for him in the first place.
also, vonskippy: LMFAO
Whoah some heavy electronic trance coming out of that monster :O
I can see an Amiga!!!
why not add a touch tone telephone pad, that way you could have more tones…..
cool build, splasmodic 8bit
yes its an Amiga, should have used that could of had 14bit sound then 4 channels…