My C64 Synthesizer Hardware is Ready

November 4, 2026 by

This post is a quick rundown of my C64 “synthesizer”. I’m not going to go into great length with every part, but will mention the most important things.

Let’s begin with the base of the setup, the brand new C64 Ultimate. Did order it in January, received the unit in mid-June. And I had to immediately repair it. The power LED was improperly connected, and the bar that is responsible for pulling down the left side of the space bar when you press the right side, was dangling around. They were a quick repair, but nevertheless ruined the fun. Not to mention that it took Commodore two weeks to answer my email about these problems.

Build quality of this new Ultimate variant leaves a lot to be desired. Way below my vintage machine. The case’s plastic is thinner, the keyboard flexes like hell, and you’ll strip the screw heads by looking too hard at them.

Luckily, I never planned to keep the ugly brown breadbin case. I always hated it. It’s an ergonomic disaster if you plan to type on it – even for a short time.

So I purchased a white replica C64C case. According to the company that sells it, these are made on original Commodore molds. Well, either Commodore used lesser quality molds towards the end of the C64 life cycle, or this claim is a hyperbole. On the new case you see artifacts on the top case around the screw posts – nothing like this on my vintage C64C. Power LED installation is also completely different: on the original there are two tiny plastic hooks that keep the LED from falling, while on the new one the heads of these hooks are missing, and only friction keeps the LED in.

I did keep the brown keyboard however, as it makes the machine look way cooler than an all-beige thing. The white case helps to mitigate the excrement-like color of the Ultimate keyboard’s function keys. Frankly, whoever made that color lacks taste completely.

My new Commodore 64 synthesizer

The keyboard in the C case is mounted differently than in the breadbin. Two metal mounting ears keep the keyboard assembly at the proper angle above the mainboard. The ones I purchased with the white case are definitely lesser quality than the vintage ones, but do the job. And this mounting method brings the keyboard’s flex down to an acceptable level. Though I might deploy additional fixes if flexing still turns out to be annoying in the long run.

The Ultimate ships with a power supply having a disgusting, sticky rubber coating on the cable. It immediately went to the electric waste bin. Replaced it with a Moog wall wart, which also has the advantage of providing decently clean power.

I use the machine’s HDMI output for display. It goes into my Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K Mini. It might be an overkill, but that’s what I already have on my desk. Since the Ultrastudio is a Thunderbolt device, there’s no perceptible latency that you may experience with USB HDMI interfaces. I made a custom app to render the Ultrastudio’s output in the proper aspect ratio – by default it’s pillarboxed, which drove me nuts.

Now onto the synthesizer-related stuff.

I have two 8580 SIDs in the Ultimate board. One is from my vintage C64C, and the other is a new-old-stock chip purchased recently. I bought two of these chips, one is working, the other went back for replacement as it was dead on arrival.

The Ultimate’s flimsy audio output daughterboard had to go. Replaced it with a proper, professional 1/4″ TRS Neutrik jack, along with the reinforcements that prevent the case from cracking when a 1/4″ plug is inserted. The SIDs are connected directly to the 1/4″ jack, bypassing the Ultimate’s digital mixer. Interestingly, the old chip is 3dB louder than the new one. I’m curious what output level the replacement 8580 will provide.

The output jack is wired properly: SID #1 is on the left channel, which is the tip. The original daughterboard connected SID #1 to the ring of its 3.5mm output jack.

I prefer to either make my own cables or buy them from Vovox, and in this case I made one with an angled plug at the C64 side, having the standard insert (or Y or breakout) cable wiring.

The other end of the audio cable goes into the front connectors of one of my Focusrite 18i20 4th Gen audio interfaces. Typically, the old SID needs 9dB gain, while the new needs 12dB.

Synthesizer functionality is provided by a MSSIAH cartridge. The MSSIAH’s user interface may be OK if you want that 1990 feeling, but I’m not going to use it from the C64 that’s 100% sure. It’s simply impossible to accomplish anything swiftly on it. I’m working on something to alleviate this, so you definitely want to keep an eye on my site…

And finally – how it sounds?

It’s fabulous, lovely, and other exaggerated adjectives. It produces exactly that gritty, 8bit, 90s sound I was looking for. And pushing it through my effect chains elevates it to the next level.

Plus, since the two SIDs sound a bit different, you’ll get a nice quasi-stereo sound when playing games.

Filed Under: Synthesizers Tagged With: , , ,

Reinventing the Desktop Synthesizer Stand

June 14, 2026 by

After I bought a Moog Mavis about two years ago, I tried to find a desktop stand for it. And wasn’t remotely amused with what I found.

Typical desktop synth stands consist of a pair of wedges to hold the synth at an angle, with a lip at the front to prevent the device from sliding off the wedges. The wedges happen to be rather thin, so rods or similar constructs are used to connect the two to keep them upright.

This simple design has its places – I used it for the control surface stand I built specifically for my studio, for example.

There are several issues with these stands, however.

First, the stand forms a separate entity from the synth. If you lift the device, the stand remains in place. For me this is a problem when shuffling things around. And don’t even think about routing cables trough a stand that is separate from the synth… Well, its fine until you try to move the whole conglomerate.

Second, the choice of materials. You can find metal stands – nice but heavy. Or cheap plastic ones. 3D printed variants typically use the cheap, weak, and not really temperature resistant PLA plastic. I found several reviews complaining about PLA parts breaking during assembly.

Third, they are unwieldy when assembled, taking up almost the same footprint as the synth, but have much higher total volume. Don’t dream of throwing them into a bag without disassembly. You can find ones that only consist of two wedges with no connection between them. They are compact, but positioning and keeping them upright can be an exercise in frustration.

What I wanted was a compact, lightweight solution, that attaches securely to the synth, so that I can move the device around with the stand in place as a single object. I would pretty much leave the stand attached all the time.

Given that there was no such commercially available product, I started prototyping several different designs.

I found that I can use the screw access holes at the bottom of the synth as mounting points. I was able to construct studs that, when inserted into these holes, provide enough frictional force to be able to keep stand legs in place.

You can see the design on the following image. For a fully animated version visit the Compact Stand page on my company’s web site.

This attachment method allows you to securely mount the legs to the synth. They won’t fall out. Legs become part of the synth. But when needed, you just pull them out. No tools required. You don’t even have to assemble the stand. Just insert the two legs, and you’re good to go. They are also incredibly compact – hence the Compact Stand name.

Our Compact Stands are 3D printed. The material of choice is PETG, which is perfectly suitable for making mechanical parts.

Since my approach was completely different from anything on the market, I did apply for the appropriate intellectual property protections. This was a long process, just completing recently. So now I can publicly talk about my invention.

As I mentioned previously, we are in the process of building sales channels. In addition to the Moog Mavis, we also developed custom stands utilizing this mounting method for a bunch of Behringer synths and drum machines. If you are interested, please register on DIRE Studio’s web site.

Filed Under: Synthesizers Tagged With: , , , ,

Making the Matriarch Rear Keyboard Outs Accessible

June 4, 2026 by

Rear panel keyboard out placement on the Moog Matriarch is a royal pain for people who keep the synth in a crowded setting. For example, I have another synth (the Pittsburgh Modular Taiga) just above the Matriarch, and their stands are flush against a wall – you can see this arrangement in my former post. I came up with two solutions to address the issue.

1) Permanently attached long patch cables

That is, plug a set of cables into the keyboard outputs and leave them there.

My choice is the Korg SQ-CABLE-6 set.

These are 75cm (29.5″) long. Despite being in color wavelength order, I prefer to have them labeled to make sure I grab the correct one.

When not in use, the free end of the bundle is laid over the sustain and expression pedal plugs sticking out from the rear panel. I have enough space between the synths to reach behind the Matriarch and grab the whole pack when needed.

I can even use these cables to patch into the Taiga.

But they are not long enough to reach some synth modules sitting on the nearby “shared corner” of my desk. Instead of longer cables – and the associated clutter – I use another solution for this scenario.

2) Routing keyboard outs to ARP/SEQ outs

If you happen to have a Grandmother, where the keyboard outs are in the front panel’s ARP/SEQ section, you probably tried to use the similar connectors on the Matriarch – only to realize that by default they only output anything when the arpeggiator or the sequencer is running.

Fortunately you can change this behavior with a global setting. The best way to do it is with my Mother Global Settings app.

Highlighted on the following screen shot is the pair of settings that control the association between rear keyboard outputs and the connectors in the front panel’s ARP/SEQ section. Click the picture for a larger view.

ARP/SEQ OUTS MIRROR KB is what we need here. It tells the synth to copy the logical signal of the rear CV, GATE and VEL connectors to the front panel’s CV OUT, GATE OUT and VEL OUT jacks when the apreggiator/sequencer IS NOT running.

The other setting, KB OUTS MIRROR ARP/SEQ, instruct the synth to copy the arpeggiator and sequencer logical signals to the rear keyboard jacks when the arpeggiator/sequencer IS running.

If you feel that the naming is a little backwards… We designed the app’s interface to resemble the nomenclature Moog uses in the Matriarch manual.

Signal copying is at the logical level, meaning that you can have different voltage output ranges for the original and the mirrored signal! You can set the actual voltage ranges for the ARP/SEQ outputs with the three switches next to the mirroring buttons. Voltage range settings for the rear outputs are on Page 2 in the app.

I like both mirroring settings to be turned on. Having a “my defaults” preset in Mother Global Settings makes resetting all synth settings – mirroring included – to my preferred values a breeze.

After making this setting adjustment, it’s pretty straightforward: just use the output jacks in the ARP/SEQ section. You can connect them to other jacks on the Matriarch, or to external gear.

As you can see on the following picture, the ARP/SEQ jacks are close enough to the “shared corner” to be able to connect any desktop module with relatively short cable runs.

Read this if you are wondering what the green stand beneath the Mavis is

I do prefer to use the Matriarch as a keyboard for the Mavis and other Moog desktop synths, because unlike the majority of small MIDI/CV keyboards (Arturia KeyStep for example), it can output the Moog standard -5V to 5V range on the CV out jack. Well, the Grandmother can also do this, but my Matriarch has a proximity advantage: it sits next to my desk’s “shared corner” on one side, and to my Moog semi-modulars on the other.

So far, so good. But I had to fix another issue that heavily impacted the usability of the Matriarch as a CV/Gate keyboard controller, regardless of whether I used the rear or the front panel outputs. It will be discussed in an upcoming post.

Filed Under: My Apps, Synthesizers Tagged With: , ,

Ultrasonic Squealing of Power Supplies

May 26, 2026 by

Have you ever felt if someone pulled or pushed your head when a specific device is powered on? Or felt increased blood pressure in your head and lost the ability to fully concentrate while a given device was operating?

I’m in definitely in this camp, and talked to several people who experience all kinds of discomfort when a given device is operating. While others are completely immune to this.

I did several measurements in the past as I suspected that it was caused by the electromagnetic field of the power supply or radio frequency radiation emitted by it. And haven’t found any correlation.

But while building my synth corner, I came across three Walrus Audio power bricks (one shipped with a Canvas Power 5 and the others belonging to Canvas Power HP+ units) that caused an extreme level of discomfort and annoyance, so I continued the investigation.

This time with a measurement microphone. My jaws literally dropped when I saw this on the spectrum at the instant the unit was powered on:

Walrus Audio Canvas Power bricks squeal all over the ultrasonic spectrum.

Those peaks are 30 dB over the floor, contaminating the entire ultrasonic spectrum.

As a cross-check, I did generate a 21.5 kHz test tone, and my reaction was identical to the noise coming from the power supply. Case closed for me. And I’m not surprised that so much effort goes into ultrasonic weapons research.

I understand that switching power supplies are operating at high frequencies, but that isn’t an excuse for sloppy design like this. The majority of power supply manufacturers can handle it properly.

So my standard test procedure for any new device now includes an ultrasonic contamination measurement – which already caught a handful of other problematic power bricks. But unlike the Canvas Power, these all were cheap power supplies included with synths and pedals.

Filed Under: Gadgets and Gizmos, Synthesizers Tagged With: , , ,

Wakey-wakey C64!

May 25, 2026 by

Look what did arrive to the workshop this morning!

The black & white picture hides the yellowed cases to show this great computer system in a worthy light.

Got my latest Commodore 64 salvaged from my parents’ house initially for the SID chip, which may find a new home in my C64 Ultimate as soon as the new machine arrives. Or I may just source another 8580 (well, actually a pair) as my old Commodore system is in a surprisingly good condition, and it might be worthwhile to fully restore it. Apart from severely yellowed cases, everything seems to work properly.

It’s mind-blowing that a computer that hasn’t been switched on for 35+ years starts up and just works without any issues.

And it’s even more amazing that floppy disks recorded 35-40 years ago still hold the flux and I could load everything I tried without any errors. The 3M disk sleeves look as if they were just purchased yesterday.

I wonder if I will find the source code for my earliest projects… The C64 represents the sole era of my life which isn’t properly archived.

I’m sure I will play a game or two, but the C64 Ultimate is destined to the synth corner in my studio. I’ll let you know more as the project unfolds.

Filed Under: Computer Hardware, Synthesizers Tagged With: , , , ,

Compact Stand for Desktop Synthesizers

May 23, 2026 by

It Began With the Moog Mavis

There were three things constantly driving me nuts when I got my Mavis – my very first synth – back in 2024. The tiny pot shafts, of course. That I can’t see the pot labels when the device is lying flat. And the constant cable clutter when its connected to a controller or another synth.

The first one had been resolved by installing Moog’s – now discontinued – knob kit.

It became obvious rather quickly that I will need something to hold the Mavis at an angle to lift it out from the ergonomic swamp. Unfortunately none of the typical/generic synth module stands were able to make me happy.

Armed with a 3D printer, I was in a perfect position to come up with something new and better.

Let me introduce the Compact Stand.

My Mavis in its typical place: sitting on a Compact Stand and connected to my Matriarch.

It attaches to the Mavis with a unique tool-less mounting method. It takes just a few seconds to install or remove it. Packs flat and takes up minimal space when removed.

The mounting is strong enough that the stand’s feet will not fall out. In fact, you can lift the synth by the feet and they will stay in place.

As you can see on the picture above, the holes in the feet function as a cable guide. This could reduce the overall footprint of the Mavis by allowing to route interconnect cables beneath the synth.

If you choose to use a right angle power connector, then there will be no additional space required behind the Mavis.

The stand allows you to use a right angle power connector and to put the cover on the Mavis.

Because the stand attaches to the bottom of the Mavis, there is nothing that would interfere with using the plastic dust cover.

Then Came the Behringers

Last year I did discover Behringer’s Roland reissues/clones, and since I was in the middle of the Mavis stand design, I extended the concept and now have designs that support the TD-3, TD-3-MO, RD-6 and RD-78.

The slew of Behringer synths and drum machines on their dedicated stands.

While the attachment method is the same for all these, there are case differences so each Behringer have its dedicated stand model.

And the Korgs

The Compact Stand family also includes a solution for Korg’s DIY kits: the NTS-1 MK II and the NTS-2.

The same stand variant is compatible with both NTS-1 MK II and NTS-2 from Korg.

These use screw-on feet, and the NTS’ default feet should be removed (if you attached it to begin with) before installation. The exact same Compact Stand model works with both Korgs.

Where Are We Now?

As you could guess from the pictures above, all these Compact Stand models are ready for manufacturing. We did obtain the necessary intellectual property protections. We did small production test runs. The stands will be distributed through my company, DIRE Studio.

What we have to work out are the actual sales channels.

But in the meantime, please register your interest and we’ll email you once the stands are available for purchase. Dealers who would like to carry the product are also encouraged to let us know.

Filed Under: Synthesizers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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