stickjam
Well-known member
Anyone aware of any current or past efforts to clone any of the CEM or SSM synth chips?
Obviously demand would probably never justify resurrecting the artwork and tooling to reproduce the original silicon, but I'm wondering if pin-compatible hybrids could be fabricated with SMD technology?
The sonic character of some of those chips would be great for some ideas I have rattled around for a while, including some bits I prototyped back in the 80s. Yeah, I let the magic smoke out of my share of Curtis chips when they were plentiful. I couldn't in conscience use real CEMs for new stuff.
Perhaps having some pin-compatible clones--even if they needed a couple stacked SMD cards to keep close to the original form factor--would enable some of those old scavenged warhorses like OB8s come back to life.
Obviously demand would probably never justify resurrecting the artwork and tooling to reproduce the original silicon, but I'm wondering if pin-compatible hybrids could be fabricated with SMD technology?
The sonic character of some of those chips would be great for some ideas I have rattled around for a while, including some bits I prototyped back in the 80s. Yeah, I let the magic smoke out of my share of Curtis chips when they were plentiful. I couldn't in conscience use real CEMs for new stuff.
Perhaps having some pin-compatible clones--even if they needed a couple stacked SMD cards to keep close to the original form factor--would enable some of those old scavenged warhorses like OB8s come back to life.