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Hi, Author here. Apologies, I should have made it clear that this was intended to be a short list of microprocessors only, mostly to leave room for a follow up

Hi, Author here. Apologies, I should have made it clear that this was intended to be a short list of microprocessors only, mostly to leave room for a follow up on microcontrollers like the 8051. Completely agree that the 8051 deserves a place on any list of important 1970s architectures. If anyone is interested in the results of the poll which looks like a dead heat between the 6800/9 and Z80, then the winner was Motorola. So I'm now deep in research on the 6800, hopefully to result in a post in the near future.

jhallenworld 3y ago
On the 6800/6809: don't forget to look at the Fairlight CMI and the Qasar M8 developed by Tony Furse: the sampling synthesizer that was the sound of the 80s. This past summer, Tony has been retrieving his 8-inch Motorola Exorciser floppies. He encouraged me to work on my Motorola Exorciser emulator- it now emulates a 6809 version of the Exorciser: https://github.com/jhallen/exorsim https://github.com/jhallen/exorsim (check out the long discussions in the issues...) "Blue Monday" on QasarBeach Fairlight CMI emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXqM7qrkfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXqM7qrkfc
- swagempire 3y ago
  Fairlight is great-- DX7 though was really the sound of the 80s...
  - jhallenworld 3y ago
    I was trying to find which CPU was used for the DX7.. didn't find it, but did find that Ken Sherriff reverse engineered the sound chips: https://www.righto.com/2021/11/reverse-engineering-yamaha-dx7.html https://www.righto.com/2021/11/reverse-engineering-yamaha-dx... Well I found the schematics: it uses a 6805 and a 6303! http://www.midimanuals.com/manuals/yamaha/dx7/schematics/yamaha_dx7_schematics_rvgm.pdf http://www.midimanuals.com/manuals/yamaha/dx7/schematics/yam...
    - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
      Ha. I have a love-hate relationship with the MC6805. On the one hand, I built a lot of devices based on the 68HC05 series. On the other, having to implement a 16-bit division routine on one was what made me swear off assembly language for good.
  - diydsp 3y ago
    it would be reductive to chalk up the sound of the 80s to any one synth. Especially when the Fairlight was responsible for a number of iconic songs: http://ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/topsong/ http://ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/topsong/ This is a good overview of key 80s gear, including the E-Mu, Linn Drum, DX7, Fairlight, Mirage, etc. https://www.musicradar.com/news/10-synths-that-defined-the-80s https://www.musicradar.com/news/10-synths-that-defined-the-8...
    - jhallenworld 3y ago
      Also used in a bunch of movie soundtracks: https://forum.vintagesynth.com/viewtopic.php?t=72349 https://forum.vintagesynth.com/viewtopic.php?t=72349 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnpYowxlwsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnpYowxlwsU

jhallenworld 3y ago

On the 6800/6809: don't forget to look at the Fairlight CMI and the Qasar M8 developed by Tony Furse: the sampling synthesizer that was the sound of the 80s. This past summer, Tony has been retrieving his 8-inch Motorola Exorciser floppies. He encouraged me to work on my Motorola Exorciser emulator- it now emulates a 6809 version of the Exorciser: https://github.com/jhallen/exorsim https://github.com/jhallen/exorsim (check out the long discussions in the issues...) "Blue Monday" on QasarBeach Fairlight CMI emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXqM7qrkfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXqM7qrkfc

swagempire 3y ago
Fairlight is great-- DX7 though was really the sound of the 80s...
- jhallenworld 3y ago
  I was trying to find which CPU was used for the DX7.. didn't find it, but did find that Ken Sherriff reverse engineered the sound chips: https://www.righto.com/2021/11/reverse-engineering-yamaha-dx7.html https://www.righto.com/2021/11/reverse-engineering-yamaha-dx... Well I found the schematics: it uses a 6805 and a 6303! http://www.midimanuals.com/manuals/yamaha/dx7/schematics/yamaha_dx7_schematics_rvgm.pdf http://www.midimanuals.com/manuals/yamaha/dx7/schematics/yam...
  - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
    Ha. I have a love-hate relationship with the MC6805. On the one hand, I built a lot of devices based on the 68HC05 series. On the other, having to implement a 16-bit division routine on one was what made me swear off assembly language for good.
- diydsp 3y ago
  it would be reductive to chalk up the sound of the 80s to any one synth. Especially when the Fairlight was responsible for a number of iconic songs: http://ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/topsong/ http://ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/topsong/ This is a good overview of key 80s gear, including the E-Mu, Linn Drum, DX7, Fairlight, Mirage, etc. https://www.musicradar.com/news/10-synths-that-defined-the-80s https://www.musicradar.com/news/10-synths-that-defined-the-8...
  - jhallenworld 3y ago
    Also used in a bunch of movie soundtracks: https://forum.vintagesynth.com/viewtopic.php?t=72349 https://forum.vintagesynth.com/viewtopic.php?t=72349 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnpYowxlwsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnpYowxlwsU