About

DeepSID is an online SID player that can play music originally composed for the Commodore 64, a home computer that was very popular back in the 80's and 90's. This computer had an amazing sound chip called SID.

The SID chip was really ahead of its time. Although it only had 3 voices, it offered oscillators of 8 octaves, ADSR, four waveforms, pulse width modulation, multi mode filtering, ring modulation, and hard synchronization. It really was like a tiny synthesizer, and you could even make it play digi samples along with the SID voices.

Credits

UI design and programming

Jens-Christian Huus (Chordian)
https://blog.chordian.net/2018/05/12/deepsid/
https://blog.chordian.net/2022/05/07/the-story-of-deepsid/

Scopes by Jürgen Wothke (Tiny'R'Sid)

SID handlers

WebSid HQ and Legacy emulators by Jürgen Wothke (Tiny'R'Sid)
http://www.wothke.ch/tinyrsid/index.php
http://www.wothke.ch/websid/

Web port of 'libsidplayfp' (WebSidPlay a.k.a. reSID) by Jürgen Wothke
https://github.com/libsidplayfp/libsidplayfp
https://www.wothke.ch/websidplayfp/

JSIDPlay2 emulator by Ken Händel, Antti S. Lankila and Wilfred Bos
https://sourceforge.net/projects/jsidplay2/
https://haendel.ddns.net:8443/static/teavm/c64jukebox.vue

reSID engine (used by WebSidPlay and JSIDPlay2) by Dag Lem
SidTune work by Michael Schwendt
Main libsidplay2 code by Simon White
Distortion Simulation by Antti Lankila
Code refactoring by Leandro Nini

jsSID emulator by Mihály Horváth (Hermit)

ASID (MIDI) implementation by Thomas Jansson
FM playback for Hermit's emulator by Thomas Jansson
https://github.com/thomasj
https://www.youtube.com/@tubesockor

WebUSB implementation by LouD
https://github.com/LouDnl
https://www.youtube.com/@LouDnl

OPL3 emulator (FM playback) by Adam Nielsen
https://github.com/Malvineous/opljs

Audio API library for MP3 files

Howler by James Simpson (GoldFire Studios)
https://github.com/goldfire/howler.js

Libraries of SID tunes

High Voltage SID Collection #83
https://www.hvsc.c64.org/

Compute's Gazette SID Collection #147
http://www.c64music.co.uk/

Kim Lemon's MP3 files (JSIDPlay2)
https://www.lemon64.com/

Remixes of SID tunes

Remix64 API by Markus Klein (LMan)
https://www.remix64.com/

Hosting by Jan Lund Thomsen (QED)
http://remix.kwed.org/

Composer profile images

The images for composer profiles come from all over the internet. I have tried to be fair and not use images that the composer did not already have available on a personal web site, social media, interview, or another public place.

• Most are publically available profile images from Facebook or LinkedIn.
• A lot of older retro images (typically lo-res) are from the musicians photos download at GameBase64.
• Some were originally taken by Andreas Wallström (C64.com).
• A few were taken from the Video Game Music Preservation Foundation wikipedia.
• Some from the 8BitLegends.com web site.
• And several other places I can't remember anymore.

If you feel you should be credited, let me know and I will add you to this section. Also, if you don't like an image of you here, just let me know and I will of course remove it. You are also welcome to send me a replacement image.

Other resources used

SIDId by Lasse Öörni (Cadaver)
http://csdb.dk/release/?id=112201

SIDInfo by Matti Hämäläinen (ccr)
https://csdb.dk/release/?id=164751
https://tnsp.org/hg/sidinfo/

Chartist.js by Gion Kunz (GitHub)
https://gionkunz.github.io/chartist-js/

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I register?

The previous method of registering has been reworked for clarity. Now just click the 'Register' link above the user name and password boxes to begin the registration process.

The annex box also has information about what you can do when logged in: Registering

Can you please make an app or an offline version?

I wanted to make an awesome online web player for SID tunes and I believe I have accomplished that. It was never my intention to make an app or an offline player. An online player gives me immediate access to e.g. HVSC and CGSC without having to download anything first. Just everything ready to play, search through and rate no matter if I'm on my desktop, on my iPhone or on my iPad.

However, it's possible to use an offline player with DeepSID. Just select the Download option in the top drop-down box and start clicking rows. Make sure you associate your offline player with automatically playing the tunes.

Where did the audio handlers for SOASC go?

The audio handlers for Stone Oakvalley's Authentic SID Collection were removed in September 2020. The connections to these real-time recordings were always spotty at best and later the reaction times also became painfully slow.

I have repeatedly tried to fix the reaction times to no avail. It's a shame having to leave this library behind as it would have been nice with real-time recordings to complement the emulations, but I finally decided that the quality of the SOASC implementation was inadequate for DeepSID.

As an alternative, try the Lemon's MP3 Files handler instead.

Where did the Disqus tab go?

It was removed in late November 2020 together with all of its script code. It affected the performance of DeepSID, especially when triggering new SID tunes. Because this comment system was already rarely used by users, I decided to remove it altogether. The comments are still stored on their side and can be exported.

How do I make my own playlists?

You need to be using a mouse to create and manage playlists. This cannot be done on a mobile device (although you can enjoy your existing playlists there). Also, you must of course be logged in.

The annex box has the basic instructions: Playlists

Published playlists appear further up in the root and can be seen by everyone (even those that are not logged in) but you're still the only one that may edit it. When you enter a public playlist, you can see who made it.

What are those options in the top left drop-down box?

The annex box has a complete list: SID handlers

Why can't I see the right text area on mobile devices?

That's by design, actually. Only the player pane is supposed to be visible on mobile devices because of the limited screen space. This right text area is only really available for desktop computers.

Can you add a playlist randomizer?

You can achieve the same thing by selecting the Shuffle option in the sort drop-down box.

Can I search for a range of ratings?

Yes, if you type e.g. 3- for a search for ratings, you will get a list of all the SID tunes and folders you have rated three stars or more. If you type 1-, you will see all of your ratings.

The annex box can show you a list of all the search options: Searching

Can I turn voices on and off?

Yes. Use keys 1, 2, 3 and 4 or alternatively q, w, e and r. The first three are for the normal SID voices and the fourth is for toggling any digi stuff (WebSid (Legacy) emulator only).

If you want to "solo" a voice, hold down Shift while pressing the hotkey.

In the piano view, you can also click the green number buttons.

Any other hotkeys worth knowing about?

The annex box can show you a complete list: Hotkeys

If you hold down Shift while clicking rating stars, you will clear them. (However, it's usually easier just to click the same star again if you want to clear the rating.)

Why doesn't this work in Internet Explorer?

The audio handlers all use an API called Web Audio which is not supported by Internet Explorer. You need a modern web browser to use this site.

Why can't I see the load/end addresses and size of the SID tune?

Actually, you can. The annex box has the answer: Memory bar

What URL parameters are available?

The annex box can show you a complete list: URL parameters

An example to show a specific folder:
//deepsid.chordian.net?file=/MUSICIANS/J/JCH/

An example to play a SID tune:
//deepsid.chordian.net?file=/MUSICIANS/H/Hubbard_Rob/Commando.sid&emulator=hermit&subtune=2

An example to show a CSDb entry:
//deepsid.chordian.net?tab=csdb&csdbtype=release&csdbid=153519

Changes

August 9, 2025

• DeepSID's copy of Compute's Gazette SID Collection has now been upgraded to version 1.47.
• You can now see the song length in the bottom right corner of SID rows (except in the SID Happens folder). For songs with multiple subtunes, the song length for the default subtune is shown.

August 7, 2025

• The tags can now be toggled on and off with the "y" hotkey.

August 4, 2025

• The search limit has been increased from 1000 to 2000 results.

August 2, 2025

• The STIL/Lyrics tab now also shows a cyan notification icon when it has contents.
• Fixed a console log error when browsing Compute's Gazette SID collection.
• The 'Noise Waveform' toggle in the 'PIANO' view has been fixed and should now work 100% correctly.
• The 'Slow speed' toggle in the 'PIANO' view now remembers its slow state for Jürgen Wothke's SID emulators.
• The composer avatar is no longer shown in the top-left info box when using the YouTube SID handler.

August 1, 2025

• Folder rows now display a dollar icon for professional musicians who composed music for commercial games.

July 30, 2025

• In the 'Edit Tags' dialog box, the 'Music', 'Collection', and magic wand buttons can now be middle-clicked. Doing so will perform the action and automatically click the 'OK' button.

July 29, 2025

• A new magic wand button has been added to the 'Edit tags' dialog box. When clicked, it presets the two drop-down boxes with the most logical combination of an event and production tag.

July 28, 2025

• The large-font text beneath SID rows for 2SID and 3SID tunes has been removed. Instead, a new blue or red label is now shown at the end of the SID filename, just before the rating stars.

July 27, 2025

• The "Music" and "Collection" tags now have their own toggle buttons in the 'Edit tags' dialog box.

July 26, 2025

• Fixed a bug where clicking 'BACK' from a CSDb release page sometimes displayed a reduced list.

July 25, 2025

• All images from CSDb are now cached after their first display to reduce the overall load on the CSDb server.
• DeepSID now caches CSDb data, such as release and SID pages, to improve loading times and reduce reliance on the CSDb server. Fresh content is still fetched in real-time, while older pages are served from the cache since they rarely change. If CSDb is temporarily unavailable, DeepSID will automatically fall back to cached versions when possible. The cache builds gradually as users browse, so its benefits increase over time.

July 24, 2025

• You can now click the composer avatar in the top-left info box to go to the composer's home folder. This also works while already in the home folder, allowing you to reset the view.
• Fixed missing database information for Jungle.sid by Mixer.
• Fixed missing database information for Medley.sid by Nordischsound.
• Fixed erroneous database information for Nordischsound Medley.sid by Nordischsound.

July 22, 2025

• Most collection folders now display the number of folders and files below the path line.
• The composer avatar now also appears in the top-left info box when available.

July 21, 2025

• The author highlighting previously only available in the CSDb list can now also be seen on CSDb release pages.
• The new toggle button in CSDb lists is now only enabled when there are highlighted entries.
• The stars around the "Winner" tag made it too wide. I removed them and turned the tag into gold instead.

July 20, 2025

• You can now use Shift+Backspace to go back from any tab page with a 'BACK' button.
• Added a toggle button to CSDb lists to show only highlighted entries, prioritizing those where the copyright line contains the group name, or where the composer's group, previous groups, real name, or handle matches.
• Fixed missing database information for Nordischsound_Medley.sid by Nordischsound.
• Fixed missing database information for Heaven_Knows_A.mus by BJ Pools.

July 19, 2025

• You can now navigate the SID folders using keyboard controls — specifically, the arrow keys (up/down), Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and Enter to select a SID row. Press Backspace to go back one folder. This new feature is currently in BETA and took quite a bit of tweaking and testing to get right. I’ve done my best to iron out all major bugs, but there may still be minor glitches. Note that in some browsers, such as Chrome and Edge, keyboard navigation is throttled slightly to avoid stuttering. Firefox, on the other hand, has better keyboard handling and moves at the maximum speed possible.

July 9, 2025

• The "Coll." tag has been replaced with a double note icon followed by a list icon. It now appears second among the blue production tags, just after the "Music" tag. You can still use "Collection" to search for or add it.

July 8, 2025

• Fixed an issue where pressing 'Space' to pause/play would also scroll down the song list.
• You can now use the left and right arrow keys to skip to the previous or next SID row. The new selection is centered, just like when using the control buttons. If you hold down 'Shift' while skipping, the auto-progress setting from the setup is applied. If auto-progress is set to 'Off', the selection won't be centered.

July 7, 2025

• Added the CSDb music competitions related to HVSC #83.
• In the CSDb tab, in addition to the usual rule where group names are highlighted in various colors, a scener's real name or handle may now also be highlighted in red if it matches a release.

July 6, 2025

• You can now edit the tags for the currently selected song by hitting the "t" key.
• The "Collection" tag has been abbreviated to "Coll." in the blue tag, as it could be quite visually dominant. However, you can still search for and select it using "Collection".
• The cause of death for deceased composers has been replaced with their age at the time of death.
• If a birth year is known, the current age is shown for composers who are still with us.
• The "DL" download links have been removed from CSDb lists shown when there is more than one release for a song. You now need to open a specific CSDb release page to find any download links.
• Removed the double note icon in the "Compo" tags, as the new connection system for tags can make it more obvious what the "Compo" tag and # ranking applies to.
• 2SID and 3SID tunes are now easier to spot thanks to large-font text displayed beneath the SID rows.

July 5, 2025

• The 'Edit tags' dialog box now has two new drop-down boxes for optionally selecting a start and end tag. Setting both creates a horizontal line below the tags in the SID row, showing the connection between them. This can be used, for example, to show that a SID tune was released at a party where it was used in a demo. I will gradually begin using this new feature by adding connections here and there.

July 1, 2025

• All new files in HVSC #83 are now connected to CSDb entries.

June 30, 2025

• Fixed missing database information for N0s_Intro_83.sid by Glenn Rune Gallefoss.

June 29, 2025

• The blue "Music" tag (used for music releases) is now displayed as a double note icon without its name. It also always appears first among the blue production tags. (To add the tag in the dialog box or search for it in the bottom, just use the "Music" name as usual.)
• Validated the look-up of all players with a player/editor page and fixed those that didn't work.

June 28, 2025

• The High Voltage SID Collection has been upgraded to the latest version #83.
• Added composer profiles for the new folders in HVSC #83.

June 27, 2025

• In the CSDb tab, in addition to the usual rule where group names are highlighted in yellow or blue when they match the group in the tune's copyright line, group names may now also be highlighted in green if they match any other group the user has been a member of. This can sometimes make it easier to find the right entries.

June 26, 2025

• Fixed FlexSID tunes not showing the relevant player/editor page.

June 25, 2025

• The blue "Collection" tag now shows a double note icon too, since it's for music competitions.

June 23, 2025

• The left and right arrow tag icons (introduced June 19) have been revoked, as they were too confusing.
• The "Compo" tag now shows a double note icon to make it clear this tag is for music competitions only.

June 22, 2025

• Headers on the CSDb and GB64 tabs now handle long titles without overflowing.
• All page tabs now use the same sticky header bar as the CSDb and GB64 tabs.
• The "No SID Handler" option has been added. It obviously plays no music, but can be handy when you just want to browse for information. The auto-play overlay is not shown either.

June 21, 2025

• The dialog box for editing tags now scrolls both lists to the top when opened.
• After clicking a SID row in the folder list, you can now use standard navigation keys such as Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and the arrow keys.
• Made the "Winner" tag a bit snazzier so it stands out more.

June 20, 2025

• The scroll position is now remembered when refreshing the current folder with the "f" key.

June 19, 2025

• Left and right arrow tag icons have been added. These always appear between event (green) and production (blue) tags. A green event tag with a right-pointing arrow toward a blue production tag (e.g. a demo) indicates that the SID file was created specifically for that production, which was released at the event.
• If the arrow points to the left instead, it means the SID file was released at the event but not made for a particular production and did not participate in a music competition.
• You can now refresh the current folder by hitting the "f" key. This will also go back to the top of the list.

June 15, 2025

• You can now click any screenshot (not just in the GB64 tab) to view it at three times its original size.
• Fixed temporary emulating testing (hotkey "l") not showing the correct number of subtunes for a song.
• The GB64 tab now uses the same sticky header bar as the CSDb tab.

June 14, 2025

• The registration process has been reworked. There is now a 'Register' link above the user name and password fields that you have to click in order to register a new user. The removal of the previously automatic registration should also mean that automatic login on mobile devices should work properly.
• Upgraded the JSIDPlay2 emulator. It now uses WASM_GC (Web Assembly Garbage Collector) and is estimated to be 10% faster than the previous version.

June 13, 2025

• The "Game" search type now searches the imported GB64 database directly. Note that you will only get results if the game you're looking for actually uses a SID file in the High Voltage SID Collection.
• You can now click a GB64 screenshot on a game page to view it at three times its original size.
• Fixed scroll position not being restored when browsing back from a search state.
• Fixed SID row not centering correctly when skipping to the previous or next tune.

June 9, 2025

• The "Game" and "Game Prev" tags will automatically be removed if a "GameBase64" tag either exists or is added when GB64 entries are detected. The tags will not be affected if the SID row does not have any GB64 entries.

June 8, 2025

• Fixed an issue where the GB64 tab sometimes showed irrelevant screenshots for a game.
• The remix tab is working again.
• If you click a song and DeepSID detects that it has entries in the GB64 tab, a "GameBase64" tag will automatically be added to it if it doesn't already have it.

June 7, 2025

• The GB64 tab is back, showing game information from GameBase64 whenever a SID file is used in one or more games. DeepSID now uses an imported database instead of scraping the site, which is both safer and faster.
• Clicking a game in a list of multiple GB64 entries now shows the game page instead of jumping to the site.

June 6, 2025

• Improved phrase searching. Now searching e.g. filenames for "the party" (including the quotes) only return the entries where the words are truly consecutive.
• Fixed a detection bug where the filter controls didn't show or hide correctly depending on whether the SID tune clicked was made for 6581 or 8580.

May 24, 2025

• The JSIDPlay2 SID handler now has its own unique time bar color.

March 15, 2025

• Thomas Jansson (tubesockor) fixed a 6510 emulation issue in Hermit's driver causing incompatibility with some tunes. Some instructions were push/popping the stack in a reverse order than expected on 6510. Huge thanks to Anthony Bybell who discovered this anomaly.

February 2, 2025

• Fixed too many bytes showing red colors in the MEMO view, when starting a tune.
• Fixed the pace field in the MEMO view not always showing the correct information.

January 12, 2025

• Added the CSDb music competitions related to HVSC #82.

January 11, 2025

• All new files in HVSC #82 are now connected to CSDb entries.

December 27, 2024

• The High Voltage SID Collection has been upgraded to the latest version #82.
• JSIDPlay2 has been changed to WebAssembly and it should now be fast enough to play stereo tunes on mobile devices. It should play at least 40% faster.

November 8, 2024

• A new SID handler with WebUSB support for USBSID-Pico has been added to Hermit's emulator by LouD. Note that WebUSB can be quite demanding resource wise.

October 19, 2024

• Fixed sid model and clock speed info flags not always showing the correct information.

October 13, 2024

• Ratings stars for a song are now shown in the info box too, so you can see and rate the song even when you have browsed away from it. The collection version number has been moved down above the sundry box.

October 6, 2024

• Added Quantum Soundtracker to the list of music editors.

October 3, 2024

• Fixed an UTF-8 issue due to an update on CSDb. All CSDb pages should display properly again.

September 28, 2024

• A new tag group type for events has been created. These tags have a green color and are shown before all other tag types. They are used for events such as demo parties. The event name always come first, then optionally "Compo" which can then optionally be followed by the ranking such as "Winner" and "#1" to "#9" tags.

August 4, 2024

• Fixed temporary emulating testing (hotkey "l") not playing the uploaded tune when clicked.

July 25, 2024

• Added the CSDb music competitions related to HVSC #81.

July 21, 2024

• The "Compo", "Winner" and "#1" to "#9" tags now always huddle together in a logical manner.

July 20, 2024

• The sundry tab for stereo is now also available for JSIDPlay2. Here you can set sliders for balance and delay, change the stereo mode, and toggle fake stereo along with the SID chip to read from.
• You can now hit the BACKSPACE key to go back to the parent folder.

July 18, 2024

• Fixed main volume not being remembered when refreshing the site.

July 17, 2024

• Advanced settings has been added in the settings tab. Its contents will depend on the SID handler chosen. There are only advanced settings for JSIDPlay2 to begin with.
• Moved the buffer size in the settings tab into the new section for advanced settings.
• Added some advanced settings for the JSIDPlay2 emulator – default emulation (reSID or reSIDfp) and sampling method (Decimate or Resample), plus a ton of filter names for 6581 and 8580 chips.
• Selecting a different SID handler now always refreshes the site, instead of just a select few. To make up for this, the tab you're in is remembered every time you change the SID handler.
• All new files in HVSC #81 are now connected to CSDb entries.

July 15, 2024

• Fixed a bug when refreshing the site while using other SID handlers than WebSid HQ, Legacy or reSID.

July 14, 2024

• Added a SID handler for another reSID emulator, this time 'WebSidPlay' by Jürgen Wothke (called 'reSID' here to avoid confusion). It's a port of libsidplayfp and is only 30% slower than WebSid HQ, making it a great choice for excellent emulation. The new reSID handler is in BETA and still have the following issues:
  • Reading the digi type and rate is not supported yet.
  • Reading the SID registers is slow on big buffer sizes and only supports 1SID.
  • The oscilloscope is not supported yet.
  • Showing the PAL/NTSC and 6581/8580 flags is not ready yet.
  • Advanced reSID settings are not available.
  • For 2SID and 3SID tunes, the visuals only show the first SID chip.
  • Exotic SID tunes (4SID and more) are not supported.
• Another emulator button for the new reSID emulator has been added in the visuals tab.
• Added logic for disabling view buttons (piano, graph, etc.) when a SID handler doesn't support it.
• All three emulators by Jürgen Wothke (WebSid HQ, WebSid Legacy and reSID) now share a new and streamlined script player. DeepSID has been overhauled accordingly to support this.
• The scopes for WebSid HQ and WebSid Legacy have been significantly improved, using a new channel streamer script. Setting a specific buffer size for the scope to work is no longer necessary.
• A bug has been fixed in a player script for WebSid HQ. Now the visuals are perfectly synchronized.

July 6, 2024

• Upgraded the JSIDPlay2 emulator. An "open" method has been renamed to fix a bug in DeepSID that prevented certain links to PlayMOD and CShellDB from working, as well as the "p" hotkey for opening a tiny DeepSID.
• Fixed the tune timer not keeping up when using fast forward in JSIDPlay2.
• Fixed when the tags line for a SID row was not reappearing after showing a loading spinner.

June 30, 2024

• The High Voltage SID Collection has been upgraded to the latest version #81.
• Added composer profiles for the new folders in HVSC #81.

June 29, 2024

• Fixed a bug where the piano visuals would appear in the other tabs.

June 28, 2024

• Upgraded the JSIDPlay2 emulator. It now has tune length events.
• Stopping a tune with JSIDPlay2 now kills the worker thread to save on mobile battery power.
• Changed the logic for the loading spinner when using JSIDPlay2. It now clears earlier than before.
• The visuals tab is now turned off as default for JSIDPlay2, to save on CPU time.

June 22, 2024

• Added a SID handler for JSIDPlay2. This uses the renowned reSID engine and offers excellent emulation, but it's also considerably more demanding. You need a powerful CPU to run this one. Only the playback and visuals are supported in this "BETA" update. Support for stereo and filter presets are coming in a later update.
• Because of the new SID handler, an ON/OFF toggle button has been added in the visuals tab. If your CPU is having trouble making the playback sound coherent, try turning the visuals off. This may especially be helpful with digi, 2SID and 3SID tunes. Turning the visuals off not only saves time on having to update this, it also turns off SID register output in the JSIDPlay2 emulator.
• Fixed tags not being removed too when a loading spinner is shown in a SID row.
• Buffer size is now unique for each of the emulators supported by the visuals tab.

May 16, 2024

• Hermit's emulator is now capable of playing back SID+FM files. These are SID files combined with FM emulation and have been accomplished by using either the SFX Sound Expander or the FM-YAM cartridge. Thank you to Thomas Jansson (tubesockor) for this update.
• A new SID+FM subfolder has been created in the SID Happens folder. You can only enter this subfolder when you have selected the Hermit's (+FM) SID handler in the top left drop-down box. It's possible to upload new files to this subfolder, but they must of course be of the SID+FM type or they will be deleted.

January 6, 2024

• Added the CSDb music competitions related to HVSC #80.

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Click here to see archived changes going back to the launch of DeepSID.