SP1200 Emulator
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Project Overview
Web-based SP-1200 audio emulator that recreates the distinctive sound characteristics of the legendary E-mu SP-1200 drum machine and sampler, which was iconic in hip-hop's golden era. Well not exactly the same because it's missing the iconic hardware, but very close, closer than any VST/bitcrusher can achieve as those just add noise and filters.
The principal is still very sound. Sample at a faster RPM into the machine, slow it back down to original speed and your stuff is not only smaller in size but thicker, warmer, and loaded with 90's digital artifacts. Going from a cleaner sample rate to 12bit greatly enhances the artifacting and warmth of the resample. Most people don't realise it but this production workflow + SP-1200 WAS the sound of the early 90s. When people refer to the 90s sound this is what they're referring to. The sound behind almost all of the early 90s hip-hop was rugged and dreamscape-y, atmospheric and raw - birthed from the stardust-infused illness of 12bit boom bap.
This tool doesn't work as a VST because it requires resampling the audio into a new blob, which is then manipulated and then transformed again before it's returned to the user. Which makes this tool ideal for preprocessing samples before using them in a DAW for sample based production. It's also dope for applying a final touch to a mix before mastering for some lofi projects. It's absolutely a unique sonic signature which is why I'm gatekeeping it for now...
The processing chain involves pitch-shifting the audio up, applying degradation effects (including 12-bit/26kHz sampling, asymmetric quantization noise, and a 4-pole filter chain), and then pitch-shifting back down to create the distinctive digital artifacts. Users can control various parameters including playback speed, volume, gain, and filter settings (low-pass, high-pass, and EQ controls for bass, mid, and high frequencies). The interface also provides a custom waveform display where users can visualize their audio, with features for selecting regions, looping, cropping, and cutting sections of the audio.
Technologies Used
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Web Audio API
Project Links
This is a private project, thanks for reading.