I'm surprised that I haven't seen much discussion about the ZX Spectrum Next on the forums here. The more I find out about the sound capabilities, the more I think it could be one of the best options for on-hardware chiptune creation on the market.
From my lurking, it seems that most people edit for AY tunes in emulation and then transfer them to real hardware for playback/recording if they want authenticity. This makes sense considering the usual obstacles for on-hardware composition that come with old machines (cost, rarity, outdated/proprietary connections) as well as the slew of problems you'd encounter trying to compose on a Spectrum these days (hard to find in the states, AWFUL keyboards, wide variance in sound hardware across models, lack of good composition software).
The Next's board has three AY-3-8912 chips with stereo output, which means 9 melodic channels and 3 noise channels. They recently added a 6581 SID chip to supplement that, which is great if you're like me and you love a chunky Commodore SID bass. All of the sound ICs can operate simultaneously and have custom configurations for channel mixing (see here for more info). The chips appear to be authentic although I have no idea how they sourced such a large quantity of them.
Aside from the BEEFY chipset lending authenticity and opening up way more options for instrumentation than your average AY machine, the Spectrum Next should be a much more viable option for on-hardware composition due to its modern niceties. HDMI port means no more screwing with PAL/NTSC converter and RF modulator shenanigans, but you've still got VGA and RGB as output options if you have/prefer older displays. PS/2 mouse port means composition software no longer has to rely on keyboard only, which is nice if you're used to composing with modern software. Embedded SD card slot is way more convenient than tape or hefty external disc drives for storage, but it still has tape inputs if you want to bring over old stuff. It supports external accelerator boards for extra RAM, and can even connect to Wi-Fi networks. While I will always prefer a clicky mechanical keyboard with real switches, the playtesters say the Next's keyboard is a huge improvement over the original Spectrum keyboards (not that that's saying much).
I personally think the new design looks pretty sleek and still retro-ish, but if you're concerned with appearances and don't want to lose the street cred associated with using real hardware on stage (or you're an insane person who actually liked the original Spectrum's form factor and DISGUSTING KEYBOARD), you can purchase the board by itself and modify an original ZX Spectrum 48 case to fit the new board. This is no simple task, but if you're the kind of guy who stresses about other nerds thinking you're not enough of a nerd I imagine that undertaking makes sense to you. The complete product retails for just over 210 pounds (270ish USD) and will ship Feb 2018, but the board-only devkit model (currently sold out) ships next month and sells for way less (apparently the board-only restock won't happen until January).
The biggest problem with it is simply a lack of compatible composition software that can make use of the bomb ass dank ass chipset. That makes sense though, considering it hasn't even been released yet. Anyone got plans or the know-how to make that happen? Sequencing 3 AY's and a SID chip is uncharted territory to be sure, but a versatile tracker with MIDI sequencing/sync through the joystick port would be make this a real killer app and probably the best chiptunes machine you can get from retail.
So what do you guys think? Too good to be true or worthy of the hype? I've been wary of Kickstarter retro revivals for a while now but the Spectrum Next seems to be pretty legit. The dev team is transparent, responsive, and is set to deliver on time which is nothing short of a miracle for crowdfunding projects these days. Compare it to The64, which is moving sluggishly, missing milestones, and hasn't even given us a shred of information about the board itself yet. Yikes.
Last edited by Chandy (Aug 23, 2017 8:19 pm)
