ZX Spectrum 1-bit music: Agent X (Tim Follin, 1985) on HackerTube: recommended by 3 Hacker News commenters across 3 separate months, 2015–2026.
music · evergreen
A recording from real hardware of Tim Follin's multichannel 1-bit music for Agent X on the ZX Spectrum. It shows several voices coaxed out of the single-bit beeper.
Cited as the prime example of what clever programming can do with a 1-bit audio output.
“Tim Follin's tunes for example are basically treating the beeper like a 1-bit DAC, with amazing results.”
3 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
> Well, that and the fact that after the 48K beeper the 128K was never going to sound less than incredible Some of the stuff people do with the 48k beeper is incredible though. Tim Follin's tunes for example are basically treating the beeper like a 1-bit DAC, with amazing results. ▶ this video
in “Playing Atari ST Music on the Amiga with Zero CPU” · View on HN
> even the ZX Spectrum beeper is supported You know what we can do with 1-bit music, right? I.e. Tim Follin's Agent X ( ▶ this video ) or Agent X II ( [link] ) or Chronos ( [link] ) or Raw Recruit ( [link] ) or Future Games ( [link] )... A modern attempt, the ON and OFF album by Rich 'Tufty' Hollins ( [link] )
in “Furnace – the biggest multi-system chiptune tracker ever made” · View on HN
Check out Tim Follin's N-channels-through-1-bit on the Spectrum's piezo-electric buzzer. ▶ this video (AgentX) [link] (AgentX II)
in “A Pixel Artist Renounces Pixel Art” · View on HN