ZX Spectrum 1-bit music: Agent X (Tim Follin, 1985)

aki__ · 235.5K views · 2013-05-25 · 3:03

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Overview

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.

On Hacker News

Cited as the prime example of what clever programming can do with a 1-bit audio output.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2015–2026

Topics

Demoscene & retrocomputing Music performance & songs

What people said

JetSetIlly · 2026-05 · Strong recommendation
> 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. [VIDEO]
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mdp2021 · 2024-09 · Recommendation
> 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 ( [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] )
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zimpenfish · 2015-05 · Recommendation
Check out Tim Follin's N-channels-through-1-bit on the Spectrum's piezo-electric buzzer. [VIDEO] (AgentX) [LINK] (AgentX II)
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Sources

Video by aki__, played through YouTube.

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