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

aki__3 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2015–2026

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music · general · evergreen · 2015–2026 on HN

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.

Demoscene & retrocomputing Music performance & songs #zxspectrum #timfollin #beeper #chiptune

3 comments from Hacker News

@JetSetIlly2026-05 · in “Playing Atari ST Music on the Amiga with Zero CPU”

> 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

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@mdp20212024-09 · in “Furnace – the biggest multi-system chiptune tracker ever made”

> 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 )

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@zimpenfish2015-05 · in “A Pixel Artist Renounces Pixel Art”

Check out Tim Follin's N-channels-through-1-bit on the Spectrum's piezo-electric buzzer. ▶ this video (AgentX) link (AgentX II)

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