What is a SID? Well, to most Commodore computer owners, a SID either refers to the Sound Interface Device (the chip that produced music and SFX on the C-64), or the music produced by the chip.

However, to those users who were on the Commodore online service Q-Link from the mid-80s through the end in 1992, a "sid" will always refer to music files created for "Compute!'s Music System for the Commodore 64," by Craig Chamberlain, also known as SidPlayer songs. Craig has created a web site that details the early history of the software.

Later, the original player and editor were replaced by the Stereoplayer by Mark Dickenson, and the Stereo Editor by Bob Storelle.

Though there were tens of thousands of these files created, many of them are lost forever. For a number of years, I was sure that I'd never hear most of the Q-Link sids again. But all that changed when I discovered how to read my old 1581 disks on my PC. (For those interested, here's how I did it.) And then when I found Peter Weighill's sid archival activities (see below), the project really took off.

One caveat: these are the mono .mus files only. Unfortunately, there is no tool to play Stereo Sid files yet, and a few of these sids suffer greatly without the stereo side.

That said, the number one question I always get is "How do I play these on a non-Commodore machine?" If you're asking that, then scroll down below the file options for the answer.

Alrighty then, let's get to the sids.

• The Compute! Gazette Sid Collection - Peter Weighill has done a masterful job of collecting over 5400 Sids into one large collection, and together we've created this online interface. (To download the whole collection in zip format, including stereo and words files, go to the CGSC Homepage.) If you're looking for a specific sid artist, this is the place to look.
  
  

• Favorites - Some of my favorite sids from all genres. Approximately 115 sids.

• Triple Star Sids - The best of the best. Every triple star sid ever released on Q-Link. (Sadly, many of these don't sound so great without the stereo side.) Approximately 60 sids.

• Double Star Sids - All the double star sids ever released on Q-Link. Approximately 400 sids.

• Pop/Rock Sid Collection - A collection of sids from the pop and rock worlds. Approximately 150 sids.

• Originals Sid Collection - A collection of original sids by Q-Link's sid community. Approximately 50 sids.

• Soundtrack Sid Collection - A collection of soundtrack sids from movies, television, and shows. Approximately 90 sids.

• Classical Sid Collection - A collection of classical sids. Approximately 45 sids.

• Other Sid Collection - A collection of sids from other genres, such as jazz, new age, holiday, and novelty. Approximately 50 sids.

• General Sid Collection - A collection of general sids from all genres. Courtesy of Charles Fitzhugh (Sir Fitz). Approximately 600 sids.

There are three different ways to play sids on non-Commodore machines.

• SidPlay2 - The standalone player for old C64 tunes, both games & demo music and Q-Link sid files. New! It now is capable of playing stereo files. Read the docs.

• SidAmp - A plugin for WinAmp 2.0 or higher. WinAmp is one of the net's most popular audio applications, with native support for MPEG, MIDI, and Wave audio. The SidAmp plugin allows it to play Commodore sid files as well.

• Web Browser Plugin - The best solution for those of you that want to listen to sids directly off this page. Just download the zip file, open it up, and move the npsid.dll file to your plugins directory. (Usually something like \Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins\ or \Program Files\Internet Explorer\Plugins\.)