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

aki__ · music · Watch on YouTube

Demoscene & retrocomputingMusic performance & songs

What it is

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.

Why Hacker News recommends it

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

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2015, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “Tim Follin's tunes for example are basically treating the beeper like a 1-bit DAC, with amazing results.”

    Tim Follin treats the beeper like a 1-bit DAC.

    JetSetIlly, 2026-05 · Strong recommendation · in “Playing Atari ST Music on the Amiga with Zero CPU”

  2. “Check out Tim Follin's N-channels-through-1-bit on the Spectrum's piezo-electric buzzer.”

    Multi-channel music through the 1-bit Spectrum beeper.

    zimpenfish, 2015-05 · Recommendation · in “A Pixel Artist Renounces Pixel Art”

  3. “You know what we can do with 1-bit music, right?”

    Tim Follin's 1-bit beeper music.

    mdp2021, 2024-09 · Recommendation · in “Furnace – the biggest multi-system chiptune tracker ever made”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: zx spectrum, tim follin, beeper, chiptune, retro computing

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