SITE LAST UPDATED: 6th March 2008

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This is Project AY - a comprehensive collection of music files generated on the General Instruments AY sound chip, as used in the ZX Spectrum and the Amstrad CPC.

Site objectives:

· To collate all applications that can be used to playback AY files (AYPlayers).
· To provide accurate AY files which can be used with AYPlayers.
· To provide a technical reference for people who want to compile their own AY files.

Many well-known chip musicians such as Tim Follin, David Whittaker, Benn Daglish, Rob Hubbard, Matthew Cannon, and Jonathan Dunn, to name a few, all composed for the AY. In additon, the ZX Spectrum, the Amstrad CPC, and the many compatible iterations, are still being used to produce 8-bit demos that feature new AY soundtracks.

The current quality of AY sound chip emulation is exceptional and is superior to the poor quality analogue audio outputs available on the original Spectrum and CPC hardware. The AY chip brings with it a whole range of strict limitations. The way these limitations were overcome and embraced is a considerable achievement, often far outreaching the very basic design of the hardware, resulting in some highly unique forms of sound and music. These early creative efforts are collected in the original data format and archived for reference, entertainment and posterity.