Super Audio Cart 2: The definitive retro video game instrument!

The day has finally arrived... Super Audio Cart 2 is now available!

With over 6,000 authentic sound sources from 19 video game consoles, handhelds, and PC sound cards, all rolled into a 4-layer power synth engine with ridiculously powerful sound design tools, this TRULY is the ultimate tool for anyone looking to add the signature sounds of classic video games to their music.

Why We Love Classic Video Game Sounds

The cultural impact of retro video game music cannot possibly be overstated. The incredible work of video game composers from the late ‘70s to the turn of the millennium was performed under (sometimes extreme) hardware limitations, yet they were still able to write some of the most iconic themes of all time. Besides leaving an indelible mark on hundreds of millions of gamers, the signature sounds of classic game music can be heard far beyond their humble plastic origins.

From worldwide touring symphonies, to classic synth-infused chart-topping pop music; from underground indie chiptune artists performing live with LSDJs to Grammy-winning game arrangements performed by a 50-piece big band; from massive video game music conventions to modern film and game scores drawing upon their influence; from ubiquitous Guile memes to tunes so catchy that even non-gamers know them (Mario!), the legacy of retro video game music has never burned brighter.

Impact Soundworks itself has this anthology of music baked into our DNA. Co-founders Andrew Aversa and Wilbert Roget, II began their careers as hobbyists arranging and transcribing game music for fun. Every developer who worked on Super Audio Cart 2 has a deep connection to video game soundtracks. Over the years, we have arranged video game music, studied it, owned an array of consoles and MIDI hardware, and written our own retro-inspired game soundtracks. We are obsessive perfectionists, especially about things we care about, and we care a lot about video game music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urb3tp2xBQ8

The Content

Super Audio Cart 2 contains all sounds from the original Super Audio Cart and Super Audio Cart PC, which covered:Atari 2600
POKEY (Atari ST)
Amiga 500
SoundTracker
Game Boy
Super Nintendo
Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Sega Master System
Commodore 64
Aegis Sonix
AdLib Music Synthesizer
WinGroove
ASCII MSX
Famicom (VRC6, VRC7, Disk System)
It then adds four new systems:

Nintendo 64: Classic mid-’90s Nintendo nostalgia. No dedicated sound chip or audio RAM, so developers were only limited by computing power and cartridge data storage. Most games hit the ‘sweet spot’ of 16-bit audio produced at 32kHz or 22.05kHz.

PlayStation: CDs instead of cartridges meant multiple audio playback styles and capabilities. SAC2 captures the PSX’s audio chip, which could be used for sequencing samples compressed as VAG, a more modern iteration of the ADPCM BRR algorithms used on the SNES.

Digidesign SampleCell II: A popular soundcard from the early ’90s. Not a true sampler, but functionally a ROMpler with user-editable soundbanks, able to replay up to 32 voices across 8 channels. SampleCell II’s Factory Library notably used in the soundtracks of Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time & more.

Game Boy Advance: Early-’00s handheld with no dedicated sound chip, so samples varied from developer to developer and from game to game. Very electronically noisy, which combined with poor fidelity & tuning of most audio samples to create a distinctive sound. SAC2 balances usability and grunge to capture this aesthetic.

The sounds on these new systems are more 'realistic' than the previous generations, although still full of sonic character imparted by limitations of the time. We also added over 600 new SNES sound sources as part of the 'Impact Factory Library' which you can read more about below.

Of course navigating over 6,000 sounds would be very difficult without proper organization, which is why we've also created a very powerful and snappy sound browser. It allows you to browse by a combination of Console, Category, Source, and Tag (attributes), sort by General MIDI #, Category, or Name, and it even loads correct envelope settings (this behavior can be toggled.)

This browser actually ELIMINATES the need to use Kontakt's snapshot system for authentic sounds! Which is a good thing because apparently in K7 and above, the 'header' snapshot menu can only display up to 5000 and is quite laggy while doing so. That said, we still included actual.nksn snapshot files for accessibility reasons when using Komplete Kontrol and Maschine.

Impact Factory Library: Our Imaginary Hardware

Systems like the Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation could play full audio tracks, rather than individual samples. In this era, composers used gear like the Roland JV-1080 and SC-88, Korg M1, Akai S1000, E-mu Proteus, and many others, which were then colored by playback on the consoles themselves to create the distinctive (and now nostalgic) music of this generation.

We followed a similar process to ensure that Super Audio Cart 2 was equal parts authentic and usable. But rather than merely ‘ripping’ sounds from these hardware units, we took an insanely difficult (but much more versatile) path: we created our own virtual dream hardware with its own “Impact Factory Library” (IFL).

The IFL covers all General MIDI sounds and much more, just like the hardware that inspired it. We recorded and edited samples to match the style of a mid-90s sampler.. and then re-sampled them for the N64, PSX, SNES, and GBA, exactly as would have happened for video game music at the time — thus giving us the highest possible authenticity.

These are sounds you’ve never heard before. And yet they will seem immediately nostalgic if you’ve played games from that era or used classic MIDI hardware from the ’80s to the ’90s!

4-Layer Power Synth Architecture

A highlight of Super Audio Cart 1 was that it could go far beyond just loading classic sound sources - it could be used to layer, mutate, design, and transform them into something brand-new. We've taken that idea and run with it in SAC2 by completely redesigning the synth features from the ground up.

It's not just a handful of envelopes, filters, and LFOs. Every layer offers INDEPENDENT:
Pitch bend range, keyboard trigger range, and velocity range – useful for multi and split patches
Mono, legato, portamento, fingered, constant time, and fixed pitch modes
Adjustable velocity to volume, filter cutoff, and pitch envelope
Amplitude envelope with optional gate (fixed length)
Dedicated filter and pitch envelopes
Over 30 filter models including Moog, Oberheim, and ladder styles
Five vibrato waveforms with optional fade-in
Two arp modes: arpeggiator (alternates between held notes) and sequencer (generates patterns based on held notes)
Individual layers can have arp, seq, or no rythm
Up to 32 arp/seq steps, speeds of 1/128 beat to 1 measure per step, or 10ms to 1s per step
Optional DAW grid sync (play only on specified beats or subdivisions)
Volume, panning, and note length tables
Modulator table driven by MODRIX
WAVE table available for 8-bit systems (switch waveforms per step)
Up to 4 octaves, swing control, 8 note playback orders
Macro options (disable/enable all steps, gallop, tie all steps/every other etc.)
Three arp loop end behaviors: loop, stop (one-shot playback), hold (holds final note)
You can also seamlessly blend between layers with the built-in XY pad, or edit controls across multiple layers with the handy Control Link feature.

Insanely Powerful Modulation - MODRIX

The original Super Audio Cart sported a flexible, versatile mod matrix, but we knew we had to do even better than that with the sequel. Enter MODRIX, the modulation system we developed in-house to offer every kind of movement and control imaginable.

Use up to 15 modulator types like envelopes, LFOs, MIDI values, key ranges, macros, X/Y pads… and connect them to basically any control you can think of: filters, pitch, volume, pan, effects, and even combine multiple routings for the same parameter together for complex, dynamic modulation masterpieces!

MODRIX routings can be tweaked to your heart’s content with curvature controls, min/max depth, adjustable base, and so much more. Some highlights:13 core modulator types: envelope, LFO, stepper, velocity, keyswitch, MIDI CC, velocity range, key range, CC range, pitch bend, aftertouch, random, arp mod table
8 assignable macro knobs and 2 XY pads
Route to virtually any per-layer parameter (other than arp), plus any instantiated FX parameter
Edit per-routing base values, mod depth, and curvature in a single view
‘Bounded’ modulation toggle to intelligently scale mod range
Additive or multiplicative modes when multiple mods are routed to the same destination
LFO retrigger, unipolar/bipolar toggle, free or DAW sync, phase, rectify, 7 waveforms, quantization from zero to extreme stepped
ADHSR envelopes with independent curvature for attack, decay, release
Countless other features – see the manual!

Demos, Pricing, Availability

https://soundcloud.com/isworks/sets/super-audio-cart-2

Super Audio Cart 2 is available now for $199 - owners of the original can upgrade for just $99 by going to their Personalized Deals area. Even if you don't have SAC1, if you own GameVerb or inSIDious you'll have a deal as well - so be sure to check!

SAC2 runs in the FREE Kontakt 7 Player and is NKS compatible, as mentioned above - and you can expect it to receive updates and expansions for free just as we did with the original library.

We cannot wait to hear what you create with this instrument!

https://impactsoundworks.com/product/super-audio-cart-2






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