What can you do with some worthless old computer equipment when you have too much time on your hands?

This site shows that you can do a lot, if the worthless old computer is a Commodore 64. Back in the days, the Commodore 64 was one of the first personal computers. They were popular before Apple and IBM pushed personal computers into the workplace and home. The 64 featured an innovative sound chip, or SID, that could synthesize music. It had more flexibility and capabilities than was found on most other computers of that time.

Thorsten Klose is a hardcore hardware hacker, and one of his latest instrumental abberations takes undue liberties with a Commodore 64. 64’s were made in huge quantities, so they can be bought for almost nothing. Klose took a junk 64, gutted it, and converted it into a synthesizer based on the famous Commodore SID chip.

But just turning the 64 into a synthesizer wasn’t enough. Since he was left with a perfectly good case, he gutted it, too, created a new front panel, and turned the 64 into a control surface for the synthesizer! His work is amazing, and he’s posted documentation and sample mp3’s that demonstrate what he can do with his unique synth creation.