YM2149F

Yamaha YM2149F

Overview

The Yamaha YM2149F is a programmable sound generator belonging to the same general family as the General Instrument AY-3-8910. It became particularly famous through its use in the Atari ST family.

The chip provides three independent tone channels together with a noise generator and programmable envelope generator.

The YM2149 became one of the defining components of the Atari ST's original audio system. It was used for music, sound effects, keyboard clicks and other system sounds.

Technical characteristics

• Manufacturer: Yamaha
• Model: YM2149F
• Channels: 3
• Synthesis: Programmable Sound Generator
• Tone generation: Square-wave based
• Noise: Pseudo-random noise
• Envelope: Programmable

YM2149 and Atari ST

The YM2149 is one of the defining components of the Atari ST's original sound system.

Its three channels were comparatively limited compared with sample-based systems such as the Amiga, but programmers learned to exploit the chip's timing and register architecture extensively.

The Atari ST demoscene subsequently produced a large body of YM music, including tracker formats and specialized music players.

Tracker relevance

The YM2149 represents an important branch of tracker development distinct from Amiga MOD technology.

• Atari ST music
• Atari STe music
• Atari TT
• Atari Falcon
• YM-based trackers
• Chiptune composition

Further reading

• Atari ST GEM Programming documentation