The Yamaha YM2151, also known as OPM (FM Operator Type-M) is an eight-channel, four-operator
sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process ...
. It was
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
's first single-chip
FM synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator. The frequency of an oscillator is altered "in accordance with the amplitud ...
implementation, being created originally for some of the Yamaha DX series of
keyboards (DX21, DX27, and DX100). Yamaha also used it in some of their budget-priced electric pianos, such as the YPR-7, -8, and -9.
Uses
The YM2151 was used in many
arcade game system boards, starting with
Atari's ''
Marble Madness
''Marble Madness'' is an arcade game, arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide a marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within ...
'' in 1984, then
Sega arcade system boards from 1985, and then arcade games from
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...
,
Capcom,
Data East
, also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The A ...
, and
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...
, as well as
Williams pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
machines, with its heaviest use in the mid-to-late 1980s. It was also used in
Sharp's
X1 and
X68000
The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan.
The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wi ...
home computers.
The chip was used in the Yamaha SFG-01 and SFG-05 FM Sound Synthesizer units. These are expansion units for Yamaha
MSX computers and were already built into some machines such as the
Yamaha CX5M
Yamaha CX5M is an MSX-system compatible computer that expands upon the normal features expected from these systems with a built-in eight-voice FM synthesizer module, introduced in 1984 by Yamaha Corporation.
This FM synth itself has stereo aud ...
. Later SFG-05 modules contain the
YM2164 (OPP), an almost identical chip with only minor changes to control registers. The SFGs were followed by the Yamaha FB-01, a standalone version powered exclusively by the YM2164.
Technical details
The YM2151 was paired with either a YM3012 stereo
DAC or a YM3014 monophonic DAC so that the output of its FM tone generator could be supplied to speakers as analog audio.
See also
*
Yamaha YM2164
*
Yamaha YM2612
References
External links
Yamaha YM2151 OPM Application Manual
{{Yamaha soundchips
YM2151
Video game music technology