January 4, 2026
SuperSaw goes brrr
From silicon to Darude – Sandstorm: breaking famous synthesizer DSPs [video]
Hackers crack a classic synth’s “secret sauce,” fans roar while nerds nitpick the details
TLDR: Hackers decoded the JP‑8000’s iconic SuperSaw and got it running in real time, preserving a 90s dance staple for modern gear. The crowd cheered, debated sample rates, and asked for more (hello, Alesis Micron), mixing nostalgia with practical questions about what gets cloned next.
The CCC crowd just watched a live heist of 90s rave DNA, and the comments are vibing. In a 39-minute thrill ride, The Usual Suspects showed how they pried open the Roland JP‑8000’s legendary SuperSaw—using microscopes, an Arduino (a tiny hobby board), and clever testing—to rebuild it so it runs in real time. The audience? Split between awe and “wait, can you do my favorite next?” One user called it “one of the most incredible talks,” while another asked if the Alesis Micron could get the same treatment, dreaming of a laptop groovebox future. Meanwhile, the synth-history nerds dove into sample‑rate drama, debating why 44.1 kHz (CD rate) got the nod over 48 kHz, and waxing lyrical about 90s club glory. There’s pride, too: with the old Motorola 56K chips discontinued, commenters are hyped that the open‑source emulator project is preserving classic sounds for the future. And yes, the memes are flowing—“SuperSaw go brrr,” and the eternal “play Darude – Sandstorm” energy hangs over every timestamp. If you want the deep dive, the talk is pure hacker cinema: secret chips decoded, myths busted, rave culture resurrected—with a comment section doing cartwheels.
Key Points
- •The talk showcases an open-source effort to emulate famous synthesizer DSPs, progressing to custom silicon.
- •A low-level emulator of the JP-8000 was achieved, targeting its SuperSaw oscillator algorithm.
- •The JP-8000 uses four custom DSPs with undocumented instruction sets, posing the main challenge.
- •Techniques included automated silicon reverse engineering, Arduino probing, opcode statistical analysis, and fuzzing.
- •Real-time emulation was accomplished using JIT, with insights gained from examining the SuperSaw code.