Beginning life in 2022 as “PiGUS”, a Raspberry Pi based project intended to emulate the iconic 1992 Gravis UltraSound souncard in ISA-based systems, the PicoGUS has since grown into a very impressive self contained multi-soundcard emulator supporting the following cards:
- Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) – the primary focus of PicoGUS, hence the name
- Sound Blaster 2.0 / AdLib (OPL2)
- MPU-401 (with intelligent mode) – outputs MIDI data on 3.5mm MIDI TRS connector
- Tandy 3-voice
- CMS/Game Blaster
As seen in the video, the card also offers USB game controller support, emulating a game port joystick.
Unlike other modern ISA soundcard projects like the MK8330 or Orpheus, the PicoGUS uses software emulation running on an RP2040 microcontroller, making it more affordable than the equivalent hardware-based solutions, and also allowing the addition of new functionality and sound cards.
To top all of this off, the PicoGUS is open source, so you can build your own! More information can be found on the official GitHub repo, or you can purchase online from one of the following retailers:
JCM Shop (US): https://jcm-1.com/product/picogus-v2
Serdashop (EU): https://www.serdashop.com/PicoGUS
Flamelily IT (UK): https://shop.flamelily.co.uk/picogus
