Collaborate Disseminate
For his final project in [Bruce Land]’s infamous microcontroller design class, [Mark] set out to make a decently-sized synth that sounds good. We think you’ll agree that he succeeded in spades. Don’t let those tiny buttons fool you, because it doesn’t sound like a toy.
Why does it sound so …read more
Continue reading Additive, Multi-Voice Synth Preserves Sounds, Too
The one thing you might be surprised not to find in [Laurent]’s beautiful tonewheel organ build is any tonewheels at all.
Tonewheels were an early way to produce electronic organ sounds: by spinning a toothed wheel at different frequencies and transcending the signal one way or another it was possible …read more
Continue reading A STM32 Tonewheel Organ Without A Single Tonewheel
We’re pretty sure there’s no internationally recognized arbiter of records like “World’s smallest full-featured polyphonic stereo MIDI synthesizer that fits in a DIN shell”. If there isn’t, there sure should be, and we’re pretty sure [mitxela]’s Flash-Synth would hold that particular record.
This is one of those lessons that some …read more
Continue reading World’s Smallest MIDI Synth, Now Even Better
It’s brilliant enough when composers make use of the “2SID” technique to double the channels in a Commodore 64 with two sound chips, but even then some people like to kick things up a notch. Say, five times more. [David Youd], [David Knapp] and [Joeri van Haren] worked together to …read more
Continue reading How Many Commodores Does It Take To Crack A Nut?
There’s something about Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesizer chips that appeals to a large audience. That’s one of the reasons behind [René Ceballos]’s XFM project, aiming to duplicate on an FPGA the sound of pure-FM synthesizer chips of the past such as the Yamaha DX series, OPL chip series …read more
Continue reading XFM: A 32-Voice Polyphonic FM Synthesizer On An FPGA
If your band doesn’t have a keyboard player but your guitarist wants to rock the house with the spirit of Rick Wakeman or Jean-Michel Jarre, you can use something like Fishman’s excellent TriplePlay to tap into some sweet synth sounds. Or you… Continue reading Boss squeezes 121 synth sounds into a floor stomp
The number of easily usable and programmable microcontrollers is small, so when selecting one for a project there are only a handful of very popular, well documented chips that most of us reach for. The same can be said for most small companies selling electronics as well, so if you …read more
Regular readers will be familiar with the retro wooden wonders of Love Hultén. Over the years, the Swedish designer has created wood-encased games consoles, classic games, computer replicas and music makers. His latest project is called the E… Continue reading Two-dimensional cellular automation game inspires retro synth
Some of us are guilty of picking up questionable hardware from garage sales, fleamarkets, and well-meaning relatives. There is a balance between turning down a good investment and hoarding, and if we figure out how to tell the difference you will be the first to know. [Clem Mayer] may start …read more
Liner notes? Passé. In Berlin, the release of a special edition synth-wave record came with an accompanying experimental synthesizer called Wired Heart.
At the core of this adorable heart-shaped synth, designed by music technology enthusiast [tobi tubbutec], is the classic 74HCT14 chip with six Schmitt trigger oscillators. The bright red …read more