Collaborate Disseminate
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
There’s nothing new, ever. It’s all been done. But that doesn’t mean you can’t invent something interesting. A case in point is the Motor Synth, a crowdfunding project from Gamechanger Audio. It’s what you get when you combine advanced quadcopter technology with the market for modular and semi-modular synthesizers.
The …read more
Continue reading The Motor Synth Is What You Get When You Forget Hammond Organs Exist
The ESP32 is well known for both its wireless communication abilities, as well as the serious amount of processing power it possesses for a microcontroller platform. [Robert Manzke] has leveraged the hardware to produce a Eurorack audio synthesis platform with some serious capabilities.
Starting out as a benchmarking project, [Robert] …read more
Making waves in the music world is getting harder. Almost anyone who has access to the internet also has access to a few guitars and maybe knows a drummer or can program a drum machine. With all that competition it can be difficult to stand out. Rather than go with …read more
[Aidan] is really into FM synthesis chips for creating audio, and one of the most interesting chips from that era is found on the Sega Genesis. Anyone involved in the console wars at that time certainly remembers the classic, unique sound that those video game systems were able to produce, …read more