tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658334131248769602024-03-23T03:15:26.099-07:00Making of a drum synthPhilipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-13827358574371791832021-02-15T13:57:00.001-08:002024-03-22T15:43:32.776-07:00MOADS revived (not really)<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXvJCrgpNrWzN4T-1D29eayYzixaQvSDBcbCfgccU69n9VYMX_WCB3Gd2N75D6BZqD31c34S7YFt1AE_LuBUnxTZg5jY1B9LcSsx7hX-6w_azEYS3QoaXUBWURAOEM68drB-Yx90tpqNe/s2048/IMG_20210215_211448.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXvJCrgpNrWzN4T-1D29eayYzixaQvSDBcbCfgccU69n9VYMX_WCB3Gd2N75D6BZqD31c34S7YFt1AE_LuBUnxTZg5jY1B9LcSsx7hX-6w_azEYS3QoaXUBWURAOEM68drB-Yx90tpqNe/s320/IMG_20210215_211448.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Lately my daughter had to do a workshop at school about media (ab)use, media types and content creation. I then mentioned a bit proud that a really long time ago i also had a blog, which received a certain popularity in a niche topic... this blog.
That's probably one of the reasons for me to reconsider blogging by - sort of - closing the MOADS chapter and opening another blog which will be a more mixed bag of content. </p><p>With many interests and not necessarily more time than before i found that i tend to dig in and reflect on many different subjects. Not with the same depth and detail as MOADS though... Also, a good friend of mine encouraged me to write down thoughts and about music, tech, society and various other stuff in a blog, that was the second reason for me to reconsider blogging. The third reason is rather obvious, innit? After almost a year of pandemic and, except maybe for the initial shock, an emerging lethargical habitus originating from home office work, resulting in little physical activity and cancelled leisure activities, the urge arised to re-explore once-known fields. </p><p>The last decade i switched from a student lifestyle to a steady job in transportation industry, a flat in the suburbs and family life!. I still don't (probably never will) own a car and a tv set though. However, from a "free-thinking", or however you want to call it, perspective it hasn't been that bad. On the musical side i played (and still play) in various bands ranging from funk over rural blues, electronica-flavoured punk to, most notably, the inclusive project <a href="http://www.tabulamusica.ch" target="_blank">Tabula Musica</a> . The latter covers a lot of personal interests on the technological and social side too. Here's a snippet of my latest project: <a href="https://aergera.bandcamp.com/track/naebu" target="_blank">Aergera</a>, Swiss-german Shoegaze. </p><p> On the tech side - there's almost certainly gonna be a lot of tech stuff in the blog - i've been pursuing many smaller project in the past, such as building headpieces for the cyberpunk group <a href="http://www.revoltingspuppets.com" target="_blank">Revolting Puppets</a>, various small software projects (see <a href="https://github.com/StoneRose35">https://github.com/StoneRose35</a>) and a foot drum/amplifier set used to perform as a one-man-band with ever-changing names. Besides doing little projects in the fields of electronics/mechatronics and software i've been working in IT industry in various roles, slowly but constantly moving away from die-hard tech to the management side for almost a decade now. This also left some traces and shareable notions. </p><p>The mixed bag of blog content is probably rounded off with content on cycling and general outdoor activities. </p><p> </p><p>Ok, now it time to say goodbye to MOADS and to welcome the new blog <a href="https://soundtechbike.blogspot.com/">Sounds, Tech and Bikes</a>
</p>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-67783782952582029022009-04-08T11:12:00.000-07:002009-04-08T11:22:58.520-07:00Modular SynthIt's been a while since i last posted something in this blog.. I haven't been passive in that time though. I started with something that every synth-diyist starts at some point: a modular synth! The first module is built was the PolyAVR, which is now rehoused to fit the modular rack. That was a nice start since i could already play chords with only one module installed. Then i added two analog vco's, a filter (<a href="http://yusynth.net">yusynth minimoog filters</a>, mixer and vca's (lower cabinet) and multiples. The upper cabinet contains two envelope generators <a href="http://www.musicfromouterspace.com">MFOS</a>, a LFO (also<a href="http://www.musicfromouterspace.com">MFOS</a>) and a voltage controlled LFO. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1uct3Qsh4ig0U7Ri4BHbD8H62lYEN7ThrRrnyPgtWfuhahd4x6o2qm9rFi4Iap3EFOYLf315hK1RWrC6IBCTO9YeFJZm8G7XMaK2YRiNWupVDlJcBGXDbCtaT7zasD_5D_ztzUximFa3/s1600-h/system_8_4_09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1uct3Qsh4ig0U7Ri4BHbD8H62lYEN7ThrRrnyPgtWfuhahd4x6o2qm9rFi4Iap3EFOYLf315hK1RWrC6IBCTO9YeFJZm8G7XMaK2YRiNWupVDlJcBGXDbCtaT7zasD_5D_ztzUximFa3/s400/system_8_4_09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322387581107757538" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-91305817953680040842009-01-07T12:39:00.000-08:002009-01-07T12:53:03.512-08:00new old sitedear readers,<br /><br />Partly because of the drum synth project being more or less finished, partly because of missing flexibility i'll gradually move my content from this blog to my new <a href="http://moads.100webspace.net">website</a>, be sure to check it out!!<br />if you have question you can always send me an email to - now comes a small riddle (because i hate spambots..)<br />fuerholz AT 'the abbreviation of Global Message Exchange'.' swiss domain identification (two letters)', should give 3letters, one dot and two letters after the @Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-10032309645830312342008-12-28T12:49:00.000-08:002008-12-28T13:07:03.540-08:00AVR-Based SynthAfter finishing the Drumsynth Prototype i started another little synth project. It consisted in turning an atmega16 microcontroller in a simple 4-voice polyphonic synthesizer.<br />I've been working a lot with microcontrollers so i was curious to see if i could turn an atmega into a polyphonic synth. Another reason for this project was a lot of spare time at my dayjob since this project is much about programming which can be done ver easily in the office ;-)<br /><br />By simple i mean that it only contains one oscillator per voice, no filter and a ADSR envelope per voice. Of course there are some other avr-based synth projects (http://www.jarek-synth.strona.pl/,http://www.avrx.se/), in contrary to these projects i tried to focus on polyphony, with the aim of including it in a modular synthesizer.<br />What came out until now is a very cheap, cheap-sounding and cheap-sounding box. Technical data:<br />wave sampling rate: 31,25 kHz<br />resolution: 16bit<br />envelope (and possibly lfo) sampling rate: 244 Hz<br />midi: note on/note off<br />Extensions: basic wavetable capability, lfo<br /><br /><br />here is the video of this synth(sorry about the sound)<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p1ndXmSXbCw&hl=de&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p1ndXmSXbCw&hl=de&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-3065296418579891342008-12-14T06:58:00.000-08:002008-12-14T07:07:06.300-08:00PCB layoutinglots of thing have been going recently. I've started a new project: a digital polyphonic synth based on an atmega16 ic (pics and vids soon). I was looking for a good schematic and pcb designer software. After a long search and much hairpulling i finally decided to use an open-source package called gEDA. Although it has some small bugs it's much easier and less complex than many commercial options.<br />I've now (nearly) finished the layout of the sequencer master part.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXewA93FjN0KGjPbXJA20_8E4scAFCbimdR13_rJnEhzrtBYTUGfKlEK84RWsXyXYlXlFYw2kQAH2aN0mIItsjRNG6TP2yBJ-lW1sWVPnhAc4GOCKoc4BuXfq8TuYHYoBeyvIcCxBf-DdY/s1600-h/sequencer_master_layout.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXewA93FjN0KGjPbXJA20_8E4scAFCbimdR13_rJnEhzrtBYTUGfKlEK84RWsXyXYlXlFYw2kQAH2aN0mIItsjRNG6TP2yBJ-lW1sWVPnhAc4GOCKoc4BuXfq8TuYHYoBeyvIcCxBf-DdY/s400/sequencer_master_layout.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279661662250806322" border="0" /></a> Here it is. I've noticed that (clever) layouting pcb's is a quite demanding task..<br />Please don't etch boards with that layout yet (that's why i didn't put the resistor values..) i have'nt checked and tested the layout yetPhilipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-78427119097223474532008-11-13T04:17:00.000-08:002008-11-13T04:28:34.810-08:00Synthesizer TreffenOne of the most important personal goals regarding my home-built instruments is to make music with them, so i did recently at the swiss synthesizer meeting in zurich. It was whole an deeply satisfying new experience making electronic music in a large group (8 musicians). The largest part of the session was ambient stuff with very minimal beats. Coming originally from drone/stoner rock i really liked this slow and spheric, but not so hard-n-heavy part of the session, simply magic!!<br />Here a video of the session, i was there with the soundlab, electric guitar and, of course the drumsynth, in the video i'm playing guitar<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NMF0ST8Mh2w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NMF0ST8Mh2w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />picture and audio files can be found <a href="http://www.metunar.ch/st/st2008.html">here</a> , if you want to hear the sound of my drumsynth check out track 'Jam teil 8'Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-7589490624964263582008-11-05T14:57:00.000-08:002008-11-05T15:10:25.826-08:00Schematics (finally!)Here they are, i put them on a <a href="http://moads.100webspace.net/">real website</a> as pdf's, currently without explanation. I hope they understandable and helpful. Since many people were interested in building the entire or part of the project i'll definitely work on pcb's and make them available on the net as well. Once working flawlessly i'll publish the source code for the sequencer part too. At the present state it still crashes from time to time but i'm working on it..Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-401018531031673832008-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:002008-11-03T14:37:00.389-08:00Beta Version finishedHi there<br /><br />The beta Version of my drum synth is finished!! Since the case is fully packed with electronics i will add midi-support and some of the optional stuff externally. It's extremely fun to play around, and, as i wrote in the first post in this blog, very intuitive and easy to use since i created this instrument exactly as i wanted is (withing the limits of my mechanical building capabilities of course).<br />Thats certainly not the end of this blog and my era of building synth's, i feel more it's just the beginning .. there are too many ideas spinning around in my mind. Anyway, currently i'm working on clean documentation of the drum synth and on PCB's. On idea of pusblishing the building process on the web was also to make it accessible for other people. For this i got some webspace where i will put the sequencer source code, schematics etc. Having it as pdf's is probably more usable than plain pictures... Please let me know if you're interested in re-building the project of parts of the project, if someone is interested i will start designing pcb's. I'm also willing to sell pcb's and programmed avr's ..<br /><br />Here is the video of a first demo, unfortunately i turned up the reverb a little bit too much..<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lY9iK2wNyx4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lY9iK2wNyx4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-17109939304471091932008-10-22T04:39:00.000-07:002008-10-22T04:44:24.010-07:00Hi-Hat's Module Demo VideoThis video shows the sound of the hi-hats module. This is certainly the most 'musical' one of all videos since i'm trying to play rhythmic patterns with the 'open' and 'closed' hi-hat sound, habe fun!<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/62oV0Q0w6a4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/62oV0Q0w6a4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-80789684147393746972008-10-22T04:34:00.000-07:002008-10-22T04:43:55.644-07:00Another Demo Video: The Tom ModuleHere's the second video of a serie of three video's i recorded recently, my spoken english is improving slowly but steadily i guess.. Anyway here's the demo of the tom emulating synth.. enjoy!<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xW2JspV1gmw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xW2JspV1gmw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-43688620415306714762008-10-22T04:27:00.000-07:002008-10-22T04:34:06.395-07:00Crash Ride Module Demo VideoFinally i managed to get time to turn some demonstration video. This one's about the not so peacefully sounding crash ride emulation. I worked on the sound of the demo videos a bit, mainly because i got my mixing table back from rehearsal room i once used. The sound of the modules heard is comes directly from the line input of the audio interface. My explanation are recorded through the camera, thats why the synth sound are crystal-clear and the narrating isn't. Have Fun!<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LI6jpOpu5NI&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LI6jpOpu5NI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-10405604561860660522008-10-17T06:27:00.001-07:002008-10-17T06:37:47.663-07:00Tom Module ConceptOops, i forgot to put the concept of the tom module on this site.. by the time it's already finished, anyway... The sound source is a 'true' sine wave oscillator.<br />This means that the sinewave is generates using a 18dB/oct filter made to resonate permanently. On other synth vco's sine wave are sometimes generated by 'bending' a triangle-wave into a sine wave. The difference between a true sinewave oscillator and a 'bent' sine-oscillator is only noticeable in fast frequency modulation. Due to it's nature the sinewave gets asymmetric generating overtones. I wanted a very clean sounding tom (as a counterweight to the more rough sounding bassdrum) so i realized a true sinewave oscillator. Frequency and volume can be/is modulated with two decay-only envelopes..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjB5bm9URwEuS6fx3I_U7NlHrHcuvVP-wQuHmUeMmvW8hN6cG_INNfCIip6DtM7AHlBGgHmQtgupOu-71YwA_4rN-NRg_1mr31Qjg1mcuxaVNMt2e2r5YWC40eZ_W-Gq95hfjrF1rYMpk/s1600-h/tommod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjB5bm9URwEuS6fx3I_U7NlHrHcuvVP-wQuHmUeMmvW8hN6cG_INNfCIip6DtM7AHlBGgHmQtgupOu-71YwA_4rN-NRg_1mr31Qjg1mcuxaVNMt2e2r5YWC40eZ_W-Gq95hfjrF1rYMpk/s320/tommod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258115902007137506" border="0" /></a>p.s. for sake of simplicity and layout esthetics (see post below) i omitted the distortion unit, that anyway contradicts the paradigm of a clean sounding tomPhilipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-13363618722354977482008-10-17T06:11:00.000-07:002008-10-17T06:24:17.089-07:00Some layout changesThe drumsynth project is progressing well, currently basic versions of all the sound modules are built (except for the 'sampler', this is gonna be either a circuit-bent mp3-player controlled by an atmega8, or an atmega16 which plays 'computed' samples). Also the mixer part, the device which sums up all the individual sound sources is finished and partly tested. For testing i attached only the bass drum to the sequencer and played around.. great fun.. can wait for the thing to be finished!!<br /><br />For the sake of order i removed the 'distortion' knob on the tom module so that all the modules expect the snare have the same height. To make the layout a little 'sexier' in added some decoration (paying tribute to my patron and mascot LB ;-) ).<br />Here is how the new layout looks like:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdK7Hivfqb-Ogfpv0W69hgg5LZjyZutVYrniXFL6nZ64M_h4GYUWrraJJFiNLJRmPHu6bNC5BiA15tcv7wQ-t8hzQtGYton4fZyKFuMe3GBPV0vY55TPgAcBfW95NRHHNKayOYXNk9kWHt/s1600-h/groovebox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdK7Hivfqb-Ogfpv0W69hgg5LZjyZutVYrniXFL6nZ64M_h4GYUWrraJJFiNLJRmPHu6bNC5BiA15tcv7wQ-t8hzQtGYton4fZyKFuMe3GBPV0vY55TPgAcBfW95NRHHNKayOYXNk9kWHt/s320/groovebox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258112432009708018" border="0" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-16810230363860281192008-10-17T05:58:00.000-07:002008-10-17T06:26:04.087-07:00Crash Module Design Changed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBBHupPdISlK6uEJfByXW1oSFa7Trx1HrceS_dxY9KDZvmj_UVKEt-GPcaYFaaEDuy_VLwfFSByV1Va9r02JdCQeWBYjwgRmJLGZ0__8wlynLXlylSoEFxWFaRBtrIbgzJXcS_Qi_OjTP/s1600-h/crashmod"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBBHupPdISlK6uEJfByXW1oSFa7Trx1HrceS_dxY9KDZvmj_UVKEt-GPcaYFaaEDuy_VLwfFSByV1Va9r02JdCQeWBYjwgRmJLGZ0__8wlynLXlylSoEFxWFaRBtrIbgzJXcS_Qi_OjTP/s320/crashmod" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258109783956110114" border="0" /></a><br />Currently the last sound module is being finished. While testing the sound i made some changes in the design. In the new design the phaser 'position' can be changed with the amplitude envelope as well, the amount of envelope in the phaser 'position' can be controlled with a knob. On the other hand the high-pass filter has been omitted. With this configuration some very cool sound ranging from starting jets up to something similar to gunshots can be realized, not really what you expect from a crash cymbal, but definitely unique!Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-38172784674986574192008-10-07T02:58:00.000-07:002008-10-07T03:09:11.601-07:00Trial and Error vs. Abstract MathBefore putting any new info about the other sound modules i'd like to talk a little bit about the electronic design 'strategies' i used to create the schematics. A lot of this was done base on a trial and error approach without really calculating exact values for the resistors and capacitors. Usually this worked quite well, since a lot of design ideas are taken from other schematics that already have shown to work. For some things however it's good to force yourself to go through the entire math to see whats happening in the circuit.<br><br />For the last module (the crash) i'm gonna use a phase shifter to shape the sound. For this had no idea which values to use so i was forced to go through the calculation. Also almost no (understandable) info was on the web so i decided to uncover the working mechanism of a phase-shifter or allpass myself. I put the results together in a short <a href="http://moads.100webspace.net/the_phaser.pdf"> article</a> (if the link doesn't work copy http://moads.100webspace.net/the_phaser.pdf in the adress bar of your browser. I hope that the document is helpful for others everything is there is correct.Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-41357868272657413142008-10-04T08:06:00.000-07:002008-10-04T08:11:28.194-07:00Sequencer FinishedThe sequencer part is finished! I finally found all the major bugs in the firmware for the two atmega8 microcontrollers. I'll publish the source code under gnu public licence on this site as soon as it's cleaned up a little. I've made video showing the functionality of the sequencer, enjoy!.<br /><br><br /><object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4by4nNQl0_Y"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4by4nNQl0_Y" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed> </object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-18531978272862997402008-09-26T05:31:00.000-07:002008-09-26T05:41:44.096-07:00Hi-Hats ConceptThe hi-hats sounds are based on 'true' white noise coming from a transistor based noise source - a little tip about transistor based noise source: use PNP transistors as a noise source (i use standard 2N3906 types) instead of the normally used NPN transistors, i compared the noise level of some 2N3904 (NPN) and 2N3906's and found out that the noise level fluctuates a lot for the 2N3904 but for the 2N3906 the average noise level is much higher and it fluctuates less - the noise is then fed through a decay-only controlled VCA. The envelope has two decay times, one for the 'closed' case and one for the 'open' one. For each triggering the envelope is restarted. The noise is then filtered with a 12dB high-pass filter. Thats it!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOMSObHG13FYu3kPD1u-J5LqfuLoPWNvqfUJ7PGMV4-skNAPflvXidHevmdQpZ0pN3bv_U17C4vuaWNsI6JcRHY66R9_lJgkNCKn7n5koqN9_ao14CznqlTgMbzQyJBxGPjQou4L2bISY/s1600-h/hihatsmod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOMSObHG13FYu3kPD1u-J5LqfuLoPWNvqfUJ7PGMV4-skNAPflvXidHevmdQpZ0pN3bv_U17C4vuaWNsI6JcRHY66R9_lJgkNCKn7n5koqN9_ao14CznqlTgMbzQyJBxGPjQou4L2bISY/s320/hihatsmod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250309052221711442" border="0" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-44733545390068703382008-09-26T05:20:00.000-07:002008-09-26T05:31:11.542-07:00Snare Drum ConceptLately i was working heavily on the sequencer software, fortunately a basic version of it now works! for me debugging is a painfully boring yet demading task which is don't like at all. Especially because digital circuits are not likely (at least this one was not) to show any funnly behaviour when working incorrectly. Debugging analog sound circuits can be very inspiring and funny since in general malfunctioning circuits tend to make some sound which is of course is not what you expect, sometimes even better than that.<br />Lets come to the snare dum concept. The sound source is six oddly detuned square wave oscillators which should make a 'grainy' noise sound. This sound is then fed through a normal decay only evelope controlled VCA. An additional 6dB high pass filter is added to be able to shape the sound a little bit.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZznqeZXYmlWuRjV5yVIVYctOQ642JFmxMo_3PgtfpPDFEDhip7HxGO2Xqnm26MNWuIhQ_eFJ3ZvdMZXT_T8QyqlaN8B7-Pp5h1FYunyzokjQcKhGVmBDySP-R_9QcmAdjn3ciTmbN_Ry/s1600-h/snaredrummod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZznqeZXYmlWuRjV5yVIVYctOQ642JFmxMo_3PgtfpPDFEDhip7HxGO2Xqnm26MNWuIhQ_eFJ3ZvdMZXT_T8QyqlaN8B7-Pp5h1FYunyzokjQcKhGVmBDySP-R_9QcmAdjn3ciTmbN_Ry/s320/snaredrummod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250306514501664962" border="0" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-4634751806614924142008-09-17T05:54:00.000-07:002008-09-17T06:09:14.098-07:00Writing Software and Burning Atmega8Currently i've finished the controller hardware part and the software. At the moment i'm trying to test the software. Problem is that i've managed to burn four Atmega8 microcontrollers while trying to program them. For those of you not familiar with <a href="http://www.atmel.com">Atmel</a>'s microcontroller see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmel_AVR">Wikipedia</a> or <a href="www.avrfreaks.net">AVR freaks</a>. Unfortunately things get expensive quickly once you burned some of them. So i spent hours testing the boards where the atmega's were mounted but couldn't find any errors. Since i've done all my programming with a cheap home-built programmer in the end i suspected the programmer to damage the atmega's. So i forced myself to spend 80 euros for a 'real' programmer (the avr dragon) with this i hope to prevent damaging more micros and even bringing to life the 'dead' ones. The software will be published (und GPL) once working.Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-42601413375566292412008-09-10T06:21:00.000-07:002008-09-10T06:32:55.178-07:00Some photos of the case<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfF88grIkoeS5-Dd6iterxtJdrIXyy8yfx3yTN4mRo5x50_vAXd0wCTncJGazRaXzTYoQys8rbR5eHe7p4w0F7KDx8KiHonViLM7saaBHyMhlWPrXtokApEPqmDiiUr4BN42DN5IAqS7R/s1600-h/RIMG0146.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfF88grIkoeS5-Dd6iterxtJdrIXyy8yfx3yTN4mRo5x50_vAXd0wCTncJGazRaXzTYoQys8rbR5eHe7p4w0F7KDx8KiHonViLM7saaBHyMhlWPrXtokApEPqmDiiUr4BN42DN5IAqS7R/s320/RIMG0146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244382562684166130" border="0" /></a>The case in the beginning (unmodified). The plastic separators have to be taken out.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOHLfv_YtvP0dYUR33UVKmWhh_ZNgo8YR1Um_pClMPIH5mshHbuAIY0pnziohQNC2LqTykXQDmelMro_PTQJiOdZBN1xRDM4xn7Ehha2P2YJ2HvjbRdPWiVBoeRueLwe3gFSTZVeIrOhj/s1600-h/RIMG0151.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOHLfv_YtvP0dYUR33UVKmWhh_ZNgo8YR1Um_pClMPIH5mshHbuAIY0pnziohQNC2LqTykXQDmelMro_PTQJiOdZBN1xRDM4xn7Ehha2P2YJ2HvjbRdPWiVBoeRueLwe3gFSTZVeIrOhj/s320/RIMG0151.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244382867113181218" border="0" /></a>Some plastic separators melted out... was a long and tedious work<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJgE4NU6fJf5GwGCq_1l-h27kzel08KY8HYZdaB3PKekFyS35wPobc952Ki5V153-Ou-_JFFFbypqfNOVturj5i86_AiDXLTdxJ0ZpcCe9WMbybjC1BqoCt4BARKjSdsnRzk0uLcHE3Nj/s1600-h/RIMG0152.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJgE4NU6fJf5GwGCq_1l-h27kzel08KY8HYZdaB3PKekFyS35wPobc952Ki5V153-Ou-_JFFFbypqfNOVturj5i86_AiDXLTdxJ0ZpcCe9WMbybjC1BqoCt4BARKjSdsnRzk0uLcHE3Nj/s320/RIMG0152.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244383369551526210" border="0" /></a><br />LED and rotary switches mounted, staring the wiring of the user interface components<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjw-Xlf-HFowXjFYCGem1kj31TmI7G9PWqN7K6PcoEoV91IZYFbx2pI7N7UFzgvhCIefY3Ne5wu2kIr6EeBC6zKYFJ5JB66Y14Psxk1MeiWtj_gE_qoB9ffhg6JgAquzdUT-NAuoloPZ6/s1600-h/RIMG0154.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjw-Xlf-HFowXjFYCGem1kj31TmI7G9PWqN7K6PcoEoV91IZYFbx2pI7N7UFzgvhCIefY3Ne5wu2kIr6EeBC6zKYFJ5JB66Y14Psxk1MeiWtj_gE_qoB9ffhg6JgAquzdUT-NAuoloPZ6/s320/RIMG0154.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244383961511570802" border="0" /></a><br />The switches are wired the leds not (yet)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4cS9nZl8ryHF5Hw_EAbZ8nNDkKW2Wr1GKag4A9OGIuttkYpt9t3yEhiVxuIkZd8kz36QQVWr2pQtYgydxE1GgL39fgHicJ9hAILD36J7TiekWt2nOZAioTV2ilGmTFLEDcTWB7KgtIxS/s1600-h/RIMG0147.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4cS9nZl8ryHF5Hw_EAbZ8nNDkKW2Wr1GKag4A9OGIuttkYpt9t3yEhiVxuIkZd8kz36QQVWr2pQtYgydxE1GgL39fgHicJ9hAILD36J7TiekWt2nOZAioTV2ilGmTFLEDcTWB7KgtIxS/s320/RIMG0147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244384316360983058" border="0" /></a>front view (note that the paper layout gets glued over the switches again once finished), probably the layout for the 'upper' part isnt finished yet.Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-36127210509417821732008-09-05T05:08:00.000-07:002008-09-05T05:11:07.644-07:00Bass Drum Module Demo VideoHello everyone<br /><br />My first video demonstrating the bass drum module of my drumsynth is finished, have fun ;-)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jqCLm2nLtHs&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jqCLm2nLtHs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-18615269088497788402008-09-03T05:59:00.000-07:002008-09-03T06:43:14.665-07:00Bass Drum Module - Concept and LayoutLately i started working on the sound-modules themselves rather than the 'computer'-part controlling the entire thing. I started with the bass drum module because it is one of the most inportant modules. When working with software drum synth or synthesizers in general i always found it difficult to create a bass-drum sound which is punchy and pumping at the same time. Another important aspect for this project is that the electronic should be as simple as possible and the electronics should be buildable with cheap and easy to find parts.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHo_4HXGO1j0JrKZ8GfvU_ccDGqlvyD4BxYWl4Bjx5hTeXnzPKemo6YLHCGzs4wiDT0KCbNXXRqve-TtS63jEc_RdBJOXStzNKNh1wZ6-nDJtDZNHH_CbjXNOM8m8RG6gyJMY4NqRWXA9/s1600-h/bassdrummod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHo_4HXGO1j0JrKZ8GfvU_ccDGqlvyD4BxYWl4Bjx5hTeXnzPKemo6YLHCGzs4wiDT0KCbNXXRqve-TtS63jEc_RdBJOXStzNKNh1wZ6-nDJtDZNHH_CbjXNOM8m8RG6gyJMY4NqRWXA9/s320/bassdrummod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241781982762823762" border="0" /></a><br />The core of bass drum modules is a 40106 hex inverted-based oscillator. Normally this oscillator is used to create rectangle-wave signals. However one can also get something like a triangle-wave signal when using the voltage at the input rather than the output of the hex inverter. The frequency of this oscillator is controlled with a decay envelope and a pot.<br />The output the goes into a voltage controller amplifier. The volumes is controlled with a simple envelope which consists of a decay envelope signal and a square pulse signal summed up. The idea is to have a punchy attack, done with the decay-envelope and some kind of a compression effect, done with the square pulse.<br />The schematic of this layout is shown below. At the moment the module is built and being tested, sound clips and/or vids following soon, stay tuned!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy03Ue4zKLKb_9BcmbTaK7o2C-712lTKBs2WLPRmR0nz0dotP1DU_wmnbv9cI0kfp9K35LtDBkla1Ehkq5XsQtCfBXP-mJDQ9bDsQgTRPP7I3VZO3ergyIAP_gGW8RfSv7KWa2LIrpJXv/s1600-h/bassdrum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy03Ue4zKLKb_9BcmbTaK7o2C-712lTKBs2WLPRmR0nz0dotP1DU_wmnbv9cI0kfp9K35LtDBkla1Ehkq5XsQtCfBXP-mJDQ9bDsQgTRPP7I3VZO3ergyIAP_gGW8RfSv7KWa2LIrpJXv/s320/bassdrum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241788858809275714" border="0" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-4800523046546238152008-08-27T10:14:00.000-07:002008-08-27T11:34:53.930-07:00The layoutHere is how the frontpanel will look like. I've never been a big graphic designer so the design is kept quite simple. Each blue field contains the knobs for one sound module. The sound modules are intentionally not labeled since the modules are (or should be) designed flexible enough to to create sounds which are beyond the scope each separate module was designed for. Still the intended use is (from left to right): bass drum, snare drum, high-hats (open and closed), tom and crash. The bottom part is the step sequencer with red leds showing the pattern of a single instrument and green leds which show the position in the sequence. Two rotary knobs select the intrument which should be edited. Apart from the six internal modules an external channel (there's an accent and trigger out for this channel) and a digital sample player (a future project) can be programmed. Four patterns can be stored, the pattern to be edited is selected using the second rotary switch. The rest is self-explanatory i think. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdESnwIl7Nxz4JCCUchsuZsSDBwH7bo8ARqb77ktg866KUA6B8tKN6KB0zhoQEGdn_07zCN57WMKU6Y26uB54IorTPMOzyKPJYvTJdOUPY8RahzpM6jUlyZWlg1lGAw41uUaMUJU0z0Hka/s1600-h/groovebox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdESnwIl7Nxz4JCCUchsuZsSDBwH7bo8ARqb77ktg866KUA6B8tKN6KB0zhoQEGdn_07zCN57WMKU6Y26uB54IorTPMOzyKPJYvTJdOUPY8RahzpM6jUlyZWlg1lGAw41uUaMUJU0z0Hka/s320/groovebox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239267202705317026" border="0" /></a><br />Oops, i forgot to say: the case will be an plastic toolbox, so the size is adapted to this box.Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-34547126718441953492008-08-27T06:45:00.000-07:002008-08-27T07:19:15.591-07:00Digital Part: Concept and schematicsFor the digital part i chose to use atmega8 microcontroller to do all the tasks related to the sequencer control. These are mainly handling the buttons (start, stop, running mode, load/save pattern etc.), controlling the led's and generating the trigger pulses and accent switches to control the analog sound modules. When starting i thought that one atmega8 will be sufficient to do all the task but i soon realized that i needed a second one.<br />I decided to split the two controllers into a 'master' controller and a slave controller. The idea behind this is that the master processes all the incoming information (buttons and sequencer clock) and the slave controller is used to control the output (the leds and interface to soundmodules). Communication between master and slave is done via i2c.<br />Here is the schematic (not tested yet) for the master part<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7UV9bRqCIBF_W6sL0ih5VaGMQ_ArejXMmu3TYeQx5de_Vu4xjjGGALiQGR3zGwb_PAddfALNbaHV_KaZacGXrsn6msmtMOVW60Gw_s3FmDikfpqoG0twMl4Oac_FMIaJ6DmmjRyhbwex/s1600-h/digital+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7UV9bRqCIBF_W6sL0ih5VaGMQ_ArejXMmu3TYeQx5de_Vu4xjjGGALiQGR3zGwb_PAddfALNbaHV_KaZacGXrsn6msmtMOVW60Gw_s3FmDikfpqoG0twMl4Oac_FMIaJ6DmmjRyhbwex/s320/digital+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239201012878900194" border="0" /></a>Here is the one for the slave part<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFYYCywxfgEaO2xaJOZvnZhJTU0OP3fQOnYxDnSdTBbsuR9BUcuiYgXkd-xngEo6P0yLu5iTvFqSlpjgqe0LueDQWYUtokFOftYAwv2CR-J1AgKM6CvMMsXocNMr6cWEZ23YRhpMNYJD2/s1600-h/digital+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFYYCywxfgEaO2xaJOZvnZhJTU0OP3fQOnYxDnSdTBbsuR9BUcuiYgXkd-xngEo6P0yLu5iTvFqSlpjgqe0LueDQWYUtokFOftYAwv2CR-J1AgKM6CvMMsXocNMr6cWEZ23YRhpMNYJD2/s320/digital+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239201287891727666" border="0" /></a>Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3565833413124876960.post-31031597338858939962008-08-08T06:02:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:24:37.251-07:00How it all started...The first time i came in touch with music electronics or electronics in general was roghly six years ago. I was playing the electric guitar for a while and wanted to buy some cool distortion pedals, so that i'm able to play heavy rock and metal. I realized that i couldnt really afford them. While surfing on he internet i found out that it's not that difficult to make them myself so i gave myself a try on building some effect. I started with building some designs found on net, later i tried to design some pedals myself. But since i didn't know how the things inside work it wasn't that successful. Also because of financial issues i never used good quality switches and boxes. It ended up by putting the ~7 effects is had in a huge box. So in the end i had a huge, humming box with 7 strange sounding distortion effects in it. Because of several reasons i didn't toucha soldering iron for a while.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Renewed Interest</span><br />About a year ago i was looking for a midi controller keyboard to used with pc-based software instruments. By chance i found one at a local flea market in berne, switzerland. This flea market is organized by a alternative culture center 'Reitschule' (b.t.w. its a great place to visit), so a lot dubious sellers are around there. Maybe thats the case for all flea market but anyway... So i found this controller keyboard which looked totally new. After some negociations i bought is for 80 Swiss francs which is ~50 eur0s. Back at home i quickly found out the keyboard wasnt working at all. After nearly throwing it from the balcony i rememembered that i once wanted to start building a synthesizer. After some days of investigation i came to the decision that i'm gonna try to put the keyboard back to life by constructing an analog synthesizer around it.<br />Since i haven't really worked on electronics for a long time i started with very simple projects. By that time i discovered ray wilson's excellent <a href="http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/">music from outer space</a> site. Without the invaluable information on this site i probably wouldn't have been able get into analog synthesizer technology. Thanks to ray wilson for building and supporting this excellent site!.<br />The first 'real' project built is the weird sound generator from MFOS. Due to a lack of an appropriate enclosure i mounted it into a a folder.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7_evoeghjkSWVQEGgahduIgTKqGtYST1EHNRluGwwR3E191wx6RfraXBFk2quw61mvjfD7E8jCsYk-Cs3UpIUvQAAfA08iRCxoGpyn-TxLT8Rd7hdeNxD7SLok-X0V374MKdOX_94Rrw/s1600-h/RIMG0003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7_evoeghjkSWVQEGgahduIgTKqGtYST1EHNRluGwwR3E191wx6RfraXBFk2quw61mvjfD7E8jCsYk-Cs3UpIUvQAAfA08iRCxoGpyn-TxLT8Rd7hdeNxD7SLok-X0V374MKdOX_94Rrw/s320/RIMG0003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232138822735153314" border="0" /></a><br />The folder gained some popularity amolng my bandmates and friend. So i offered them to build the same circuit in an specific enclosure which they could choose on their own. By the time i already biult three copies of WSG, one is mounted in a plastic case (see the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/koefferli">myspace site</a> dedicated to it) another one in a wooden box and the last one in a former model airplane remote control. By the time i planned my next project: the MFOS mini synth. After building three WSG's i felt sure enough to modify the mini synth slightly to fit my needs. In order to use it with the keyboard i added the scanning matrix encoder (also from the mfos site, your guessed it, right?). I also added an external (guitar) input which routes the external signal to the filter and vca section, beside that it has an envelope follower and a signal to gate converter. Another major change compared to the original sound lab is that it can be patched beside the switches that do the signal/cv routing. Below are some photos of the synth and the keyboard.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmNARnnE1ql7CpRt84IOUoYGlbncAyRHWeL3kxa0KN4JwkKw9xELm4yBCeVw9QkohjzFNqlTlPiELSa4brl2KA3x83d2-mvupH-9MFzLxKGl7kAVlp8Kkmqct_lupdAYGw_byWWTcpvUT/s1600-h/RIMG0002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmNARnnE1ql7CpRt84IOUoYGlbncAyRHWeL3kxa0KN4JwkKw9xELm4yBCeVw9QkohjzFNqlTlPiELSa4brl2KA3x83d2-mvupH-9MFzLxKGl7kAVlp8Kkmqct_lupdAYGw_byWWTcpvUT/s320/RIMG0002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232223032461437442" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEs8ZSNHNkXaSr2_Ihwgn5L8yCpQmLyxEW9dn9P90yZhoj_crDn0glgQq2aAQMGyAZR4GlaIvs4e1qCOBrgBLJAsIwyz66qFVX2SzNU5SPXDPHr9xj6kurh-HV5QbMRJJUf6YAYnyWCySr/s1600-h/RIMG0046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEs8ZSNHNkXaSr2_Ihwgn5L8yCpQmLyxEW9dn9P90yZhoj_crDn0glgQq2aAQMGyAZR4GlaIvs4e1qCOBrgBLJAsIwyz66qFVX2SzNU5SPXDPHr9xj6kurh-HV5QbMRJJUf6YAYnyWCySr/s320/RIMG0046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232224487745139986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozFmAtK1xYMGK3NIQPUYx-C50y3nITLNEY_HD8Mkn7_reqFPDKnRtYciReZtXoZX-QV_miFPSktI6lLOg7FsNgey-aLMr3wJF6lSk3DopOCU2LKXreBofBY5GkuPw4QdVOm69Z5jJImv0/s1600-h/RIMG0042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozFmAtK1xYMGK3NIQPUYx-C50y3nITLNEY_HD8Mkn7_reqFPDKnRtYciReZtXoZX-QV_miFPSktI6lLOg7FsNgey-aLMr3wJF6lSk3DopOCU2LKXreBofBY5GkuPw4QdVOm69Z5jJImv0/s320/RIMG0042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232224928302182642" border="0" /></a><br />There are already enough not-so-musical soundlab demos on the net so i decided not to make a 'raw' soundlab demos yet, once i have time i'll add a video. You can hear my soundlab in a musical context (well that always a matter of taste i guess) on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/stonerosemusic">my myspace site</a>. The sound lab can be heard in the songs 'the funky chicken', 'a word' and 'drifting'. In 'the funky chicked' the bass is done with the soundlab, the horns in the band (not in the intro, these are samples), and in the keyboard solo in the middle. The playing of this is lousy but the sound is quite decent i think. In 'a word' the bass and all the synths are done with the soundlab (except drums). The wah-wah guitar well heard during the first verse is the acoustic guitar processed by the soundlab. In 'drifting all the synths except drums are made with the soundlab.<br />After the soundlab was finished is built three guitar effect boxes, a little guitar practice amp and a midi to control voltage converter. More on these, especially the midi-to-cv converter later.Philipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05574299878644317593noreply@blogger.com0