Universal Synthesizer Panel – Part 2

This is the second part in a series of posts describing how I've approached building a "universal synthesizer panel" to house a range of microcontroller synthesis projects. In the first part, I detailed the general idea and overall design of the panel. In this part I will build the IO panel. In part 3 I … Continue reading Universal Synthesizer Panel – Part 2 →

Universal Synthesizer Panel – Introduction

I have a number of "off the shelf" synthesizer programs and sketches kicking around that I wanted a way to actually be able to do some proper "musical" playing with them. Having them put together on breadboard and stripboard is all very well, but sometimes I want to be able just to load up the … Continue reading Universal Synthesizer Panel – Introduction →

Vertical Modular Synthesizer “CD Rack Format”

I'm planning on building a series of MIDI synthesizer modules that will have a pretty simple means of hooking them together, but want something to house them. I also have a couple of IKEA CD racks kicking around that haven't been required for a while, and I also don't want to take up large chunks … Continue reading Vertical Modular Synthesizer “CD Rack Format” →

MIDI Connections Cheat Sheet

It seems that every time I start to wire-up a MIDI socket or plug I'm looking up, yet again, both what goes to pin 4 and pin 5, and also which pins on a MIDI socket are pins 4 and 5! So I thought I'd hunt around once and for all for everything I can … Continue reading MIDI Connections Cheat Sheet →

Multi-Mode MIDI Step Sequencer

I've revisited my Arduino MIDI Step Sequencer and added different play modes and LED indicators, but I started to quickly run out of IO pins - so I dug out a Pro Mega 2560 board that I've been meaning to try out for a while. You can read all the details below. Update: There is now … Continue reading Multi-Mode MIDI Step Sequencer →

MT32 Clumsy MIDI Simple MIDI Filter

My MT32 Clumsy MIDI Program Changer and Filter was a little disappointing, in that it didn't seem to be able to keep up with the MIDI stream for my Lo-Fi Orchestra, so I thought I'd try for a simpler version using the 5V/16MHz Arduino Pro Mini without the extras for selecting the MT32Pi voice to use. … Continue reading MT32 Clumsy MIDI Simple MIDI Filter →

Lo-Fi Orchestra – Saturn from The Planets

Inspired by the legendary Tomita, the Lo-Fi Orchestra presents Saturn from Gustav Holst's Planets Suite. This is using the same Lo-Fi Orchestra setup as Jupiter, which is detailed in full here. There is a lot of dynamic nuance in the original, but unfortunately the Lo-Fi Orchestra doesn't really do nuance, it is mostly "on" or … Continue reading Lo-Fi Orchestra – Saturn from The Planets →

Universal Microcontroller MIDI Module

It's been a while since I built a MIDI module... actually, I need the "raw electronics" from a MIDI In/Out interface for a project I'm planning, and wanted it to support either 3.3V or 5V microcontrollers, so this little project was the result. While I was at it, I thought I'd add in a low-pass … Continue reading Universal Microcontroller MIDI Module →

Toy Keyboard Matrix Decode with the Pi Pico

I'm always on the look out for discarded music keyboards that I might be able to do something with, so when I came across this thrown out in the street I claimed it to take a look. This shows how I used a Raspberry Pi Pico to decode the keyboard part and turn it into … Continue reading Toy Keyboard Matrix Decode with the Pi Pico →

MT32 Clumsy MIDI Program Changer and Filter

Having used my MT32-Pi (in fluidsynth mode) with an updated Arduino MIDI Filter in the Lo-Fi Orchestra – Jupiter from The Planets I decided to combine them with my Arduino MT-32 Program Changer try to create an add-on board for my Clumsy MIDI interface to allow a self-contained unit that: Can set the patch number (voice) for the MT-32 … Continue reading MT32 Clumsy MIDI Program Changer and Filter →