Arduino OPL FM Synth – Part 2

Despite saying last time that I looked at the YM2413, I didn't need to build a protoboard version of the YM2413 "shield", I've had an idea for something that would really benefit from one, so here it is. I've built it onto one of my Arduino MIDI Proto Shields. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or … Continue reading Arduino OPL FM Synth – Part 2 →

Raspberry Pi Pico MIDI Note Balancer

One use for my Raspberry Pi Pico MIDI Splitter is as a way to get pseudo polyphony from a range of monophonic sources. I've called this "note balancing" from the idea of "load balancing" online systems - sharing out the "ask" across a number of devices. In a similar way, this can take requests to play … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico MIDI Note Balancer →

The New Lo-Fi Orchestra Explainer

In honour of my 400th post to my blog, and having now designed and built a range of relevant PCBs I wanted to completely take apart the existing Lo-Fi Orchestra and rebuild it from scratch. This post details how the orchestra has been updated and will hopefully serve as a new explainer for the Lo-Fi … Continue reading The New Lo-Fi Orchestra Explainer →

The New Lo-Fi Orchestra and The 1812 Overture

In celebration of my 400th post on my blog, I've just finished rebuilding the Lo-Fi Orchestra. And seeing as for my 100th post, I presented the finale for Tchaikovsky's Solemn Overture, 1812, in honour of my 400th post and for the inaugural performance of the new orchestra, I thought it was about time I did … Continue reading The New Lo-Fi Orchestra and The 1812 Overture →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 5 – Mechanical Assembly

Having now built the required PCBs and obtained a panel, this post starts to think about the actual mechanical assembly of the MiniDexed TX816. Posts in this series: Part 1: Introduction, context, and high-level design. Part 2: PCB design. Part 3: Panel design. Part 4: PCB assembly. Part 5: Mechanical assembly. Part 6: Pico MIDI … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 5 – Mechanical Assembly →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 4b – PCB Build Guide – IO Board

This is the second build guide, this time for the IO board. The build guide for the Raspberry Pi Interface Board can be found here. Posts in this series: Part 1: Introduction, context, and high-level design. Part 2: PCB design. Part 3: Panel design. Part 4: PCB assembly. Part 5: Mechanical assembly. Part 6: Pico … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 4b – PCB Build Guide – IO Board →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 4a – PCB Build Guide – RPi Interface Board

I'm not going to do full build guides for the PCBs for this, but I will be documenting in high level terms how they are put together. There are two build guides, this one for the Raspberry Pi Interface board and a second one (4b) for the IO board. Posts in this series: Part 1: … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 4a – PCB Build Guide – RPi Interface Board →

Arduino OPL FM Synth

Someone recently asked me about a 2413 synth chip emulation library they'd found for the ESP32 and I'm very interested in taking a look. But I've not done any ESP32 projects so far, so that will have to wait for a bit (come back in a few weeks maybe). But that reminded me that I … Continue reading Arduino OPL FM Synth →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 3 – Panel Design

One the things I really wanted to pay attention to for my MiniDexed TX816 was the panel itself. Usually, my panels are a very "DIY, it'll do" affair but I want this one to at least make an attempt to capture some of the style of the original TX816. I looked at a range of options … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 3 – Panel Design →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 2 – PCB Design

As I mentioned in my introduction, I soon gave up trying to prototype a Raspberry Pi Pico based TX816 styled user interface for my MiniDexed using solderless breadboard. It was just too unweildy, unreliable, and generally impractical. Consequently, I've took a bit of a risk and jumped straight into designing some circuit boards for my … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 2 – PCB Design →