Other SAM2695 Synths

After my experiments with the XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer and in particular, after looking in detail at some different SAM2695 synth modules in XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 3, I've also found a few other neat modules that I thought worth a mention. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. … Continue reading Other SAM2695 Synths →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 6

Expanding on my previous posts, I thought it might be interesting to see how I might be able to add some additional IO to the MIDI Synth. This is an exploration of some options there. Part 1 - Getting started and getting code running. Part 2 - Swapping the ESP32-C3 for a SAMD21 to get USB … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 6 →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 5

So I was somewhat guilty that I'd replaced the XIAO microcontroller in the last couple of parts to get USB MIDI, so in this one I put the original ESP32-C3 back in and now have a version of Part 4 for serial MIDI. Part 1 - Getting started and getting code running. Part 2 - Swapping the … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 5 →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 4

In Part 2 I looked at how to add USB MIDI to the XIAO MIDI Synthesizer and in Part 3 I looked at some of the properties of the SAM2695 synth chip itself. This post combines the two into a relatively simple, but playable, synth. Part 1 - Getting started and getting code running. Part 2 - Swapping … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 4 →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 3

So, now that the basics are out of the way I'm going to dive into the specifics of the Dream SAM2695 chip itself. Part 1 - Getting started and getting code running. Part 2 - Swapping the ESP32-C3 for a SAMD21 to get USB MIDI. Part 3 - Taking a deeper look at the SAM2695 itself. Part 4 … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 3 →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 2

After an initial play with the XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer the first thing I wanted to try was to swap out the ESP32-C3 for something else, just to see what could be done. Part 1 - Getting started and getting code running. Part 2 - Swapping the ESP32-C3 for a SAMD21 to get USB MIDI. Part 3 - … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 2 →

XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer

I quite like many of the XIAO boards, so when I got an email announcing the XIAO MIDI Synthesizer I went off to buy one and take a look. This uses the Dream SAM2695 MIDI device, which is a General MIDI instrument in a chip. I have a couple of devices that use this chip, … Continue reading XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer →

Korg Volca Notes

I've managed to get myself a Korg Volca Modular and have been having a bit of fun playing around with it. I'm not going to do a review or get into the detailed specifications - there are loads of reviews online. I'm more interested in its hacking potential! There is a lot of information online … Continue reading Korg Volca Notes →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 6

One last thing I definitely wanted for my PicoDexed was the option for PWM output. This post is by way of a short coda detailing how to do PWM on a Raspberry Pi Pico. Part 1: Building Synth_Dexed for the Pico. Part 2: Assessing the performance and analysis of the Pico audio library. Part 3: … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 6 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 5

Ok, ignore my last comment about Part 4 being my last post on this topic. I thought I ought to pull together all the hardware notes on how to build one as I haven't really written that down anywhere. So this shows the connections required between the Pico, I2S DAC and MIDI IN. Part 1: … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 5 →