XIAO MIDI Proto PCB – Part 2

Here are the build notes for my XIAO MIDI Proto PCB. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! If you are new to microcontrollers, see the Getting Started pages. Bill of Materials XIAO MIDI Proto PCB (GitHub link below). 1x … Continue reading XIAO MIDI Proto PCB – Part 2 →

XIAO MIDI Proto PCB

This is a re-design of my 3V3 MIDI Module PCB and Arduino MIDI Proto Shield for the Seeed Studio XIAO series of microcontrollers. Build Guide: XIAO MIDI Proto PCB – Part 2. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are the … Continue reading XIAO MIDI Proto PCB →

Tactile Button Keyboard PCB – Part 2

Here are the build notes for my Tactile Button Keyboard PCB. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are the key tutorials for the main concepts used in this project: Open Music Labs: Input Matrix Scanning Arduino Nano MIDI … Continue reading Tactile Button Keyboard PCB – Part 2 →

Tactile Button Keyboard PCB

I've used tactile buttons as musical keyboards in a number of my projects now and either build them on solderless breadboard, which is quite unreliable, or on stripboard, which is a little messy. This PCB design is for a one-octave tactile button keyboard PCB that has various modes of operation and is extendable to two … Continue reading Tactile Button Keyboard PCB →

Analog IO Board PCB – Part 2

This is the build guide for the Analog IO Board PCB. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are the key Arduino tutorials for the main concepts used in this project: Simple Potentiometer Breakout Arduino Multi-pot Mozzi FM Synthesis … Continue reading Analog IO Board PCB – Part 2 →

Analog IO Board PCB

A number of my synth projects require the use of potentiometers. A while back I made a relatively simple stripboard pot breakout, but it isn't particularly reliable. This PCB is a pot breakout that can be used in various ways - either direct, with a 4051 multiplexer, or with an SPI MCP3008 expander. It also … Continue reading Analog IO Board PCB →

MiniDexed Raspberry Pi V1 IO Board – Part 2

This is the build guide for my MiniDexed Raspberry Pi V1 IO Board. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! These are the key tutorials for the main concepts used in this project: MiniDexed: “Bare Metal” Raspberry Pi MiniDexed DX7 Raspberry Pi … Continue reading MiniDexed Raspberry Pi V1 IO Board – Part 2 →

MiniDexed Raspberry Pi V1 IO Board

I already have two different IO boards for use with MiniDexed on a Raspberry Pi and whilst MiniDexed works best on a Pi 3 or 4, providing 8 full DX7-compatible tone generators, it is also possible to run it on a V1 Raspberry Pi, although it is limited in performance to a single tone generator. … Continue reading MiniDexed Raspberry Pi V1 IO Board →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 7 – In use!

Now that my MiniDexed TX816 seems largely usable (for me at least), this is the last part in the series for the time being and is simply a short demonstration of the module in use! Here is an 80s style FM synth version of Jupiter from Holst's Planets Suite. Previous posts in this series: Part … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 7 – In use! →

MiniDexed TX816 – Part 6 – Pico MIDI Router and TX816 IO Code

It's been a while since finishing the MiniDexed TX816 Mechanical Assembly and I had a bit of a distraction recently rebuilding my Lo-Fi Orchestra, but I've also been tinkering with the code for the TX816 IO panel and router. This post looks into a bit more detail what it is all doing. Posts in this series: … Continue reading MiniDexed TX816 – Part 6 – Pico MIDI Router and TX816 IO Code →