Arduino and AY-3-8910 – Part 2

Following on from my initial experiments in Arduino and AY-3-8910 this post looks at the sound generation capabilities in a little more detail and adds some basic MIDI control. Part 1 - Getting started and looking at playing YM files. Part 2 - Adding basic MIDI control. Part 3 - Basic experiments with direct digital synthesis. Part 4 … Continue reading Arduino and AY-3-8910 – Part 2 →

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 USB Device to Serial MIDI Converter

Having recently revisited the CircuitPython USB to Serial MIDI Router as part of XIAO ESP32-C3 MIDI Synthesizer – Part 2 it reminded me I didn't really have a simple Arduino USB device to serial MIDI for the XIAO. So this is filling that gap. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. … Continue reading XIAO USB Device to Serial MIDI Converter →

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 →

Arduino Atari MIDI Keypad

This uses my Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB and a pair of Atari 2600 keypad controllers to see if they can be used as some kind of MIDI controller. https://makertube.net/w/7VoDLuAWbiHuMr21XszyD4 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 … Continue reading Arduino Atari MIDI Keypad →

Arduino MIDI Atari Paddles

Finally, I get to the point where I can do something vaguely musical with my Atari 2600 Controller Shield PCB. This turns it into a simple MIDI CC controller using the Atari paddles. https://makertube.net/w/dgK7y73KfC1SWc5z2wsJ6x Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to … Continue reading Arduino MIDI Atari Paddles →