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 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 4

I was going to leave things at Part 3 blog-wise, and just get on with filling in the gaps in code now, but I've come back to add a few more notes. But this is likely to be the final part now. Recall so far, I have: Part 1 where I work out how to … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 4 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 3

The story so far... In Part 1 I work out how to build Synth_Dexed using the Pico SDK and get some sounds coming out. In Part 2 I take a detailed look at the performance with a diversion into the workings of the pico_audio library and floating point maths on the pico, on the way. … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 3 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 2

Now that the initial elation at getting a reasonable sounding, er, sound from my Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed has worn off, I've been seeing what I can do about the performance. TL;DR: this is all analysis and measurements, working out and attempting to understand how it all currently works. I haven't fixed anything or improved it yet. I'm … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? – Part 2 →

Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed?

For a while I've wanted to get Synth_Dexed up and running on a Raspberry Pi Pico. This is the library written by Holger Wirtz for use with the Teensy microcontroller, and the core synth engine used for MiniDexed. This is how I got everything up and running although it is too early to know if this … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Synth_Dexed? →

Raspberry Pi Pico Capacitive Touch

I've now done a number of projects using capacitive touch, using a range of methods from native IO handling to the use of the MPR121 and off-the-shelf boards. Typically native IO methods require testing a response between a signal on one IO pin being received on another, with the timing of that response affected by … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pico Capacitive Touch →

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 →

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 →

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 →