Retro Joy – Serial Serendipity DIY
Some fun with an old joystick and a sampler made from an Arduino + the Adafruit Waveshield.
Curious about what the Adafruit is? Here’s a description:
Adding quality audio to an electronic project is surprisingly difficult. Here is a shield for Arduinos that solves this problem. It can play up to 22KHz, 12bit uncompressed audio files of any length. It’s low cost, available as an easy-to-make kit. It has an onboard DAC, filter and op-amp for high quality output. Audio files are read off of an SD/MMC card, which are available at nearly any store. Volume can be controlled with the onboard thumbwheel potentiometer.
This shield is a kit, and comes with all parts you need to build it. Arduino, SD card, tools, speaker and headphones are not included. It is fairly easy to construct and anyone with a successful soldering project under their belt should be able to build it.
The shield comes with an Arduino library for easy use; simply drag uncompressed wave files onto the SD card and plug it in. Then use the library to play audio when buttons are pressed, or when a sensor goes off, or when serial data is received, etc. Audio is played asynchronously as an interrupt, so the Arduino can perform tasks while the audio is playing.
http://adafruit.com/products/94
BBC video featuring Kraftwerk
Music and art – I guess would be a fair description of this
Enjoy
Reason Essentials
Background data:
The perfect way into music making – Reason Essentials packs in all the recording, editing, effects, instruments, and mixing tools you need to sound great – and now it is available at an amazing new price! Check with your music retailer for details. http://line6.com/dealers/
Reason Essentials, just like its bigger brother Reason, puts making music in focus. From concept to completion, it has all the essential tools for turning good ideas into great songs.
Reason Essentials comes with a selection of Reason’s instruments and effects in a virtual rack, a streamlined version of its masterfully modeled mixer, and all the recording and sequencing tools you’ll need. For guitar players, the built-in virtual guitar and bass PODs from Line 6 bring a wide range of top quality guitar amps, cabinets, and effects.
Reason Essentials is the software that lets you focus on the music and finish that song.
Mark Mosher improvisation on the Saurus virtual synth
My Colorado based electronic music friend Mark Mosher, sent me this nice improvisation that he has made on the Tone2 Saurus synth:
“It’s gorgeous. Checkout this improv vid I made with Saurus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-scMPERoIlQ”
About the video:
This is single patch improvisation recorded in one pass with no edits using Tone2’s virtual Synthesizer Saurus. A single instance of Saurus is used with no other effects or editing other than what is built-into the synth. I’m starting with a factory patch in the “Lead” bank called “1970s Soloist H”. I only touch the computer once during the performance in the middle to turn up the gain in the mod matrix so that LFO modulates pitch.
Prior to recording I mapped all sorts of parameters to my Novation Remote SL MK II Keyboard.
– XY map to Filter and Rez
– Bank 1 of the top 8 knobs are mapped to filter parameters and OSC Balance
– Bank 2 of top 8 knobs are mapped to effects parameters
– Bottom row 8 knobs are MIDI mapped to Oscillator noise type AM/FM, LFO Speed, Glide rate
– The first 4 sliders map to the volume ADSR
– The next 4 sliders map to filter ADSR
I used my projector to paint my wall with Saurus to the knob movement you see on the wall is in real-time and corresponds to my controller movement.
Mark Mosher
Electronic Music Artist, Boulder CO
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
http://www.MarkMosherMusic.com
From our original post on the Saurus:
Tone2 has released a new software synthesizer for Mac & Windows, Saurus.
According to Tone2, Saurus is ‘not just another synthesizer with character, but one that truly represents the analog sound.’
Here’s what they have to say about it:
We carefully measured and modeled the circuits of many classic performance synthesizers, including even single capacitors and resistors to provide an extremely accurate analog model, faithfully capturing the spirit and character of these old machines. All without placing heavy demands on your CPU or budget.
Highlights:
- True Analog Modelling Technology
- High-end sound quality
- Low CPU and high reliability
- Easy-to-use interface
- ‘Unique sounds which no other synthesizer can create’
- Huge sonic range
- Flexibility, expandability
- Ships with 563 presets from 21 sound designers
Features:
- Covers all important aspects of traditional analog synths
- Mono, Legato & Polyphonic modes employing analog voice management
- Two Syncable Oscillators and two Sub Oscillators
- Not just standard waveforms but also a large number of exotic ones
- Pulse Width Modulation and Oscillator Sync applicable to every waveform
- Oscillator Drift, Phase and Noise Modulation controls
- Noise FM, AM and Ring Modulation for Oscillators
- Analog filter with self-oscillation, nonlinearity, 6 filter types, FM and feedback
- LFOs and modulation capable of running at audio-rate
- Arpeggiator with extensive configuration possibilities
- Flexible Modulation Matrix with new features, including a filter
- Programmable gate
- 4x Stereo Unison modes with spread and panning control
- Analog modeled Distortion and Tube amp
- Optional Psycho-Acoustic processing
- High-end quality Effects
Tone2 Saurus is available now for US $119. See the Tone2 site for details, audio samples and a demo version.
Tutorial: Teenage Engineering OP-1 – Timestretching
A quick tutorial how to timestretch a loop on the OP-1, it is a bit of a hack but works quite well in a lo-fi way, here is how it works, the value LFO is assigned to loop direction, with a fast speed the tempo will change without affecting the pitch, seems to work best with vocals or beats. Enjoy!
Chip tunes: Children of the Bleep
This compilation presents chiptune artists from many different styles.
Such as Glitch Hop, Breakbeat, Bassline, Dubstep, Dub, IDM, Ambient, Cumbia, Hardcore, Speedcore, Breakcore, Synth Punk, Digital Hardcore, Grindcore and Noise.
Available for Free Download on http://chipndamned.com
Experimental: 3D Granular Synthesis Engine
Background information:
A project I’m doing for a university assignment. It’s a 3d exploration-based granular synthesis engine. It evolved from my previous sine web project, but it’s still in the early stages. It has a sonified particle system with gravity.
Sci-fi loops, here we come
Precisionsound has released its Astrosphere collection of futuristic, out of this world soundscape loops.
Conjuring alien habitats, future technology, and spaces that defy the laws of physics, Astrosphere provides nearly an hour of sonic material for film music, game audio, theater applications, and radio productions. Of course, the evolving sounds may be useful to composers of electronic and ambient music as well. Each soundscape is over one minute in length, crafted to loop seamlessly.
Astrosphere features:
- 50 Stereo 24-bit, 48 kHz WAV files for use with DAWs or video editors, such as Cubase / Nuendo, Sonar, Vegas, Pro Tools, Logic, and so forth
- Over 54 minutes of audio (897 MB total content)
- 1 Program for all versions of HALion
- 1 Program for Kontakt 1 and 2
- 1 Program with scripted GUI for Kontakt 3 and higher
- Sampler programs are included for easy auditioning of sounds
- The program for Kontakt 3 displays the name of the played file on the GUI when you press a key
Precisionsound notes that the files in Astrosphere are intended to be placed directly on the timeline of a DAW or video editor, while the sampler programs are included for easy auditioning of sounds. The program for Kontakt 3 and higher displays the name of the played file on the GUI when you press a key. Although you do not need a sampler to use Astrosphere, you will need the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt (not Kontakt Player) in order to audition the sounds in Kontakt.
Astrosphere can be yours as a download library for $29 or on DVD for $40. All sampler formats are included. For more information on the new sound library, visit Precisionsound’s Web site at precisionsound.net.
My Killing Game – Over You
Music by My Killing Game
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Photos by Andreas Måneskiöld
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Video footage by Patrik Bustad
Anaphobia Mini – the free monophonic virtual analog synthesizer has been updated
Developer Lars Rosenquist has updated Anaphobia Mini – a free monophonic virtual analog synthesizer for iOS 5.0.
Here’s what’s new in Anaphobia Mini 2.0:
- 16 step sequencer with adjustable tempo (20-200 BPM), adjustable swing and glide/portamento
- Synchronise tempo to MIDI clock
- Support for MIDI start, stop and reset commands
- Background audio play
- Virtual MIDI
- WIST (Wireless synchronised start and stop)
- Filter and voice now each have a dedicated LFO
- Completely rewritten synthesizer engine
- Various bug fixes and minor improvements
Note: This update will erase existing setups, please make screenshots from setups you wish to keep.
Anaphobia Mini is available for free in the App Store.
DATAMASKIN
