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Thursday, April 26, 2012

MiSW Monotribe Amp Received!


Just received the Op-Amp from Michigan Synth Works, looks great!  



MiSW Monotribe Amp 

I will post some pics and sound examples when it's all wrapped up, in the mean time if you are interested in a  MiSW Monotribe Amp, or Midi Kit for your Monotribe, contact MiSW here: 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Crystal Synth XT v1.6 Update brings Virtual MIDI



Crystal Synth XT - Green Oak Software


What's new in version 1.6 (released on April 13, 2012):
  • Multitasking - Use the Settings app to turn on the CrystalSynthXT Background Audio mode if you'd like Crystal to play audio when in the background, for example to play from a virtual midi controller app.
  • Please send any problem reports via email to crystalsynth [at] gmail [dot] com. We cannot reply to problem reports in reviews.
  • Positive reviews are always welcome and encourage us to provide updates!

Floppy Drive Sampler (via Hackaday)


Floppy drive as an audio sampler (via Hackaday)



Here’s a floppy drive which is being used as an audio sampler. At first glance we thought this was another offering which drives the stepper motor at a specific frequency to generate that characteristic sound at a target pitch. But that’s not what’s happening at all. The floppy is actually being used as a storage device (go figure).

From what we can tell, it’s being used almost like an 8-track tape. A PWM signal is stored on one circular slice of the disk, then the head can be moved back to that same “track” to play back the wave form. The head doesn't move during playback, but just keeps reading the same track of bits. To the right you can see an Arduino board. This allows for MIDI control of the track selection. [Alexis] shows off some keyboard control in the video after the break. There’s a buffer chip on the breadboard which allows the audio output to be quickly switched off as the floppy drive head is moved. This keeps garbage out of the sound until the new track can be read.


Korg Monotribe Mod

Scooped up a Monotribe modded with midi, decay controls, and individual outputs!

Excitement soon waned, as I then discovered the outputs are basically useless without an additional Op-Amp.

Thankfully, I found one for sale via Michigan Synth Works. I have yet to receive it, but I will be sure to post pics up after I have received and installed it.  In the mean time, I have routed the individual outs to separate preamps, and I gotta say I am impressed!  The decay controls add some good low end boom to the Kick, very reminicesnt of the 808!