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Murcia, Spain

Hey guys.

Reading about synths today I came across an idea and I was wondering wether it's been done already or not and if it would be possible.
This is making a hardware piece allowing the user to manually modify the filter, filter parameters and type of wave in the WAV channel on LSDJ, with potentiometers and such stuff, in a hardware-synth style.
This would be awesome in order to use the Game Boy WAV channel as a synth, while playing on a MIDI keyboard or something like that.

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mgb. rack mount it.

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Murcia, Spain
herr_prof wrote:

mgb. rack mount it.

Yes, that's more or less the idea, but I don't mean filtering what the console is making, I mean controlling the filter provided by LSDJ.

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MIDI?

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Edinburgh
DogTag wrote:

Yes, that's more or less the idea, but I don't mean filtering what the console is making, I mean controlling the filter provided by LSDJ.

Nitro2k01 made a GB synth rom with MIDI filter control: http://chipmusic.org/forums/post/159293/#p159293

Haven't tried it myself, but maybe that's of some use?

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Murcia, Spain
Glitch Militia wrote:

MIDI?

Is it possible to do what I'm saying with just an Arduinoboy?

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Czech republic
DogTag wrote:

Is it possible to do what I'm saying with just an Arduinoboy?

You'd have to hack the code to read potentiometers / switches instead of incoming midi data. Or add another arduino reading the sensors and transimiting midi to arduinoboy. Basically making a midi controller.

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washington
Comptroller wrote:

Nitro2k01 made a GB synth rom with MIDI filter control: http://chipmusic.org/forums/post/159293/#p159293

Haven't tried it myself, but maybe that's of some use?

this looks super awesome.

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ashimoke wrote:
DogTag wrote:

Is it possible to do what I'm saying with just an Arduinoboy?

You'd have to hack the code to read potentiometers / switches instead of incoming midi data. Or add another arduino reading the sensors and transimiting midi to arduinoboy. Basically making a midi controller.

Could't you just use a midi controller with whatever potentiometers that you fancy?

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Czech republic
Glitch Militia wrote:

Could't you just use a midi controller with whatever potentiometers that you fancy?

Sure. What I suggested could be compact form solution which (I guess) is what OP was looking for.

I was actually thinking about doing something similar - replacing gameboys top side with panel with pots and stylophone-like keyboard. And get rid of the front pcb of course. I've got a render of the device somewhere - will post if I find it.

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ashimoke wrote:
Glitch Militia wrote:

Could't you just use a midi controller with whatever potentiometers that you fancy?

Sure. What I suggested could be compact form solution which (I guess) is what OP was looking for.

I was actually thinking about doing something similar - replacing gameboys top side with panel with pots and stylophone-like keyboard. And get rid of the front pcb of course. I've got a render of the device somewhere - will post if I find it.

I'm stealing that idea :-P

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clovis CA

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/763704741/synthboy

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Czech republic

Synthoby's form kind of repels me for some reason.

This is what I was thinking about:

I would make some changes to the design today but it'd look more or less like this. The keyboard is supposed to be like the one stylophone has (was too lazy to model the keys separatelly). Those 3 recatngles left from the keyboard are pitch bend touch points.

Last edited by ashimoke (Apr 6, 2013 8:35 pm)

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shanghai

ralp built some mad thing years back. it wasnt so much a dmg synth. but it was the coolest dmg thing i ever did see. cant find a pic of it though. mmmm that thing was the boss

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Easton, PA, USA

A little off topic but, oddly enough the Z80 processor at the core of the dmg has been used in many instruments including famous ones. here is the list of DMG cousins in music:
MIDI sequencers such as E-mu 4060 Polyphonic Keyboard and Sequencer, Zyklus MPS, and Roland MSQ700 were built around the Z80,[citation needed]
MIDI controllers and switches such as Waldorf Midi-Bay MB-15 and others.[citation needed]
Several polyphonic analog synthesizers used it for keyboard-scanning (also wheels, knobs, displays...) and D/A or PWM control of analog levels; in newer designs, sometimes sequencing and/or MIDI-communication. The Z80 was also often involved in the sound generation itself; implementing LFOs, envelope generators and so on. Known examples include:
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Prophet 10,[65] Prophet 600, Six-Trak, Multitrak, MAX, and Split-8
MemoryMoog six-voice synthesizer[66]
Oberheim OB-8 eight-voice synthesizer with MIDI
Roland Jupiter-8 eight-voice synthesizer
Digital sampling synthesizers such as the Emulator I, Emulator II, and Akai S700 12-bit Sampler,
as well as drum machines like the E-mu SP-12, E-mu SP-1200, E-mu Drumulator, and the Sequential Circuits Drumtraks, used Z80 processors.
Many Lexicon reverberators (PCM70, LXP15, LXP1, MPX100) used one or more Z80s for user interface and LFO generation where dedicated hardware provided DSP functions.
The ADA MP-1. A MIDI controlled, vacuum tube, guitar pre-amplifier.

Wonder if anybody has scoured the code of any of these devices for anything that could be applied towards synth building?

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Tacoma WA
zerolanding wrote:

A little off topic but, oddly enough the Z80 processor at the core of the dmg has been used in many instruments including famous ones. here is the list of DMG cousins in music:
MIDI sequencers such as E-mu 4060 Polyphonic Keyboard and Sequencer, Zyklus MPS, and Roland MSQ700 were built around the Z80,[citation needed]
MIDI controllers and switches such as Waldorf Midi-Bay MB-15 and others.[citation needed]
Several polyphonic analog synthesizers used it for keyboard-scanning (also wheels, knobs, displays...) and D/A or PWM control of analog levels; in newer designs, sometimes sequencing and/or MIDI-communication. The Z80 was also often involved in the sound generation itself; implementing LFOs, envelope generators and so on. Known examples include:
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Prophet 10,[65] Prophet 600, Six-Trak, Multitrak, MAX, and Split-8
MemoryMoog six-voice synthesizer[66]
Oberheim OB-8 eight-voice synthesizer with MIDI
Roland Jupiter-8 eight-voice synthesizer
Digital sampling synthesizers such as the Emulator I, Emulator II, and Akai S700 12-bit Sampler,
as well as drum machines like the E-mu SP-12, E-mu SP-1200, E-mu Drumulator, and the Sequential Circuits Drumtraks, used Z80 processors.
Many Lexicon reverberators (PCM70, LXP15, LXP1, MPX100) used one or more Z80s for user interface and LFO generation where dedicated hardware provided DSP functions.
The ADA MP-1. A MIDI controlled, vacuum tube, guitar pre-amplifier.

Wonder if anybody has scoured the code of any of these devices for anything that could be applied towards synth building?

very neat