hey Ant1,
the ym synth does have midi (virtual over usb), to use say with your laptop and external hardware is easy, all you need is a virtual midi cable(midi yoke, maple etc...) usb conectivity, and a midi in connection to your laptop. (now there are a couple of drivers required to be on your laptop first, before any music making can be done, but they are easy to install and the manual for the ym synth gives you full instructions).
now if you dont have a midi in, there are plenty of usb midi interfaces under a hundred bucks to keep you costs down(check ebay)....if you decide to not use hardware to run the ym synth, there are also cheap alternatives aswell, me i use renoise due to the amount of midi control available, but the ym will also work with energy xt, and just about any other midi available software....a little side note...if your lacking in midi controlers to control the ym and your laptop has a synapes mouse pad check out livelab.dk's touchpad2midi i love it...but there are many virtual keyboards and such that are free and can keep your costs low...
also Wil will also mod the ym to your needs(within reason) audio connectivity, mini/micro usb instead of an 6 pin usb cable stuff like that. hell buy two put them in a case and have a ym-chip moster...check out STU-elements or any of his other work for that matter and you'll have a good idea of what can be accomplished with the ym-chip in general....cheers dk
1 Mar 8, 2011 3:46 pm
Re: what's a good midi to chiptune converter HARDWARE (19 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
2 Mar 5, 2011 9:55 pm
Re: what's a good midi to chiptune converter HARDWARE (19 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
hey check out the YM synth kit at stray technologies, or google ym synth, i cant say enough about this little synth. its simple, midi controlable, as Wil (stray technologies) says...3 square waves a noise source../ no filters...awsome!., me personally ,nes/gb are great but if your looking for something a little more unique and with a different kind of sound, look no further...its a winner, yell spend 90 bucks, build your own case...bombzooka there you go...pitchbend chip acid, 8bit bass bombs...i use renoise with my ym kit synth,and couldnt be happier....cheers..DK
3 Feb 23, 2011 7:11 pm
Topic: Stray Technologies YM mini synth.= a big bag of bad ace!!! (2 replies, posted in Other Hardware)
im manly writing this to hopefully encourage you fine folks to check out Wil's YM mini synth (kit or completely assembled) at Stray Technologies. Most of you probably already know of the Ym chip from the atari and sinclair computer systems, for those that dont the Ym has a rich and unique sound that you simply can not duplicate, its simplicity and character is undeniable.
Now if you are lucky enough to be in england, germany or any other of the eu countries then finding an atari falcon or 1040 ste may not be to difficult, but here in the U.S its is. i personally find the Ym mini synth to be a great alternative in the interum. the Ym mini synth wont replace an atari STE running Gwem's (amazing) Maxymiser or Dark Angels Musicmon, but when you combine it with your favorite midi program (or tracker, mine being Renoise ) you can get about 90% there. Wil is a great guy and is willing to work with you on small but significant mods for your personal Ym synth ( audio out puts, usb mods...etc.)...Ive emailed this guy probably 9 times and he's always been helpful and patient with my requests. im not trying to stroke this guys rubarb, but i do believe that his take on this wonderful sound source deserves a second and third look from those that might be interested in an affordable way to obtain YM sound in your music.
This little synth has led me to other great options aswell like STEem atari software emulator, and Gwems Maxymiser tracker for the atari systems...check them out, as they are great and deserve a strong consideration if you choose to go the extra miles for that YM chip sound in your music...
As a side note i have tried to contact the STEem team in relation to seeing if they could write a midi driver ( Wil suggested it, so i gave it a shot) but to no avail...if anyone knows how to get in contact with these guys...please do...i think you'll agree that it would be an amazing thing to bring this chip home and into a new chapter of Atari Ym-ness)....Also...Gwem if your out there, please write a program for this synth your the only one who can do it...ive asked wil about effects...but he said he didnt want to step on your toes( out of respect for your work with the YM ), but this baby needs a SID wave...and your the man to get it...:)....Im not going to bore you with detail...simply go to Stray Technologies.com or google YM synth...to get all of the specs and such, oh...check out his other work as well (vblank kits, and his blipmonotronic mods aswell...good stuff........cheers...DK
4 Feb 23, 2011 4:24 pm
Re: musicmon 2.5e/ maxymiser 1.9 disks (10 replies, posted in Atari)
Mr.Gwem....wow! huge fan of your work, first off...but no my computer does'nt have a floppy drive, im using a five year old SINGLE 1.8GHZ custom built asus laptop (FROM when they actually made great computers, brushed allunimun, carbon fiber, no bullsh!T). I should have my atari ste in about 3 weeks, im really just trying to square all this away before hand as i work quite a bit. Gwem i do have a question for you, Ive been using Wil's from Stray tech. YM synth kit,
I have a feeling your probably familiar, Ive ask Wil about further development, effects and such and he said he didnt want to step on your toes, Wil's a great guy. i was wondering if you might take a further look at his work with the ym.kit. may a maxymiser java tracker....:), just putting it out there in the collective void. Ive try to contact the STEem team about writing a midi drive for it but to no avail, This little YM.synth is wonderful, i havent used my sidstation in a month...its whats brought me to STEem and your Maxymiser. (i used to rock a 520 st, c-lab..cz-101's and some su-10 samplers...1990's what do you do). all im saying is that this amazing little synth warrants a second and third look and can offer so much to anyones music, but more importantly to those that simply cant afford to hunt down vintage atari's.....( my winning combo...Renoise...Stray technologies.YM Synth...Elektron.sidation...livelab.dk.liveslice)....cheers..DK
5 Feb 17, 2011 1:23 am
Re: musicmon 2.5e/ maxymiser 1.9 disks (10 replies, posted in Atari)
thanx for all the feed back, i am curious though if any one is using the floppy disk emulator, stated above....it apears to be a great long term solution to my problems...have any of you used one to run maxymiser or musicmon for your ataris.....cheers DK
6 Feb 15, 2011 12:33 am
Re: musicmon 2.5e/ maxymiser 1.9 disks (10 replies, posted in Atari)
no i dont have a floppy drive, in relation to a usb floppy...im running STeem on my 5yr old asus laptop, would it make it easier to use that in conjunction with the usb floppy to make it easier...........hell id be happy to pay to have it done. i work in the oilfield so my studio time is limited to say the least, i try to use the little bit of time i have for writing and recording. im from the uk so i know about the shipping, my cousins are shipping my 1040 ste for me, but yes its not cheap..........please feel to give me more feedback....cheers.DK
7 Feb 14, 2011 8:46 pm
Topic: musicmon 2.5e/ maxymiser 1.9 disks (10 replies, posted in Atari)
can anyone help me out with formating disks for the atari ste : the progarms i need are musicmon 2.5e or latest version and maxymiser 1.9, ive downloaded the files but im at a loss how to get them to disk, (i havent owned an st since 1993), im trying to keep this affordable, i just bought an 1040 ste from england and its going to cost me a gold bit to ship it to the usa, are there any solutions that are affordable...ps desperate............everyone check out Stray technologies YM synth kit....fantastic...DK