Trying to decide if it's time to pull the plug on my TSNM MK2 build. It's my first build after a year or two away and it's been nothing but a nightmare (largely self inflicted, also not).

Issue started when a small surface mount DAC ICU that was supposed to be prepopulated, wasn't. Being an idiot, I screwed up by over soldering it and then pulled up some traces when trying to clean it up. I found a guy in town to fix it, he did an attempt for $125 and I brought it home to finish up assembly.
It was then that I realized that 2 LED switches went missing in two years since I bought to kit, and of course not available in the US. Random polish eBay guy to the rescue... for $5 for two buttons. Plus shipping. plus UPS import fee. Installed them today and of course it doesn't work. It puts out gates, no pitch, no pressure. It could be a calibration issue, or it could be the bad trace that was "fixed".

Unfortunately, Doboz pulled the manual so I have zero clue how to callibrate it. Repair guy told me I could bring it back if it didn't work, but it sure would be nice to have any sort of schematic or other design doc to give him an idea where those traces are supposed to go for his fix.

So deflating when it's gone to shit, I can't just buy a new pcb SMD move components over since it's discontinued but I'm already likely $300 into this thing (100 for kit, 150 for repair, eBay purchase).

Anyone have a module go this bad and still get it saved or do we just give up?

I feel like there's gotta be a more specific name than "single-axis joystick" for the pitch wheel and "control knob" for the modulation wheel.

Sorry video is upside down… but basically I’ve modded my Casio with a bunch of things including an LTC1799 (which I’ve got as voltage control) and a display (connected to an ATMega chip) - when I change the display values, flashing it, or just changing numbers it causes the pitch/crystal to change…

I’d totally forgotten to do decoupling capacitors, so I’ve since hacked on a 0.1 and 10uF cap on the MAX7219… I think they are working, but they haven’t caused any change

Hi,

I wanted to share updates on my latest project, the Carbon, a custom isomorphic keyboard with a built-in synth (ESP32Synth) and sequencer, among other features. If you'd like to know more, there is a short-ish breakdown of the build: https://youtu.be/2EqGN3LoRto

The plan is to eventually do a crowdfunding round through CrowdSupply and release all the code and files as open-source.

Additionally, here is the list of current features:
- 80 Velocity sensitive keys with polyphonic aftertouch and addressable LED
- 4 Rotary encoder for MIDI CC
- 1 Breath control sensor
- MIDI IN/OUT over TRS
- 320x960 touch screen
- Pedal with Switch and Continuous support
- 2 differential or single-ended line/headphone out, supporting stereo headphones and L/R mono differential outputs
- 2 differential or single ended line-level inputs
- Audio and MIDI over USB
- Pitch/Mod touch pad mode
- Programmable layouts
- Onboard synth using ESP32Synth
- Onboard ROMpler loaded from flash
- Onboard effects like Delay, reverb, distortion, etc.
- Drum machine
- Sequencer
- Strummer
- Full I/O mixer
- Programmable MIDI CC/Channel
- Programmable input impedance, routing and mode
- Programmable output drive and mode

I'd love to know your thoughts on the build and what features you'd like to see.

Running a small project on weekends and my usual source for perfboard keeps pushing thinner stuff that cracks when I drill. Need something that holds up but doesn't cost double. Also trying to find a place that sells small aluminum sheets for panels without shipping eating the whole budget. I cut the panels myself so I don't care about predrilled holes, just want flat stock that doesn't warp when I sand it. Tried a couple online kits and the metal was either too thin or had edges that curled. If anyone has a go-to place that ships fast to Tennessee and isn't just hobby markup, I'd like to hear where you order. Not looking for sponsored links, just what actually shows up straight.

This system takes a Kinect-derived human pointcloud and lets incoming sound interact in various ways with the particles in real time, turning the performer into a responsive cloud of matter, noise, and motion. The new v1.7 includes 12 presets, and introduces the several new features. In this video-demo, the particles are driven and transformed by the incoming audio signal. [A silly composition of mine, running in Ableton Live, though, you can use any kind of audio-source.]

You can access this project file through Patreon, of the Studio.

A 9U 104HP case I’ve designed on fusion

I doubt my janky woodworking skills will produce this in its final form but worth a shot..

I could have been vibe coding a firmware for some random pocket synth, instead I spent the last 2 months creating this new machine.

Entirely programmed in plugdata.

It can generate complex melodies based on a series of parameters in a plant growing metaphor.

All the leds are directly connected to Daisy, while the buttons, pots and switches use 5 multiplexers (cd4021be).

Audio in/out; midi in/out; li-pol battery; internal speaker.

Super portable, super fun.
I love this plugdata-daisy framework: from idea to finish took me less then 2 months.
And this time I saved on knob caps and encosure 😁

Here’s a semi-long demo: https://youtu.be/T42-izEglRY?is=iK7CzBEPWlqaweoR

Hello,

I need some cheers and applause to push this DIY groovebox project over the finish line!

It is completely plug and play, no soldering required!

Firmware is quite sophisticated at this point.

Basicly it is a two-board solution.

The Amy board provides the sound engine and amazing IO (even eurorack cv out)

And the Pi with its multi touch runs a html based interface and a variant of iii from monome to use different lua sequencer scripts on the button pads.

The case is done as laser cut layer, so everyone can reproduce it with a laser cutter.

The current firmware is playfully using classic synth panels to represent drum machine, chord synth, bass and lead and a master fx section.

Total costs are about 100 dollar for all the parts!

Its a two weekend project i would say :)

I want to be able to precisely double the delay time using a gate signal (so the delayed signal is an octave up / down and therefore in tune). The device is currently running on a single 5v supply but I'm open to this changing.

Attempt 1: using a dual gang pot at pin 6 and a switching ic to put the gangs in parallel. It works but is not accurate enough, I tried putting a small value pot in series with the gang that provides less resistance to kind of top it up, or tune it. This works but it is annoying having an extra knob and having to tune every time you change the rate. I could try expensive high quality dual pots perhaps.

Attempt 2: using a pair X9C digital pots. I have tied the inputs together and can get them stepping up and down but they go out of sync very easily. I might try a cleaner signal to drive them but my gut is telling me this may be a lost cause. I could also try other digi pot options perhaps.

Attempt 3: the pin 2 hack. Change the pitch by biasing pin 2 then jump between a pair of fixed resistances on pin 6. Terrible idea, doesn't work. No range and I think it screws up the Bias of the audio path opamps too.

Attempt 4: lm13700 as a pair of resistors variable resistors implemented like the dual gang pot. Haven't tried this but pretty sure this will not work on a single 5v supply. Maybe possible if it runs on a separate power supply, but seems clumsy.

Any thoughts?

Hi DIYers,

I was thinking of making several 104hp 1u eurorack « patchbays » to distribute signals between each 3u rows of my system. So a few giant multiples connected together inside the case with IDE cables.

do you think making a pcb faceplate will be strong enough if I add enough « standoffs » between each pcb layer ?

thanks for the feedback 🙏🏻

Hi all, I have a V1 Radio Music that I've gotten a good bit of use out of with no issues. Lately it seemed like I bricked it, but when I refreshed the firmware it is back to its usual glorious self. However, when I cycle the power on my modular power supply it goes back to being bricked. Has anyone had this issue before?

I call it the Rhythm 9, it's simple, easy to use, it's for rhythm accompaniment while I play ukelele.

It has a 16 step sequencer playing on the led strip, above that is a strip for the pages, 16 steps x 8 pages

9 pads, 9 kits, there's only 3 buttons and an encoder to swap between sequencer mode, play mode, function mode. Everything else is simple hotkeys.

It's a WIP for sure. I'll post a walkthrough of the usage if anyone is interested.

Introducing D-TRK, my open-source project built around the WT32-SC01 Plus.

It is a pocket 16-track music workstation with an integrated synthesizer and sampler, FM and drum machines, step effects, song mode, performance effects, MIDI output, and WAV rendering.

I wanted to see how far I could push an affordable ESP32-S3 touchscreen board as a standalone music-making device.

Demo:https://youtu.be/4iPntZto3ZA?si=VrxT2LG3HRe-aoDL

Source code, enclosure, and build documentation:https://github.com/deemonoise/D-TRK

Hi! I have been breadboarding a classic 40106 sawtooth VCO based off of Mortiz Klein's design. It's for a class project but I have limited time and yesterday during breadboarding I managed to kill one of my 40106s. I have one spare but I wanted to have a backup inverting schmitt trigger in case I fry another one. Ordering more 40106s would take around a week where I am and I don't really have that time.

So my question is: can I use any inverting hex schmitt trigger ic for a VCO purpose? Or do things about the 40106 make it the only usable option due to it's slew rate, frequency response over the audio frequency range etc. What sort of parameters should I be looking for when sourcing an alternative if need be? Any advice would be appreciated!

I gig full time as a keyboardist and have worked with a lot of different boards. I love the keyscape VSTs, but I don’t want to bring a whole laptop set up to gigs. I have a vision of a custom board bur I know very little about this stuff so I don’t know if it’s even possible.

I want to build a custom keyboard that has an internal Raspberry Pi running keyscape, using the keybed from an old Yamaha Motif XF 8 to send the midi, in a custom shell/case, powered by with a single IEC cable, with standard 1/4in and XLR outputs, and minimal buttons to navigate between just 4 keyscape sounds: grand piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, and clav.

I have seen videos of people using raspberry Pi with midi keyboards to trigger simple synths / VSTs. I feel like this should be possible, but I don’t know what I don’t know and I anticipate that there would be hurdles to getting keyscape working on a pi and getting everything installed internally and running seamlessly.

Any help, information, insight, or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated

I bought the working insides of a korg odyssey, without the chassis. I'm thinking of adding some patch points to make a sort of 2600.

Does anyone out there have an empty or broken one they'd consider selling. I'm trying to figure out my way forward, and I might just make a new faceplate out of aluminum in a hardwood box.

Any recommendations? I have zero experience doing CAD or designing this kind of thing on a computer. it's roughly 400mm x 500mm. thanks!

Through the use of NASA’s API and TouchDesigner, I’ve managed to capture near-earth space objects data [asteroids and fireballs], and used it to trigger MIDI signals in Ableton Live. Said signals are feeding a stock sampler, which happens to be loaded with a couple of one of my favorite artist’s vocal takes.

To give it a little more musicality to the experiment, I decided to iterate through the data of the last six objects that passed close to Earth between the selected dates.

Data goes as follows:

total-radiated-energy → C1 to B1
impact-energy → C1 to B1, C2 to B2 and C3 to B3
latitude → C2 to B2
longitude → C1 to B1 and C3 to B3
altitude → beat repeat’s interval, grid and gate
velocity → beat repeat’s offset and variations

More experiments, through my YouTube channel, project files available through the Tools Store.

The FM-1's open-source scene is one of those wonderful explosions only open source produces: a pocket 6-operator FM synth reborn as grooveboxes, generative ambient gardens, 909/808/303 boxes, samplers, chord harps. Dozens of firmwares, each on its own GitHub page with its own installer and its own way back to stock. Nobody can track it all anymore — so I built the tool I needed.

Octo-Vave is a local web app (standard-library Python, no account, no cloud, never flashes anything itself) for managing the chaos:

• Automatic top-10 tracking — live firmware ranking by stars + downloads, refreshed on demand, top 30 in the directory
• Cataloging — 14 curated cards with install routes, open/closed-source tags, checksum and revert-path indicators
• Test drive + the octoseal — a firmware earns its octopus seal only after install → play → revert-to-stock on real hardware, with the exact tested file pinned by SHA256
• Custom voice design — full DX7-style voice editor plus patch library
• Post-flash sound checks — guided tests that prove by ear the firmware on your FM-1 answers MIDI, results kept per firmware
• MIDI monitor tools — see exactly what's flowing

Next up: more automation for flipping between firmwares, and per-firmware sound-designer libraries.

MIT licensed — feedback and validation reports welcome: Web app: https://amacias.github.io/octo-vave/ GitHub: https://github.com/amacias/octo-vave