Glacial Communications

Some projects I’ve been working on of late:

• Made some progress on the MIDIbox SID – I did some more work on getting the enclosure(an old 2U satellite receiver) ready and figured out the next batch of parts necessary to get it completed.
• Did a serious revamp on the Arduino Sequencer last night – it now has a power switch, start/stop switch, and two indicator LEDs (built into the start/stop switch). I also attacked the code pretty extensively to account for these new features. It still needs some tweaks, but once they’re done I’ll post the code here.
• More-or-less finished the Arduinome I’ve been poking at since January (longer if you include parts accumulation- I got the unsped shield & MAX7219 over a year ago). It still needs a little mechanical work- it as yet has no base, and no hole for the USB cable, but it’s pretty much together and usable.

Still plenty of other backlog to clear, and reissues to reissue.

I leave you with a video of the Arduinome in action:

Now that the album is finished, it’s time to get back to doing other stuff. Building gear, in particular.

A summary of things occuring in the near-term:

1) Website changes – I’ve changed the theme (yet again), and installed the BuddyPress plugin, so now everything’s all social and stuff. There will probably be some adjustments here and there as I get stuff the way I want it. Enjoy!

2) Modular Synth, Phase II
Phase II consists of the next 6U(or more?) of Frac modules going into the system. The first steps of this have begun, though I’m sure the hardcore DIY purists may give me grief for it- I’m buying some pre-built modules. I’ve been finding some amazing deals on used Blacet gear. The first of these (a Filthy Filtre) is already installed, replacing the Dual Filter. Coming soon will be an EG-1, mixer, dual VCA, rack enclosure, and a power supply. Step 2 of Phase II started a few nights ago when PAiA announced their new series of 9700 modules. I ordered their dual VCA, mixer, noise source, sample & hold, and two CV source/mixer/attenuators. A future order will probably include the mic preamp and envelope follower. Step 3 is to try to clear out some of my backlog – I’ve got a few things that just need panels, so they’re good candidates for that.
Somewhere in the middle of this, some of my existing modules will be getting some refurbishment (i.e. the “Taming of the Q” operation on the Dual Filter, adding additional inputs to theLPGs, adding a second Real Ring Mod to my existing one.)

3) Other gear
I’ve got loads of things in various states of done-ness, ranging from ‘just needs an enclosure’ (the FV-1 reverb I mostly finished Jan. 31st) to ‘almost finished’ (Arduinome, MIDIbox SID, dual tube mic pre) to ‘haven’t started yet’ (the 1176 compressor clone).

Well, before any serious work begins, I’ve gotta clean up the work room again. I’d better get cracking.

Finished the XR2206 VCOs that I got the PCBs for earlier this week, so the rack is now full:

(click on it for details if you’re into that sort of thing)

It’s been a crazy four months or so since I started seriously working on this – the first module kits that went in were ordered August 24th. A few PCBs were ordered before then, as well as the rack. And now, four months and one-ish day later, it’s filled. All DIY. Crazy.

It’s hard to call it ‘done’ since there a few things left to do (knobs for the VCOs are enroute, half the bottom row needs labels, and I think a passive mixer’s going to go in the bottom half of the RRM panel…), and really, when is a modular ever really done? I’m already planning a bigger cabinet (the ’studio’ cabinet, to compliment this, the ‘live’ cabinet), and have several modules on the bench or in the works coming soon.

Next, I’d like to thank everyone who has offered support, whether of a technical(providing modules/kits/PCBs/parts), logistical, or moral(encouragement, nudging) nature. You know who you are and what you’ve done. Thank You!

Lastly, there should be a brief announcement of some label-y things soon (plans for 2010) – certainly before the end of this year.

OK, the trigger-to-MIDI clock converter seems relatively happy (though I think the MIDI in on my AN200 isn’t? That’s going to require some more tests…).

I hacked on it a bit tonight trying to determine how drifty the generated MIDI clock was relative to the incoming trigger pulses from the DR-110.  At first it was pretty ugly. I then added some compensation to the clocking to account for all of the work the Arduino is doing. After some trial-and-error, it’s relatively tight – total drift by my rough calculations was something like 10 milliseconds over a five minute period. Compare that to an earlier drift of 120 ms in a minute…

Here’s the code: trigger2midisync.pde

Hardware-wise, there’s a trigger input on pin 2 (use a zener if you’re worried about blowing stuff up…), and the MIDI out is the standard (TX, GND, and 5V through a 220 ohm resistor going to the pins of the MIDI port).

You may want to configure some of the #define statements in the code. STOP_TIMEOUT is the amount of time that needed without triggers needed for the converter to decide to stop. I’m using 2 seconds.  Changing DIVIDE_SLICE would be important if your trigger source is something other than 4ppqn, and CODE_OVERHEAD_TIME is used to adjust drift in your deployment – 10 worked really well for me in my tests tonight, but it could be anything for others.

Once it’s hooked up and connected to your MIDI source and your trigger source, start sending a series of pulses to pin 2. On the first pulse, MIDI Clock start should get sent, and by the third pulse or so the sync will be “synced” – there will be an offset, but it should remain fairly constant. Now, once the pulses stop, clock will continue to be sent until STOP_TIMEOUT milliseconds have passed.

Next test will be syncing the DR-110 to the very-nearly-finished x0xb0x to see how well that keeps up – I did all my tests tonight with a Yamaha RY10, with both it and the DR110 just playing a “four on the floor” kick pattern.

Questions? Comments? Improvements?

Been a while since there was an update, so let’s see what’s on the bench of late:

• x0xb0x – Yeah, I took the plunge and self-sourced a kit (not that hard since there’s a guy on the forums selling the rare parts kit for a reasonably fair price). It’s soldered up and mostly working, except for an extremely weird intermittent problem I haven’t completely solved yet. It’s unclear what the actual problem is, but I think I have a pretty good workaround ready to go.  I also had issues with the USB chip early on, and then pulled since it was highly suspect when I first started having trouble. Now I’ll have to try to re-solder it again…
• Haible varislope filter/phaser – Pretty much done! I think I need to reverse some of the pots and adjust some things, but it’s working reasonably well.
• A trigger-to-MIDI Sync converter – Decided to do this with an Arduino so that I could at least clumsily sync my DR-110 to other stuff (x0xb0x, AN200, etc.). Code will be posted soon, once I add in start/stop functionality and test it a bit more thoroughly.
• MIDIBox SID – I’ve got the CORE, SID, LCD, and a pair of Banksticks up and running.  Worked great under computer/MIDI control, though I think a noise gate will be necessary for the bad 6581 VCA. Waiting for DINx4 and DOUTx4 boards, and then I’ll have to figure out the control surface – it will be more complicated than the basic one, but less complicated than the “full control surface”.

Whenever the PCBs  show up, I also plan on building a pair of XR2206 VCO modules, as well as a few other modules on the horizon. Gotta start thinking about a new rack as well. I’ve got the first pair of Vector rails, but lining it all up is going to be careful work.

Also coming soon: A pair of PAiA Tube Mic preamps- the phantom on my mixer died (just as I got some condenser mics! curses!), so these are going to replace that functionality. I’m going to hotrod them a bit with better parts and some ECC83 tubes to replace the 12AX7s it ships with. Ordered some pedal PCBs as well – a Big Muff Pi clone, and a Rebote 2.5 delay.

I think I’m also going to have to move the electronics area to a bigger room with bigger tables, but that’s probably at least a  month or two out.

So, way back in May, I built the “Where’s The Party At?” DIY sampler, and had a CV-to-sync circuit that didn’t work.

Well, it’s working now!

Last night, I was reading some random CD4046 schematic/datasheet/something-or-other, when I suddenly realized that I didn’t think pin 5 (inhibit) on my circuit was grounded as it should be. Go back and look at my breadboard (yes, I’ve left that on the breadboard for almost six months…). Sure enough- not connected. Fix that, find some connectors and whatnot, and try it out. It mostly kind of sort of worked! It wasn’t perfect, and needed some adjustments, but I was able to control the WTPA’s sample rate from an LFO on the modular!

I went back and made some more adjustments, including an on/off switch and some voltage protection, and actually recorded a little ditty with it:

glacial23: Deep Space CB Transmissions

This is a sample into the WTPA, which is getting its sync controlled by the Blacet Micro LFO (and later that’s being controlled by the MFOS VCLFO). The output from the WTPA is going into the PS3100 Resonators. That’s pretty much the patch.

I’ll post my circuit soon, in case anybody else wants to CV their WTPA.

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a thorough list of the synth stuff I’m working on. I’ve been busy actually building it, amongst other things. However, I can now proudly state that I own a modular synthesizer. It’s not much yet:

• Blacet MIDIverter
• Blacet Miniwave
• Blacet Dual Filter
• MFOS VCLFO (which seems to need some work, as it’s always going kind of fast, as in several hundred hertz fast. grrr. Fixed: Transistor was in backwards. WTF?)
• MFOS ADSR
• Dual Natural Rhythm Music/Buchla Low Pass Gate
• CGS Real Ring Modulator (I had actually put this together last year, but didn’t get around to properly housing it until recently – It served as a ‘good enough’ VCA until the LPGs were done.)

I’m using my Sound Lab as a “dual VCO” for the moment, since I don’t have any VCOs in the modular yet. The combination was working well enough to at least mess around with at Recycled Rainbow.

Want to hear what it sounds like? Here’s an example that actually uses every module currently installed (the RRM is removed, since it’s now going in the second row, and will likely get some functionality added…)  – modularex1.mp3 – The Arduino Sequencer is sending MIDI to the MIDIVerter. That sends CV to the Sound Lab, Gate to the ADSR, and for fun, the clock signal to the bank select on the Mini Wave. The Waveform select on the Mini Wave is coming from the VCLFO, and input to the Mini Wave from the Sound Lab. Output is going from the MW to the Dual Filter, and from there into an LPG acting as a VCA, getting its CV from the ADSR. The output from there went into the USB soundcard that seems a little more ‘done’ now after a re-capping.

Projects still to come (things in various states of construction, from most done to least, roughly):

• Thomas Henry SN-Voice (build completed, but acting *very* weird. As of right now, I can get the LFO to produce output if I short the square/noise output to ground, and that’s about it. Need to try to test some more functionality (like the EG), too…)
• Rene Schmitz 4069 VCO (completed, but seemingly non-functional. Need to try testing again.)
• Gristleizer (Gauss Markov PCB. Done, but buggy? Still trying to figure out problems. Still using a cardboard box as enclosure.)
• Thomas Henry SN76477 Super Controller (board populated, panel drilled and mostly populated.)
• Thomas Henry Mega Percussive Synthesizer (board populated. Still determining if it’s going in a module or a standalone unit, or something else)

• Jürgen Haible Phaser/Filter (board done. Need to do enclosure.)
• Fonitronik Sequential Switch (x2) (boards mostly done)
• MFOS Quantizer (almost done. Just needs a trimmer and a panel, really)

• MIDIbox SID (some boards populated. figuring out front panel/enclosure.)

• Fonitronik PS3100 resonators (About half done. Need to get the Vactrols, maybe other parts.)
• A Baby 10-ish sequencer (IC sockets populated)
• Arduinome (some parts/stuff acquired, but no motion yet)

The to-buy/etch(?) list:

• Some TH XR2206 VCO PCBs – I’ve got 3 or 4 of the chips, but nothing to use them in yet. Two PCBs have been ordered and  will be on their way soon.
• Some delay-based effects – I’ve got ten PT2399 delay ICs  that are begging to be used.
• Some other effects.

Things on the drawing board:

• Some sort of Arduino-based module. Probably kept pretty generic, but with some definite influence from the arduino_synth Yahoo Group.  I’m also really into the idea of the Cantarino speech synthesis project that’s been circulating around the interwebs lately. Imagine it with voltage control!
• The followup to my Arduino Sequencer. I’ve got a cool enclosure that’s just asking to be a sequencer and/or controller. I’m starting to sketch out how I want it to work, and figuring out how to make that possible. I also need to somehow move away from the current Arduino Sequencer – it’s too darn fragile. I suppose I can use it to get MIDI into my QY10 or MMT8, and then have whichever of those run out to the Midiverter to CV/Gate the MG-1 or Sound Lab. We’ll see…

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So let’s recap since it’s been a while:

• Released GLAC-18, but you knew that already.
• Played a live show with my friend C. Randolph C. at Bela Dubby, and totally rocked the place.
• Starting working out concepts for the next couple of recordings (DIY volume II, and something else I’m not ready to talk about here yet)
• Finally Really started getting down to brass tacks on this modular thing

How so? Well, I’ve accumulated two rows of Synthcase GhettoRACK, a couple of Blacet kits,  and enough PCBs, parts, and blank panels which will house the following stuff once built:

• Blacet MIDIverter
• Blacet Miniwave
• Blacet Dual Filter
• MFOS ADSR
• MFOS VCLFO
• MFOS Quantizer
• Dual Thomas White/Buchla Resonant Lowpass Gates
• Fonitronik Sequential Switch – I’m either going to normal this with built-in CVs, or build some kind of “quad voltage source” on a separate module.
• Fonitronik PS3100 Resonators
• Some sort of VCO would probably be good too – likely the TH XR2206 one, since I’ve got a few of those laying around. Once my finances recover from all of this, I think Magic Smoke will be getting an order from me…

Combine those with the SN-Voice and Supercontroller I’m still poking at in the enclosure I found last year as well as some other things on the table and I think some mayhem just might ensue…

It’s finally, completely, done.

GLAC-18- DIY volume 1: Signal Intercept.

31 minutes of instruments I either built or repaired myself.

I’m told that our partner in crime for this release, Everyone Else Has A Record Label, So Why Can’t I? has made up an initial batch of the cassette. You should be able to get it through them, or me once I get a handful of them, probably on Friday (8/07/2009).

I’m trying to also work out a mechanism for getting digital copies to people that works to the satisfaction of all parties involved. If there’s interest, let me know, but I’m not guaranteeing anything yet.

Now I’ve really got to get cracking on Volume II, but it needs more gear finished before I start…

Lots of things going on of late. A quick recap:

1. Upgrading the FeedWordpress plugin ate a number of the PTB show descriptions from the last three months or so. I recovered some of them. The rest have the generic description again. Yay upgrades.

2. I’ve set up a Facebook page for whatever it is we do here(are we a label? do we build gear? A little of both and then some?), so if you’re a fan of whatever it is we do here and prefer Facebook to these ‘blog’ things, go become a fan there. I promise it won’t be a constant source of annoyance.

3. Expect some announcements of things happening in the future. For instance, I’ll be performing at Bella Dubby in Lakewood on August 21st, as a duo with my friend C. Randolph C. More details soon. Also be on the lookout for the forthcoming cassette released in conjunction with Everyone Else Has A Record Label, So Why Can’t I?, as well as more fun stuff on the horizon.

4. GoatTracker fans- here is a FAR better port of GoatTracker for Mac OS X than mine ever was. Seriously, it’s awesome. I’ll be going back and adding links to this one in my older posts.

5. A quickie on the DIY front – I’m moving right along on a MIDIbox SID. It’s just going to be a single-SID/basic control surface model, but it is moving right along. Hopefully usable & in an enclosure before August 21st…