Analogue synthesiser

A MIDI controlled synth, in a wooden box.


synth1

Reminiscent of the analogue synthesisers that powered the songs of Kraftwerk and Gary Numan in the late 1970s, this instrument in a stylish stained wood frame has all the features they would have loved.

- Four voices, each capable of multiple waveforms (sine wave, sawtooth, square wave, etc...) and acting in monophonic or independent polyphonic modes.
- Dual low frequency oscillators (LFO), to provide vibrato or tremolo effects, also capable of controlling the voltage controlled filter.
- Voltage controlled amplifier (VCA), to provide attack/decay/sustain/release output enevlopes.
- Voltage controlled filter (VCF), controlled by any of multiple switchable signals, such as those of the oscillators of the VCA.
- Ring modulator, echo unit, white noise generator, pitch bending wheel, onboard speaker.
- Also contains a distortion unit for electric guitars, capable of feeding signal back into the various voltage controlled effects.


synth2

Partially completed interior, showing the wiring nightmare. The actual keyboard unit is a MIDI Controller unit from Behringer, removed from its original plastic case and neatly inserted into a new home.


synth3

An early prototype shows the Arduino Mega board used for the central brain, and several oscillator circuit boards from musicfromouterspace.com.
The Arduino hardware and bespoke software accepts MIDI signals from the keyboard and converts them into analogue voltages to be used by the oscillators. The unit can also be run via a computer, with the keyboard sending MIDI signals to the digital audio workstation software, and in return accepting MIDI signals from the computer to create rich and sweet analogue sounds.



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