This project initially started as an attempt to build a Mellotron, a tape based sampling synth. Paul Slocum recorded samples using a tape recorder and then taped the segments to the printer’s feed drum. The samples were then played back by varying drum speed and read head location. Later versions of the printer synth used a hacked EPROM and generated sound using the noise of the firing print head. The site features plenty of sound samples which are slightly more pleasant than my parent’s Panasonic “quiet” series dot-matrix printer.
