Want an open source portable synth workstation that won’t break the bank? Check out OTTO. [Topisani] started OTTO as a clone of the well-known Teenage Engineering OP-1. However, soon [Topisani] decided to branch away from simply cloning the OP-1 — instead, they’re taking a lot of inspiration from it in terms of form factor, but the UI will eventually be quite different.
On the hardware side, the heart of the OTTO is a Raspberry Pi 3. The all-important audio interface is a Fe-Pi Audio Z V2, though a USB interface can be used. The 48 switches and four rotary encoders are wrangled by a pair of Arduino pro micros which pass the data on to the Pi. Data is related to the user through a 320×200 LCD.
The software is being written from scratch in C++17. If you’re not a hardcore C++ developer, don’t worry. The synth engines, audio effects, and other DSP software is written in Faust, which is a bit easier to learn.
OTTO is actively being developed, with synth engines already running, a prototype in progress, and fleshed out guidelines for programming the UI. If you’re into creating music, this one is worth checking out, as is Zynthian, another Raspberry Pi based synth.
now this is a project I can get behind, I’ve thought of many similar devices, really glad someone is out there making hardware instruments using the pi. Expect to see my RPi + 20 inch touch screen synth controller soon!
I hadn’t heard of Fe-Pi (Iron Pie?).
Nice…
I might order that audio [p]hat/shield/cape/wing/etc today.
https://fe-pi.com/products/fe-pi-audio-z-v2
Iron Pi, right?
B^)
Cool project and looks to be doable for kits as well. I will have to plow thru the code and see what it up :)
This looks really promising. As someone that was interested in the OP-1, but was flummoxed at the price tag, this would definitely foot the bill. I just really wish there were some sound samples available or some demos of this available.
Oh well…just gonna have to watch it develop on GitHub.
amazing work with DSP programming
that’s cool project. what if there is a problem with the raspberry pi device, where can I find a place for the repair?
nice posting, keep spirit
Cool project and looks to be doable for kits as well.