There’s no shortage of devices out there for creating electronic music, but if you’re just looking to get started, the prices on things like synthesizers and drum machines could be enough to give you second thoughts on the whole idea. But if you’ve got a well stocked parts bin, there’s a good chance you’ve already got most of what you need to build your own Crunch-E.
Described by creator [Roman Revzin] as a “keychain form factor music-making platform”, the Crunch-E combines an ESP32, an MAX98357 I2S audio amplifier, an array of tactile buttons, and a sprinkling of LEDs and passives. It can be built on a perfboard using off-the-shelf modules, or you can spin up a PCB if you want something a bit more professional. It sounds like there’s eventually going to be an option to purchase a pre-built Crunch-E at some point as well.
But ultimately, the hardware seems to be somewhat freeform — the implementation isn’t so important as long as you’ve got the major components and can get the provided software running on it.
The software, which [Roman] is calling CrunchOS, currently provides four tracks, ten synth instruments, and two drum machine banks. Everything can be accessed from a 4 x 4 button array, and there’s a “cheat sheet” in the documentation that shows what each key does in the default configuration. Judging by the demo video below, it’s already an impressively capable platform. But this is just the beginning. If everything goes according to plan and more folks start jamming on their own Crunch-E hardware, it’s not hard to imagine how the software side can be expanded and adapted over time.
Over the years we’ve seen plenty of homebrew projects for producing electronic music, but the low-cost, simple construction, and instant gratification nature of the Crunch-E strikes us as a particularly compelling combination. We’re eager to see where things develop from here.
Person who doesn’t understand beats or music complains about something he doesn’t understand. we’ll bring you more news at 10, with our exclusive story about old men shaking their fists at clouds…
i was gonna mention that you can get free stuff like Roland Zenbeats for phones and tablets… but the apparent speed of this thing’s UI is impressive.
I’ve been wondering for a long time why someone hasn’t made a ESP32 or RP2040-based Pocket Operator type of device. This is neat to see.
This is almost that, no? I think the rest is just elaboration from here on.
Ever see the Pikocore or Zeptocore from Infinite Digits?
I know it has been a while since this was posted but I recently tried to build this and keep getting errors related to the is2 library pertaining i2s.philips_mode, i2s.setdatapin and I2s.write not being in scope. Is there a particular version of i2s.h needed for the CrunchOS? Any tricks? Thanks