Drone Lab Brings The Excitement Of Hypnotoad Home

October 22, 2009 by Mike Szczys 32 Comments

Drone-lab-hypnotoad

[Peter] tipped us off about his new synthesizer kit, Drone Lab. It has the things we look for a synthesizer: knobs, inputs, switches, wacky sounds. You can get your soldering on with the kit version, or buy these pre-built. Peter bills this as an open source kit but we didn’t see board artwork, just a schematic.

What we didn’t expect is its ability to mimic the Hypnotoad. As seen in the video after the break, the glorious sounds of your favorite television show can now be created in your own home. If you’ve never seen an episode of the Hypnotoad (gasp!) we’ve got that covered after the break as well.

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

Update: PCB artwork has now been posted just below the schematic.

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The Subway Never Sounded So Good

October 7, 2009 by Mike Szczys 23 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivg56TX9kWI]

Reader [Philippe] tipped us off about this video showing a set of subway steps being turned into a piano keyboard (english translation). The creators wanted to make taking the stairs rather than riding the escalator a bit more fun. They added pressure sensors to each step, then covered them with white and black keys to resemble a keyboard. When a passenger puts their weight on a step, the corresponding pitch is played out loud.

We may have lied in the title as this doesn’t really compare to hearing Josh Bell play for pocket change at your train stop. But coming across this setup on an otherwise mundane commute would really brighten up our day.

Noise Box Synth Lays Down Some Beats

September 29, 2009 by Mike Szczys 16 Comments

arduino_noise_box_synth

[Tim] sent us his Noise Box Synth. The box is a sixteen step synthesizer that can generate sine, square, triangle, and sawtooth waves as well as a collection of sound effects (video after the break). The hardware is simple; an Arduino, four potentiometers, four buttons, a switch, a speaker, and some LEDs. This was a gift for a three-year-old but we’d be just as happy unwrapping it ourselves. We didn’t find a schematic but all of the connections and hardware can be extrapolated from the source code.

Arduino sometimes gets a bad name around here. This project, [Tim’s] first that uses Arduino, proves that the accessibility of the platform makes it possible to jump directly into the deep end. Catch the video after the break. Continue reading “Noise Box Synth Lays Down Some Beats” →

Arduino-human Synthesizer

September 23, 2009 by Jake W 45 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IObPkUFq0hg]

(Thanks to [Aaron] for the tip) As a promo for [Calvin Harris], some of the creative minds at Sony Music have put together an Arduino-based sythesizer composed of 15 bikini clad babes. By analyzing which circuits are closed, the Arduino Mega is able to tell a sequencer which sample to play. The only innovation happens to be that the circuits are painted onto the aforementioned girls with a conductive body paint known as Bare.

Developed by students at the Royal College of Art, the paint is not available for purchase, but they are willing to mix a batch up for art installations or performances. Technical stats (such as resistance) have not been released, but for a washable paint it seems to be performing quite well.

How was the whole project set up? The video below reveals all:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up1wraRnriI]

XR-NOISE Box

August 28, 2009 by James Munns 5 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l5DOGn_rFw&hl=en&fs=1&]

[denha] has assembled a noise box he calls the XR-NOISE using an XR-2206 multi-waveform function generator. The output has an impressive number of controllable settings, and uses a set of LEDs to indicate sound level and rate. The XR-NOISE uses 1/4″ jacks for both in and out, and can also be controlled by the tap-sensitive mic located on the front of the box. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any further documentation or schematics to provide context, but it seems that this function generator chip has also been used for other audio hack projects as well, including a scratch-synth using resistive pressure sensors.

[via MatrixSynth]

Arduino Based Synthesizer

August 25, 2009 by Mike Szczys 11 Comments

cheap_fat_open

[Jacob] is working on his final project for the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. Based around Arduino, the quality and quantity of his build notes make this a fascinating read and there are several examples to listen to.

The project features a brilliant idea for input: He uses a 1/8″ TRS connector (mini-jack) whose tip is the input to the DAC of the Arduino. There are conductive pads in the shape of a keyboard that you touch the tip of the connector to in order to complete the circuit. Alternatively, the other two conductors on the connector deliver power and ground for easy interface with external controllers. He built an example controller that uses an LED and photoresistor to alter the signal returning to the Arduino. Put your hand in front of the light and the sound changes.

[via Arduino: blog]

MIDI Sequencer/controller

June 13, 2009 by Gerrit Coetzee 12 Comments

lenonluks

Reader, [Lennon Luks] made a really slick MIDI sequencer/controller for his senior design project while studying at Western Carolina University. It has a grid of 64 LED buttons, 8 knobs, and a display with navigation buttons that allow him to sequence tracks with or without a computer. The controller is based off an ATmega644 and is programmed in C. [Lennon] clearly explains the inner workings of the project in detail on his website and has included a good number of pictures. [Lennon] made a nice video of the project which can be seen after the jump.

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