I would love some feedback on this submodular synthesizer concept.
looks great !! . abit of a monster .. perhaps a smaller unit with external screen .?
..also you mentions breakout boards ?
Analog Filter
Digital Signal Processor
Envelope Generator
Low Frequency Oscillator
Mixer
Oscillator
Phase Shifter
Sampler
Sequencer
Waveshaper
??
how big is this unit with all expanders ?
We will start with an 8-channel model, but a future model could offer 4 channels only. Having an external screen would make the design a lot more complex. The beauty of using an iPod Touch is that it gives you not only a fantastic screen, but also a multi-touch interface, a powerful CPU, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of flash, a camera, a WiFi interface, a great operating system with a huge developer community, and many other goodies, for just $199. It's pretty hard to beat...
The unit is 42HP. We do not know yet if we will manage to cram all components onto a single backplane, but we're pretty hopeful that we will. If so, it should be pretty shallow, allowing you to stack multiple breakout boards on top of each others. When doing so, stacked boards will share their pin sets. And to be clear, all breakout boards are connected onto the module's backplane, therefore do not increase the amount of horizontal space you need to dedicate within your rack. 42HP is all you need for the submodular synthesizer and 8 1S breakout boards.
yes 4 channels would be good - that is what i thought when i first looked at the unit
thanks for clearing up the the breakout boards :) i was thinking this would take up a row (84hp)
as for the internal or external screen ?
isn't the ipod connected via lightning jack ?
or is it integrated in into the unit ?
yes 4 channels would be good - that is what i thought when i first looked at the unit
thanks for clearing up the the breakout boards :) i was thinking this would take up a row (84hp)
as for the internal or external screen ?
isn't the ipod connected via lightning jack ?
or is it integrated in into the unit ?-- FSK1138
The iPod will be integrated from the inside but should be easily removable. We will make sure that you can plug it from one of the faceplate's USB boards as well. But from a user interface standpoint, having it inside will be nicer, because the graphical user interface can be aligned with the channel's knobs.
The design was simplified in order to reduce the number of analog crosspoint switches, hence the projected retail price. I've also decided to adopt the Arduino shield standard for the breakbout boards, while using a dedicated Arduino Uno for every polyphonic channel. Without the iPod Touch and with switches for only two channels, the 8-channel module might retail for less than $1,000, which would be pretty cool... Last but not least, I've added a mockup of the backplane on the module's page.
yes 4 channels would be good - that is what i thought when i first looked at the unit
thanks for clearing up the the breakout boards :) i was thinking this would take up a row (84hp)
as for the internal or external screen ?
isn't the ipod connected via lightning jack ?
or is it integrated in into the unit ?-- FSK1138
The iPod will be integrated from the inside but should be easily removable. We will make sure that you can plug it from one of the faceplate's USB boards as well. But from a user interface standpoint, having it inside will be nicer, because the graphical user interface can be aligned with the channel's knobs.
-- ishizeno
I have decided to follow your advice and make the iPod Touch an external component. In fact, I am removing it entirely and replacing it with a built-in Raspberry Pi that will act as web server, serving the UI to any external device over WiFi. More on this on my blog:
https://ishizeno.wordpress.com/2015/01/30/no-more-ipod-touch/
