The Smallest Synthesizer EVER

video upload by Gabe Miller Music

"I test out the FLASH synth by Hπ, the smallest synthesizer I could possibly find.
https://hpi.zentral.zone/flash
00:00 Intro
01:16 Unboxing and setup
03:25 Testing/sound design
07:30 Sending audio into the Circuit
08:09 Building a song
09:33 First impressions review"

See the H-PI Instruments label for more.

The Smallest MIDI Synth Again... - Now with FM

Published on Oct 18, 2019 mitxela

via H-Pi Instruments

"H-Pi Instruments has teamed up with mitxela (the genius behind the world's smallest MIDI synthesizer) to bring you FLASH, the world's first and only very-tiny MIDI-powered polyphonic microtonal FM synthesizer. Two years in development, this little 16-voice wonder fits in your pocket and doesn't require a power supply. Just plug it into a standard MIDI OUT port*, plug in your headphones, and away you go!

FLASH features unlimited dynamic General MIDI microtuning for ease-of-use with 16-channel polyphonic tuned output from TBX2, TBX1, and Tonal Plexus TPX keyboards, and also features a mini UART-programmer which allows you to assign unique microtonal tuning tables to each of 16 MIDI input channels for full microtonal output compatibility with literally thousands of standard MIDI controllers as well as multichannel controllers like MIDI guitars and MIDI organs without a tuning device, not to mention advanced 2048 unique-pitch-output for the Tonal Plexus and other microtonal controllers like the Microzone, Axis 64, and Terpstra keyboards. Of course you can also use it as a normal synth with normal tuning ... if you're into that sort of thing.

The FLASH UART-programmer interfaces via USB with Universal Tuning Editor (UTE) cross-platform software (free license included), so you can edit tunings and upload them to the synth. Firmware is also user-upgradable via the programmer, so features can be improved or added at any time."

See the H-Pi Instruments label below for more.

H-Pi TBX1 MIDI Tuning Box Microtonal Keyboard Synthesizer Tuner Converter

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

See this post for a demo of the H-Pi TBX1.

"From https://hpi.zentral.zone/tbx1:

Got a standard MIDI keyboard? Retune it! TBX1 makes retuning as easy as pushing a button. Attach this little box to your synth and you can make any key play any pitch you want. It comes preloaded with 128 tunings for you to try out, and stores tuning tables in 4 layers, totaling over 500 tunings, which you can easily edit with Custom Scale Editor (cross-platform software, license included). Set up your own tuning, upload it to TBX1, and plug into any General MIDI controller and synthesizer to make your music. Portable and ready for the stage, TBX1 can also run for eight hours on batteries.

Tuning

128 tables x 4 layers = 512 full range programmable tunings

General MIDI compatibility — Compatibility Requirements

Controls

jog dial: select and enter preset program parameters

MIDI LEDs: monitor MIDI IN and MIDI OUT traffic

LCD display: currently selected tuning, bank, patch and polyphony (with backlight ON/OFF switch)

sixteen channel switches: selectable MIDI output channel polyphony, from 1 to 16 voices

fifteen preset buttons: store and recall tuning, synthesizer bank and patch

14-bit MIDI pitch bend resolution: 0.01 cents

bypass switch: turn tuning function on and off without swapping cables

External MIDI Message Pedal / Sequencer Control

receive tuning table Changes

receive bank and patch changes

full sustain pedal support

full control of held key behavior when tuning table change messages are received

Inputs and Outputs

12V DC power input

MIDI IN: connect to any MIDI controller (keyboard, sequencer, etc.)

connect computer to MIDI IN to upload tunings

MIDI OUT: connect to any general MIDI tone module, sampler or computer MIDI interface for tuned output

sends the following MIDI data on selected channels

bank select, patch change, pitch bend range RPNs, 14-bit pitch bend

note on / note off (one note per channel = monotimbral up to 16 voice polyphony)

MIDI Velocity, Modulation, and Volume are passed as received at MIDI IN

MIDI THRU: sends unmodified MIDI data received at the MIDI in through to another unit."

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H-Pi Instruments THE TUNING BOX

"Got a standard MIDI keyboard? Retune it! TBX1 makes retuning as easy as pushing a button. Attach this little box to your synth and you can make every key play any pitch you want. It comes preloaded with 128 tunings for you to try out, and it stores tuning tables in 4 layers, totalling over 500 tunings, which you can easily edit using the free TBXE Tuning Box Editor cross-platform software. Set up your own tuning, upload it to the Tuning Box and plug it into any General MIDI controller and synthesizer to make your music.
Portable and ready for the stage, it even runs for eight hours on batteries. Sound interesting? Take a closer look..."

Be sure to see the label below for more.

General purpose Midi controllers

sizone has an excellent thread on alternate scaling MIDI controllers on the forum. The thread lists out a few current controllers that can be used for this purpose including the Jazzmutant Lemur, H-Pi Tonal Plexus, Buchla, and DIY devices. The thread includes some pros and cons along with investment costs in both currency, materials and time. Well worth a read. sizone is also looking for alternatives. If you have any suggestions feel free to chime in either in the comments here or the thread there.

TBX1 demo 1

YouTube via AaronAndrewHunt

"This is a demonstration of the H-Pi Instruments Tuning Box TBX1 ($299), a device which retunes standard MIDI keyboards so that any key can play any pitch you want. In this demo, a Yamaha PSR-310 ($149) plays an arpeggio throughout, sending MIDI notes of a C-Major chord, which you hear at the beginning going through the box in bypass mode (no retuning). That chord then gets retuned in 15 different ways, and I noodle around (not much keyboard skill shown here) over the arpeggio in each tuning. Each of the 15 presets stores a tuning and a bank / patch change. The box stores up to 128 tunings in 4 layers = 512 tunings, each 128 notes. Check it out here: http://www.h-pi.com/TBX1intro.html"