Mods for PCLONE2 pecussion synth kit

Published on May 28, 2019 Jason Hotchkiss

"This clip demos some of the mods possible on the Sixty Four Pixels PCLONE2 analog percussion synth kit (Boss PC-2/Amdek PCK100 clone). For more info see
https://six4pix.net/product/pclone2/#...
and
https://www.tindie.com/products/hotch..."

Circuit bent "alphabet pal" talking caterpillar

Published on May 27, 2019 Jason Hotchkiss

"A talking toy with pitch control knob added and ability to trigger all the switch inputs over MIDI so they can be sequenced into slightly unsettling gibberish / beatboxing or even better to chop up the nursery rhyme tunes into some off-kilter woozy psych

Using a Moog MF drive pedal for tone control and lowpass filter (to knock off a little bit of the scratchiness) and Boss digital delay. MFB Tanzbar for drums... enjoy! don't have nightmares."

More info here.

Casio Casitone MT-205 & CVOCD

Published on Nov 16, 2018 midierror

"Using the external input, its possible to trigger the 8 drum sounds and sequence them using a CVOCD!

This required 4 stereo cables split into 8 mono jacks - and a quick configuration of the CVOCD. Everything is sequenced in Ableton Live!

This actually triggers notes as the note offs are sent in Ableton. I tried some workarounds in Max4Live and with S-Trig to V-Trig cables, but they worked just as well as this method."

Secret music of the Spectrum

Published on Sep 19, 2018 Jason Hotchkiss

"Long before I could afford a sequencer or a DAW I thought this was awesome :) This was recorded on the wonderful Fuse emulator but I do still have a speccy!"

MIDIfied Tesla Coils

Published on Sep 19, 2018 Jason Hotchkiss

"Just about ready with 'Tesla Organ' for Fort Process sound art festival this weekend in Newhaven, UK https://fortprocess.co.uk/

This is a quick test with a MIDI file of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in Dm

Two solid state coils based on Steve Wards design with connected secondaries, floating ground and independant feedback antennae. Running at c.100VAC.

MIDI file played from a PC into a PIC microcontroller which generates 2 voices of square wave audio, optically linked to the SSTC drivers"

Tesla coils controlled by Stylophone!

Published on Sep 19, 2018 Jason Hotchkiss

"My MIDI controlled Tesla coils controlled by my Stylophone MIDI controller... it had to happen!

All sound is from the coil and it does sound more musical IRL (excluding my playing) but the crackling of the arcing does drown out the notes when recorded on my camera"

Jason Hotchkiss Matrix Sequencer - First Signs of Life

Published on Feb 19, 2018

"Some happenings in the top secret lab! This is a matrix sequencer with MIDI and CV/Gate outputs. Running on a Kinetis ARM M0+ chip with a 16 x 32 LED matrix. Still very early days but starting to take shape enough for me to get excited :)"

CV.OCD

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

via this auction

"Four analog CV outputs, Twelve gate outputs, a wide range of MIDI to CV mapping options at a budget price!
CV.OCD is a device which converts MIDI signals to the Control Voltage (CV) and Trigger/Gate signals which are used to control traditional analog synthesizers.

As well as doing this useful bit of “plumbing”, CV.OCD is designed to open up some creative options that go beyond what a simple MIDI-CV converter can usually do. If you get a bit OCD about your CV this could be the box for you!

CV.OCD has four assignable “continuous” analog CV outputs and twelve assignable gate/trigger outputs

It has powerful functionality for generating clock, trigger and non-note gates from MIDI information. For controlling your analog equipment via MIDI you are probably not going to get as much bang for your buck with anything else!

CLICK FOR MORE »

Bonjour Le Strum: Unboxing my DIY Midi strum controller

Published on Jan 20, 2018 Olivier Ozoux

"Le Strum was one of my first DIY project, and I remember how happy I was that the little LED turned on and it sent Midi signals after I finished soldering all these little part together.

Then I completely forgot about until recently. Here's a quick little demo of this strange but fun little Midi controller"

You can find info on Le Strum by Jason Hotchkiss here.

Sync Tab for ARPIE

Published on Sep 13, 2017 midierror

"A neat device to sync your pulse clock devices to the ARPIE and an external clock. Works with Pocket Operators, Monotribes, Volcas and more!"

The synchtab for arpie was introduced in 2015. Note it's spelled both synchtab with an h as you can see here, and synctab minus the h here where you can order one.

Setting up your Sync Tab

Published on Sep 13, 2017

"This video shows how to set up your Sync Tab and ARPIE with external Pulse clock devices! Works with Pocket Operators, Monotribes, Volcas and more!"

Hotchkiss Quad VCA/mixer with digital brain - eurorack module prototype

Published on Aug 26, 2017 Jason Hotchkiss

"Quick jam/demo of a prototype module I'm working on.

It is a quad VCA module in 8HP based on Coolaudio V2164 with full analog signal path. VCAs are digitally controlled and the firmware (a work in progress) generates independent envelopes per VCA channel - supports trigger sequencing, direct CV control per channel, crossfading or triggering across all channels with a single CV, mixer solo/mute control by CV (with attack/decay on mixer mutes for smooth fades), MIDI control and more to come...

Easy to use as a 4 to 1 mixer as all output jacks are normalled to a single output and each channel has a level pot (with 3x gain available). Input jacks are also normalled to allow signals to be split between multiple channels (e.g. to control multiple fx chains for same signal)

This is a first prototype but is a lot of fun already :) Hopefully will be ready for sale in next few months.."

Circuit 1.5 Fractional Gate Lengths & CV.OCD + Novation Circuit review

Published on May 23, 2017 Enrique Martinez

"In this video I cover the new Circuit Components 1.5 update.
Showing off its Micro-steps with a modular system."

CV.OCD + Novation Circuit review

Published on May 11, 2017 Enrique Martinez

"In this video I pair the CV.OCD, Novation Circuit and my modular rig.
Using Synth 1 (midi-1) to sequence my modular system.

CV.OCD - https://www.tindie.com/products/hotch...

Novation Circuit - https://us.novationmusic.com/circuit"

Le Strum - Chord & Strumming Midi Controller Demo

Published on Apr 2, 2017 Dual Shaman

"Putting the rather obscure and underrated Le Strum chord MIDI controller to the test by playing a selection of pads, sound effects, soulful keys, Chicago House chords and piano.

This petite fella is one of our composing and song starting secrets, it’s very easy and fast to get some good melodic ideas going, albeit as an instrument, it can be a bit more difficult to master due to it’s small size.

Nonetheless, a must have at such a small price. Especially useful for those who need brushing up on their music theory.

Get ShamanStems sounds : http://bit.ly/2nYyRB5
Dual Shaman on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2nYfW9w"

See this post for details on Le Strum, and one more here.

'S Gone - CALC- Novation Circuit controlling 0-Coast, ARP 2600, Leploop and a ton of other stuff.

Published on Dec 7, 2016 -CALC-

"This is a bit of a monster set-up. Circuit is controlling everything and it's a huge chain of events.

The track found its way into two parts with a huge pallette of synths at the beginning and a Leploop psyche odyssey jam at the end. not without it's errors but it was a jam.

Gearwise:

Circuit's MIDI output is feeding a Hotchki55 Banana split 6 way MIDI thru.
That in turn is feeding MIDI to a Roland Juno106, Korg Poly61M, Make Noise 0-coast, Leploop… oh the lovely Leploop and (using the fantastic Hotchki55 CVOCD MIDI to CV converter) the Multi Cassa V2 is being triggered by Circuit’s Drum 3+4

A nice thing is using the 0-Coasts MIDI B CV and Gate output to control the ARP2600 from Circuit’s Synth (MIDI) 2 sequence. Having the ARP sequenced from Circuit is a massive joy!
Circuit’s synth 2 track is actually sequencing the Juno, Korg, ARP and its own Circuit sound towards the end.
Synth 1 is controlling the Leploop and 0-Coast sound arpeggiating notes from MIDI 1 but with a trigger from the CVOCD for a bit of rhythmic interest.

All the stuff is running through the strymon Big Skies and TimeLine and the Circuit takes a slightly dizzy spell through the amazing Rodec Restyler.

The Strymons really PSYCHE this out towards the end of the track.

Of course the is a heavy helping of Leploops Cassa and noisey hats throughout and the incredible new Multicassa V2 is just sublime. Especially triggering it from a sequencer… there is a lot more to come with this little wooden box.

So there is the set up… as I said it’s monster but everything used is totally being controlled by the two MIDI channels of Circuit, with some percussion and triggering added by Circuits sample drum tracks. The Leploop, 0-Coast and MultiCassa take their midiclock from Circuit too.

Just goes to show what you can do with two midi channels and 4 drum tracks and a midiclock output."

Sequencing PC-2 clone percussion synths using Novation Circuit

Published on Aug 11, 2016 Jason Hotchkiss

"This is just a little jam to try out some CV mods to a couple of PCLONE2 analog percussion synths (my clone of the Boss PC-2)

I am using the sequencer on the Novation Circuit to send MIDI to a CV converter which am developing (The CV.OCD - should be on sale soon!). The sequencer is controlling trigger, pitch, decay mod and a pulse wave select (which mostly comes through as a click)

I am selling the PCLONE2 as a DIY kit on on Tindie (https://www.tindie.com/products/hotch...)

CV.OCD is on the way soon too (4 x CV out, 12 x gate out with lots of configuration options)"

PCLONE2 - Boss PC-2 Clone as a DIY Kit

Published on Jul 25, 2016 Jason Hotchkiss

"PCLONE2 is my clone of the Boss PC-2 percussion synth. Based on the original schematics but with a tweak to substitute the ultra rare BA662 VCA, PCLONE2 is designed for modding and CV control.

I am selling it as a full kit with included enclosure on my Tindie store https://www.tindie.com/products/hotch..."

Update: Tindie link should be working now, and the additional details for the archives added below.

"A clone of the Boss PC-2 / Amdek PCK-100 for bleeps and bloops galore!

PCLONE2 is a recreation of the (now rare) PC-2 percussion synthesizer which was made by Boss during the 1980s (and also released in DIY kit form under the Amdek brand name as the PCK-100)

The PCLONE2 kit is based on the original schematic (with a couple of changes due to the scarcity of some now obsolete components).

The kit includes all the parts neccessary for the build; printed circuit board, electronic components, wire for internal connections, potentiometers, knobs, switches, sockets, fitting screws etc. It includes a custom designed, laser-cut, case (made from 3mm acrylic sheet with 5mm acrylic side cheeks) and a laser etched acrylic laminate fascia.

Assembly by soldering is required! I would describe this as an intermediate complexity kit for experienced solderers, if you are a novice I would recommend getting some experience on simpler kits before you build this one.

This is a completely analog synthesizer with a single VCO. There is a pitch sweep function, a decay envelope and an LFO with rate, depth and wave shape (triangle/square) control. Unusually for a percussion synth there is no noise source, but you'll soon realise this isn't your typical percussion synth!

Sounds are triggered by an input pulse (5V-9V works fine) or by tapping on a piezo sensor which is mounted behind a pad on the front panel.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Hotchk155 CV.OCD & TB-303 Live

Published on May 29, 2016 Guy Schneerson

"my first go at using the Hotchki55 CV.OCD MIDI to CV. This is such a supper powerful box only scratched the surface of what it can do.

A bit of a geeky video wanted the TB303 to play 3 parts all at the same time: a sort of kick + 2 mono lines. all live and TB the only sound source. Ableton providing MIDI and effects.

Hotchk155 Store:
https://www.tindie.com/stores/hotchk155/"

Novation Circuit controls ARP 2600 and Roland SH-101with the mighty Hotchki55 CV.OCD

Published on May 25, 2016 -CALC-

"I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a prototype that my friend is working on; the Hotchki55 CV.OCD.

A wonderous little box that converts MIDI into control voltage and has a ton of outputs and really cool features.

I'm just starting to explore what this box can do but of course the first thing to do is use my Novation Circuit to control two of my all time favourite synths

In this video the Circuit is sequencing the ARP 2600 (Orangeface from 1979) and the classic Roland SH-101.

The CV.OCD is the perfect compliment to Circuit and I am absolutely delighted that this thing exists..... Its a complete game changer!

CV.OCD is very configurable little box too you can send CV out of 4 outputs and then there are 12 other outputs for gate, trigger, start stop, clock... all kinds of really useful stuff.
There is also a polyphonic CV mode meaning you can use the CVOCD to turn the ARP 2600 into a 3 voice paraphonic synth!!!!!!!! WHAAAATTT!

You might be able to tell but I am very happy about this little box. when it is ready it will be available at: https://www.tindie.com/stores/hotchk155/ with his other superb inventions. Definitely go check it out."

Update:

Novation Circuit Controlling APR 2600 and SH-101 with CV.OCD

LE STRUM - MIDI Chord Controller

Published on Jan 13, 2016 midierror

"A unique control surface designed by uber-human Jason Hotchkiss. Le Strum functions something like a cross between a Stylophone and an Omnichord.

Available here: https://www.tindie.com/products/midie..."

An interesting side note is that I own an Oberheim Strummer. It might have been the first if not only piece of kit you could use to generate guitar like cords with your synth. The problem with it was that it wasn't super intuitive to use. It didn't have any strum controls but was rather just a desktop box with a button based menu system where you selected what chords you wanted to use. LE STRUM looks like it would not only easily replace it, but can be used more as a physical controller for your synths. Very, very cool.

"A unique control surface that functions something like a cross between a Stylophone and an Omnichord. Comes FULLY CONSTRUCTED!

Connect LE STRUM to your MIDI synthesizer or computer running synth software, hold down a combination of buttons to select a chord, then use the stylus to play MIDI notes by touching the contact pads on the top right of the board. As the name suggests, you can strum across chords using the stylus, providing an unique and expressive MIDI controller.

LE STRUM's 36 chord buttons give you immediate access to 84 different chords (maj, min, dom7, maj7, min7, aug, dim for 12 root notes). You can also play sus4, add6 and add9 chord variations. It is great for learning about chord progressions and can be a helpful songwriting tool.

LE STRUM has several performance modes which are accessed by holding the MODE button while pressing one of the top row of chord buttons:

Mode+C : Basic mode - Stacked triads mapped across all 16 pads
Mode+D : Guitar strum mode - 6-string guitar open chords used (maj/min/7)
Mode+E : Guitar sustain mode - as above, but chord held after buttons released
Mode+F : Organ buttons - As Basic mode but chord triad plays on MIDI channel 2 as soon as button is pressed
Mode+G : Organ buttons with additions - as above but with sus4/add6/add9 options
Mode+A : Organ buttons with retrig - as above but chord buttons retrigger
Mode+B : Load User Patch
Mode+Bm : Save User Patch
Mode+B7 : MIDI Panic - All notes off
Mode+Strum Pad: Set MIDI velocity (16 levels)

User patch can combine settings for: play on make/break, damp on make/break, guitar voicing /stacked triads, additional guitar octave, enable added 4/6/9 notes, enable guitar chord bass notes, keep chord selection after chord button release, common note sustain on chord change, map chromatic/diatonic/pentatonic scale to pads, enable organ buttons on midi channel 2

LE STRUM has a special 6 string guitar mode, which knows basic major, minor and seven open chord fingerings for guitar. It can be used to lay down strummed guitar MIDI tracks without a MIDI guitar, and in a more convincing way that you could get from a keyboard. It's more than a toy, yessiree!

Designed for hackability (e.g. solder wires to the provided holes on the pads to make proper "strings" to pluck)
Transmits on MIDI Channel 1 for stylus activity and MIDI Channel 2 for Chord Buttons.
Output is to a standard MIDI 5-pin DIN socket.
A PP3 battery is required
Size 98mm x 75mm x 45mm (incl MIDI socket) Weight approx 120g with battery

An optional stand is available, please contact me for more information.

Please note that synthesizer hardware or software is required to make sound. LE STRUM is a MIDI controller and does not make any sound by itself!"

Note: I created a new midierror channel label for midierror moving forward. You can find previous posts by doing s a search on midierror. The creator of LE STRUM is Jason Hotchkiss.

Prototype MIDI-CV box for Novation Circuit

Published on Jan 2, 2016 Jason Hotchkiss

"A quick demo of sequencing analog gear using Novation Circuit and a compact MIDI-CV box I am working on. The gear used is a CB55 drum voice board (DR55 clone from circuitbenders.co.uk), Moog Minitaur, Pittsburgh Modular System 10.

The PCB shown here is a prototype, but I hope to have them on sale soon. It has a 3.5mm MIDI input jack so a simple stereo 3.5mm cable can connect it to Circuit's MIDI output. I've been working on bus powering it, but an external supply is used for this clip.

Support two mono channels with Note CV, Gate, Velocity CV (one for each Circuit synth track), and four drum gates (one for each Circuit drum track). Also an additional drum accent gate (when any
drum triggered at max MIDI velocity) which can double as a clock out.

Built around PIC16F1825 microcontroller with MCP4728 Quad 12-bit I2C DAC with on-board charge pump used to get full CV range.

I hope to have these on sale soon on my Tindie store https://www.tindie.com/stores/hotchk155/ ... watch this space

Cheers for watching!"

Analog percussion synth (PC-2) clone prototype (with CV control)

Published on Dec 13, 2015 Jason Hotchkiss

"First try out of a clone board I am working on, based on the Boss PC-2 / Amdek PCK-100. Couple of differences (mainly due to scarcity of the BA662A VCA chip) and some experimenting with CV control. I will eventually be selling these as kits, but not quite there yet! Enjoy the clip - the Cv really does open this thing up!"