Upgrades To Pete McBennett's DIY Synth

Pete McBennett

"Hi everyone, here is a demo of the new features of my code and filter. My Arduino code now has a low bass range that is toggled with what used to be the high F key. (See time stamp 0:07 and 0:32) I found it convenient to use that key for switching up and down. I have also added a sustain toggle switch which holds the current note until the next key is pressed. (See time stamp 0:15 and 0:44) Very useful. The sustain switch uses pin A7 on a Nano.

Here is the new schematic with the added sustain switch: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kgCR...

Here is the new code with octave toggle and sustain switch: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Otak...

I also modified my filter slightly to add a switch for manual control of the filter sweep. (See time stamp 0:59) Sorta like my old LDR synths but controlled with the cutoff frequency knob. And in the process of experimenting, I discovered that Q2 is not necessary. The LM358 buffer stage has plenty of capability to drive the LED's directly, Q2 was a leftover from an early design. This is an easy mod for those who may have already built the filter. Oh yeah, this filter does not have a built in auto trigger like the other one, but any square wave LFO will work if fed into the trigger input.

Here is the schematic for the modified filter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17_6u..."

Super-Simple "Taurus" Pedals Using Arduino

Pete McBennett

"OK, this is just something I slapped together for fun. It's built on a clip-board from the Dollar Tree store, with the clip removed. The "pedals" are just strips of PC board with copper on the bottom, and screws underneath for contacts.

It's programmed for a simple pentatonic scale, because I could only fit five across with enough spacing. The upper left pedal is to cycle through five different scales, and the upper right pedal is a mute switch.

There are two RCA jacks mounted on a piece of aluminum. One is for audio out, the other is trigger out. They go up to my filter (same one as my previous videos), which is conveniently located up on the desk. I'll upload more info and the code in another video, if anybody wants to experiment with their own version."

Arpeggios!

Published on May 20, 2020 Pete McBennett

"This is that little Nano board with the eight stylus keys from a couple of my other videos. It's good for experimenting with code. I got rid of the volume knob because I needed room for a couple push-buttons. It still has the trigger output for the filter, but I wanted to show the little gizmo by itself! It's so fun!"

McBennett Sequencer with Arduino UNO

Published on May 18, 2020 Pete McBennett

"Hi everyone! I wrote some code for a basic 4-step sequencer. The tone generator is the same PWM digital oscillator from my other Arduino projects, so it has a nice thick sound. I ran it through my LDR filter, it's pretty cool sounding.

Here is the link to the code: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jac...


Here is the link to the Arduino schematic: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sLN...


Here is the link to the filter schematic again: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ac_..."

McBennett Synth VCF Secrets Revealed

Published on Feb 6, 2020 Pete McBennett

"Here is a video describing how my VCF works. I forgot to mention the resonance control R17, but that's pretty much self-explanatory. I had it set to max for this demo to emphasize the filter operation. Here is the link to the filter schematic again:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=18rU..."

New and Improved Synth with High-Note Priority and 3 Oscillators by Pete McBennett

Published on Mar 17, 2018 Pete McBennett

"Hi everyone, I've been busy with some new ideas on my LDR breadboard synth. I changed the keyboard to 10 fixed notes using fixed resistors, and added a master tuning control. This new design has high-note priority which makes fast arpeggios possible. Also, there are two adjustable drone oscillators for a total of three oscillators. I will post the schematic soon."

Simplest DIY Moog / ARP - Sounding Synthesizer

Published on Feb 19, 2014 Pete McBennett·2 videos

"This is a PWM oscillator through a light-controlled resonant low pass filter. My objective was to produce a true synth sound with minimum parts count and all commonly available parts. Made from all generic op-amps. It can be tuned to any scale via the eight tunable potentiometers. Through a nice amp it absolutely GROWLS with earth-shaking bass frequencies."

This is the first McBennett post.

Fun Place To Work - Electronics Lab

Published on Feb 14, 2014