"More experiments with the pikocore. Random chord triggering sent from the M8 to the J-6. The Pikocore is synced to the J-6 which is clocked to the M8.
I’m syncing key changes to the random chords as well. I think I’ll continue down this path towards actual pseudo random song creation … so possibly more M8 + J-6 combos in the near future. The modulation options on the J-6 are nonexistent sound design is incredibly limited. I could use another mini synth instead, maybe the great conjunction, or the kasser arcade. but that would take more cord wrangling in the m-8."
pikocore april 2nd, 2023 / #wares a small rp2040-based music mangler. $62 / $89.
pikocore is…
a lo-fi music mangler based on the raspberry pi pico (brother of the nyblcore). capable of holding 8 minutes of 8-bit 33 khz monophonic samples. powered by a single aaa battery for up to 3 hours or by powered by usb-c. tempo-synced with a selectable bpm between 60 and 300, with samples mangled by beat-synced effects (stutter, retrig, gate, tunneling). loaded with real-time effects like a resonant filter, timestretching, volume, and wavefolding. sequenced with a 128-step sequencer with recording/playback saved and loaded via eeprom for instant patch recall. able to load custom firmware, new samples, all through usb-c. sync-compatible with pocket operators. open-source, wonderfully hackable.
pikocore is a lo-fi music mangler based on the Raspberry Pi Pico. It can hold 8 minutes of 8-bit 33 kHz monophonic samples, is powered by a single AAA battery or USB-C, and can be tempo-synced with a selectable BPM between 60 and 300. It also has beat-synced effects, real-time effects, a 128-step sequencer, and can load custom firmware and new samples. Pikocore is sync-compatible with Pocket Operators and open-source, making it wonderfully hackable."
"Recording Date: 07/30/2023
Tempo: 148bpm
Key: F minor
Some years ago, I actually created the 'PSY' sound bank for the Vengeance 'Avenger' virtual synth, with 256 presets! This was a perfect opportunity to use some of those sounds to put together a quick jam. I created this jam from start to finish in under 24 hours - it was a lot of stress, but I got it done - WOOT!
(The audio is actually REALLY LOUD and super clean, YouTube keeps making me turn my volume waaaaaay down and eating the hi frequencies, so my videos always seem dull and quiet in the end, I'm trying to learn from this, but tons of research into LUFS isn't helping so far...)"
"In today's episode of Elektron Talk, I am going to break down a jungle track I wrote that relies heavily on the Digitakt. We will also discuss chopping breaks on the Digitakt and why it's so much better on the Octatrack.
Get the NEW Ultimate Octatrack FX Template 1.1.3 and the NEW Ultimate
Performance Mixer 2FF 1.1.6 here with continuous updates:
"Playing this Sequential Prophet 5 / 10 synthesizer is like connecting with the past while still exploring new sonic possibilities in music. Check out the full album Peaceful Days Echoes: https://caughtinjoy.bandcamp.com/albu..."
"Hey everyone, it's Caught In Joy here, and I'm thrilled to share with you my latest musical creation! Join me as I take you on a 15-minute sonic journey with my Berlin School Suite, "Peaceful Days Echoes" right from the comfort of my home studio. 🏠🎹🎸🎛️
This suite is not only a musical journey but also a celebration of my 15th album release this year! It's been an incredible musical odyssey, and I wanted to make this release extra special. In this mesmerizing performance, I'll be showcasing my passion for electronic music and my love for analog synths. The suite features the Moog synths (Mavis, DFAM), the powerful Prophet 10, and an array of expressive guitar pedals. Together, they create a soundscape that embraces the spirit of the Berlin School style, with its dreamy sequences, ethereal textures, and timeless melodies.
'Peaceful Days Echoes' is a deeply personal piece, and it's a part of my recently released album of the same name. If you enjoy this suite, you can support me directly by checking out the full album on Bandcamp: https://caughtinjoy.bandcamp.com/albu.... Your support means the world to independent artists like me, and I'm incredibly grateful for every single listen and share.
This suite holds a special place in my heart and it also marks a significant milestone in my musical journey. You see, making music is not just my passion; it's my sole source of income. I made a courageous decision to quit all other jobs and dedicate myself fully to pursuing this artistic dream. Music has the power to connect us all, and every album I release brings me closer to my incredible audience, including you."
Why TouchOSC? - It’s OS agnostic (it works on MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android) - Hexler has been around since 2007 and in my experience with TouchOSC, it has always been supporting the latest OS
If you have any questions or if GS Music or anyone is interested in licensing it, please contact me via my website: https://synthnyc.com
"Spec run down. Eye candy and chill tune.What it is and where to get it - below:
Available at:https://x1l3.bigcartel.com/
MX2 is an expander for the manipulator module.
It adds six toggle/latching gates to the main module.
These are tied to the momentary triggers of keys C1 - D3.
The vid run says the module is 8hp. It's actually only 4hp.
Funny enough, i'm not feeling too inclined to re render it all and re-upload the lot for a typo 🙈🙈🤣
Useful for additional control of anything requiering a constant gate.
The frag/shard gates of the shard module being a good example.
Half demo vid - half chill run with some visuals for a bit of fun.
Cheers for checking it out. I hope you enjoy the vid and find the module useful if you choose to pick one up 😊"
"MX2 is a 4HP,, 37mm deep expander for the manipulator module.
Available in yellow or black.
Current draw: V+ 30MA / V- 20MA
MX2 adds six toggle/latching gates to the gate array of the manipulator. The latching gates are tied to the keys C1 - D3.
Power is provided via the expander header. No additional power cable is required.
Works well with shard when the latches are tied to the frag/shard gates and the four CV outputs from manipuilator are used to control the atrophy and osc pitches of the module."
"GRP Synthesizer V22 Vocoder and drums from the Arturia Drumbrute.
I used the internal carrier (Noise and VCO) of the V22.
The Elektron A4 keyboard is only used for Midi.
No external effects, only soft limiting on the master.
"'Sequential Take 5 - Version 2 0 Patch Tweaking' Synthesizer demo by Rik Marston *Watch in HD!* * NO Talking!* *Turn it up!* Nothing musical here, just a nice synthesizer sound demo! I upgraded the Sequential TAKE 5 to version 2.0! It sounds better to me, has more patch memory, it is worth the time & effort to update! It sounds thicker, warmer & the stereo spread of the voices sounds more like the OB-6 & Prophet-6 to me! Probably not any real change to the synth. It just sounds better! Here I demo some Leads, Bass, Pads, Strings & FX! BTW that is a North West Africa stone chondrite meteorite by the effects section on the Sequential TAKE 5, it sends you some serious ** Positive Cosmic Vibes! ** Please Support Rik Marston Official! Buy my Ambient Synthesizer Music "Digital Heart, Analog Soul" Vol. 1 + 2, Unity", "Dark Night of the Soul" & "Back To 2049" on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, & more! My NEW Etsy store: AhnyxianSoundDesign https://www.etsy.com/shop/AhnyxianSou..."
"This video is about Mort’s Barge - a replica mini-system of five Buchla 100 series modules that were used by electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick in the mid-1960s. I recently built the 4U DIY modules from LA67, and in this video I walk through the features and create a few patches that show what they’re capable of.
Notes and pics via Tom Churchill's post on Mod Wiggler:
"I thought I’d share a couple of things I learned along the way which maybe aren’t immediately obvious from the BOMs alone, in case anyone else is planning to tackle the build and is looking for some tips.
Some of this stuff has no doubt been covered earlier in the thread, so apologies for any repetition. Also, a lot will probably be obvious to experienced builders, but I’m definitely not in that category yet, so for anyone else (like me) who’s only built Eurorack kits previously, maybe isn’t super-familiar with circuit theory and component sourcing, it might be useful.
Enclosure: After I ordered the panels and PCBs from LA67 I contacted Julian at The Beast to ask about his 6U Buchla boats. As luck would have it he still had a couple of the special boats he supplied to LA67 for the pre-built Mort’s Barge systems, with matt black coating and pre-drilled holes for power inlet, power switch and grounding banana socket, so I snagged one. I added some rubber feet to allow a bit of clearance for the screws I used to mount the PSU PCB (see below) and to avoid the underside getting scratched. For mounting the modules, I bought a pack of 20 M3 speed fasteners (aka captive nuts, aka Tinnermans) from eBay, and secured the modules using M3 6mm screws with plastic washers. Power: The PSU PCB doesn’t require any caps and you just need to solder one bridge as marked. (This is now clear on the Mort’s Barge PSU BOM, but it wasn’t at first.) I mounted the PSU PCB on 8mm M2.5 standoffs via the pre-drilled holes in the bottom of the boat. I added a 2.1.mm DC inlet and wired a 20mm round rocker switch in series. I added a single banana socket connected to 0V to provide a ground for any other cases I might want to use with it (and for connecting to Eurorack - see below). For the AC-DC converter I just used a standard 12V 2A wall wart I had lying around, with a 2.1mm centre positive barrel connector. I used the 2-pin Molex connectors as per the BOM to distribute power to the individual modules (with the power cables hard-wired to the individual module PCBs) Component sourcing: I combined the individual BOMs for the five modules into one master BOM, ticked off what I already had in stock (mostly resistors), then ordered any other required resistors, trimmers, pots, 2N3904/6 transistors and various bits of hardware from Tayda; caps, specialist transistors, diodes, switches, knobs, lamps etc from Mouser. I’m in the UK and banana sockets worked out slightly cheaper from Thonk, so I ordered those there. I also bought the necessary matched transistor pairs from Thonk to save time (I don’t have the tools or experience to match them myself!) Changes: This might be sacrilege to Buchla purists but I went for Switchcraft 3.5mm sockets instead of Tini-Jax - I already have lots of 3.5mm patch cables and it makes for easier integration. The 910p film caps on the BOM are huge - 10mm lead spacing - and expensive. I ordered them before I realised this, and with a bit of leg straightening/bending they do fit fine in the 158 and 180 boards, but I replaced them with these much smaller and cheaper 1n mylar film caps for the 140 - https://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/1nf ... apacitor-5 - and they work just fine. The BOM has since been corrected, but slightly annoyingly at the time I was ordering, the part code for the Dialight lamps in the 123 was out of date, so the ones that arrived in my original order were the wrong size. I had to do a separate order for the correct parts, 609-1122-130F. These aren’t cheap, so double check that you’re getting 9mm ones! On the 158 BOM, there’s a suggestion to use 1n5 instead of 47n for C11 to reduce saw wave distortion. I put sockets in for that and tried both - the 1n5 definitely gives a much cleaner saw so I’ve stuck with that. I also left out C8 as suggested to improve sine shape - I didn’t try it with it included but the sine is definitely a good shape without so I’ll stick without it. General tips: I built them in the left to right order they’re shown on the LA67 photos - 158, 110, 180, 140, 123. It was pretty easy to test this way. Calibration-wise there’s not much to do - the trimmers on the 158 adjust the sine shape and upper and lower frequency limits; use the 110 trimmers to minimise clicking with a raw trigger in; the 140 trimmers set the upper and lower period (I haven’t really touched these) For the wiring, I soldered pins to the PCB and used a bunch of F-F Dupont jumper wires, cut in half, so if I ever need to take the board off I can simply pull these off and don’t need to desolder anything. For the multiple outputs I mostly just used old resistor legs to bridge them. Integrating with Eurorack clock is easy - both the 180 and the 123 respond to triggers as low as 5V (e.g. from Pam’s). I don’t use a format jumbler, just a 3.5mm to two bananas cable, with the ground banana connected to the spare ground I fitted near the power switch. I don’t think I’ll ever bother trying to send CV from Eurorack but this way I can at least clock it to the rest of my system if I want to, and maybe even play around with some more complex rhythm patterns. Anyway, hope that’s handy for someone - I’ll share a bunch of patches on YouTube soon!"
