Elektor Labs J2B 9bit synthesizer midi / Soulsby Atmegatron clone

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video upload by Elektor TV

Elektor J2B Synthesizer First Demo of Prototype from 2014.

"This video shows Elektor's J2B Synthesizer prototype running a soft synthesizer engine ported from the ATmegatron by Soulsby. Listen carefully to the sounds produced by this beast and admire the way you can control it. LPC1347 rulez the waves :-)"

via this auction

"This is a port of the Soulsby Atmegatron 8-bit monophonic synthesizer to the Elektor J2B LPC1343 ARM Cortex-M3 board. The original Atmegatron is based on an 8-bit, 32 KB flash memory ATmega328 and the firmware is available as an open source Arduino sketch. The J2B board has a 32-bit LPC1343 ARM Cortex-M3 processor with 32 KB flash memory.

The Atmegatron has two rotary encoders, eight potentiometers and a pushbutton. Two potentiometers are for volume and bass boost, the others control the synthesizer itself. The J2B board can have up to nine rotary encoders, or eight plus a pushbutton.

The Atmegatron uses a bunch of bi-color LEDs to interface with the user. The J2B can have an LCD.

The Atmegatron uses PWM to produce its sound, the J2B has excellent PWM capabilities.

Based on the previous observations, porting the Atmegatron to the J2B should not be a huge task, which is why I started doing it. The most daunting task was to replace the analog potentiometers by rotary encoders while keeping the same feel.
Two rotary encoders replicate the Atmegatron encoders, six others simulate the potentiometers. The bi-color LEDs are replaced by a 2x16 LCD, but I added two bi-color LEDs to indicate the red/green modes of the synthesizer.

A cool thing of the J2B is its built-in USB capabilities making it possible to update the firmware from any Windows PC simply by copying a file to the board which is seen as an external drive. No programmer needed at all.

PWM capabilities of the LPC1343 are a bit better than those of the ATmega328, which allowed me to increase the sample frequency and gain a bit, making it a 9-bit synthesizer. So, in theory, the sound quality of the J2B synth should be a little better than the Atmegatron."

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オリジナル曲「LONELY RIDER」 Fujitsu FM77AV Version

Published on Mar 25, 2020 NozMusic

"2014年10月に発表したオリジナル曲「LONELY RIDER」を、2020年3月にFujitsuパソコンFM77AVでリメイクしました。
音楽制作にあたり、標準のF-BASICをOH!FMの拡張PLAY文「EDPLAY」に拡張しました。
これにより、自作音色を自由に切り替える事ができまして、貴重なFM音源3音を有効活用出来ました。
PSG音源も、ソフトエンベロープが追加されてるので、エンベロープを切り換えながら演奏させてます。
更にパートデチューンも使えるので、PSG音源2音を重ねてコーラス感あるサウンドを作れます。
32年ぶりにFM77AVでMMLを打ちましたけど、まだまだ出来るものですね♪"

Googlish:

"The original song 'LONELY RIDER' announced in October 2014 was remade in March 2020 with the Fujitsu PC FM77AV.
For music production, the standard F-BASIC has been extended to OH! FM's extended PLAY statement 'EDPLAY'.
This made it possible to freely switch between self-made sounds, and effectively used three precious FM sound sources.

The PSG sound source also has a soft envelope added, so we play while switching the envelope.
In addition, part detune can be used, so you can create a chorus-like sound by layering two PSG sound sources.
I wrote MML with FM77AV for the first time in 32 years, but I can still do it ♪"

via Wikipedia:

"The FM-7 ('Fujitsu Micro 7') is a home computer created by Fujitsu. It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain. It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer, and during development it was referred to as the 'FM-8 Jr.'.

Although it was designed to be a cut-down version of the FM-8, most notably removing the (expensive) bubble memory technology, the FM-7 was given a more advanced AY-3-8910 sound chip capable of three voice sound synthesis, leading to a strong uptake among the hobbyist computer market in Japan and making it a more popular system than the FM-8."

And via Wikipedia here:

"The AY-3-8910 is a 3-voice programmable sound generator (PSG) designed by General Instrument in 1978, initially for use with their 16-bit CP1610 or one of the PIC1650 series of 8-bit microcomputers. The AY-3-8910 and its variants were used in many arcade games—Konami's Gyruss contains five[1]—and pinball machines as well as being the sound chip in the Intellivision and Vectrex video game consoles, and the Amstrad CPC, Oric-1, Colour Genie, Elektor TV Games Computer, MSX, and later ZX Spectrum home computers. It was also used in the Mockingboard and Cricket sound cards for the Apple II and the Speech/Sound Cartridge[2] for the TRS-80 Color Computer."

Twisted Electrons AY3 SYNTH Module Chiptune

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via this auction

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Extremely Rare German DIY Modular System - Helmut Tünker 10xVCO

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via this auction

via the seller: "I stop this project, I simply lack the time ............

I offer a DIY synthesizer modular system built after the buildinginstructions of Tünker from about 1980.

The system consists eg of 10 (!) VCO's, 3 multimode filters (5 modes) various LFO's and much more.

I bought it like it is and wanted to finish it, but I have no time for it.

The modules in picture 1 are fully assembled, but cannot say whether they work or not.

Some basic data:

classy front panels (aluminum with machined lettering)
TOP professional quality pcbs
Abuot 30 pcbs, partially partially equipped are added-
Complete manual with all the instructions and schematics and layouts
Power supplies are included

The late 70 early 80s there were quite a few DIY Modular projects, such as PAIA, Elektor Formant or Baumann. This is probably Tünker of 1980

I am selling ​​it explicitly to hobbyists for restoration, repair, or parts recycling

Shipping is possible in Germany possible but will be expensive (3 packages + Iloxx for the cabinet).

Therefore I prefer pick up"

This is the first Tünker post on the site. Helmut Tünker was a German TV engineer who developed DIY synth modules and wrote a book on his designs.

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USB MIDI Controlled AY-3-8912

YouTube Uploaded by littlescale on Dec 22, 2011

"USB MIDI Controlled AY-3-8912

Early prototype.

http://little-scale.blogspot.com/"

General Instruments AY-3-8912 via wikipedia: "The AY-3-8910 is a 3-voice Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) designed by General Instrument, initially for use with their 16-bit CP1610 or one of the PIC1650 series of 8-bit microcomputers. The AY-3-8910 and its variants became popular chips in many arcade games, and was used on, among others, the Intellivision and Vectrex video game consoles and the MSX, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Oric 1, Colour Genie, Elektor TV Games Computer and Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128/+2/+3 home computers as well as the Mockingboard sound card for the Apple II family. It was also produced under license by Yamaha (with minor modifications, i.e. a selectable clock divider pin, and a double-resolution but double-rate volume envelope table) as the YM2149F."

It's also used in the The MIDIbox AY V1: "The MIDIbox AY V1 is stuffed with a General Instruments AY-3-8912 sound chip..."