Gechologic Gecho Loopsynth v2 | musical meditation | first impression & some practical applications

video upload by Nate Connelly

"Gecho Loopsynth V2, Korg Volca Drum, Korg Volca Keys, shakers, singing bowl. Some uses I found for the Gecho Loopsynth v2. I look at two of my favourite channels, 24 & 34, infinite looper and MI clouds. I also try it out with the Korg Volca Drum & Keys. I'm still finding my way around this strange thing.

00:00 - channel 24 - infinite looper & delay
02:07 - change the speed / pitch
03:09 - change the loop length
03:40 - flanging finger drumming
04:23 - volca drum various drum patterns
05:48 - playing with line noise
06:11 - playing volca keys with channel 34 mi clouds
08:02 - final thought

gechological, gecho loopsynth, loop synth, noise box, looper, fx box, boutique effect, noise muic, ambient music, experimental music, synth, loops,

🎧 - Headphones for bass"

Wing Drum and Gecho v2

video upload by Gecho Loopsynth

"This is the metallic timbre #11 from the Wing Drum, processed by Gecho Loopsynth, channel #33 Dekrispator. It is an example how to modulate the sound engine in Gecho by external sound, to get interesting textures. Similar effect can be achieved with microphones. Envelope, delay and filters in Dekrispator can be switched on and off separately, here everything is left on."

Gecho v2, synced start with Pocket Operator


"A quick guide how to set up these two devices to play together in sync (this feature appeared in the firmware version 1.0.118).

In the PO, enable SY1 mode (key+bpm), then start the playback. Gecho will listen to the click track and derive the tempo from it. Then stop the PO playback, select channel (don't press SET), and start the playback again.

You can also select the channel first, then start the PO - they will still be in sync however not necessarily matching at the start of the bar (which may give interesting results too)."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Gecho Mini Music Box Loopsynth on Kickstarter

Published on Dec 8, 2016 Gecho Loopsynth

"In music box you’ve seen gears, steel comb and cylinder with pins. Gecho doesn’t try to hide its printed circuit board and some electronic elements. You can touch them – actually, you are encouraged to touch them, nothing will break!

While you can’t see electrons moving in copper traces, there are twenty-nine colourful lights to show what is going on inside... and because interaction is embedded deeply in spirit of today’s technology, even our music box must not stay inert. It can hear your voice, pick frequencies off your musical instruments, remember and play them back to you. It has four sensors to measure distance of your fingers hundred times per second.

It senses magnetic fields and infra-red light, expanding your senses... and knows how to translate these invisible forces to something you can hear.

But most importantly, even with the very basic program, Gecho creates unique ambience for your ears.

Eager to explore it?"

via the Kickstarter campaign

"Gecho is a polyphonic, pocket synthesizer with interactive controls

How it works: TL; DR

Instead of knobs, it has touch-less sensors that react to your fingers. It also has very sensitive microphones that hear your singing, whistling or tapping. The collected signal is fed through a group of variable-resonant filters, forming chord-progressions. At the same time, environmental noise peaks disturb the filters settings, creating complexity of sounds.

Full story

I tried to make a music box using the current technology, replacing steel comb, pinned cylinder, cogwheels and springs with crystal oscillators and power cells... but I ended up with something more complex. It can be a music box - with a click of the button, it starts playing melodies straight away. But it can also be so much more...

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Gecho v2 Prototype and Korg Volca FM

Published on Apr 1, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"The v2 prototype is working very well so far, here the MIDI Out functionality is being tested with Korg Volca, also Line-in and Line-out connectors are actively used. All is recorded via USB sound card directly from Gecho and presented in raw form. You can find more info here: http://gechologic.com/new-batch-updat..."

"The final Gecho v2 prototype
Since the previous update about v2 that was posted in August last year, it took 3 more revisions to get here. Although the first prototype of Gecho v2 has been completed, blueprints verified by our skilled hobbyists friends who soldered their own prototypes, and it even passed CE/FCC testing with flying colours, and we could go ahead with the production - it was just not good enough - it needed a small upgrade. And, things tend to turn more complicated than they appear :)

Thanks to everyone for encouraging comments, questions and feedback during the past few months, it has been very helpful and contributed a lot to shaping the new model.

While working on Glo (the whale synth), I came to realize that sticking to STM32 platform looks nice in short-term; in theory, only small modifications are needed to port the firmware over. But there was a risk that when implementing the new features you are waiting for, like MIDI and sync modes, it would be needed to trade off something on the sound side (e.g. level of polyphony) to get the extra power for the additional processing required.

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Gecho v2 - How to build your DIY kit (acrylic sandwich)

Published on Sep 8, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"To give you an idea what's involved in putting together your DIY kit, and at the same time, how does PO-20 Arcade sound together with Gecho.

Step-by-step guide is here: http://gechologic.com/v2_diy_acrylic"

Update:

How to open and close battery door

Published on Sep 8, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"In some units the door does not move smoothly. This will get better over time as you use it, but in the meantime there is a simple trick to it.

If the door twists a little bit sideways, it will get stuck. Leaning the unit against a flat surface helps, but put something soft under (like a newspaper) to not scratch anything.

Puller is helping to get the door into the notch, but it is not a good idea to pull the door all the way only by the puller as it may snap, also it is very hard to keep the door straight, instead pull the door with your fingers.

This is a unit with 14500 rechargeable cell, so the door doesn't really need to be opened more than once when installing the cell. But of course with AA batteries powered unit you will need to do it more frequently. Plugging in the USB power at any time conserves batteries."

Prophet Rev2 Stretchweaver music-box mechanism Gecho Loopsynth | minimal ambient melodic experiment

video upload by Nate Connelly

"Music Box, Gechological Gecho Loopsynth v2, Sequentail Prophet 8 Rev2, Drolofx Stretchweaver. Ambient melodic electronic musical looping & sequencing experiments.

The gecho / music box loops are going into channel 1 of the drolofx stretch-weaver - the prophet Rev2 into channel 2 of the stretch-weaver. The Rev-2 is playing a programmed chord sequence in the same key as the melody on the music box. Stretchweaver is on the gate setting. The Gecho music box loops are opening the gate for the Rev2. You can hear how I am adjusting the amount of the Rev2 the music box loops are allowing through. Everything is going through the strymon big-sky, because life is nothing without reverb.

00:00 - Start
00:31 - Pitched Up Lovely
03:05 - Slowed Lessness
04:26 - Moodier Sci-fi Vibes
05:15 - Moodier Slowed
06:13 Sped Up Cresendo (sort of)

ambient music, generative music, meditation, relaxing music, ambient, chillout, mellow music, melody, haunting, minimal music, electronic music, electronica, ambient electronic, electronic music

🎧 - Headphones for bass"

Dekrispator port free-running mode on Gecho

Published on Jan 1, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"This is a demonstration of Gecho Loopsynth board compatibility with existing software written for official STM32F4 boards. Code used is 'Dekrispator' by Xavier Halgand: https://github.com/MrBlueXav/Dekrispator"

Gecho - The Original

Published on Jun 1, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"Now you can know the truth.

Get your own copy at http://gechologic.com

Detailed (microscopic) view of the original unit's central processor: [embedded below]

All music and sounds from the unit, no effects added.

Credits:

Narrated by Doctor Steve: http://www.doctorsteve.com/

Lost alien pets autopsied by Robert Lee https://www.roblee.ie/

Stone statues designed by Victor: http://victorsway.eu/

Warp tunnel sequence/rabbit hole and DSP processor insides courtesy of Beeple: https://www.beeple-crap.com/"


Published on Sep 9, 2018 Gecho Loopsynth

"Another quick demo of sounds from Polyphonic Whale - this time "Space" channel, in 2nd half of the video gradually overlapping with "Decaying Reverb".

No external or software effects added, only cut and mix in AfterFX. This is raw output from the Whale, from one to four layers per segment - to get a better idea what was involved, check this layer diagram: http://gechologic.com/upload/video/Or...

The footage is also without any added effects - output from my camera, focused on a region of outer space ;)"

Gecho Loopsynth MIDI Out and CV/Gate/Trigger-like external controls (hack)

Published on Jan 14, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"This is a demonstration of MIDI Out and some external controls (4 analog or digital channels), to directly influence various parameters - e.g. voice pitch, sample playback... It is like CV/Gate/Trigger inerfaces but operates on 0-3.3V (additional voltage divider is needed to shift it to 0-5V)."

Meet the Awesome Gecho Loopsynth

Published on Feb 5, 2020 Olivier Ozoux

"One of the 3 music boxes that were waiting under the tree this year, 'The Awesome Gecho Loopsynth' from Gechologic is probably one of the most wonderfully bizarre sound processing devices I've ever owned. I'm still completely sure how it works, but I hope you'll enjoy this little introduction as much as I did making it."

Gecho - Accompanying Windows App

Published on Feb 15, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"An early stage of Win32 application to control and program Gecho via USB port. It can send commands to start/stop any channel, also builds and transmits new chord progressions and melodies.

There is a new channel that is launched by "Direct Play" button, which plays received notes immediately to give user an audible feedback while programming new songs using the embedded virtual piano.

More information at http://gechologic.com/gecho-app"

Gecho & Friends - Part 3: 8bit Mixtape Neo

Published on Oct 24, 2018 Gecho Loopsynth

"This is the very cool looking 'Berliner Schule' edition of 8bit Mixtape Neo from http://neo.8bitmixtape.cc/ - a little digital synthesizer which is also available as a DIY kit! There are various firmwares available too, this is just one of them.

They play nice together. Mixtape's monophonic output is spread around stereo with delay effect, layered into the loop, filtered using low-pass filters individually controlled by four Gecho's infra-red proximity sensors.

As usual, no additional effects or post-processing applied."

See the Gecho label below for more.

Gecho v2 and Pocket Operator PO-20 Arcade

Published on Sep 12, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"Apologies for the video quality, cellphone camera is easily confused by bright LED lights.

The sound, on the other hand, is presented in its raw form; it was recorded digitally to micro-SD card (note the only cables plugged in are headphones and line input from PO), and was not normalized or edited except for fade in/out and lowering the volume a bit when the dog barked :)

Gecho can detect sync signal from PO while idle and set the global tempo parameter by it, but this is not implemented during play."

Gecho v2

Gecho & Friends - Part 2: RaKit Drum Synth

Published on Sep 6, 2018 Gecho Loopsynth

"Gecho's new best friend is Drum Synth from https://www.rakits.co.uk/ - a fully analog little synthesizer which is also available as a DIY kit!

Hear this delicious blend of analog and digital, layers of low frequencies, with overtones sweeping almost into ultrasonic. As usual, no additional effects applied."

Gecho & Friends

Gecho & Friends - Part #1: Minijam Studio tek.waves

Published on Nov 23, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"Gecho is a collaborative species. First of his friends featured here is the amazing tek.waves from Minijam Studio which I've discovered through Kickstarter.

Haven't learned all of its possibilities yet, so for starters, pre-programmed pattern is playing. More effects/settings are accessible through buttons combinations - for example, in addition to normal and alternate function of the knobs, you can access 4 more banks of things to tweak.

Tek.waves can surely do a lot more than this - the same is true for Gecho."

Gecho - Making of Synth (Assembly Machines)

Published on May 30, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"Production line that makes Gechos, yay!

The soundtrack in this video is a raw recording of the output (no post-processing).

Factory noises from the original video have been fed to "guitar pickups" input and altered by series of Gecho's programmatically controlled high-pass filters (as opposed to low-pass demonstrated in previous videos), with resonance and arpeggiator triggered by IR sensors (as usual). Signal is wrapped in a loop of variable delay (you can hear it changing few times during the video). Another new function is possibility of feeding a sampled sound into the filters, which is good for parts where external signal is not present (here it's the quiet sound of water at the very end).

Video published with permission from Solitech, Electronics Development and Assembly: http://solitech.pl/en/contact.html

High resolution audio here:"



See the Gecho label below for more.

Gecho v2 - PCB Assembly

Published on Aug 12, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"This was happening last week, all boards have been assembled and dispatched to us, should be arriving later this week.

I haven't had chance to process the sounds from the video through some of the Gecho's channels as usual, maybe will do that later when there is time, as at the moment there is still a few things to finish before we can start shipping. Perhaps for now it is better left as is, this is a music of it's own kind, enjoy! :)"

Gecho v2 Liquid Resistance

Published on Oct 21, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"An experiment to see if Gecho in its least environmentally protected format 'Acrylic Sandwich' can endure having drinks spilled on! Just remember to cut off the power quickly / take out the batteries if installed, and rinse it with water to remove sugar, salt etc.."

Gecho v2 and Ellitone Multi Synth

Published on Nov 3, 2019 Gecho Loopsynth

"This must be the best sixty bucks I've ever spent :) So much fun!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/EllitoneSyn...
The channel #24 is new, it's a looper / warper without additional effects, as suggested by Gecho owners. Just finished it yesterday (2nd November) so it is not yet present in your firmware, it will be in the next update and demoed in a separate video."

See the Ellitone label for more.

Gecho - New type of synthesis - DCO

Published on Jul 28, 2017 Gecho Loopsynth

"New channel #33 emulates 24 DCO oscillators, chained in simple way. The frequency of the first one is controlled by S1, then the "spread" is increased by S2 (frequency increment of each subsequent oscillator). S3 and S4 influence envelope and phase shift.

Exploring this channel feels like diving into an audible equivalent of a fractal. Various combinations yield some very Interesting effects, often a very slight change in one of them shuffles the whole arrangement around.

To get notified when next batch of Gechos is available, please subscribe to newsletter at http://gechologic.com"