Jaicen

Jeez, $1.50 for CA3080?! I remember they were virtually giving them away a few years back! FWIW, you can directly replace the CA3080 with an LM31600, which is two 3080's in a 14pin package, so some layout changes are needed. With regards to cost, for my part the pots and switches are the killer. The rest of the components are just pennies, and the PCB's I make myself. The way I worked out the cost is by buying all the components for one module at a time, as that's how i'd planned to build my clone, by making up one complete module every week or two. The case I was planning to have made for me to resemble the 909, but in a smaller form. That will be made up by my dad for no money as we already have all the materials, it will just cost a bit to have the face printed up.

GOddamn, that's EXACTLY what I want!!! Is it a homebrew project?? Where can I get it?! I must have that sequencer! I've decided I do actually NEED a 303 now, the SID is good, but it's not quite there for me (Not that i'm abandoning it, with this seq, I can use both! ;D ). I'm assuming that there would be interest in a TB-303 'module' to use with the MB CV?? :)

I would have said that it's probably quite easy to get a crude implementation of pitch to MIDI going. You wouldn't really need to mess too much with frequency analysis or any of that stuff. I would run a hex pickup, with a 24db low-pass filter (to filter out harmonics and produce the fundamental), each feeding comparator. This will produce a square wave approximately the frequency of the string vibrations. Once you have your square wave, it would (in theory) be a relatively simple task to feed it into a PIC running the appropriate pitch to MIDI converter. As far as the conversion goes, I'd be inclined to do it using some sort of frequency comparison table. That is, have the PIC compare the incoming frequency with a table of frequencies within the range of the guitar, ie. all the strings at all the frets, and maybe those in-between for bent strings if you're ambitious. If it's clocked at a reasonable speed, and can lock onto the pitches and remain stable, I would think it is quite possible to implement a pitch to MIDI MB. Having said all that, I just read the link posted and it pretty much does what i've said!

Whilst I applaud the idea, I'd want a more sophisticated comp than could be made up with a couple of op-amps! Especially considering the very fast transients involved. As it happens, I just prepared some toner layouts for a couple of 808 voices. I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick price check, to see how expensive this is likely to be, and I was actually extremely surprised. To build the bass drum alone (from hallucinogen's layout), it's going to cost somewhere in the region of £17 just for the components for this one voice. Add to that the cost of knobs for all the parameters and the case, and it's obvious that this is not going to be cheap, and this is the least complex of all the 808 voices. I priced up the snare at something like £26. Obviously those sums are based on buying the minimum quantities of the best components, but the price is still going to be very very high for a whole clone. I'd planned to build just the kick, snare and hats from the 808, and the kick and snare from the 909, giving a total of 5 voice boards. Taking into account these more complex circuits, i'd say it's going to cost around £120-150 just for these five sounds. For that money, I could get a working 606!

I agree completely, I have neither the time nor the inclination to source parts for a kit like that, not to mention the financial outlay. I might offer it for my forthcoming DR-55 and DR-110 clones, but that's another story. Moogah, is there any chance you could pass on the PSU + Noise files for the 808 to me, it doesn't seem to be available from xlarge any more. Also, I may be intersted in acquiring a couple of those hard to get parts if you're interested.

That's correct, but from my understanding, operating the MBSID in TB mode doesn't allow patterns to be chained. Basically I want a sequencer that has pattern play, song play, 8 patterns in 8 or more banks (ie, 64 patterns or more) and can be programmed in step time using 12 note keys, accent, slide and note length, just like a real 303. My thinking is that the LCD menu can be used to scroll through song's and patterns, and to store SID settings, but as I said before i'd probably just keep it in 303 mode and have the 5 knobs as a CS. I think the ability to recall other SID patches would make things a bit more versatile. Having said that, if it were possible to make a 303 workalike (ie, minus the patches) with analogue pots, that would be almost as good in my eyes! I wish that link you provided was in english, i'd be very interested in building a 303 clone to go with my upcoming 808/909 clone, but i'm sure the MBSID can be as good if not better for my needs.

THat is the SChitz!! If I had the resources and the ability, that's exactly what I would build.

Hehe, I think it was originally wrong on the CS layout on the ucapps website, which the 'mystery SID' was built from, hence carrying over the typo. The one I was thinking of had a plastic CS, which was made to look like it was moulded all in one with the case itself.

To be honest, I could live without MIDI, as long as it can sync to an incoming S24 or MIDI clock that's all I need. I guess there are a lot of people here with lofty ideas, and not the skill to implement them!

Yeah I remember that distinctly, it's exactly how i'd like to build an MBSID. No idea who built it though, I do remember that they made a typo on the legending of the CS.

I forgot all about this thread! Thanks for the link TK, but I'm afraid i can't read any of the stuff posted since I don't speak the language. I've just re-read what I wrote and it seems that it's not terribly clear. What i'd like to build, is a 16 step sequencer, with SID built in. The sid would be controlled by the sequencer in MONO. Initially I thought that i'd just add a control surface A to the synth, but now I think i'd prefer to have the classic TB knob arrangement, ie. Cutoff, Resonance, Env, Decay, Accent and maybe have the SID in TB mode all the time. I don't really understand what TK was saying about the slide thing, but how difficult would it be to program an app like this up??

Hey Moogah, I just read through your thread over at Ladyada. I like some of your ideas, especially regarding the filter and ring-mod, i'd had similar thoughts myself. I've even designed a simple ring mod based on the AD633, and i'd planned to clone the MS-20 for a filter, perhaps controlled by the accent CV (how's that for cool!). Gotta say I was pretty shocked by the price you came up with, but I don't think it's unreasonable really, (far more so than the X0X I would say, though I really want one of those! Anyone want to help me build just the analogue part with a CV in??). Do you have the files for Hallucinogen's clone? I need the schmitt and noise sections for the hat's and cymbal (though I'm undecided on the cymbal, I might leave that out). Personally I don't have any use for all the 808 sounds, I usually only use the kick snare and hats, so I'm just cloning them along with all the DR-55 & DR-110 sounds. That said, i'm looking forward to your seeing your project greatly.

POST SAMPLES IMMMMMEDIATELY!!

Yeah, the DX100 is exactly the same as the DX27, and not too dissimilar to the DX9. I have a DX27 which I like a lot, especially for clean punchy bass because it has hardware envelopes which are very snappy. I've been after a DX100 for a while since I moved my DX27 to the studio, I need something that takes up less room at home.

So what's the deal with the KP sensor?? Is it possible to replace it with one from say an old laptop?? I'm looking to re-house the one in mine so that I can have the KP innards in a stompox friendly format (ie, in a metal box with footswitches), so it's a little more rugged.

Does anyone know where to locate XY pads that will work in-place of the one in the Kaoss (1) Pad?? I'm looking for one that's a little smaller, any ideas?

I can't claim to be following all this talk of timers, but i'm excited nonetheless! I'm definitely wanting some nice analogue control for the parameters, rather than the digipots. I can live without patch storage to be honest. Anybody want to sell me a 3396??? ;)

That sounds brilliant! I'm guessing it's been heavily multi-tracked? Even so, I had no idea that the NES could produce such convincing tones. Personally, given the complexity of interfacing the 2A03, i'd stick with NES VST's rather than desing a new MBHP app for it. That said, an MBHP interface that plugs into the cart port, similar to the MIDINES, (But better obviously) could be an option. Actually, that's what I want for the GAMEBOY, but that's a whole other story!

Apparently it can be done using a DIN as a keyboard scanning matrix. There was a link posted that explains that in the second of the above posts, but it got lost when the servers went down. I've been wanting to do exactly what you're describing actually, I just need a little handholding myself!

I'd rather see real pots to be honest. I think it would be great to homebrew a real analogue style synth. The way I see it working is to not have an LCD, but a number of button pre-sets and banks to select patches. Once a patch is selected, moving a knob will make it active. Of course, that's just what I want so it's unlikely to be to everyone's taste, especially with the flexibility that encoders allow.

I take it you're joking about the 22nF caps and diffuse LED's! They really are ten-a-penny around here. You can get them both from Maplin if you're in the UK.

Did you read any of this thread before posting?...

Can I put in a vote here for a traditional 'knobby' synth?? Ideall something that works like a Juno 60, where you can store patches to buttons, and then when you touch a knob or whatever, it jumps to that value. I have a real hankering for some real hardware right now!

Yep that's right. You need to hold one pin high, then pulse one low to for it to reset.

I imagine that it just needs the reset pin to be pulsed low. I'll have a look at the datasheet after I get home from work and see if I can help.