Jaicen

With all due respect, is there a reason you've made the board so big?! It looks to me like a serious case of 'autoroute gone wrong' ;D Maybe it's my roots being in the stompbox field (where everything MUST fit into a hammondBB), but I could live with a much smaller laybout. Basically i'm just wondering if there's a reason for the size.

Why don't you just wire pots up to the audio outputs?? Seems like that would make a lot more sense. If you want to automate stuff you can assign the envelope to an LFO.

Make sure there's a DC blocking cap on the output. You shouldn't have DC on the voltage output, that can misbias the input stage of whatever you're plugging into.

The baxandall tonestack is well liked for a simple active eq as it's quite effective. However, you may want to look at some of the values to bring the peak frequencies down slightly. Since the SID only outputs up to around 4kHZ, the hi-band of the baxandall will be working on harmonics alone, so will only really be effective for square wave type sounds. I'd probably change the center frequencies to something like 60Hz, 500Hz and 4-5kHz. I think that should suit the SID better.

Hey guys, i'm just wondering if there's been any developments with this project lately? I'm eager to hear some interesting new (and some retro ones ;) ) coming from this. I think a standalone MBSID-D could be right up my alley ;)

Hey, I was just wondering if there are any MBox builders in the UK who can program my PIC for me. Originally I was going to order one pre-programmed but I stumbled on some the other day so I got them instead. I don't really fancy building a burner & cable etc since I'm only going to make the one MBSID (for the forseeable future, maybe an MBFM at some point too). Anybody here willing to help??

With regards to those uV LED's, although their output is rather low there has been some concern in the DIY stompbox community that they can cause damage to the eye. While I don't have any particular expertise in the field, I wouldn't want a control surface stuffed with these things right in front of my face!

Hey guys, I think i've found a way to extract information about what each operator in a megadrive game is doing, check it out: http://home.hiwaay.net/~kbanks/YMDUMP.ZIP I'll let you know how it works later.

you may want to take a look at the Vanishing Point sequencer design which uses a 4017 decade counter. It's possible to expand the design from 10 steps upwards by chaining 4017's. Very simple project which also includes a random mode. I have the schem and layouts here but no idea where the url for them is. Mail me if you're interested.

Actually Granular synthesis as a concept was conceived well over forty years ago as part of a french movement called Musique Concrete, but I guess that also is getting off topic ;) I am a sound engineer by trade so i'm pretty familiar with all types of synthesis, I guess it's my job. Anyway, back on topic! I'm seriously considering building an MBFM now with a minimalist control scheme. I like the idea of having a hardware synth built into a CD-Drive space so I may pursue that idea a little, or I maybe something built into a flight case for portability. I think the complexity of programming of FM synths precludes much realtime control other than tweaking of patches. Especially when you start using wavetables. A nice compact module would suit me just fine I think ;D

Sounds good to me, but i'm no better at C than any other assembly code! The last programming I did was on the C64 about 10 years ago! Back then moving a static sprite across the screen really was an achievement! I really like the look of this project, it seems quite a simple build. I'm quite happy to make layouts available if somebody can help with the code.

Hey guys, I was was thinking of building a floorboard for my Flextone II based on the project here. The thing is, I have a few spare PIC18F452's I was hoping to use. Do these support the source code, or do I have to use the one specified (i'm trying to keep costs down). I think I understand how to modify the code to do what I want (using 4 patch buttons and 2 bank up/down buttons Maybe FX on/off), since Line666 were kind enough to publish the program change parameters in the manual. I might just go ahead and order another PIC unless anybody can suggest otherwise. Anyone ever built something like this??

I guess you're right, I just thought it would be a cool thing to have for live use. I think i'd need about 2MB of memory at least, which would mean reading eproms on the fly i'd guess. I guess it'll have to be pre-prepared backing tracks then. :-\

Hey, has anybody got any results from this?? What sort of output do you get from the XY controller outputs?? Do you get summed resistances??

I had an idea for a different implementation of the seq core today. I'm not sure if this is applicable to anybody else here (I'm sure it is), but I produce my own music using virtual instruments, hardware synths and Drum machines (bended 505 8), DR-110 etc.). Whilst this is perfectly adequate for studio recording, it's not easily translated to a live environment. What i'd be intersted in is having a standalone MIDI sequence playback device that's small and portable and can be used to play back MIDI files to trigger external hardware such as those already mentioned. The device i've envisaged is small and compact with an LCD and a minimum of components, (an LED tempo indicator would be nice too ;). What I want really is a little box showing track names on the screen and play/stop/next buttons. This can then be attached via MIDI to my synth and drum machine. I don't think any other external controls would be needed if the sequences can be programmed in from a PC (allowing the use of pre-existing MIDI tracks). Does this sound like a feasible project??

I see! Guess i'd better start looking into this a little more then.

From my understanding, what you're describing sounds a lot like granular synthesis, now that would be a cool homebrew project! With regards to the megadrive DAC it apparently used two of the 6 operators to play back sample data, which is why polyphony is reduced when sampling is used. Probably why you only got the 'Oh NO!' on lemmings when you have no background music.

Looks good man, how many hours work is that?? If you do get any Megadrive (read: Sonic ::)) sounds out of it make sure i'm the first to know! Especially Marble and Labrynth zone sounds. I'm considering replacing my DX27 with an MBFM so you might just sway me ;) Gotta build my MBSID first tho ;)

Ok, it's starting to make sense to me why people don't have full size LCD screens then! I guess this is an instance where it would be obvious if i'd ever seen an MBSID. Here's a question then; how often do people find they use the ADSR knobs on the fly?? I'm wondering wether i'm going to need to edit all those paramers all at once. I'm starting to think i'll just implement ADSR for the 2 assignable envelopes to save on a shift register. I'm definitely going to build the MBSID with the LCD control buttons on a 1xDIN on perfboard. That leaves the DINx4 free to be dedicated to my control surface. As suggested, this also means that I can play with the thing before I get to finalising my control surface.

I think you mis-understand, I wasn't having a poke. By 'that much different' I meant in terms of sound generating capabilities, since they're both four op FM synths, though obviously the MBFM has better control capabilities. I guess I was just wondering if it was actually worth building a MBFM when I already have a DX27 (which I bought to use as a controller). Does it produce those wonderful megadrive tones, or is it a different beast altogether?

I think you guys are probably correct that I should play with the thing before deciding on a final config, but I was just wanting a general idea of what I need so I can get all the components in one large order to save on shipping. With regards to illogik's questions, I have the Pulse width control with the filter section so that I can manually sweep the width. I built a guitar pedal using a schmitt trigger with a similar idea and I like the sound quite a lot. It just seemed like a logical idea to group the realtime controls on the right hand side so they're accessible.

That was my point exactly. I've made hundreds of PCB's, many a good deal more complex than these, and for me, the time and effort are just not worth it. From smashtv, the core modules are just $5 and to me that's not a bad investment if it keeps that ferrous chloride off my hands ;)

Thanks Raphael! I guess I missed that part about the envelopes in the features list. I think you misunderstand my use of the LCD buttons. The two left and right buttons are for navigating parameters and the data wheel is for increasing/decreasing values. Is that possible? The buttons are above to allow them to be pushed by my thumb without moving my hand off the data wheel. Plus it looks cool 8)

I admire your dedication to this project and wish you all the best. I have to say though, why not get the kits?? If you add up the cost of all the components compared to the price of the kits, you're not saving a huge amount. I figured it wasn't worth the hassle. Also, you say your soldering iron is 75W??? That is far to powerful, you're gonna kill most of the components soldering with that. Get yourself a little 14w iron with a fine tip ;) Anyway, good luck with your project and keep posting! I want to see more finished SID's before I build mine!

Hey guys, I'm working out my front panel designs at the minute, and I was hoping for your input. This is important as it will define how many encoders etc I need to get. Below is a rough sketch of my initial ideas. I hope that the surface will fit in place of the original C64 keyboard which I think will be a nice touch. Indicator LED's (If I include any, not sure I need them yet) will probably go in the F key cutout on the right hand side to show waveform for each osc. I might also include an indicator for which osc is being edited, though that's not really necessary. There will be LED's for HP, BP and LP. I have a few questions as well. Firstly, am I right in thinking that the ENV section is used to shape the filter response?? Secondly, will my navigation scheme for the LCD work?? I don't intend to use it that much so I want it minimalist. My last question is regarding the arpeggiator function. I'd like to include realtime control for this, which could fit above the LCD, but i'm a little confused as to how it's implemented. I was thinking of using buttons to assign UP, DOWN and OFF but is there any function to allow Major, Minor sweeps?? All thoughts and ideas are welcome. EDIT: I thougth of another question ::) Am I correct in thinking that I could achieve the control surface below using just 5 shift registers for the DIN module??? I think it should also be possible to use just a single shift register in place of the DOUT module to allow up to eight LED's to be implemented, but i'm not yet sure how that works ;) Am I correct?? Thanks Guys PS, if anyone in the UK has one of these empty cases, please let me know. This is the style I plan to use this front panel with.