Im new and I would like to introduce my self.

[Foona]

Hello everyone here at the Midibox.org forum!

I thought i might introduce myself.

(i hope my spelling wont bee too bad, and if it is im sorry for it)

I am a 28 year old male called Foona (also called Jngaelin),

and have during 4 months gotten into electronic DIY projects for music.

Analog stuff.

I am a musician and producer and have been working with computerized music

since my first ATARI ST together with cubase.

I got that beautyfull machine at the age of ten.

I have since then converted to PC based D.A.W systems and are now currently on a three cards

CreamWare platform system, still using Cubase.

I am a member of a "artist crew" called P.T.C-Crew wich i started about ten ago.

We have been as many as twenty crew members at one given time, working in all kinds of genres.

Now we are six strong members.

Iv'e gotten a bit tired of this digital era, so u though i would get into

analog curcuits, and learn how to implement it into my studio.

So far my only finished project is a Ray Wilson SoundLab

Check it out at the MFOS site:

[Ray Wilson MFOS http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/analogsynth/SOUNDLABMINISYNTH/soundlab.html]

It's analog and very simple construction. After reading through the ucapps site i feel

the SoundLab is a not as complex as a Midibox SID synthesiser.

Kinda scary really ;)

My biggest issue with all of this is the programming part...

I sit here reading about burning pic's etc...

I have no knowledge about this stuff, no pic burner, and even if i did,

i wouldn't know how to use it. And if i would want one i wouldn't know what to look for.

Now, the actuall building part is no problem for me.

The soldering iron fits perfectly in my both my hands and i have a pair of really good eyes.

That must count for something. :D

But, i dont dare purchasing any PCB's or parts yet, especially SID'chips.

I need to know there is a possibility i can overcome the programming and burning part.

I did see there is a ready to use software for programming and i can understand the simple

layout, ands i also understand some of the opions there.

Im used to midicontrollers but not that hardcore at the codes.

Biggest issue is the pic buring "thingy".

One more thing, I have never ever done project whith LCD-displays so im a big zero in that area.

But then again i didn't think i could get my "SoundLab Dubwision" together either.

Darn thing even works so there is hope.

Here's some pics of my work with the SoundLab:

Ive used oak tree and stained it with Mohagany brown stain.

Panel picture with external link. Picture is big (1024x768)

http://www.ptc-crew.com/assets/DIY/sldb_mb_pics/soundlab_panel_rev002_foona_2_2.jpg

This is the first synth iv'e built so far.

I have lots of other projects in the loop like spring reverbs, analog delays, chorus, flangers etc..

And the list keeps getting longer :D

I learn relatively fast, but as iv'e stated erlier,

im real worried about the pic burning and programming, and the ude of LCD's.

I hardly even undertsnad what im reading, though i am trying.

So I hope that you will have patience with me as a n00b in this area.

When it comes to my music production iv'e been working with all kinds of genres,

from Rock n Roll to regular electronic "blip blops".

One of these genres is Chip-tunes, and without a SID synthesizer in my arsenal everything feels boring :(

Right now im working with a Reggae/Dub album wich i have chosen to name "Duirty Corners".

For those of you that like this kind of music,

here is a link to my MySpace page and listen to three demo/teasers iv'e put up.

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/foonah

These are half finished songs, and there is alot of work left to do.

Vocals, guitars and much more will be added.

everything will go through my "analog stuffies owen", before final master.

When mixing Dub you need access to all mixer channels at once,

wich i do not have at this time, and here is where a 64 chanal midi controll would be nice.

I feel wery strongly for these projects, and i hope for the future that i myself can overcome

my own limts, to become a part of this big information net that you more advanced

elektronik maniacs rule ;)

So i hope for a pleasing cooperation with you all here at midibox.org.

Heres a few links to other PTC-Crew members MySpace sites:

go dub, hiphop, triphop på myspace.

Flim

http://www.myspace.com/flimone

PTC-Crew official

http://www.myspace.com/ptccrewcom

Macke (good friend to the PTC-Crew)

http://www.myspace.com/marcosido

More will come, other members sites under construction.

Also here is a link to one of my free albums.

http://www.ptc-crew.com/ptccevents16_hnc.html

Just right-cklick the song names and choose "save as".

You can even download complete high quality prints for both jewel-cd case and plastic cd sleve.

Info about songs order and pauses between tracks when burning CD's are also provided.

All songs are copywrited to PTC-Crew, and album is free for non commercial use only.

You may spread the music in any way you want,

to whomever that wants it s long as no profit is being made.

sh*t this became a long post.. sorry about that.

/Foona [P.T.C-Crew]

[Kartoshka]

Foona, congrats for joining this community!

You're making really nice tunes there in Sweden, i love them...

Keep on posting here.  ;)

East meets west, the cultures fusion..

this is really awesome, you simply got my mind taken out and disassembled ;D

Oriental rules, dammit :)

[moxi]

welcome.. ;)

[DavidBanner]

wow - The prize for longest first post goes to.....

welcome aboard.

The good news is you are going to have lots of fun here and you seem well along the way with the electronics knowledge too!

You won't need to burn any PICs if you order from smashTV - so fear not :)

[cimo]

jatte bra foona

welcome aboard... seeing what you ve done already i wouldn t be so worried about programming, everything is well documented.

simone

[stryd_one]

Welcome aboard man. You can feel free to apply that skill to helping me with documentation anyday ;D

Actually, I suspect that you may have missed some of the best documentation to allay your fears. You should try out the wiki and the search engine for questions like this that may have been covered. I'll keep it short, you can search out the long version ;) You can buy the chips pre burned, and with the operating system preinstalled, from smashtv's store, where you buy the PCB's and other parts. Alternately, you can buy the JDM programmer from his store, which has been proven to work well with recent software, to burn chips yourself. The programming of the code is all taken care of, you might need to do some fairly simple text file editing to customise to your hardware, and recompile (just run a file) and those changes are well documented.

Especially with your experience in the area, you'll be fine. Seriously, the hardest thing about midiboxing is finding the right document, the rest is a snap :)

Dig the rasta lion on the panel and the name dubwision too, nice ;)

[t_xen]

Welcome to the community Foona.  :D

Yup, I built a soundlab to start with myself.

as far as the midibox projects go....

Yea, they need code, but that's provided.

I don't know how to write code myself, but I've needed to do slight modifications to get it proper for my project needs, and it's not really difficult to figure out at all.  ;)

If you need to modify it, well, the source is very well documented, so you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Besides, if you run into problems and need help, ask around by posting a question. One of us will pop up sooner or later and help with suggestions, or be able to point you in the right direction.

Oh and on your soundlab construction, your wiring looks so much nicer than mine.  :P

[/tilted/]

Welcome aboard Foona!

If you have any questions, there are usually a handful of folk about to help.

Check the Wiki of course, and the search engine, as we have all had our share of questions, many have already been answered!

Have fun!

[Foona]

Thank you all! (i'll try not to make a long post this time haha :D)

Kartoshka: If you really like "oriental blends" in music ,

then i can inform you im working on a nother Hookah n' Chai album.

It will be released after summer in August.

Might be sooner but then again i have all these projects lying around :D

stryd_one: id love to help you with documentation :D haha

t_xen: if the wiring works, then it's just fine, and i doo love

the gung-ho wiring on your SoundLab.  8)

I have now scanned the wiki and almost the whole Midibox site,

and i feel more and more comfortable with the ide'a of starting a project.

At the end of this month i'll place an order with SmashTV.

Im planning on building a stereo Midibox SID V2 with full panel

and either 2x20 or 2x40 charachter LCD (i have both types here at home).

So iv'e made a list of what to order.

Feel free to leave a "pointer" to stuff i might have missed.

1x CORE Kit with PIC18F4685

1x Din kit

1x Dout kit

2x SID kit

1x 24LC512

1x AIN kit

Im wondering a bit about the pots..

wich one of these are a rotary encoder?

Is there even one used here?

I might have missed some information..

This MIDIbox SID V2 will be housed in a wooden box,

as like my other projects of course :)

D'amn...just realized i gotta hunt for a pair of SID 8580's

[stryd_one]

wich one of these are a rotary encoder?

Is there even one used here?

All of them! Check out the page on ucapps, and there's a wiki FAQ explaining the difference.

[Wilba]

Welcome Foona!

D'amn...just realized i gotta hunt for a pair of SID 8580's

It might be a while before you discover that 6582 SIDs sound the same as 8580 SIDs, so if you have no luck finding 8580s then I can help you out with 6582 SIDs instead:

http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/wilba_6582a_sid_mega_sale

[Foona]

Thanx guys!

I was going through some old electronic stuff in my cellar and i found a

Commodore 64 old version with the 6581 Thanx.

And iv'e just put my self on that list.

[dj3nk]

hi and welcome foona. 6581 is fine also, but be aware that the wiring is a little bit different than for 8580s or 6582s. (voltage and caps)

greeetz

[Foona]

Thanx dj3nk al. produscher!

It feels good just sitting here reading through posts :D

Most of you guys are crazy in a very good way!

At first i couldn't believe my eyes when reading about the MIDIbox SID.

It's a very sick and very needed "stuff-thingy" to have in my studio!!!

And as of yesterday i now have two 6581's :D

Biggest problem is, i don't even have a way of testing these chips.

I have no way of knowing if they even work properly,

like filters..i mean they might even be busted in one way or another.

I still want a pair of 8580/6582's.

They doo sound different, and mixing them would be more than

a sh*t load of coolness.

My english amazes me.

Im really academic...(don't even know if the spelling is correct)

[stryd_one]

Ahhh midibox, the home of cool toys, crazy dudes, and broken English. We love it.

[nILS]

And as of yesterday i now have two 6581's :D

Biggest problem is, i don't even have a way of testing these chips.

I have no way of knowing if they even work properly,

like filters..i mean they might even be busted in one way or another.

Well the chance that they don't work at all is pretty low. The chance that the filters are busted is fairly high - but that's an easy thing to find out once you have your mbSID to test the SIDs in ;-)

[Foona]

aaaaw man...

I was hoping there's like a curcuit-thingy with an ic slot on it like a pic burner,

except that it is made for testing SID chips together with pc based software.

So i actually have to build the synthezizer before being able to test it?

Then i guess, i'll just have to wait.  :(

...at least it gives me time to finish the input/output stages for my HAMMOND

spring reverb tanks.

Still i am curious..

Is there anyone of you MBSID v1's and 2s running your

synthesizers on partially broken SID's?

And as of today, i now have a SID 8580 too.

Then again this chip has been pulled out of a C64 that was

broken in half. (it looked so crocked and sad, i almost cried)

I feel this is a bad sign...

Either way, chip looks intact..but thats about all i can say about it.

Need to hunt for just one more and im pretty set for a 2 x stereo version with new and old soun'.

[t_xen]

Is there anyone of you MBSID v1's and 2s running your

synthesizers on partially broken SID's?

I have a 4x SIDv1 using 6581s

One of the chips does have a dead filter, but I'm going to make up for it by using an external VCF that's controlled by the SID application with an analog output module. ;)

[nILS]

My 4xSID (2x8580, 2x6581) has a 6581 woth broken filters as well.

[Foona]

seee!

This is what i love with insane DIY artists.

"What?!...it's broken?...well if it is broken it works...

and if it works...let's brake it some more and it will work better"

Im going to use these chips wether the filters are broken or not.

And like t_xen's idea.

Thats exactly what i was thinking of.

Building your own VCF.

When you have it done i would wish for some pictures and schematics.

I have no problem building a VCF..but when it comes to connecting a circuit like this.

This is where i am "n00b".

But im learning, and soon enough i'll go from "n00b" to "n0bb".

and mabye someday i can transdecend these very normal states

to the golden lvl of "n0b"

[t_xen]

Foona,

to get an external VCF working on your sids, you may want to look into TK's Aout modules.

basically the Core will control the Sids. the Sid application has an "Ext" option. when you enable it, it bypasses the sid's filter and sends the messages to an aout module. the aout module will send CV signals to your external analog filter.

The Aout link:

http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp_aout.html

Links for the other 2 are listed at the bottom.

AOUT isn't recommended because of the expensive DACs.

AOUT_LC could work, but you need to get the resistors to be as exact as possible for accuracy.

AOUT_NG (pretty accurate and not nearly as expensive as the AOUT) could be your best bet, since you can use it for more than just controlling just VCFs, you could use it with the Midibox-CV app, or use the SIDv2 app and use an analog syth instead of a Sid (does take some source code modification though).

I am in the process of developing an idea of using the AOUT as it's own standalone module to swap it between different midibox projects.

Hope some of these ideas help. ;)

[Foona]

They did.

Thank you very much!

Now all i gotta do is wait two more weeks.

I wish payday would be everyday  ;)

[Foona]

okay..

I have now decided that im going to start with building

a "minimal SIDv2" with Minimum Control Surface for Multiple SIDs.

Two 6581 SID's, for stereo operation with minimal front panel.

It will have a 2x40 LCD, because big is cool :P

And i would like a maximum bankstick configuration.

This is the parts list i came up with,

and please point out if i have forgotten something.

Also if there's anything on the list i don't need..

From smashTV:

1 Core PIC18F4685 kit

2 SID kit

1 Din kit

1 Dout kit

8 24LC512

1 Rotary Encoder (with or without switch?)

Other stuff:

Buttons and knob

2 74HC595 DOUT shift registers

2 74HC165 DIN shift registers

Rest of the stuff is allready in my possession.

I have a few original C64 PSU's.

Im going to use one of these to power the unit.

Then again...

Im sitting here zeroed in on SmashTV's shop.

...I realized that i dont fully understand the "pic header coding".

what i doo understand is when using more than one core module,

the pic's have to be numbered.

Does it matter how you number them?

Like..

0000 0000 0000 0001

0000 0000 0000 0002

etc..

Or can you number them like this:

0001 0000 0000 0000

0002 0000 0000 0000

etc..

Well you get my point.

What if you only build the minimal SIDv2 (one core),

do you have to give the pic a specific number at all?

(like leaving it with original header: 0000 0000 0000 0000)

I know there are more "coding options" that will,

enable you to do more..stuff....sorry if im being too blunt :P

Is this something i have to think about when building a "minimal SID configuration"

Alot of questions, but it feels like it's soo close,

i can almost hear the filters whispering tender joy into my brain....

[cimo]

hi foona

hur mar du?  ;)

well first of all i advise you to start a new topic in the SID forum, that to avoid people missing your question and Admins to move your posts

about the pic header: http://www.avishowtech.com/mbhp/idgen.html

simone

[Foona]

Tack jag mår bra ;)

iv'e started a new thread in the MidiboxSID topic.

new thread