The Prototype

[caption id="attachment_13" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="breadboard prototype"][/caption]

I started with the goal of making an 8 bit synth with a couple of oscillators, some kind of filters, some other modulation, maybe an effect or two.  I didn't know the details of how I would implement much of it.  I had been playing around with making an FPGA based phase distortion synth, which may still happen someday, but realized it would be hell to manufacture and impossible to kit.  So, I switched to a nice and cheap, but powerful microprocessor.  I had been doing a lot of 8 bit embedded design at work, so my chops were worked up for that.

I'll just summarize the features that I think are going to end up in the final design here because I'm going to go into each one in depth each in its own post.  So far, the 8 bit Synth has two oscillators with mix control and detune and an amplitude envelope, a digitally controlled analog filter with low pass, band pass, and high pass, and an envelope for the filter, two lfos, midi in and out, a 7 segment display for saving and recalling up to 16 patches, 24 leds, 16 buttons, 16 or 17 knobs, a microcontroller with in-circuit programming capability.

The synth is going to be completely open-source.  The schematic, pcb, and software will be available.  I will be making it into kits and building them into complete units.  I'm not sure how I will be enclosing it yet (I'm an electrical engineer, mechanical things confuse me).

So, I'm going to discuss it piece by piece as the days go by.  Right now, I'm ordering the first real pcb prototype.  I'll discuss the whole process.