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Extending the soundscape of a hexaphonic guitar pickup
sorveltaja:
Current circuitry had one stubborn bug in it, but finally I managed to stomp it out without using bug spray
Circuit with correction in red:
Now it works, as it should. 1M pot on the right side will probably replace the 100k resistor, to make 4046's tracking speed adjustable. That together with 100n capacitor(can be anything from say, 10n to 10uF) provides the "timing" for it.
As mentioned before, 4046 has plenty of options, of how to make it sound/behave. In the past, I once found(accidentally) a combination for 'portamento' -like effect.
Back then, I used guitar with standard monophonic electromagnetic pickup, as a signal input. In certain frequency range, it sounded like a Theremin(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin), that 'slides' between notes.
Outside of that range it just went nuts, and sounded like farting bagpipe. If memory serves, I recorded that. Not sure if it still exist on the hard drive, though.
But yes, I'm eagerly waiting for the ordered linear slide pots to arrive, to make an enclosure for them, with that circuitry, to get them in more usable form.
I have almost finished a simple mixer also(project 18 from the earlier mentioned Craig Anderton's book ), which currently has only three channels(I ran out of several components), but should be enough for starters.
Originally it had 4739 dual op-amp, but luckily there is an updated version of that pcb(and some other projects too), that uses 5532 dual op-amp instead: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/effects-projects/extras/epfm-book/
While scavenging 10k pots from the abandoned projects, I found almost intact adsr-device. I wondered, why the heck have I built that for. In short, adsr stands for attack-decay-sustain-release.
Mostly used with sequencers, and other rhythm-based things(as far as I know).
After some searching on the net, it seems to be a part of many analog synth setups. When looking the pcb with magnifying glass, there it was: Yusynth adsr: http://www.yusynth.net/Modular/EN/ADSR/index_new.html
I'm not sure, if it's usable with all the other recently built stuff, but we'll see.
sorveltaja:
Not much of a progress, as I'm still waiting for those linear pots. In the meantime, the mixer now has an enclosure:
For now, I'll probably use two 9V batteries to power it, to keep amount of running wires as low as possible, as it needs bipolar supply.
After I manage to make few more devices to form a 'basic' effect setup, then it could be sensible to gather them in one single, larger 'panel', where connections between devices could be made by using patch cables. A bit like an oversimplified version of this (https://synthesizers.com):
I have one of those 80's cassette player enclosures ready for that. As can be seen, it was once used for a project, that never happened:
Another one is this stereo graphic equaliser, which should still be in working order:
It could have its uses, as a part of the effects board, as it is now. But if not, again one enclosure more, to use for something like a vocoder. After all, it has been gathering dust for last 15 or so years.
So the overall possible scenario might look rather ambitious, but I don't care too much about that. One step ahead, at a time, and sometimes(in my case often) two steps back.
sorveltaja:
Circuitry with linear slide pots:
It has a skeleton 'enclosure', as I'm not yet sure about possible additions. 1M pot on the left is for 4046's tracking speed, but it needs one of the timing capacitors to be "variable" also. It needs to be tested, which cap values are most usable, though. Then rotary switch to select between them.
This current circuitry's output should be made ready to be fed to more than one devices, like mixer, filters, or echo/delay simultaneously. So It might need a buffer/splitter for its output. There is a project 26, 'Spluffer' in the Craig Anderton's book, which does exactly that.
Once I get the mixer together, then could be a time for a bit of break in building, and trying to figure out, how the hex pickup setup works/sounds with this circuitry, that is monophonic after all, meaning, that it should handle single notes(like on single string) just fine, in the range of 80-300Hz, with current 4046 configuration.
So it should be good to use with thickest string(e) output to accompany other strings. But we'll see, how that turns out in practice, as there are already many(so far uncertain) factors involved.
sorveltaja:
Today, when testing the mixer, using function generator and a scope, I found it to be mesmerising to watch the waveform to morph from one shape to other, as I turned the mixer's knobs.
Yes, I'm easily amused by things like that.
But anyways, there were only two waveforms to play with, and I haven't even yet listened, how they sound, when mixed together. Should be hours/days/weeks of fun. Especially, when third waveform/source, or filter is added to the mix.
All the stuff are almost ready for aural testings. If(when) that works out as expected, then it's time for replacing the tiny, battery powered audio amp with some kind of headphone setup, to hear the nuances better.
AdeV:
I have to say - this is a fascinating project, even if I haven't got a clue what most of what you're doing is...! Lots of good circuity stuff though :)
A question - what software did you use to produce that circuit layout? I've used kicad for all my recent attempts at circuit board making, but I think that it's more suitable for producing layouts for commercial operations, given the default track width is, if I recall correctly, just 0.25mm wide... which looks great on the design, and usually vanishes when I try to etch it!
Also, have you heard of Martin Molin's (Wintergatan) "Marble Machine MMX"? It's nothing like your project, but is similar insofar as being a musician building an engineering device - in this case, a musical instrument played by dropping marbles... it's quite the adventure (I suggest starting with some of the early videos, then maybe jumping ahead a bit, as there's around 120 mostly weekly updates by now!) Here's a link to the full playlist: MMX playlist
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