amsonx's Channel

gieskes.nl/modding/?file=synthi-2009

Luca Aquino & Raffaele Casarano Duo at Bergamo Jazz Festival 2009.
Scenography by Diego Caglioni

Demonstration of an early alpha version of the upcoming MIDIbox SEQ V4.

Many planned features are not available yet. However, most functions of MBSEQ V3 have already been re-implemented in C for the new MBHP_CORE_STM32 module and for an accurate PC/Mac based emulation. I also started to add new functions which were too complex for the old PIC based core.

[0:00] new frontpanel designed by Wilba (but the firmware will also support the frontpanel of MBSEQ V2 and V3)
[0:02] a drum track can play up to 16 instruments
[0:10] patterns are stored on a SD card now, and can be loaded (and stored) w/o sequencer hickups
[0:18] zoomed step view (shows 64, 128, 256 steps on a single page)
[0:10] snare is triggered with the overworked (more flexible) roll function at 384ppqn resolution
[0:20] new pattern selection page with pattern labels and categories
[0:23] MIDIbox SID V2 in bassline mode
[0:30] Roll function used on the bassline
[0:38] a loopback track controls the transposer, it doesn't matter anymore at which position this track is located
[0:53] Piano controlled from a track in chord mode
[1:13] some randomly selected chords
[1:24] simple synth line
[1:45] now with MIDI echo in Force-to-Scale mode (synth is in mono mode, therefore only one sound will be played - it sounds like an arpeggio)
[2:14] a second MIDIbox SID bassline is played
[2:43] slowly muting the tracks
[3:00] thanks for listening! :-)

This track has been made in a 2 hours session on a sunday afternoon after the last blocking bugs have been fixed

datenform.de/ppeng.html

Papierpixel (Paper Pixels) is an 8x8 pixel screen that’s controlled manually via a punched-card system. Each of the 64 pixels on the 50x50 cm projection surface on the front side of the screen is constantly illuminated by an equal number of light bulbs on the back side of the screen. Activating the individual pixels is done by a wide strip of paper pre-programmed with punched holes that runs between the pixel projection surface and the light source.The 64 tracks on this oversized punched-card determine whether a pixel is turned on or off. The light from the bulb is obscured until a hole pre-punched in the strip of paper appears before it and lets the light shine through and briefly illuminate the pixel. To make it possible for the 64 pixels to be controlled independently of one another, the light bulbs are arranged in the direction the punched strip of paper runs in obliquely alternating rows of pixels. The speed with which the programmed paper is pulled by hand through the screen determines the number of frames per second of the particular film sequence being shown.

An oversized hole puncher is used as a programming device; the paper strip to be programmed is pulled through it. The upper part of the sandwich plate contain 64 sharp steel pins that, when they’re depressed by hand, each punches a hole in the paper strip and is held in position by a steel spring. Frame by frame, the desired pixels can be activated (i.e. the steel pins can punch holes in the paper in the appropriate spots). The film sequence can be of any length, whereby, for example, it takes three meters of paper to show a 300-frame film sequence. This threemeter-long punched strip can be connected at both ends to form a loop. For longer sequences, the paper strip is rolled up and run from an upper reel to a lower one just like an analog film.

There have been punch card sytemes for processing and storing information in all possible variations and for a wide variety of media: from the control of looms in the 19th century, through automatic organs and pianos, to the famous IBM computer punch card.
Paper Pixels takes up this 200 year old principle once more: the punched data carrier is read optically and is simultaneously part of the display mechanism. The visual information saved in the holes is converted directly into light. The digital principle of zero and one appears in the Paper Pixels installation in a mechanical and analogue form. From a historical perspective, one could speak of the invention of the screen that never existed.

Paper Pixels has been exhibited among other events at:

- Ars Electronica 2006 Linz, documentation here
- TENT Rotterdam 25.1.-15.3.07, documentation here


Aram Bartholl 2004
datenform.de

switchedonsynthesizer.blogspot.com

This is the first of a series of videos where I will show how to program different kind of sounds on a synthesizer. I'm going to work with Synth1, a free VST synthesizer. This first episode is about how to program a simple bass line. The parameters values are approx. Values are expressed in %.

switchedonsynthesizer.blogspot.com