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Protosynth MIDI — Parallax Forums

Protosynth MIDI

TymkrsTymkrs Posts: 539
edited 2016-04-21 22:21 in Propeller 1
Hey all! We are finally unveiling a Propeller-based project we have been working on for the last few years:

https://www.tindie.com/products/tymkrs/tymkrs-protosynth-midi/

This is a powerful MIDI prototyping platform that converts incoming MIDI events into electrical signals that make experimentation easy!

A few years ago we built a synthesizer prototyping tool called Protosynth. The project was such a big hit that people requested the ability to buy their own, so we designed a powerful MIDI controlled version!

Over the last few years, we have refined Protosynth Midi to be powerful, flexible, and easy to use. Protosynth Midi are built in limited quantities by hand at the Tymkrs Wrkshp. Every unit is assembled, tested, and given a unique serial number. The beautiful handmade hardwood cases with traditional joinery hold your circuit at an angle so you can tinker in comfort and style!

Protosynth Midi allows you to quickly prototype whatever you dream up on built-in breadboards, then play your creation from any MIDI controller. Protosynth Midi enables you to experiment at your desk without the epic mess.

Protosynth MIDI is far more than only a MIDI to CV unit. For each of the two MIDI channels (you can pick which channels) it includes a Note Port and a Control Port. The Note Ports allow you to chain modules out to 128 notes worth of outputs. The Control Ports allow you to chain modules out to 128 control change values (each one 0-127 and with Analog Shift modules you can turn all of those control change values into analog voltages).

Protosynth Midi effortlessly handles the complicated aspects of MIDI control, silently monitoring incoming MIDI, translating it into voltages and pulses that simple circuits can understand. It also allows you to route analog signals simply in and out of the back of the unit through four high quality standard TRS ¼” jacks.

Protosynth Midi is not limited to audio, however! You can use it to control all kinds of circuits. Here at Tymkrs we’ve used a Protosynth Midi to control servos, lights, camera shutters, circuit bent electronic toys, electromechanical chimes, even an old NTSC test pattern generator. Protosynth Midi takes care of the boring stuff, and frees you up to focus on being creative.

If you are building a synthesizer, animating robots from your digital audio workstation timeline, hacking an old Casio or Furby, or designing your own MIDI controlled guitar effects pedal … we hope you will find Protosynth Midi as fun and as useful as we do.

Comments

  • Very cool! I would love to see what kinds of things you have done with it.
  • varnon wrote: »
    Very cool! I would love to see what kinds of things you have done with it.

    We'll be putting up videos showing different things that can be done on youtube.com/tymkrs and I'll be sure to post them here too :)
  • TymkrsTymkrs Posts: 539
    edited 2016-06-08 23:01
    We've finally released the first video showing some of the features of the Propeller-based Protosynth MIDI:



    We hope you enjoy it!
  • cool project.

    but it would be nice to have a midi-thru output to daisy chain them or some other midi-stuff..

    Enjoy!

    Mike
  • Looks like a lot of fun! Nice product.
  • TymkrsTymkrs Posts: 539
    edited 2016-06-10 19:11
    msrobots wrote: »
    cool project.

    but it would be nice to have a midi-thru output to daisy chain them or some other midi-stuff..

    Enjoy!

    Mike

    Thanks for the suggestion! Fortunately most of the equipment you'd want to daisy chain probably has a MIDI thru, so just put the Protosynth MIDI at the end of the chain.

    We could also add another mode for pumping MIDI Thru out of the Sync & Input port via a MIDI Out Me Module.
  • Just wanted to show off what we did with the PSM, Arturia Beatstep and Pocket Operator: Robot!



    (warning, potentially nooby riffs ahead as this was my first time playing the Robot)


  • ^ How we make said project!
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