[sdiy] Moogey jitter - the old times were the oldest.

[Tim Parkhurst]

On 4/24/06, Paul Maddox <P.Maddox at signal.qinetiq.com> wrote:
> Tim,
>
> > 1: The user interface - Generally, the user interface on analog synths
> > is more immediate and direct.
>
> SCI Six Track?
> Multirack?
> Chase Bit 1?
>
> The Virus-B/C are digital and have superb interfaces.
> So sorry, invalid comment...

***********
Oh I can come up with even more. My Matrix 6 has a sound I love and an
interface I hate. ;-) However, I was just generalizing. I guess my
best example would be a patchable system or even something like a
2600. The "one knob per function" interface has a lot of appeal for
hobbyists, and that was my real focus. Before I get too far down this
line of reasoning, let me state again that I have nothing against
digital synths or even soft synths (blasphemy!). I was just trying to
show that simple synths/circuits/interfaces are very appealing to
hobbyists, and that's why we tend to have an 'analog - modular' bias
here. Not trying to justify it, just explain it. :-)
*********
>
> > 2: Simpler circuits -
>
> CS80 -> double sided A0 schematic
> SoundArt Chameleon -> 3 sheets of A4, single sided.
>
> > I can give someone a PDF of an analog circuit
> > and they're good to go if they want to make their own.
>
> So you're saying, simpler = able to copy?
>
*******
In a word, yup! I think hobbyists are much more interested in circuits
they can understand and reproduce themselves. I know I am.
*******
> > If I've got
> > something with a micro in it, all of the sudden they need the code and
> > a way to load it into memory that can be read by the micro.
>
> Yep,
>
<snip>
>
> I have nothing against Analogue, don't get me wrong, I just feel there's
> more to be done, and that people need to be 'receptive' to other ideas and
> concepts, things that aren't analogue.
>
> Paul
>

Absolutely agreed! I would LOVE to see more digital projects here.
Again, learning to write code is an additional barrier for most
people, but the rewards are many. Here's one last thought: on a lot of
digital / micro-based projects I see, there's a tendency to cram as
many functions and options as possible into the code. Now, while this
might make sense in many sutuations, it makes learning the code much
more difficult. Figuring out the code (even well commented code) for a
full on AVR Synth or even a CV-MIDI converter is a pretty daunting
first project. How about a series of modules that use a micro to do
just one or two simple tasks? I'd love to see the code to have an AVR
just do one or two LFOs, or one or two EGs. Now with a micro, you
could expand the functionality a bit (a micro based LFO could have a
range and waveforms an analog unit could only dream about), but
keeping the code simple could make it more appealing to beginners.
Just a thought...


Tim (just thinking... and that's what you smell burning) Servo
--
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein