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If you have been lurking on eBay recently, you may have seen lots of DRONE synths, or SQUARE WAVE synth modules for sale for very little..
These are mostly based around a single chip - the 555 timing IC (see the wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_timer_IC ) and are referred to is APCs or ATARI PUNK CONSOLES ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Punk_Console )
Nice vid of a spanish bloke playing one of these chips:
It seems to make some nice digi REVVVVVV noises - that sound very like the SFX in Williams' JOUST, or the awesome POKEY sounds made by the oldschool Atari consoles...
So, because we can, i have ordered up 10 of these chips from eBay - i actually went for the variant on the 555 - the 556 - which has 2 gennys on the chip for like 30c a pop inc. shittping from like malaysia!
We SHOULD be able to bridge a couple of legs on the chip with knobs and make some interesting sounds.. So, this is now on the list of things to do for 2010 - make a decent and patchable (so we can use it with the other modular gear in the studio) atari soundmaker thingy..
I imagine it can be done with crap found in a skip by twisting wires together, using a 9v battery, or more professionally on a board - we will see!!!
Attached: the pdf of the cheapest 556 chip i could find. these go for 11c each in batches. There are better 'high resolution' versions, that i expect are more sensitive to voltage changes, or will 'step' less - but i want the lofi angle!!! You can work out what the pins on the 556 do in relation to the 555 that most of the punk's are based on.. looks interesting..
a nice explination here: http://www.robthefiddler.com/electro...-punk-console/ - i've included his diagram attached here showing a 2 osc design using a 556 chip that originally appeared at http://www.getlofi.com/?p=518
and more here: http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2006...k-console.html
People build these in Old tins, lampshades, whatever, and use various methods to provide an adjustable resistance to make the thing scream..
A synth for 5euro? yes, yes we can.
These are mostly based around a single chip - the 555 timing IC (see the wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_timer_IC ) and are referred to is APCs or ATARI PUNK CONSOLES ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Punk_Console )
Nice vid of a spanish bloke playing one of these chips:
It seems to make some nice digi REVVVVVV noises - that sound very like the SFX in Williams' JOUST, or the awesome POKEY sounds made by the oldschool Atari consoles...
So, because we can, i have ordered up 10 of these chips from eBay - i actually went for the variant on the 555 - the 556 - which has 2 gennys on the chip for like 30c a pop inc. shittping from like malaysia!
We SHOULD be able to bridge a couple of legs on the chip with knobs and make some interesting sounds.. So, this is now on the list of things to do for 2010 - make a decent and patchable (so we can use it with the other modular gear in the studio) atari soundmaker thingy..
I imagine it can be done with crap found in a skip by twisting wires together, using a 9v battery, or more professionally on a board - we will see!!!
Attached: the pdf of the cheapest 556 chip i could find. these go for 11c each in batches. There are better 'high resolution' versions, that i expect are more sensitive to voltage changes, or will 'step' less - but i want the lofi angle!!! You can work out what the pins on the 556 do in relation to the 555 that most of the punk's are based on.. looks interesting..
a nice explination here: http://www.robthefiddler.com/electro...-punk-console/ - i've included his diagram attached here showing a 2 osc design using a 556 chip that originally appeared at http://www.getlofi.com/?p=518
and more here: http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2006...k-console.html
People build these in Old tins, lampshades, whatever, and use various methods to provide an adjustable resistance to make the thing scream..
A synth for 5euro? yes, yes we can.
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