Sprockit #001

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Sprockit is here. Just in time for the workshop. I built the first one of the final boards and it worked straight away. I shifted the layout to give lots of room for fingers and knobs. This layout is the cleanest to date from me. I’ve got the kits for the workshop ready to go. I’m working on some science content. Should be fun. Click through for a sample of Sprockit’s first sound.

On another note, the cases for Rockit have shipped from the laser cutter. The should be shipping next week. It’s a whole new Rockit experience when it’s got a case.
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Sprockit’s First Sample

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Sprockit is about to wrap up. The final boards will be on order for the workshop early next week. Sprockit features a new 4-pole low pass filter design that you can check out in the soundcloud clip. Sprockit has quite a bit of the Rockit sound with a little something special. I’m thinking about doing Kickstarter again for Sprockit. I’ll probably start that up toward the end of this month, beginning of next.

Rockit Software Version 1.1 and Hardware Hacks

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I’ve been hard at work on Rockit’s firmware and am proud to put out Version 1.1. There are a number of improvements, bug fixes, and a new feature. I’ve also made a few adjustments/hacks to resistor values which greatly improve Rockit’s sound. Click through for a list of the software and hardware updates. Continue reading →

Chicago Dorkbot Sprockit Build Scheduled and Open

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I will be conducting a seminar to build the very first in the world Sprockit synths. This is open to anyone and everyone interested in building Sprockit and learning about DIY electronics and synthesizer design. It’s going to be on February 25th at 2pm at Enemy Sound on North Milwaukee. I expect the whole build will take about 4 hours. This price for the Sprockit seminar will be the once and forever lowest cost to build. So, don’t wait! Check out the details and sign up here.

Rockit Case is Finished

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The Rockit case is finally finished. I got the third and final prototype of the Rockit case in, put it together, and did the happy dance. I’m going to make some small adjustments for the production order, but nothing that will require another round of prototypes. I’m going to put up the case for pre-sale today. I need to hit a threshold of about 50 orders in order to buy it. The lead time from the laser cutter is three weeks, so these should ship in February. The cost will be $50. Click through for more pictures. Continue reading →

Introducing Sprockit Mini-Synth

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Sprockit Mini-Synth

Rockit’s getting a little brother, Sprockit. My goal with Sprockit it to take a lot of Rockit goodness and compress it down to something smaller and a bit cheaper. I’m achieving both goals by having a very dense design and by reducing some of the features. Sprockit is 4″x4″ versus Rockit’s 5.1″x8.6″, so it’s substantially smaller, like pocket sized (I would’ve called it Pockit Rockit, but there are some products out there already). There are obviously fewer knobs, LEDs, and switches. All of the control parameters are still there though and will be accessible via an external MIDI controller. The microcontroller is downsized from an ATMEGA644 to an ATMEGA328. I’m also incorporating a lot of the things that I’ve learned from doing Rockit and rolling those improvements into Sprockit. This image is my first prototype and I’m well into prototype two, which will be much improved. I’ll be doing a workshop with Dorkbot Chicago at the end of February where people can build Sprockit with me. I’ll probably do another Kickstarter project after that. I’ve learned from Rockit that I’ll need to get the case designed before I release it though. Click through for a complete feature rundown. Continue reading →

Case Update

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It was my intention to have the case ready for sale by now but events have intervened. I managed to get the design done and ordered but there were some snafus at the laser cutter and what was delivered was not what was designed. I’m getting another set made but I couldn’t get it before the holidays, so it’ll be done in January. I did get to see how the two-tone material is going to look and it’s gonna be officially dope. I know it’s been a while but this case is going to be worth the wait.

I’m working on a software update for Rockit to fix a few bugs and to improve some features. I’ve got a feature in mind to add as well, but I’m going to keep it a surprise til it happens.

I’ve got another thing in the works as well and I’ll probably announce it in the next  week.

Cheers and Happy Holidays.

Rockit Case Faceplate

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Rockit Faceplate Drawing

Here’s the new faceplate drawing! My wife has been hard at work. If you can’t tell, we decided to take the design in a decidedly less boring direction. I want Rockit to look like nothing else and I think we’ve achieve that. The case files are heading to the laser cutter as we speak. Hopefully, I’ll get the prototype back by next week. This faceplate will be cut from two-tone acrylic, which is black with white material sandwiched on the back. The laser blows away the black material to reveal the white below making everything entirely legible. Stay tuned!

Synth DIY : Software for Generating ADSR Envelopes

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I’ve spent a fair amount of time detailing the hardware that Rockit uses for it’s Voltage-Controlled Amplifier. It’s a transconductance amplifier-based design and you can read about it here. I haven’t, however, discussed the software behind implementing the envelope generator. It ends up being more useful than just controlling amplitude. The same envelope generator code works for the filter envelope too. I didn’t end up using exactly the same code, but it could be made entirely modular, taking some basic inputs like timing and parameter data and returning an appropriate value for an envelope. Let’s just focus on how to code an ADSR envelope for now. If you’d like to get the source code for Rockit, please download it from Rockit’s Sourceforge Page.

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