Digital DIY synths?

[Ben Stuyts]

On Tue, 05 Jan 1999, Magnus Danielson wrote:

> Lately I have playing with the idea of using PICs for simpler tasks,
> they are not the strongest DSPs, MCUs or CPUs you may find, but they
> fit the smaller range.

You could build a modular hybrid synth. For example, use an a/d -> cpu ->  
d/a. I've been thinking about that. The cpu could be a cheapo, like the faster  
8051 parts or the Scenix ones. (They are more or less PIC compatible but run  
at 50 MHz, all in a dip package.) The problem is that 16 bit a/d and d/a are  
still expensive. Maybe one of the audio codec's (e.g. AD1847 as used in pc's)  
would fit. Or, for fun, one could test the whole idea with 8 bit a/d and d/a.  
Makes the software much easier too.

The problem with this whole idea is of course that cost go up pretty quickly  
if you want a full modular this way. But I can imagine that a PIC with an 8  
bit DAC would make a nice envelope generator.

Best regards,
Ben