[sdiy] DSP cards

[Neil Johnson]

JB,

> Agreed, but the problem is that both sides interest me :

He he, same here!  But over the years I've realised that to get anything
done I need to focus on what the _really_ interesting bits are, and get
hold of (you don't always have to pay: I use GCC for the AVR) the rest.

> I see your point. Probably the first step would be to use
> an existing DSP card (or the Chameleon) and try to develop
> a graphic interface to play with the existing code, just to get
> an idea of what is possible and what isn't...

Exactly!  Fundamentally, what is the idea you want to explore?  If it is
graphics interfaces coupled to sound hardware, get a ready-made hardware
so you can get on with the interface design exploration.  _Then_ once you
have a better idea of what the hardware needs to do you can move on to
designing your own hardware.

> Perhaps tomorrow someone will tell me to forget about DIY and buy
> some Korg or Roland gear...
> Yes, I know I'm overreacting.

Yes....its not "that time of month" is it...?

> But a valid question remains : if the target is gear & musical
> innovation, how much of this research can rely on existing gear, and how
> much needs new design ?

A simplistic view you could take is: all gear is good and all gear is
bad---it depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Suppose you were wanting to develop a MIDI controller, but for that you'd
need a MIDI-driven sound source.  It might well be that a Roland or Korg
box would suffice. But it sounds like in your case such devices would
_not_ be suitable, since they do not satisfy your needs.

You have to decide where to draw the line, and indeed if you ask on a
broad channel like this list then you're going to get a wide spectrum of
responses.

Neil

--
Neil Johnson :: Computer Laboratory :: University of Cambridge ::
http://www.njohnson.co.uk          http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~nej22
----  IEE Cambridge Branch: http://www.iee-cambridge.org.uk  ----