[sdiy] Anadigm...

[Tom Wiltshire]

Fascinating.

This demonstrates to me that hardware design is actually the simpler part of modern analogue synth design. The software design is the larger and more complicated part of the process, since it probably includes all the envelopes, LFOs, modulation matrix/routing, as well as the system-level stuff like programmability, MIDI handling, control surface, etc etc. The hardware for stuff like this is straightforward. Making it actually work is not.

I suspect these guys did some cut-and-pasting with analog elements in their FPAA program, came up with a viable analogue synth voice design fairly rapidly (oscillators, filter, some VCAs, maybe a noise source) and then spent *ages* playing with code to make it run and turn it into a useful synth.

Regards,
Tom


On 24 Feb 2011, at 00:40, Barry Klein wrote:

> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> For the record....
> Barry
> 
> 
> From: Support [mailto:support at anadigm.com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 2:30 PM
> To: Barry Klein
> Subject: RE: music synth designs
> 
> Hi Barry,
>  
> We did not find an email in our achieves with your name or address during
> 2010 or 2009.
> Below is the email we have been sending out to prospective Analog
> synthesizer enquiries.
> Anadigm will not re-start this project until we have a solid commercial
> partner.
>  
> Regards Anadigm Support
>  
> The following test is a cut and paste that we have been sending to all  who
> have enquired about a synthesizer in the past few years.
> --------------------------------------------
> We build a prototype Analog Synthesizer and demonstrated it several  years
> ago.
> The analog hardware is simple, we used one Anadigm IC (AN221E04) per Voice
> and another AN221E04 as a mixer, we built a 2 voice synthesizer. The
> software used to control the synthesizer is not simple. For the demo we used
> Anadigm development kit PCB's, a parallel interface from a PC, two active
> studio monitor and a powered subwoofer.
> 
> Let me summarize the history associated with Anadigm's Synthesizer. 
> The project was part of our customer support activity, the partner we were
> working with unfortunately passed and the project has not been active for
> several years.
> 
> The synthesizer project was a huge software undertaking, Our support team
> (with a lot of help from Anadigm's software development team and our lead
> customer) had a lot of fun getting it to a functional demo, there is at
> least 18 man months of C++ software written. Because it's a fun and
> challenging project a large proportion of Anadigm's engineering effort got
> involved in it, it became a consumer of too much resource. Without an end
> customer contributing Audio engineering expertise, adopting and taking over
> the software development Anadigm's management was forced to stop the
> project. Anadigm is a semiconductor company, we focus on the manufacture and
> application support for our FPAA devices. the synthesizer was taking over
> the entire company engineering resources, resources needed for our primary
> product.
> 
> Several dozen individuals have asked if Anadigm will gift this synthesizer
> to them since the time the project stopped, to date this has not been done.
> The reason for not doing so one of self preservation, Anadigm does not have
> the software engineering resources that would be needed to support the
> transfer of this project, we have not been convinced that the specific
> people who asked had the resources and skills to take this project and run
> with it alone.
> I will add that today Anadigm has a smaller Software engineering department
> than it had 5 years ago and that the engineers who wrote this synthesizer
> software are no longer with Anadigm.
> 
> OK, that described the situation, what next. 
> Are you intending to build a commercial Analog Synthesizer as a musical
> instrument, or something similar ?  
> Do you have the engineering resources and a business plan which would
> support taking such a Demo and commercializing it?  
> 
> Anadigm's support team currently try's to provide direct and personalized
> support and examples, generic reference design information never quiet fit
> the requirements.
> We can support you in the design of an analog waveform synthesizer from a
> blank piece of paper, or starting with your Analog circuit architecture
> using our FPAA technology, past experience and your software engineering.
> We can also discuss re-using the existing Anadigm Synthesizer bearing in
> mind what's written above. 
> 
> Please let us know a little more about your intentions and potentially how
> we could work together or assist further, if you prefer to discuss this by
> phone please let us have a number and we will call you.
> 
> Regards Simon
> For Anadigm Support
>  
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Barry Klein [mailto:Barry.L.Klein at wdc.com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 2:50 PM
> To: support at anadigm.com
> Subject: music synth designs
> I have read that you guys had some music synth designs ongoing using your
> chips.
> The last update I have is over a year ago.
> Has anything transpired since?  I don't see examples on your site.
> 
> Barry
> 
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