[sdiy] Invent a modular recorder

[Henry Birdseye]

Hey Tom,

I'm thinking of it mainly as a performance recorder, a hassle-free 
"sh*t, this sounds cool. I should record this" kind of box. Perhaps 
useful as playing back your accompaniment.

I just picked up a built <gasp> you say, Nebulae module that's a 
granular playback sampler. It takes a usb drive from which it loads your 
samples. Memory is so cheap these days we shouldn't be limited by time.

Seems to me you could buy a 2-track model, then slave other recorders to 
it as you grow.

As a bonus, turn down the samples/second and it would make a snappy CV 
recorder. A half-hour would be good.

Reactions have ranged from "oh cool" to cries of mild horror.



On 8/11/2014 5:10 PM, Tom Wiltshire wrote:
> I don't think I understand what the intended use of this module is. Are you intending that this is for recording audio before mastering on the computer? E.g. instead of using a USB audio interface or similar. Or is the intention that this is some sort of phrase sampler, for use during performance?
>
> Also, why do you think that such a thing would sell? You say that the forums on Muffwiggler are "screaming for a module that records", but I suspect that what that phrase brings to mind for different people is wildly different. Some people are thinking of CV recording, others of audio recording, others of some type of looper or sampler. Pleasing all those people with one module might be tricky.
>
> Hardware-wise, it doesn't sound too difficult. You'd need a processor, and a codec to get sound it. I'd be inclined to use SD Cards or USB sticks or such like for storage so that you could simply pull the card/stick out and put it in your computer to read the data. There are plenty of "Record to an SD Card" projects online to provide a headstart.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>   
> On 11 Aug 2014, at 16:33, henry birdseye <henry.birdseye at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks, Nate.
>>
>> I'm thinking an SSD for local storage in the module itself. Soundcards are the weakest link and you'd have to bring a computer to gigs. Considering how many people are interested in recording directly from within the synth, I think it's now POSSIBLE to build a module that records, but who'd want to do that?
>>
>> I'm open to any ideas and observations.
>>
>> hb
>>
>>
>> On 8/11/2014 11:25 AM, Paper Products wrote:
>>> Can't reply in plain text ATM to send to rest of list. It's my understanding a module like this requires a lot of processing power and ram to be feasible. I don't know exactly what "a lot" is in comparison to today's hardware costing, but I'm sure it's high compared to software alternatives. OTOH I am a HUGE advocate of dc coupled sound cards and pushing the limit of what is possible tying your modular to a PC. Something like what you're proposing should be very simple using a program like synthedit. Or for that matter just having someone churn out a vst.
>>>
>>> Nate King
>>> Paper Products Music
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Aug 11, 2014, at 11:09 AM, Henry Birdseye <henry.birdseye at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Let me pose this question for all you electronic architects.
>>>>
>>>> Of the hundreds of different modules built by several dozen manufacturers, there is one module that I have never seen available.
>>>>
>>>> There is no synthesizer module (mine is Eurorack) that records high quality audio in long clips. Of course, you can record outputs into your PC or on an external device and save it, but I'm envisioning a module with, say, 8 inputs via 3mm jack (or banana or 1/4"), it has a simple 5 button jog control and a recording triggered by pullse. When all is recorded, it dumps audio recorded upwards of 96k 24-bit, or less wave, ogg, mp3, whatever to a flash card and from there to computer. It would play back from the card too. Simple operation and control.
>>>>
>>>> Eurorack modules range in price from $50 to a couple thousand bucks. I think this would be an extremely popular thing to own. It honestly has never been sold.
>>>>
>>>> There are tens of thousands of synthesizer people now, and the market is absolutely churning with new modules and a growing base. Next time you have nothing else to think about, ponder how one of these could be built into a 3u panel, 2 inches deep as wide as necessary, and how much it would cost. I will owe you beers if you can help me conceptualize this thing. The forums on MuffWiggler are screaming for a module that records. I know it would sell big time.
>>>>
>>>> Thoughts?
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