[sdiy] Drum sample playback

[rsdio at audiobanshee.com]

On Apr 13, 2017, at 11:50 PM, Elaine Klopke <functionofform at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Googling everything and 'inserting it ' into a design might get you up and running, as you say , but what "fun" is that?
> 
> No lack of respect implied for the old ways of doing things, but from a "young whipper-snapper" point of view, getting the thing up and running IS the fun. I would gladly have a module making noise and then go and figure out why it's doing so.

I realize that much of this thread is tongue-in-cheek, but it does raise an interesting question.

Textbook designs are not necessarily the best place to start for a schematic, although there are a few genius authors. In a sense, does it matter whether you copy a design that probably started from a textbook anyway or go directly to the textbook yourself and miss out on what other designers have added?

Better than textbooks are the data sheets and application notes from the manufacturers of the silicon itself. Granted, transistors are so general that you're not going to see every potential circuit in their data sheets, but as you get to more complex circuits like a transconductance amplifier you'll learn a lot from the manufacturer. Of course, the same comment could be made about this approach as about textbooks: does it matter whether you copy a design that almost surely came straight out of the manufacturer application notes or go directly to the original notes yourself?

In any case, it's best to start with a schematic that comes along with some design notes. There are many parts of circuits that are only appropriate for the situation at hand, and your application might be rather different. You really need to read and understand how a circuit works before you know whether it's appropriate for your new design.

Brian