[HN Gopher] A DX7 USB Dongle
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A DX7 USB Dongle
Author : rcarmo
Score : 93 points
Date : 2023-11-25 09:58 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (diyelectromusic.wordpress.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (diyelectromusic.wordpress.com)
| fortran77 wrote:
| Hackaday is a great site to discover new things, but it may be a
| good idea to just link to the site they're summarizing:
|
| https://diyelectromusic.wordpress.com/2023/11/22/a-dx7-usb-d...
| dang wrote:
| Thanks! Changed from https://hackaday.com/2023/11/24/a-yamaha-
| dx7-on-a-usb-dongle... above.
| mr_sturd wrote:
| Dexed is a really good implementation of the DX7, and there are
| thousands of "cartridges" to be found online packed with presets
| for it.
| InCityDreams wrote:
| ...a lot of those presets are 'dice driven', it seems to me.
| Press a dicembre random settings, save: give it a name. Synth1
| on the other hand....
| singingfish wrote:
| I believe that these days Dexed is the preferred environment
| for people who make presets that they're subsequently going to
| play on an actual DX7, it's that good.
| ajxs wrote:
| I do this. I use Dexed as a patch editor for my DX7. It's
| fantastic. I wish I had editors this good for the rest of my
| synths!
| munificent wrote:
| _> it 's that good._
|
| For what it's worth, being "that good" is relatively easy for
| a DX7 compared to other synthesizers since it's a purely
| digital design and the algorithms (in the software, not FM
| sense) are pretty straightforward. It's not like emulating,
| say, an Ensoniq SQ-80, where you have to emulate analog
| filters which always involves a level of compromise and
| approximation.
| schemescape wrote:
| Don't forget "This DX7 Cartridge Does Not Exist":
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23373730
| Joeboy wrote:
| If I understood right, it's a DX7 synth running on bare metal on
| a Raspberry Pi, and the news is that they added the hardware /
| software to use it as a (device-side) USB device.
|
| Which is very cool, but "USB Dongle" confused me a bit.
| mr_sturd wrote:
| It'll look good when the audio out is routed in to the USB
| audio interface to come back to the computer for recording!
| mseidl wrote:
| I have an original dx7 and rx5 drum machine.
| brudgers wrote:
| I think the RX5 is an awesome drum machine. Made me see the
| value in old flagship instruments. The design logic is robust
| and nothing in the workflow lags.
|
| I have a Pharmasonic ROM cartridge for mine.
| mseidl wrote:
| I also had a Roland boutique d-50 clone which was awesome,
| but I sold it which i regret.
| brudgers wrote:
| Some things I buy more than once. I buy it. Don't use it.
| Sell it.
|
| Then find myself with the same problem and go through the
| same research and come to the same conclusion.
|
| The net costs are just rent in my mind. Or the difference
| between getting a great deal and paying more than I might
| have. Or just money I spent on my hobby.
| brudgers wrote:
| I guess that's one way to solve the tiny screen problem.
| ChuckMcM wrote:
| The _sound_ of a DX7 not the 10 ton keyboard[1] :-) The ability
| to re-create these sound flavors "on the cheap" is really
| something. I keep wondering if someone is selling nice keyboards
| that one could pair with these sound modules.
|
| [1] Keyboard not literally 10 tons, it just feels that way when
| lugging it to and from the van to the gig, typically about 40lbs
| in the case with accessories.
| jacquesm wrote:
| Sure, but you'll always have some lag and the aftertouch of the
| DX7 might not come across in the same way. But any half decent
| midi keyboard should work, for instance:
|
| https://www.thomann.de/nl/native_instruments_komplete_kontro...
|
| They have Fatar keyboards which is more than good enough.
| ChuckMcM wrote:
| I was thinking more like the burgeoning mechanical keyboard
| business for computers. If the mechanical structure was there
| your could provide arbitrarily low latency (some of the high
| end 'gamer' keyboards are sub-millesecond). Given the
| physical system you're modelling (Harpsichord, Piano, Etc.)
| all of the computation vis-a-vis the velocity can be computed
| while the key is moving and delivered when the key is "down",
| after touch on a per-board basis is easy, per key basis
| doable with more sensors. After touch doesn't have quite the
| latency requirements either. With these 25 cent M0+ 45MHz
| processors you could put one on _every single key_ and 88
| keys would incur like $88 cost for electronics.
| munificent wrote:
| For what it's worth, I've been into hardware and software
| synthesizers for a while and in the many many discussions
| I've seen around MIDI controllers and keyboards, I can't
| recall latency ever coming up. As far as I can tell,
| basically all MIDI hardware is fast enough that musicians
| don't seem to notice or complain.
| gsliepen wrote:
| If the MIDI controller is connected via USB and is polled
| at 1 ms, you have only about that amount of lag. This is
| not something most people can even notice.
|
| Also, consider that even playing an acoustic piano has
| quite some lag: your brain has to send a signal to the
| muscles in your hand, which have to contract, which
| presses the key which takes some time to travel down, the
| hammers needs some time to travel to the strings, then
| the sound takes some time to travel to your ear. All this
| adds up to many milliseconds of delay. A musician already
| compensates for all that by starting the hand motions
| earlier to compensate for that lag. As long as it is not
| too large and if it is consistent, a few milliseconds
| extra does not matter.
| epcoa wrote:
| You can sell $5k 6 foot AC power cords to "audiophiles",
| so it goes with sub millisecond latency keyboards, music
| or gaming.
| jacquesm wrote:
| I wouldn't be able to build a substitute for a half decent
| brand-new manufactured keyboard for $88 if I got the parts
| for free. I've build some interesting musical keyboards but
| mostly because they had geometries that were non-standard
| and I'm still toying with the idea of making a complete
| action from scratch. But that's 'madman' territory, just as
| a challenge, not for cost savings.
| dave_sullivan wrote:
| MPK Mini is all you need, they're like 80 bucks
| jnovek wrote:
| I'd love to see one of these dexed-based devices designed with
| knobs to control the operators and envelopes. FM can create some
| gnarly sounds.
|
| There are a few VST plugins (thinking of Plogue's OPS7 and
| Reason's Algorithm in particular) that can do this and I think
| you have a lot of control with the Korg Opsix but I don't know if
| a Dexed/miniDexed design that does that.
| jacquesm wrote:
| If you're in Europe and want an actual DX7 I still have one that
| has been doing nothing for the last 12 months because I'm too
| busy with the piano. But Dexed is pretty much bit-for-bit perfect
| so if nostalgia isn't your thing you're better (and cheaper) off
| with Dexed.
| codetrotter wrote:
| How much are you selling your DX7 for?
| jacquesm wrote:
| Hm, email maybe? jacques@modularcompany.com
|
| I'm in NL and sending it in the mail isn't an option.
| Kye wrote:
| I think I'll stick with DX7 V, but this is neat.
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