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Tag: synth

  • SYN-6988 Speech with MicroPython

    Full repo, with module and instructions, here: scruss/micropython-SYN6988: MicroPython library for the VoiceTX SYN6988 text to speech module

    (and for those that CircuitPython is the sort of thing they like, there’s this: scruss/circuitpython-SYN6988: CircuitPython library for the YuTone VoiceTX SYN6988 text to speech module.)

    I have a bunch of other boards on order to see if the other chips (SYN6288, SYN6658, XF5152) work in the same way. I really wonder which I’ll end up receiving!

    Update (2023-07-09): Got the SYN6658. It does not support English TTS and thus is not recommended. It does have some cool sounds, though.

    Embedded Text Command Sound Table

    The github repo references Embedded text commands, but all of the sound references were too difficult to paste into a table there. So here are all of the ones that the SYN-6988 knows about:

    • Name is the string you use to play the sound, eg: [x1]sound101
    • Alias is an alternative name by which you can call some of the sounds. This is for better compatibility with the SYN6288 apparently. So [x1]sound101 is exactly the same as specifying [x1]sounda
    • Type is the sound description from the manual. Many of these are blank
    • Link is a playable link for a recording of the sound.
    NameAliasTypeLink
    sound101sounda
    sound102soundb
    sound103soundc
    sound104soundd
    sound105sounde
    sound106soundf
    sound107soundg
    sound108soundh
    sound109soundi
    sound110soundj
    sound111soundk
    sound112soundl
    sound113soundm
    sound114soundn
    sound115soundo
    sound116soundp
    sound117soundq
    sound118soundr
    sound119soundt
    sound120soundu
    sound121soundv
    sound122soundw
    sound123soundx
    sound124soundy
    sound201phone ringtone
    sound202phone ringtone
    sound203phone ringtone
    sound204phone rings
    sound205phone ringtone
    sound206doorbell
    sound207doorbell
    sound208doorbell
    sound209doorbell
    sound301alarm
    sound302alarm
    sound303alarm
    sound304alarm
    sound305alarm
    sound306alarm
    sound307alarm
    sound308alarm
    sound309alarm
    sound310alarm
    sound311alarm
    sound312alarm
    sound313alarm
    sound314alarm
    sound315alert/emergency
    sound316alert/emergency
    sound317alert/emergency
    sound318alert/emergency
    sound401credit card successful
    sound402credit card successful
    sound403credit card successful
    sound404credit card successful
    sound405credit card successful
    sound406credit card successful
    sound407credit card successful
    sound408successfully swiped the card
    SYN-6988 Sound Reference

  • It works! It works!

    on a messy desk, a small USB midi keyboard is connected to a Korg NTS-1 mini synthesizer via a small micro-controller board that acts as a USB host for the Akai keyboard, converting USB MIDI to traditional MIDI for the Korg
    Akai LPK25 keyboard has USB MIDI out, but the Korg NTS-1 only has regular MIDI in. The little board in the middle acts as a USB host for the Akai and MIDI source for the Korg

    This is great: gdsports/midiuartusbh: MIDI DIN to MIDI USB Host Converter allows your USB MIDI instruments to act as traditional MIDI controllers. It uses a Adafruit Trinket M0 to act as the USB host and MIDI output.

    I modified gdsports’ design very slightly:

    1. Instead of using a 74AHCT125 Logic level converter and driver, I used a FET-based SparkFun Logic Level Converter
    2. Instead of a 5-pin DIN socket, I used a 3.5 mm stereo socket.

    And it works!

    breadboard showing Trinket M0 microcontroller board, logic level shifter, audio socket breakout and two resistors
    Breadboard layout for MIDI-standard 3.5 mm output (Korg). The resistors are both 220 ohm, and the boards need 5 V power

  • Circuit Playground Express Chord Guitar

    Hey! This doesn’t work any more, as CircuitPython changed and I haven’t found a way to update it with the new interpreter.

    Since there are seven touch pads on a Circuit Playground Express, that’s enough for traditional 3-chord (â… , â…£, â…¤) songs in the keys of C, D and G. That leaves one pad extra for a â…¥min chord for so you can play Neutral Milk Hotel songs in G, of course.

    CircuitPython source and samples: cpx-chord_guitar.zip. Alternatively, on github: v1.0 from scruss/cpx_chord_guitar

    The code is really simple: poll the seven touch pads on the CPX, and if one of them is touched, play a sample and pause for a short time:

    # Circuit Playground Express Chord Guitar
# scruss - 2017-12

# these libraries should be installed by default in CircuitPython
import touchio
import board
import time
import neopixel
import digitalio
import audioio

# touch pins, anticlockwise from battery connector
touch_pins= [
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A1),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A2),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A3),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A4),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A5),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A6),
    touchio.TouchIn(board.A7)
]

# 16 kHz 16-bit mono audio files, in same order as pins
chord_files = [
    "chord-C.wav",
    "chord-D.wav",
    "chord-E.wav",
    "chord-Em.wav",
    "chord-F.wav",
    "chord-G.wav",
    "chord-A.wav"
]

# nearest pixels to touch pads
chord_pixels = [ 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 3, 4 ]

# set up neopixel access
pixels = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 10, brightness=.2)
pixels.fill((0, 0, 0))
pixels.show()

# set up speaker output
speaker_enable = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.SPEAKER_ENABLE)
speaker_enable.switch_to_output(value=True)

# poll touch pins
while True:
    for i in range(len(touch_pins)):
        # if a pin is touched
        if touch_pins[i].value:
            # set nearest pixel
            pixels[chord_pixels[i]] = (0, 0x10, 0)
            pixels.show()
            # open and play corresponding file
            f=open(chord_files[i], "rb")
            a = audioio.AudioOut(board.A0, f)
            a.play()
            # blank nearest pixel
            pixels[chord_pixels[i]] = (0, 0, 0)
            pixels.show()
            # short delay to let chord sound
            # might want to try this a little shorter for faster play
            time.sleep(0.2)

    This is roughly how I synthesized the samples, but I made them quieter (the MEMS speaker on the CPX went all buzzy at full volume, and not in a good way) and added a bit of reverb. Here’s the sox command from the modified script:

    sox -n -r 16000 -b 16 "chord-${chord}.wav" synth 1 pl "$first" pl "$third" pl "$fifth" delay 0 .05 .1 remix - fade p 0 1 0.5 norm -5 reverb

    Really, you do want to take a look at shortening the delay between the samples: you want it long enough for all of the notes of the chord to sound, but short enough that you can play faster songs. I came up with something that worked for me, kinda, and quickly; it’s worth fixing if you have the time.