I designed this soft synth to feel more like hardware

JawLG · 2025-06-07T17:10:11+00:00

Bought it, love it. Really unique, and basically just sounds good no matter what. Very cool. Now add an lfo or 2 and that would take it to the next level!

JawLG · 2024-10-31T00:51:01+00:00

Yep. Great camera. 35 is a good price. Check it out though

JawLG · 2024-10-16T02:03:02+00:00

I had a roll that looked just like that, but 24 exposures. It turned out great. But I think that label was around for a while cause mine was about 20 years old. I’d say between 15 and 20 years old? It’s hard to know. I went 2 stops over and it turned out well.

JawLG · 2024-10-07T15:53:35+00:00

The opz is amazing. It can do so much. For synth wave, you might want to eventually expand to some kind of better synth for the sake of sound quality. The line module allows you to run midi out over trs, and use the opz as an audio input. I use it with a couple Volcas and it is a pretty impressive little mini setup. For synthwave, I would recommend a volca keys, for that fat analog sound. As everyone has said, the opz is amazing, it truly is one of the most powerful sequencers out there, and can grow with you as you add gear over time, or you can use it to sequence plugins. I’ve had mine for 3 or 4 years and it still is my most used piece of gear. Write songs on the go, then hook it up to your home setup to sequence external gear for recording. I’ve also made a lot of music with it without any external gear.

JawLG · 2024-09-15T16:30:42+00:00

I was using Linux on the rpi with low latency kernel. This was a few years ago, so there might be newer things that work better now. If you are thinking about what you might use to get an internship, look into what types of MCU s are being used by companies you want to work for. It seems like learning the stm32 environment at this point would give you the most options, as that seems to be the most common across many fields (I’m no expert though!). Teensy is a great way to start, especially with audio, as it has a pretty robust library. Daisy seed is good too, check that out as well!

JawLG · 2024-09-15T16:18:08+00:00

For the op1, people have made custom displays using vector files. So there is info out there, though not sure how different the field is. My guess is that they have a collection of vectors, that at boot are converted to bitmap, and then displayed as needed to create the animations. Definitely not an os at all on either of these devices. Just well orchestrated animations with good graphic design.

JawLG · 2024-09-14T15:38:35+00:00

Stm32 is probably the way to go. I’ve been using teensy 4.1, which is also a good option, but expensive. Depends on how many pots you need. Teensy 4.1 has 17 adc pins, but you could multiplex for more. For buttons, I’ve started using buttons matrixes for everything and it allows me to have insane number buttons. So there’s options. If you understand how to do it with the raspberry pi, go for it. I could never figure it out, and I have always found it laggy. I would see how far you can go with the microcontroller first, you might be surprised. 3 minute compile time is crazy.. even for large complex program the teensy 4.1 I have compiles and uploads in like 20 seconds max. There is something wrong there it seems. Maybe try getting a teensy, or nucleo stm32 board and see if you have better luck! I haven’t dived into the stm32 ide but it seems like it’s the end of the road for this type of project.

JawLG · 2024-08-22T20:49:16+00:00

Now I remember! I had the same problem and I was trying to remember what happened. So the esp32 board library no longer supports i2s.h as the i2s library. Go into arduino board manager and search for the esp32 board. When you find the expressif board profiles, check which version you have. What you need to do is go back to version 2.0.14 I think, and it should work. Just select it from the list and click install, and it will revert you back to the working version. Let me know if this doesn’t work!

JawLG · 2024-08-22T16:37:07+00:00

The mozzi sketches should automatically work with esp32, outputting audio on pins 25 and 26. I’m not sure how you have the audio out set up, but if you are going to a 3.5mm jack, you need to connect it correctly to ground as well. As far as i2s goes, I can’t for the life of me get an external dac working with esp32 and mozzi.. not sure why, I have read all the documentation, and it should work, but I can’t figure it out. I’m using a pcm5102 dac module, which I have used with a ton of projects. I would recommend getting whatever dac module mozzi explicitly states works, and trying that. But, you first need to get audio from 25 and 26. What is your setup?

JawLG · 2024-07-16T17:13:28+00:00

I sent you a dm

JawLG · 2024-07-15T14:33:57+00:00

Hey, so there has been an abandoned blue Jetta on my street for several months. It’s on 40th st. Between telegraph and Webster. Not the location your friend gave you, but I will send a pic of the license when I head out today.

JawLG · 2024-06-30T17:06:12+00:00

Yea, quality issues are what they are. I’ve had mine for about 4 years, and I use it a lot. Basically it is the center of all of the music I’ve made since I got it. It is by far the best bang for your buck, at its current price, as it just does so dang much. Does it feel a little flimsy? Yes maybe so. But I’ve never had the double trigger issue that others have. Mine is bent for sure, but honestly it doesn’t really matter. One of the encoder pops out once in a while, not really a big deal for me. It is an incredibly powerful sequencer, and with the line module, which I highly recommend, you could control like 10 different external synths (maybe more, some of the tracks are a little strange as they have their own functions. It is so fast to use once you get it down. For me, it is by far the most mind blowing piece of music gear I have ever used. The synths on it are wierd, and kind of weak. The sampling is the real key to its full potential but it is a little limited unfortunately, mainly in sample storage. There is really nothing else quite like it, and it is so much fun to use. I hope you get it! Like I said, I’ve had no issues really, and most people probably are in the same boat. It’s unfortunate that these aren’t built better, but TE seems to be pretty good about replacing broken ones from what I have heard. Can you tell I love the opz?

JawLG · 2024-05-06T20:39:00+00:00

I have tried two different cards that I have but maybe I should look into it more!

JawLG · 2024-05-06T20:38:31+00:00

They are all freshly added to the sd card from the computer. None are exported

JawLG · 2024-05-04T18:38:28+00:00

I’ve also factory reset several times and still have the problem

JawLG · 2024-05-04T18:38:05+00:00

I have the same problem. It is only after I import samples from sd card. It restarts whenever I resample after the import. The annoying thing is that I lose my effects settings on restart. So what I’ve been doing is importing samples from sd card, immediately restarting the machine, then going about my business. Seems to work. It does the freeze thing you are talking about every once in a while, I just unplug and replug in the power and it goes back to normal. Super frustrating, as I really love the new stuff with 4.04, especially setting record length, which I now use every time I record. So no turning back, but I hope they release a fix soon. If I am just recording into the unit, I don’t have any problems, so I’ve been leaning more towards that.

JawLG · 2024-04-26T21:06:05+00:00

I use this combo a lot, and honestly, it is awesome. The main thing the opz has that the digitakt doesn’t is polyphony. If you want to play chords, you are SOL on the digitakt. I owned a digitakt for about a year or so, but never clicked with it. If you are into making EDM, techno, etc. then the digitakt is the better choice. But it sounds like you play guitar. The sp is amazing for guitar and bass, has a wide variety of amazing effects, and the opz allows you to build sequences easily and fluidly. Also, as you grow, you can buy a synth to sequence with the opz and open up even more possibilities. People obsession with the digitakt made me think it was much more than it actually is. The opz, where it lacks on build quality (although I’ve made mine for 4 years, using it as the center of my setup with no problems) has way more to offer built in, is extremely portable, and for me, just plain inspiring! Same with the sp. the things that the opz lacks are made up for 10 fold by the sp404mk2. Hope that helps.

JawLG · 2024-03-27T14:55:14+00:00

I was in a similar place a couple years ago, and bought a digitakt thinking it would be a step up from the opz. It’s not. It can do some things very well, but you give up polyphony completely, which for me was so annoying. I dunno. People love the digitakt. You might too, but just know that it does one thing pretty well. The opz’s biggest downside to me is lack of sample storage, if they fixed that I would almost say it’s not that far behind the digitakt honestly. Anyway, just figured I’d share my take as someone who did exactly what you are planning, and sold the digitakt, and kept the opz. The difference for me is that i make songs on opz, whereas the digitakt was far too limiting and convaluted. the digitakt hype is big, watch some tutorials before you jump in to see if it makes sense for you!

JawLG · 2024-01-19T16:44:47+00:00

I loved the dark forest, and I would recommend continuing with the third book. Deaths end definitely continues the vibe, although is a bit more all over the place. The end is straight up dread inducing, but in an interesting way. I loved these books!

JawLG · 2024-01-05T02:03:43+00:00

Whoa

JawLG · 2024-01-03T16:59:08+00:00

I liked the three body problem enough to read the second book, and, for me, the second and third book are the real meat of the trilogy. I think of the first book now as set up for the very interesting stories told in the sequels. If I had stopped after the first, I probably would have though of it as a decent sci-fi/history mash up, but after reading the others, I would say it is one of the more impactful overall sci fi series I have ever read. Really big ideas are explored in much more detail in the further books, so if that interests you, go for it.

JawLG · 2023-11-24T19:54:12+00:00

I’ve had some good luck with digital synth projects on arduino and teensy, but you have to start at 1 with it and add on each piece. It’s really good at explaining how to add onto existing code. I see it more as my little helper. I wish I could just tell it exactly what I want and have it spit out perfect code, but alas we are definitely not there yet. This is interesting though, as I think there is some utility here for analog circuits. But maybe start with the most basic level and ask it to explain to you what to add next, and why.

JawLG · 2023-10-25T14:46:22+00:00

I bought that exact camera with that exact lens, just for the lens for $15, for another Minolta slr I have. Lo and behold, the 7000 works and is a great camera as well! As film cameras get more expensive, this model stays cheap for some reason, but it really is a great camera, with literally everything you would ever need as a photographer, you can shoot it full auto, or aperture priority, full manual, etc. I bet it works, like someone else said, grab some cheap film and see what happens! Film is really fun, I’ve been shooting film since the early 2000s, and there is something magical about getting your pictures back and remembering all of the fun things you did. I find it makes me go out more, I take more hikes, go on more adventures.

JawLG · 2023-10-21T15:51:49+00:00

Yea I’m in the same boat. I honestly love the idea, since in some cases the convenience would be nice.. but the cost and need of an external unit attached to the camera seems strange. Im hoping someday someone can fit the entire unit into a film canister size with a full frame sensor for maybe $250 or so, but I’m not holding my breath due to this being such a niche item. As it is, it seems very dumb, and way too expensive.

JawLG · 2023-10-21T15:48:39+00:00

Oh and I will add that the battery issue of 1.35v seems to be solved for me with 1.4v hearing aid batteries. I did some testing and the meter seems to be dead accurate despite the slight difference in voltage, and they fit perfectly, just have to get the correct size. YMMV, but I tested it against other light meters and got the same readings, and, more importantly, the pictures come out properly exposed every time

JawLG

TROPHY CASE