Idea
For my synth final I wanted to make something that could be a part of my thesis, my Body of Work. My thesis is a series of sculptures that depict my body parts. I developed this idea of creating an “interFACE” synth. I wanted to create a sequencer that would play back body sounds and kind of looked like my face.
Sketch
Here are some crazy sketches I did over the course of the last couple of weeks:
Samples
The first step was recording samples. My buddy Josh lent me his lil mic set up and I recorded some weird “body sounds” on my phone.
I then trimmed them up and converted the .mp4 files to .wav on my computer. I think I did this in the Music app (FKA iTunes) but I don’t quite remember how.
open file in music, import settings —> WAV encoder, File -> conver —> create wav version
Then I used the wav2sketch package to convert all my .wav samples into C++ files which can be stored directly on the Teensy’s memory! Playing samples back from the Teensy’s on-board memory has a lower latency than playing back from the SD card reader. It is really crucial that the .wav files are at 44100 Hz and 16 or 8-bits for conversion. More instructions can be found in Jesse’s slides.
Later on I realized that I needed the samples to be at the same volume for a better sound experience. I tried messing around with gain values in my code to amplify selected samples but I didn’t get the effect I was looking for. I downloaded Audacity which is a free and open-source audio tool and used the “loudness normalization” effect to get the samples all the same volume.
do not use a4
Process
started by making a four step sequencer with jesse’s code
then mapping the samples to 1 knob
then make 8-step sequencer with LEDs
Add knob to control speed
Then, interface with the brain
Blinking an extra digital pin on brain, using that to trigger next step
Code
(Some) Fabrication
No experience with casting. Also, casting the face orifices … problematic!
Life cast —> plaster
plaster —> silicone mold —> resin knob
Next Steps
lol lots
volume knob
button to switch between regular clock and trigger/CV inputs
RGB LEDs
1-2 more samples … need to capture laugh…
resin time + face plate fabrication
future future future : oscillator + ADSR modules
Resources
Jesse’s lecture with wav2sketch