Haha duh! I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but you'd have an easier time playing tonal music with some sort of MCU than a 555 if all you're looking for is a square wave (and a square wave and some filtering is all you need to get some really complex sounds) ;) Analog circuits are a little easier for me than code... but if you're handy with the computer you could whack something together in no time. The Atari Punk Console is based on the 555 timer. Again, not great for traditionally tonal music, but a fun noisemaker / dronebox all the same. There really is a ton of Synth DIY sites. Like Jacopo said there's Rene Shmitz and Catgirl Synths and Thomas Henry and although Ray form MFOS is having some medical problems his site is up and all the info's there. That's the thing about the experimental bug sounds and techno sounding music... Very few guys are building large, complete instrument, analog synths anymore. Todays market just won't support the kind of resources it takes to put them together. They are made up of the same parts as modular synths though. The Modular synths are just more open architecture and lend themselves to endless experimentation. You can take a fistful of modules and patch them together in your dream synth configuration. Or if you're willing to do some building you can put the circuits together in a self contained instrument :) On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM, John Gardner wrote: > Possibly relevant, & certainly interesting... > > www.righto.com/2016/02/555-timer-teardown-inside-worlds-most.html > > On 2/23/16, Jesse McCreadie wrote: > > Hi Lindy, > > > > I build Modular synthesizers for a living. > > The 555 square wave certainly can be used for subtractive synthesis. > > If you're looking for tonal stuff the standard is 1V/Oct and that's whe= re > > the problem with the 555 comes in . > > Difficult to scale the control for 1V/Oct. > > Great for Lunetta stuff and noisemakers! > > > > There's a bunch of great SynthDIY sites and forums to help get an > overview > > of different architectures of VCOs and VCFs. > > Haha i guess it depends what your end use is really ;) > > If you're shooting for a Moog-Like synth 555 is the hard road to go. > > if you're less interested in traditionally tonal music and just need a > > simple oscillator 555 is great. > > MFOS makes a Weird Sound Generator using 40106 as a fistful of astable > > multivibrators. > > > > On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 4:15 PM, IVP wrote: > > > >> > Is the square wave that comes out of a 555 something that can be > >> > used, then filtered to make different sounds? > >> > >> Absolutely. Even varying the duty cycle during a note can sound > >> interesting. > >> > >> You can also get a triangle wave from a 555, which is less harsh > >> on the ears than a square wave. A few components can convert > >> the triangle to a sine wave. The Control Voltage pin (5) can be used > >> as a modulating input, for example to make the 555 the basis of a > >> voltage-controlled filter. 4016/4066 switches are put in series with > >> resistors in a typical audio filter and the 555's duty cycle is altere= d > >> (via CV) to change the tone. Which could be anything from a simple > >> bass-treble control to a sweeping wah sound. The audio source > >> can be another 555 > >> > >> With a handful of 555s you could make a small basic old school > >> modular synth - VCO, VCF, VCA, LFO etc > >> > >> I've seen a circuit which used the 555 as (I think) a pulse-position > >> modulator as an audio amplifier. I remember the author said it > >> wasn't fantastically good but demonstrated a principle > >> > >> Have a Google for 555 Cookbook, plenty of odd circuits around > >> > >> Joe > >> > >> > >> > >> ----- > >> No virus found in this message. > >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > >> Version: 2016.0.7442 / Virus Database: 4537/11683 - Release Date: > >> 02/23/16 > >> > >> -- > >> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > >> View/change your membership options at > >> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > >> > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > > View/change your membership options at > > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .