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Hackable Synth Workshop: Meet the MeeBlip
When: Friday, September 23, 2011, 7-10pm
Instructor: Peter Kirn
Price:
$39 MeeBlip micro (special!) + $30 course fee non-members
$39 MeeBlip micro (special!) + $20 course fee members
(10 spots total)
Build the simple, inexpensive new MeeBlip micro - a bare-bones version of our open source, playable, friendly MeeBlip synthesizer - and then learn a little about how it works, even if you're new to electronics and code. Walk home with an instrument you can add to your studio with MIDI, and make - not only blips and bleeps, but something resembling music. (That is, assuming you can play!)
We'll assemble the MeeBlip micro board, which contains all the synthesis guts of our full-featured MeeBlip synthesizer, including MIDI implementation, but lacks switches, knobs, and housing. You'll get to assemble it yourself with some fairly easy soldering.
Next, learn a bit about how the MeeBlip works. We'll take a look at how the circuit functions, and a bit of the Assembly code that makes it tick (as well as seeing why "Assembly code" isn't as scary as you probably think). We'll see how to make a simple modification to the MeeBlip code, even if you haven't coded before.
Finally, since the MeeBlip micro includes MIDI but no switches or knobs to customize your sounds, we'll learn the basics of using the free visual modular environment Pure Data (Pd) to send MIDI messages and sequences to your MeeBlip, so you can interactively control sounds and make patterns, via a crash course in Pd MIDI patching.
It's an open source music-making extravangza, leaving you with a powerful virtual analog monophonic synth you can play!
Previous experience required: some basic knowledge of synthesis and occasional soldering should prove useful, but are not strictly required. Non-coders very, very much welcome!