Author David Battino shared this video, The Power Of MIDI, that explores how he’s used the power put out by MIDI controllers to run his DIY ‘monster synths’ and MIDI signal detectors:
First, he demonstrates how he has made MIDI data detectors out of Japanese monster toys by connecting an LED to the second and fourth holes of a MIDI cable.
Then he demonstrates a DIY ‘monster synth’ that he created with a DSP-G1 synth chip ($20) and a Mechani-Kong doll.
via Battino, Key Secrets
pretty crazy, a poly synth on a 20 chip. I guess the sound quality isn’t that surprising. The real jaw-dropper about a robo-king-kong synth is the footprint.
Yes, the synth chip is my invention and has been around for over 2 years.
The sound quality is actually very good.
You’ll find the dsp-G1 and other “crazy” synth chips at:
http://janostman.wordpress.com
Single drum synth chips among others.
Super cool!! Bookmarked! Thanks, Jan.
What what. In the butt.
this makes me want to go home and make some LEDs that I can plug into a MIDI jack now – I have one of those midi solution 1>4 boxes I use all the time – and an iconnectmidi4+ – so I always have spare outs that I could plug into
@Stub — Yes, the Mechani-Kong project was definitely for fun, but of course even a cheap synth offers unique flavor. The sound in the video was the raw DSP-G1 playing through the little Roland Mobile Cube into my digicam mics. Adding some chorus and delay (or distortion) creates some very usable sounds. Originally I got the DSP-G1 to use as a compact chord source for my vocoder pedal. In that case, the buzzy sound (and lack of velocity response) works very well. Thanks for watching!