Welcome to MiniDexed Discussions! #14
Replies: 18 comments 54 replies
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Hi there and gratulations to your MiniDexed Project - this really looks promising. |
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Hello @positionhigh and thanks for reaching out. Your project has many things I am dreaming of (more than one Dexed instance, effects, sequencer, mixer,...) 👍 but unfortunately I am lacking the hardware to try it out. MiniDexed is running on Raspberry Pi Zero, 1, 2, 3, and 4 and we try to keep all other hardware as optional as possible, in order to allow as many people as possible to join the fun, and allow to get started with a "naked" Pi. For at least the Pi 2 and newer I think the hardware should be capable of running multiple instances and effects. The next objective would be to run mulitple Dexed instances and TX802 style performances and effects like delay, chrous, and reverb. So if you see some features that you could help port over, that'd be tremendous. As you probably have noticed, the developers of Circle and MicroDexed are both active in this project and have been extremely helpful. |
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Hello probonopd, i have about no knowledge about Circle but i am over a year involved in microdexed so i believe i might know some things about parts of the code and its structure. Everything is deepy interwoven with the teensy audio library, so getting the core to run in circles is really astonishing to me - we also thought about making that move to Circles on the Pi but my development skills are not enough for that task and the main developer would have liked to do it but does not have of the free time to make this possible. i fully understand your path to make as much as possible available with the bare Pi. But sooner or later, some kind of GUI structure will come up (you already have the text display if i see correctly).
If you choose something between 4-5, i think i could port over a lot of the GUI and sequencer stuff. About the effects and instances, i am sure a Pi > 2 can handle this, probably even on 1 core. |
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Circle runs on Raspberry Pis only. It's not planned to support other hardware. |
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tnx i thought that it might be very difficult but possible since the architecture seems at least partly similar. So to get my sequencer and interface things working with your Pi build i woud have to figure out if i can get a display like a ILI9341 working in this context. I looked at LVGL and it seems very fancy for simpe UIs but way too resource intense, also it does not seem to have any grid input/outputs so i think a simple, pixel based approch is still the way to go. |
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No, it's not that simple, and if you support other hardware, you also have to test this on any release. You need some focus and for Circle the focus is the Raspberry Pi. Circle already supports SPI displays with the ST7789, if this helps. Programming with LVGL is special, but resources (memory) should not be a problem, because there is a lot in the Raspberry Pis. But LVGL does not work on SPI displays at the moment with Circle. I'm not the project owner of MiniDexed, so I do not define the requirements, but supporting other synth engines and sampling seems to be a different project to me. |
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Right now the project focus is on creating an instrument on Raspberry Pis that approximates the DX1/5/7 and TX802/816 plus mixer and effects. I'd like to keep the hardware barriers to entry really low (as in: low cost and easy access to the needed hardware) and have a "robust" instrument that boots fast and is very reliable. |
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totaly get it - focus on the basics first. I have so say, the fast boot is also one of my priorities - if you haven't gone the way with circles but instead booting up kind of a full linux, i would not be so much interested in the PI as a potential platform for a synth:_) |
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Hello probonopd, |
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Hello @mrfloydst, sorry for my late reply, went hunting for your mail when I saw your message here :-)
Very cool! Looking forward to it.
This would be tremedous. There is some initial (short) documentation at https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed/wiki. Be sure to check out especially the "Menu" page, it explains the menu-based operation using the display and a rotary encoder.
Unfortunately the software doesn't support I2C yet, but you should still be able to use your display by soldering to the connections on the front, I guess (never tried but why shouldn't it work). |
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The video has landed: Thank you very much @mrfloydst 👍 |
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it's basicly the reason why I'm here |
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Also being discussed over at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31062237 |
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Hello minidexed friends, just to keep you updated, the issues with the flash chip on the teensy front is now solved. |
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Would it be possible to add a HID driver so we can load devices that act like a HID keyboard but can be used to add buttons to shortcuts. I am talking about devices for retro gaming and arcade machines like this: https://www.highflow.nl/arcade/u-hid/ultimarc-u-hid-full-featured-version-pcb-with-usb-cable.html?sl=nl. These can also be used to have hardware buttons just over USB. Think that is very handy? You could of course flash anything as a HID device but this was just an example. |
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HID keyboards are already supported, but for some MIDI controllers (keyboards) one needs to force USB speed to full with |
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Just learned of this project today, and have my amazon cart full of parts to join in the fun! I own an original DX7, so this will be a fun additional sound module for me. I'm curious, and will probably just learn about this once I get my parts together, but if running more than one sound module, is there a way to pan different sounds/channels to different places in the L/R channels or is the whole thing mono like an original DX7? Thanks for all the hard work. Can't wait to start to play with this!! |
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Hi 172pilot, yes, you can set Pan for every Tonegenerator.
Until your parts are delivered you can read something here: Peter |
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Thanks for the reply and link.. That looks great! I can't wait! |
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Hi there, I built the minidexed and it's fantastic. I have, however, a pair of question: why it doesn't save modifies on shutdown? And, is there a way to create my own rom? Thanks all, |
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hi! if you have meant microdexed, please come to our discord chat, https://discord.gg/XCYk5P8GzF If you want to save the current state, you have to save it as a performance. you have 99 performance slots. |
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Hi Fetente77,
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For positionhigh: I use minidexed for raspberry. Many thanks for your reply. Now I’ve understood the meaning of performance.ini. |
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I am starting to build synths an wondered if there is a manual available for the latest version of microdexed touch, with details for the sequencer? |
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It is not a full manual but you can find most information in the WIKI |
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Hi - Hello from New Zealand. And a question: PS: I've replaced the display in the photo with one that works properly! |
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A Pico is now loaded with the .uf2 file, hooked up to MiniDexed, all working!! Thanks so much for all the help and guidance. |
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With many thanks to everyone for all the help and support, here's a pic of my final (for now) setup. |
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very nice work, a fully featured miniDexed. I wish I could remove the protective film from the display. 😂 |
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If I catch you taking my protective film off, expect a slap on the hand! |
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everyone has their own quirks: |
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Ooo, err... not sure about that. As I say, I've not really looking into it. I hope that won't damage the Pi! Might be worth studying the power section in the datasheet/part schematic to be sure you're happy with what is going on... It's not really my area but I know USB-C can negotiate power in a much more complex way to previous standards... Kevin |
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Hi, I wanted to know if there is a tutorial that explains how performances are created. |
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Floyd Steinberg once made a video about sound design with the miniDexed |
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Hi Banana71, but how do you create your performances? |
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The only thing I use is my miniDexed and Dexed as an editor on the PC + MIDI controller. My patches are only on the PC. With Dexed I can transfer the patches to the miniDexed via MIDI and also edit them directly. I make the performance settings on the miniDexed. When I get the chance, I'll write a short manual or make a video of how I create the patches and performances. |
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Grazie per la risposta. Buon lavoro |
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My minidexed is working fine. However during boot the lcd screen shows a weird message. Does anyone know what it means and how to solve it? |
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This is not how it should look. It should say "MiniDexed" in the first row and should show the date (e.g., 20250102) followed by the short git hash (which seems to be working). I don't know why the beginning of the message is garbled on your screen. Are you using an i2s "backpack" on your display? |
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I built this one: https://diyelectromusic.com/2022/08/16/minidexed-raspberry-pi-io-board-part-3/ |
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I haven't tested that configuration in quite a while. Hopefully we haven't broken it. Maybe some timing issue in the initialization phase or something like that. |
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I'm not sure why the screen would fail in a way that shows some text but then stop. an you let us see the HDMI output of the boot? I wonder if it is getting stuck somewhere... |
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@probonopd i am looking into porting my microdexed stuff to circle - to get starting i was trying to compile minidexed but mostly get into these errors, any advise ? ../include/arm_neon.h:7563:1: error: inlining failed in call to 'always_inline' 'vcvtq_n_s32_f32': target specific option mismatch tried arm toolchains 11,12,13.. but it does not seem to make any difference. |
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Hi @positionhigh. Not sure what causes this error, I don't remember having seen it. We are using these toolchains: |
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Lovely. |
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Bread and butter sounds, miniDexed-Edition 🥰 |
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Hello there! Any possibility to add a lofi fx to the minidexed? Just simple one like an s&h lfo, and some bit reducer? TY! |
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First off this is an amazing Open Source project, I have been using it to learn more about creating PCBs and boxing it up. I breadboarded this up and got everything working using the GY-PCM5102 board, a 1602 LCD, an rotary encoder, pushbuttons and MIDI via USB. I then put it together on protoboard and got it working as well. I just made a PCB and I have some issues that I am trying to troubleshoot, I am am just wondering what other people have done to troubleshoot issues that you may have had? This is the road I am taking, just wondering if there are some better ideas. I have loaded up Raspberry Pi OS, and I am trying to test everything in the terminal via SSH. I enabled I2C and used the command sudo i2cdetect -y 1 to look for an I2C address, I am getting nothing back I figure I messed something up there. I tested USB MIDI with aseqdump -p <port_name> and that works (didn't expect it not to). Does anyone know how to test MIDI via the UART though?
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That is an amazingly clean looking build. Congrats! The only thing I would change is that I would do the LCD screws from the inside of the case for an even cleaner look (even though you are using nice screws). As for i2c, the picture shows that your display is working, so either you already have i2c working, or your display doesn't use it so you don't need it. If your board has no real MIDI circuitry, you need a device that connects to the serial port on the RPi and presents itself to the desktop computer as a MIDI device. This can be done, e.g., using a Raspberry Pi Pico and https://github.com/rsta2/pico/tree/main/midi_adapter. |
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Thanks for the feedback, I should have left a better description previously. My main board that connects the RPI, LCD, encoder and pushbuttons is working. The display is using the 4-bit parallel connection so no I2C. 
The screws from the back would look better but my ultimate ambition is to house it in a metal Hammond enclosure. Tayda will made one off custom drilled and printed enclosures, but I made a 3D print first to check the fit. The things that I need to check are on the Connector Board. I have experience with serial MIDI on the Raspberry Pi Pico via MicroPython, I guess I need to make a Python script to test it out, I was just wondering if there are any established Linux tools as I am not very familiar with Linux. The I2C address I was checking for was for the DAC, I am going to try PWM audio output to see if my MIDI is working and then I need to figure out what I messed up on my DAC. 
Here is how I am connecting the two boards with a ribbon cable.
Again, amazing project and documentation, you have set a high bar. |
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Thank you to those who made this VERY NICE RPi DX7. I designed a case for it and am ready to add it to my synth collection. What a joy! |
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