Moog Music Forum

(Cross-post from Moog Controllers forum)

Hey everyone,

A friend and I are currently working on a custom CV controller for my Slim Phatty and Moogerfoogers. It has 4 LFO/Envelope generators, synced to a master tempo (tap or MIDI clock). It's called The Spider, and here is (roughly) what it'll look like:



We're building it ourselves from scratch, and I've started a blog to chronicle its progress:

http://spidercontroller.tumblr.com/

There's already some posts about what it's supposed to do; I'll be adding posts later about how it works on the inside, as well as frequent updates on its progress.

We'd love to hear what you think, and if anyone else has experience with building custom gear like this

(Edit: It might be worth mentioning, this is a one-off DIY project, and not some ploy to garner viral attention for some new gizmo made by SynthMegaCorp, Inc.)

That is simply amazing.

I'll have an look at your blog. Very nice project!

Thanks Things are in the very early stages at the moment, but Kévin and I are both very excited. This Sunday, we're getting together and see (or rather, hear) how the test signals he's generating actually sound when controlling Moog gear. If that goes well, we move on to ordering most of our parts and components, and the real work can begin!

I want something like that, except with hi res analog sliders so you can sweep multiple parameters with one hand.

I replied to the controllers forum post...yeah, that thing of which you speak is pretty cool.

So....since you're placing an Arduino at the heart of it are you going to release the source code as well?
:3

I happen to be a little Arduino nut! I'd love to hear about this more in detail, something like this is exactly why I got into electrical engineering in the first place!

Yeah I will go Arduino some day, I will.

Hey Captain Keytar, this Kévin has an accute accent: is he french?...

xombiexplox: We haven't discussed releasing the source code. I'll bring it up with Kévin and we'll see. The setup will be a bit complicated: we'll be using two Arduinos, one Mega 2560 for taking in the 50+ inputs, and an Arduino Uno that is dedicated to generating the signals, using a custom protocol to communicate between both units. So, our setup will be a bit... unconventional. We'll be dedicating one or more blog posts that go into the Arduino setup in detail at some point.

Stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive: Very perceptive! Kévin is indeed French.

FWIW, we had a great first test on Sunday. Connected the Arduino via a DAC to my Moog gear, and it worked wonderfully! The LFO and envelope signal quality was much better than I had hoped, considering the digital nature and limited bitdepth of the Arduinos. I even recorded some movies of the setup in action, except... they have no sound ...because my iPhone microphone is busted ...because I dropped my phone in a tub of ice cream earlier. Sigh. So, I'll have to record new movies with a different camera at some point.

We expect to spend about two months before the project is completed. I'll post a new topic at that point and show the end result in action. Check the blog for more frequent updates

Hey guys,

It's been a while, but we've made a lot of progress on the custom CV controller project. We recently added a lot more video and pictures on the blog:

http://spidercontroller.tumblr.com/



(And again, this is not a commercial project, just a one-off built by two enthusiasts looking to share their experience! )

We'd love to know what you think!

A quick update on where this project stands: the mother board itself is completely soldered, all that's left to be done is hooking up the user interface pieces: potentiometers, switches, buttons, LEDs and the big LED screen. We've also applied the first coat of paint, although it needs a serious redo. All in all, it's coming together!



Check out our further progress on http://spidercontroller.tumblr.com!

Hmmm looks nice

I am impressed!

A lot of nice work there!

Excellent work! I am looking forward to seeing your Spider in action.
Are you aware of the vintage Spider put out by EDP ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GeLjPrr47k

As few people know about EDP's accessories for their
Wasp and Gnat I hardly think your spider will create any
confusion : )

Hey everyone,

A quick update for those who are interested in DIY synth gear:

After the holiday season and a long trip abroad, we're back at working on the Spider. The enclosure has been professionally painted (black and red), and we've landed on a graphic design. Kévin applied a temporary cover, made from paper:



It's looking great. The final design will be applied via a sturdy decal, and will be more black than gray.

Kévin has finalized most of the hardware work, and is now ready to dive deep into the wonderful world of Digital Signal Processing Hopefully, in the next update we'll be able to show you some Actual Functionality. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Check out the blog if you want to learn more: http://spidercontroller.tumblr.com