Atari Punk Organ, a simple 555 synthesizer

This is my Atari punk organ, it is a 555 timer piano run through an Atari punk console monostable generator, the piano is based on another instructable I made: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-an-electronic-piano-with-a-555-IC/
it has 2 speakers which both play different sound at the same time, which makes an interesting sound and it is tunable using the trimmer potentiometers so you could in theory make an accurate scale, the notes are also layed out like on a piano.
Another feature is a potentiometer that controls pitch bend and a rotary switcjh to change the capacitors on the organ, changing the sound.

Step 1 Video

This is a video showing what it sounds like:

Comments

[nonekiller]

Is there any way I could get a schematic of the whole project not just two different? Nice project Btw, i liked your loved your last one.

[josh1324]

Excuse me, but the picture in step 5 is mine. I don't appreciate it's use without my permission. The least you could've done was give me credit.

[sholtob]

im sorry, i got it off a website called synthtopia and it has a link on the picture to robthefiddler.com that i presume it was on first, i thought that the link on the picture was enough credit but i will give credit to the website in the instructable

[josh1324]

well, the picture isn't entirely mine, but I have made modifications to it (the output terminals and the coloured resistor. Here is the original page from www.robthefinder.com: link. You may notice that the resistor is not colored, and there is no ground for the output.

[sholtob]

you didnt give credit to him at all, and what you changed is allmost negligable

[josh1324]

the link in the picture is his/her credit, but you still took the picture directly from my instructable.

[sholtob]

i assumed that you made it, i didnt bother to look that your username was different

[josh1324]

Okay, it's fine. But you should always PM the member before using a picture from the instructable.

[sholtob]

i will do in future

[pfred2]

I like it! I used to make 555 noise makers all the time. I never made one this elaborate though. One thing I have found making audio oscillators with 555s is the capacitor you use to trigger them really matters. As in the same values of different types can get you different sounds. I know it doesn't sound like it makes much sense, but I've noticed a dramatic difference in tones myself.

My favorite capacitors were these clear plastic ones what I could see the silvery foil inside. They just sounded the best to me. Try ripping apart a bunch of old radios, I think that is where I got mine from. I'm not sure if they are available to buy today, or even what they are called if they were.

They might be polystyrene though. yes, this is them:

http://praudio.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/polystyrene-caps-pic1-500-85.jpg

Some of those can sound really good. Electrolytic can caps are kind of nasty. Maybe you can put in a rotary switch where you can change the capacitors you use? I've made 555 timer things like that. It is pretty cool.

[sholtob]

yeah the rotary switch im using has 6 pins and im only using 3 so ill probably add some more capacitors to it at some point

[pfred2]

If you can find any clear polystyrene ones check them out.