v0.1.0
This is my flavor of the well troden controlling of cassette players for musical effect. I wanted everything self contained on the microcontroller to take advantage of USB-MIDI — specifically via the OP-Z, Ableton, Norns, etc.
Zach Scholl's tape synth was where I started, but he uses a browser based means to interface with devices. Adafruit's Walkmellotron was also clearly strongly referenced, but I prefer Arduino/C++/Platformio1. And of course the Onde Magentétique, but as Zack also notes it's hard to find and it also lacks direct MIDI control.
1 only because of my surplus of Arduino/Platformio compatible boards.
Install PlatformIO
This project uses PlatformIO for compilation and flashing. Install is pretty painless, here are step-by-step directions for VSCode.
| Platform | Commands |
|---|---|
| Arduino Pro Micro | $ ./build.sh or $ ./build.sh pro-micro |
BOM
| Item | Qty | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 5V Pro Micro2 or any microcontroller with ATmega32U4 chip | 1 | $19.50 |
| MCP4725 12-Bit DAC with I2C Interface | 1 | $4.95 |
| STEMMA QT / Qwiic JST SH 4-pin (optional) | 1 | $0.95 |
| GE 3-5362A Cassette Player/Recorder or any cassette player with speed control | 1 | $10–$20 |
2 clones work just as well and are a fare bit cheaper.
Hacking the hardware
Instead of detailing out here how and where to hack everything together. Just follow the guidance for Adafruit's Walkmellotron. The significant departure is my code is C++ (Arduino flavor) and uses a Pro Micro.
- http://www.ondemagnetique.com/
- https://schollz.com/blog/tape-synth/
- https://learn.adafruit.com/mcp4725-12-bit-dac-tutorial/pinouts
- https://learn.adafruit.com/walkmellotron/walkmellotron-midi-controlled-tape-player
- https://github.com/dlynch7/MIDI2CV/blob/master/arduino/midi2pitchvelcv.ino
- https://www.instructables.com/Another-MIDI-to-CV-Box-/
- https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pro-micro--fio-v3-hookup-guide/hardware-overview-pro-micro
- https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/mcp4725-digital-to-analog-converter-hookup-guide?_ga=2.266092367.1379041089.1665742907-687045790.1655520030&_gac=1.253447675.1664901297.CjwKCAjws--ZBhAXEiwAv-RNLxT1Ol8tYm_PkuOTt1EH5tQFU9bTH4QvtzIU3BcFZRBBi3jo2xX8KRoCHscQAvD_BwE
- https://www.guerrilladigital.cc/2021/03/10/i-spent-the-last-two-weeks-researching-and-making-endless-cassette-loop-tapes-and-this-is-what-i-learned/