#waveboy — Public Fediverse posts

I've spent the weekend off and on working on another PCB revision to WaveBoy. The next revision will use purple PCBs to make the front panel. Not many people will see it (unless folks have transluscent cases, like my acrylic ones) but it'll help identify the board revision.

Folks that have already purchased the Pre-Release, worry not! This version doesn't add any features though I will have to keep multiple versions of the firmware around between the revisions, though that's no big deal.

The main change is switching up the right encoder wiring to use pin 0 instead of pin 13 for one of the encoder pins. Pin 13 is used by an on board LED on the ItsyBitsy which has to be removed for the encoder to work properly. This update avoids that extra step which makes assembly easier but doesn't otherwise change the functionality.

Otherwise it's minor updates: The SD card slot has been moved over so the card is easier to remove. The protection diodes are moved to the opposite side for using a keyed connector for Europower and I cleaned up a bit of a layout. After the pre-release (I have one PCB left), I will probably settle on the yellow/blue OLED displays as well as I can get those in bulk.

I plan on doing a medium run of 50 PCBs which, along with looking at some alternative suppliers, should keep the module cost lower. To say I'm a boutique Eurorack store is perhaps an understatement so while this thing would be much cheaper if I were able to make thousands, as much as I love my quirkly little module, I don't see it getting anywhere near that adoption. If it does, that's a great problem to solve for another day. But that does mean the cost of the module probably won't move too much.

Folks wondering about my Sampler tease, don't worry, I'll have a teaser video for that soon too!

#WaveBoy #Eurorack #Modular #8bit #Chiptune

Another quick sampler update. Lots of improvements made in the past few days:

1. WAV files now directly supported
2. Number of patches limited by file-system (so, a lot)
3. Menu scrolling through all those patche
4. Current sample number and name shown along the bottom
5. Switching from trigger to gate behavior
6. LOOPING!

Currently I only have forward looping supported and don't have a concept of sample "release" (where it plays through the loop to completion) but that's coming.

Looping is really fun because coupled with the variable clocked DAC, the samples can get really crunchy and end up turning into a completely different sound which can be further manipulated by other modules (such as distortion, filtering, reverb, etc.).

Hoping to make a video of that soon. Really I'm overdue for a full overview video where I actually go through all the WaveBoy features apart from just showing off random weirdo patches. That's coming too.

#WaveBoy #Eurorack #Modular #Sampler #8bit

Quick reminder, WaveBoy is now available for pre-release if folks would like to pick one up. Head over to bitbybitsynths.com for that.

I don't yet have a video demo of it. Partly because the UI could stand to provide more info and partly because I haven't gotten to it yet; but I implemented the sample banks sort of idea for the WaveBoy Sampler I was toying with.

Each patch is now a collection of 16 samples. Just like with the Wave mode, you select which sample you want via the CV input. The menu then lets you select from different patches (each with their own 16 samples).

Samples are still 8-bit and up to 64k. The sample rate doesn't really matter or is to taste based on the fidelity and sample length you want. Reading off the SD card seems fast enough to play samples of arbitrary length but I'm not yet sure if I should actually implement that. The limitation is kinda part of the game (noting for my DreamTracker program on the X16, samples are limited to 8k).

Still to do is adding meta-data (sample names, desired looping perhaps, sample-rate multiplier, etc.) and better nav of the patches but the foundational parts of the feature are there and I've already been able to jam out to some drums with it.

#WaveBoy #Sampler #8bit #Eurorack #Modular

Here it is! It's at the point where I think I'm happy enough for folks to try it out. I only have a few PCBs available but plan to have more made. The firmware is in a state I consider it usable though I do have some future plans for it. The original concept is basically there albeit without a few creature comforts (on-module wave generation algorithms for example). But it sounds just as I wanted it to and I think folks will really enjoy it.

It pairs exceptionally well with the Doepfer Wasp (A-124) module since the intentional aliasing really seems to drive the resonance and bring out that signature wasp sound.

It's been a long road and there's more to do but hoping folks give this a look see! Available on our store now! (bitbybitsynths.com). Be aware there's a week or so turn-around time to assemble the module since I'm currently making these to order. In the future I hope to have a kit version so folks that are handy with an iron can assemble the through-hole parts themselves (the SMD parts will be pre-soldered).

#WaveBoy #Eurorack #Modular #NowAvailable #Chiptune #GameBoy #4bit #lofi

Showing off two modes - "modern" (basically taking one of the algos from Wikipedia) and "GameBoy" wherein I tried to get my head around how it does it and implemented that. I think I got pretty close to the "buzzy" mode of the GameBoy.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S1AjJWpWfcU

The wasp (filter) is being modulated via LFSR also using the trigger on WaveBoy which works a bit like a sample and hold to the Step output.

I will probably expand on the assortment of noise options turning this mode more into general digital noise which offers up a menu of noise types. I haven't figured out if/how to make that controllable via the Frame CV (that's normally used to update the wave frame in the normal mode) or otherwise what to use that CV for. But I'll thinking of something!

#WaveBoy #Eurorack #Modular #Chiptune #Noise