Smallest USB-C MIDI Synth

MuffinFlavored · 2023-12-15T22:32:00

Does this guy make a living doing this kind of stuff? His results are always so high-level/unique. It feels like he puts 100s of hours into the results.

I'm always so worried like "corporate has their foot on my neck, I need to make sure I logged enough work to Jira and am showing enough sprint points worth of delivery week after week".

I can't imagine just being "free" and getting to do what I want/when I want/at my own pace/investing this level of time + effort + resources into passion projects...

I guess it's not a super big investment money wise. Probably $100-$200 in prototyping materials. But how much time are we talking? A few hours a day/night on average after work? For... years?

manicennui · 2023-12-16T01:03:09

I've been doing this for a couple decades now, and I've never had a job where I had to put in more than 40 hours on a regular basis. At most I've put in a few extra hours due to some rare circumstance a few times per year.

There are better employers out there.

JKCalhoun · 2023-12-16T01:19:17

Yeah, subtract 40 hours from a week and you have plenty of free time to do all manner of things.

But if you come home from work and drop down in front of the TV/PC/XBox you'll think there aren't enough hours.

jojobas · 2023-12-16T02:00:08

Pretty sure he's done all that in front of a PC.

Jedd · 2023-12-16T03:19:43

Author wrote a rant (self-labelled) on this subject in 2018.

Read https://mitxela.com/rants - head down to the Spare Time and Hard Work heading.

Applejinx · 2023-12-16T14:08:23

I bounced from that to the earring project he mentioned, and I'm just happy this guy exists. I'm strangely happy that he and I go through suffering, too. I've long suspected this is part of the human condition, much like this hackiness (in the best possible sense) is part of the human condition.

Talk about sharing the message instead of the mess. Well done, tiny electronic trinket guy :)

adamredwoods · 2023-12-16T04:20:25

I read the article before it. Absolutely beautiful.

>> The solution is obvious, and any companies that release products in this day and age that inflict on their users the monstrosity that is the firmware update .exe should be ashamed.

jareklupinski · 2023-12-15T23:57:15

https://mitxela.com/support

i knew a guy who was one of the first digital artists to do patreons, before that he streamed on twitch and had a paypal donation button in his profile

he was easily one of the better artists streaming at any time, but i was still surprised how fast his bills got paid when just a few people started signing up to his subscriptions

when you think about it lump sums, living off your savings seems difficult, but when you can thrive off a monthly amount, the calculus becomes much more do-able (but you have to maintain your audience)

eternityforest · 2023-12-16T08:42:19

This project would likely take about 3-5 days at a few hours a day after work for an experienced engineer, including video editing, plus shipping time, and random research here and there on a phone.

It could also be done much faster, but then it would start to feel like work.

The cost could be closer to $50 to someone who had the tools.

If you're willing to use leaded solder paste it might be even cheaper and easier, but I'm sure as heck not.

porbelm · 2023-12-16T11:09:59

Dude also has an SMT machine on semi-permanent loan for those tricky jobs :)

NotSammyHagar · 2023-12-15T22:51:34

I'm not a hardware person, but I'd say he's living the dream life. Hacking on stuff that he is having fun doing. Not many people could get time off to do it, make a plan and execute it. I love his snarky comments and that he's apparently running some software tool from 1998 in wine on linux.

trollied · 2023-12-15T23:31:21

His volumetric candle is AMAZING https://mitxela.com/projects/candle

ipalreadytaken · 2023-12-15T22:47:51

There is something very humorous about seeing these plugged into a hub that has each port labeled 10 Gig.

jh00ker · 2023-12-16T08:03:23

The macro zoom on the pads of his fingertips is so high that this video might be considered a security breach of his fingerprints! This could be worse than when people accidentally share a photo containing their house key!

palemoonale · 2023-12-16T08:38:29

So extensively detailed for a build report, but only very short sound demo? I also read it is basically producing a square wave only, so i'm having trouble recognizing this as a synthesizer, with no real synthesis, modulation, filter going on at all. More appropriately called a "greeting card sound chip with USB-MIDI", won't even categorize (as low-complexity as these are) as PSG.

merelysounds · 2023-12-16T14:05:45

Single oscillator synthesizer is still a synthesizer.

It’s not just the square wave, you also have an option to start and stop the sound (envelope). Sure, it’s basic to the point of being almost useless[1], but that was the goal I guess.

[1]: Although a device with similar capabilities called Stylophone ended up in Space Oddity. Details: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylophone

eternauta3k · 2023-12-16T07:04:25

The photo where you can see his fingerprint in high-resolution gave me a little pause.

chrismorgan · 2023-12-16T03:54:53

> I have one that only works in certain orientations, which is just so distressing and the opposite of what USB-C was supposed to be

The Nokia 2780 Flip has a USB-C charging port (… even though the box says Micro-USB) and it only works in one orientation.

Rochus · 2023-12-15T23:32:30

Funny, but it's not actually a synthesizer; or can it do something else than playing a square wave?

tecleandor · 2023-12-16T00:55:34

Well, it synthesized nice square-ish waves of different lengths. I'd say that's enough for me

mortenjorck · 2023-12-16T04:20:25

If it generates an audio-rate waveform, and you can influence that waveform, it’s a synthesizer by my definition.

15155 · 2023-12-15T23:19:39

I recommend red thermoset chip-glue for keeping those SMT connectors in place during double-sided reflow.

fiips · 2023-12-16T13:09:15

What a beautiful demo, very reminiscent of the sounds of the 8-bit microcomputer era.

csdvrx · 2023-12-15T23:57:02

> USB-C extension cables are technically against the spec, but that doesn't mean you can't buy them and all kinds of other nonsensical cables and connectors. I have one that only works in certain orientations, which is just so distressing and the opposite of what USB-C was supposed to be, but it'll do to give us power while I poke that SWIO pin with a probe

I loled so much there!!

Funny parts aside, that's a wonderful design!

I wonder if it would be possible to do the same but with a small SoC running Linux, with wifi and/or bluetooth, a LED and a buzzer so a bit like a smaller and simpler Pi Zero W that would fit inside a regular USB A? (like sandisk thumbdrive or some bluetooth dongles)

Oh and it would use usb-gadget to enumerate as a USB serial so you could either connect to it with picocom to actuate the LED and buzzer with AT commands OR through bluetooth SPP or ping!

Then you could have a wireless orchestra!

porbelm · 2023-12-16T11:06:02

Some cheap manufacturers make USB-C cables (and ports) that only wire up the one side of the connector, because, hey, we only need USB 2 right, defeating the whole point with the connector.

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