miniAtmegatron

miniAtmegatron

Mini price. Maxi sound.

The miniAtmegatron is a small 8-bit kit synth. It comprises of a DIY kit shield, Arduino Uno and enclosure. The audio engine based on the Atmegatron. If you’re a dab hand at soldering and want to dip your toes into the 8-bit ocean, this could be the synth for you! The package comes with instructions, PCB, all the electronic components, MIDI-hacked Arduino Uno and perspex enclosure.

Features

Build

  • 0.5 – 1 hour build time, depending on experience
  • Soldering experience recommended
  • YouTube tutorial to help building
  • Once built the shield slots into the top of the Arduino Uno
  • The enclosure can then be assembled around it
  • Powered by USB
  • Audio via 3.5mm mono jack

Play

  • 8-bit monophonic MIDI synthesizer
  • Unique Wavetable PWM Synthesis audio engine
  • Controlled via 2 RGB LEDs, 5 buttons and 6 pots
  • Instantly playable using inbuilt sequences or play button
  • A huge number of Atmegatron features in 1 tiny device
  • Save sound to memory for future use
  • MIDI via USB port on Arduino to computer or USB MIDI host

Hack

  • Download the open source code from the downloads page
  • Download the free Arduino development environment
  • Upload the source code to the Arduino Uno and it’s ready to play!
  • Tutorials and forums to help programmers

Specification

Synthesizer
16 waveforms LFO with 16 waveforms MIDI clock sync (if Uno MIDI-hacked)
15 digital filter algorithms Filter and pitch envelope modulation Sequence player with 15 sequences
2 Envelopes with 16 preset shapes Pitch and phase LFO modulation 8 Wavecrusher or Portamento presets
1 memory patch Filter, amplitude and pulse width LFO modulation Phaser and distortion fx
Inputs/Outputs Extras
3.5mm mono jack Assembly and operation instructions
Power via Arduino USB or 12V PSU (not provided) Perspex enclosure kit, all parts provided
MIDI via USB (Arduino comes MIDI-hacked)

Synthesis Engine

The miniAtmegatron synthesis engine is based on the Atmegatron engine, with some features cut back or removed because of the simpler interface. Like the Atmegatron, the mini uses the PWM output of the Atmega328P processor.
To find out more about the synthesis engine, see the Atmegatron page.
To find out more about the differences between the miniAtmegatron and Atmegatron, see the products page.

Connectivity

The miniAtmegatron is a MIDI USB device. This means that it can be connected to a computer and controlled via a DAW or USB MIDI keyboard. It can also be connected via MIDI USB host device. A USB MIDI keyboard cannot be connected to the miniAtmegatron directly.

Besides the on-board controls, it is also possible to control the miniAtmegatron entirely over MIDI CCs and also several control surface templates (such as Lemur) available on the Soulsby Synths website.