Unsung Machine

I thought this little project might be of interest here:

A unique controller for using words to control synths, shape sounds and generate melodies.

Here's how it works:

Enjoy.

Hello Wavne,

That's a beautiful... instrument? You call it controller, for me it's almost an instrument :-) Beautifully made and again a very creative idea of yours! I am overwhelmed and heavily impressed :-)

I still remember the sequencer you made with a turntable, for those of us who joined this forum after that day back in 2019, here the link to yet another great creation:

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/7983

Is this Unsong machine/instrument/controller for sales and if yes, how much would that be? Those 8 character "machine" what was that originally or did you made it from "scratch"?

Thank you very much for showing your great creativity and I hope you will keep surprising us with more creative creations :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Thanks for your kind words Garfield. Yeah, I guess I'm describing it as controller because it doesn't actually generate sounds, well not in this current incarnation. I figured CC was a better route to go down as it would be more a more versatile device connecting to modular systems and other synths. For example, I'm currently feeding the CC from the wheels into a Polyend Tracker to make generative sequences, but also using the the same CC to shape and morph the sounds of the synths the Tracker is sequencing. It just seemed like a more powerful way of doing it, given how well designed almost all music gear is this modern golden age. It also meant the entire device could run pretty comfortable on a single Arduino. I've been using the Polyend Poly 2 to convert CC to CV for the modular system. The 'record' and 'play' wheel work really well at reading and then blending all the CCs. I always wished the crossfader on the Octatrack could be assigned to control multiple CCs but for some reason it can't, so that's why I added that functionality.

I made it from scratch and I'll be posting a 'making of' video in the next couple of weeks. I've also started uploading videos of the musical results here:
https://www.lomondcampbell.com/unsung-machine-live

I'd be open to commissions down the line but would like to concentrate on making an album with it for now.

Thanks again for your interest...and for remembering the turntable sequencer!

Hi Wavne,

Thank you very much for the additional background information. I am still stunned about the beautiful look of this "machine" :-)

Is there any hope that in the future you would "extend" this Unsong Machine with CV out? That would be perfect for a modular system! :-)

I look forward in hearing your new album made with/by this Unsong Machine, kind regards, Garfield.

That's really kind of you.

Yeah, I think CV could be pretty easily done. It could also function as an 8 step sequencer.

Will keep you posted on the Unsung Machine album!