New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

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honki-bobo
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New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by honki-bobo »

Dear fellow modular enthusiasts,

I have just released a new sequencer module, the Psych-Tone Sequencer.
It is currently on introductory sale for only $5, so go get it while it's hot!!!

This module is based on the sequencer part of the "Psych-Tone" synthesizer as published in the "Popular Electronics" magazine from February 1971.

It uses 6 JK flip-flops that basically form a shift register to create a 63 note pseudo-random sequence. The jacks in the left-most column let you tap onto the flip-flops outputs (normal and inverted) for further usage. The LEDs visualize the state of each output.

The behavior of the shift register - and hence the order of the sequence - can be controlled with the scale and direction switches above and below the Tune Select column respectively. The shift register can be triggered by the internal clock ranging from 0.1 Hz to 20 Hz or by an external source via the clock input jack.

The outputs of the flip-flops can be selected to generate a gate signal. Each switch in the Pause Select column selects a flip-flop output to use for the gate signal, where the gate will open if any selected flip-flop output is high.

In the Tune Select column you can select the flip-flop outputs that will contribute to the CV value at the output jack. Each knob selects one of the 12 flip-flop outputs. If the selected output is high, then the corresponding voltage set in the Ratio column will be added to the output value. An offset voltage can also be added to the output value with the knob next to the output jack.

When modulating the Tune Select or Ratio, you can enable S&H for each modulation signal. The S&H is triggered either by the internal clock or (if connected) by the external clock signal.

Features that have been added in this software version compared to the original design:
  • clock input jack for external triggering
  • output jacks for the flip-flop outputs
  • LED indicators
  • modulation ability for Tune Select and Ratio
  • S&H for modulation
  • CV offset on output
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UrbanCyborg
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Re: New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by UrbanCyborg »

Hey, I remember that issue! Way to go, Martin! 8-)

Reid
Cyberwerks Heavy Industries -- viewforum.php?f=76
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honki-bobo
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Re: New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by honki-bobo »

UrbanCyborg wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 11:46 am Hey, I remember that issue! Way to go, Martin! 8-)
Thanks, Reid. The issue was a few years before my time, though :)

I actually got inspired to implement this module by videos by Sam Battle, aka "Look Mom No Computer" (here)/"This Museum is (not) Obsolete" (here and here)
Last edited by honki-bobo on Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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UrbanCyborg
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Re: New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by UrbanCyborg »

Way to make me feel old, Dude! :D That was around the last issue I ever looked at. I did play for years, though, with a fuzz box I built from an even earlier issue of the mag. Diode clipper, as I recall. Still have it, in a keyboard gadget bag I probably haven't opened in years.

Reid
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ColinP
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Re: New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by ColinP »

Thanks Martin for posting that PDF, the description of the Psych-Tone includes an insert reference to the Triadex Muse. This was the object of my desires for some time as a boy and I'd forgotten about it. It was probably what triggered my interest in sequencing.

In the UK we didn't have the Popular Electronics magazine. But I fondly remember mags like Practical Electronics, Eletronics Today International and Wireless World.

Youngsters of today just use the internet but back in the early 1970's magazines like these were pretty much the only source of info for tech enthusiasts, although I was lucky enough to live in a city with a fantastic Technical Reference Library that had text books on electronics and even one or two books on programming in state-of-the-art languages like FORTRAN and ALGOL. Amazingly in the same building there was the Record Library where I could borrow obscure 12" vinyl with recordings of work by the likes of Varèse, Stockhausen and Xenakis. I'm extremely grateful for the civic funding for these two libraries.

Anyway, sorry for the rather off-topic nostalgia trip. :D
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honki-bobo
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Re: New module release: Psych-Tone Sequencer

Post by honki-bobo »

ColinP wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:39 pm Anyway, sorry for the rather off-topic nostalgia trip. :D
I remember transferring (i.e. typing) the code of games in "basic" from magazines to datasette on my Schneider/Amstrad CPC 464. That was basically our "Git Hub" :lol:
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