Newsletter July 2026
I let the monthly frequency of these newsletters slip a little but there's a good reason. The MIDISID control surface is the biggest project that I've handled since I started to make musical instruments. Following a pre-order campaign that went better than I could have hoped, making and fulfilling those filled my July.
That means that this is a bumper issue and there are some themes. Drum machine / rhythm machine / drum synth? Alex gives his definitions and specifically looks at the latter. There are no less than two DIY drum synth projects. By coincidence, this time we see two instruments that fall somewhere between guitar and keyboard. One very new and one more traditional.
Home-made speakers also seem to be in vogue this month, from the serious to the ridiculous.
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So without further ado, read on for more musical news, views and reviews.
Contents
My world
Physical control surface for MIDISID
I've had this idea on my 'to do' list for a long time and what's held me back is the size of the project, in terms of the cost of the components as well as the development time. Would anyone else be interested?
Earlier this year I took the plunge and made a 'loadsa knobs' interface for MIDISID, akin to the Minimoog controls.
The SID chips within MIDISID are very capable, but experimenting with all of the features is a challenge with four encoders/buttons and a menu system.
I had no idea how many others would be interested, and so I used a 'threshold preorder campaign' to not only gauge interest but to get the commitment. The response was way higher than I'd expected and enabled me to order parts and spend the time building them.
Here's a video in which I demonstrate the control surface.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb4Z5P-hJ5M
Musical box module
I've been working on this project on and off for a while but have recently knuckled down and finished it. Or at least reached a point where I could present it.
The goal was to create a ballerina musical box with a wide selection of tunes by replacing the mechanism with an electronic module. The result is even more satisfying than I'd hoped.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E6ld1kIxoY
MIDI Inbox
Recreating Pink Flyod's Iconic EMS Synthi AKS Sound
Voltage Labs gives a little history about the Synthi AKS and then recreates On the Run from Dark Side of the Moon. She also demonstrates how to create the sequence using a Moog Mother 32 and a Eurorack system.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlNq6wxakVs
A potted history of drum synthesisers
Alex Ball gives his definitions of of rhythm machines, drum machines and drum synths, before diving into his history of drum synthesisers in collaboration with Tugg.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89s7T0NrDY
Diy drum machine with piezo triggers, memory presets and sequencer
Igor has made a drum synthesiser / sequencer using analogue circuits for the voices and an EPROM to record and play back the sequence.
I'm linking with a timecode to his demonstration near the end. Feel free to skip back (and find his previous videos) if you want more detail about the circuits.
youtu.be/0XeZAGgkflQ?si=hMAAHRsejzG4TlXt&t=2369
Drum machine from an old organ found in the trash
Veerle is a guest at This Museum is Not Obsolete and demonstrates the drum machine she made using components from old electronic organs. The sounds are good and contain useful modular components but the organs themselves are being scrapped because of their size and weight.
She also talks about a unique DIY semi-modular synth and a lunchbox flipdot display.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8npCN8zWU
StereoBoy
The StereoBoy is a digital audio player designed to fit in a GameBoy Pocket shell. The music and player software are stored on cartridges and the screen shows a visulaiser. The project is open-source and designed to be hackable.
hackaday.io/project/205771-stereoboy
Lagerphone in a Carnegie Hall performance
I found this video by David Bruce mildly informative and inspiring but what really made me excited was his mention of the Lagerphone. After learning about the instrument, he was inspired to build one and include it in a composition. He claims the first ever performance including a Lagerphone on Carnegie Hall stage.
My link has a timecode directly to this part. Feel free to skip to the start and watch his whole video.
https://youtu.be/_cX4I-r7Oos?si=WHhKESDwSMM49yDl&t=966
How Bob Moog changed everything
This is a delightful 5-minute watch in which Rick Wakeman reflects on Bob Moog, the MiniMoog and who it changed music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIuJZhDDfBg
Hard drive speakers
Hard drives are made for storing data, not for playing music. But they contain coils that can turn signals into physical movement and thus make sound.
In this blog post, Niv Singer explains how they achieved this. An embedded video shows the drives playing the music from a classic demo.
blog.innerlogics.com/spin-doctor
Make your own loudspeaker from scratch
If you'd like to build a speaker but your tastes are more conventional then this Instructables explains how to build one from scratch.
This Hackaday blog post discusses the build and provides a Google Translate link (the Instructables is in Dutch).
hackaday.com...make-your-own-loudspeaker-from-scratch
From toy to pro instrument
The Casio VL-1 combined a sequencer and synthesiser into a portable device. At the time it was very desirable. it looked great and its distinctive beepy tones featured on a couple of hit records. Our music teacher at school recommended them as an affordable device that would stimulate musical creativity.
It seems a little limited now, but Max has used the case to contain his own internals. His now plays sampled sounds, has polyphony and single-touch chords.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbmBMPSxh24
Pianoarc at Musical Bodies
The Pianoarc circular MIDI keyboard is just one exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition Musical Bodies.
There are instruments, paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more which explore the relationship between the body and musical instruments.
I'm linking to midi.org's article, it contains a link to the MMA's web page. The exhibition is on until September.
midi.org/the-circle-piano-comes-to-the-met-pianoarc-at-musical-bodies
Jordan Rudess Brings MIT's JAM_BOT to life
We've seen a few projects that use AI in a collaborative way and however you feel about AI generally, using it as a collaborative tool in this way has to be better than using it to mindlessly generate music.
This article describes the JAM_BOT system and has a video showing Jordan Rudess using it in a live jam. You can hear how the system responds to what he's played and develops it, allowing him to responds to that in turn.
midi.org/jordan-rudess-brings-mits-jam_bot-to-life...
DIY audio effects with contact mics and a microcontroller
Metal Marshmallow has been playing with a contact mic and Teensy 4 microcontroller. In this video he gets a couple of things working - a pitch-and-amplitude-follower and a beat tracker. Notable is the drag-and-drop audio software creation tool he uses.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHvIIQWhV4
Open-source DIY poly analog synthesiser
This is an analogue polyphonic synth (analogue signal path with digital control) that is open-source so you could build it yourself.
There's a 'conductor' module and this can control up to 120 of these voice modules.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0RlbqAYujU
USB sound card with 8 analog outputs using Raspberry Pi
This project turns a Raspberry Pi 5 into a USB sound card with signal processing and 8 channel output, or optional TOSLINK optical output.
github.com/RASPIAUDIO/CamillaDSP
Sound chips and retrocomputing
How Daydream Plus created a chiptune version of their new LP
Daydream Plus have recreated all twelve tracks from their new album using a tracker program and released them as a NES-compatible cartridge.
In this video, Payson from the band explains how the songs were translated to the format.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkH-5aP1Czw
Electric Jesus by Intensity played using zetaSID
zetaSID is a eurorack module that can be chained to create up to 12 voices with CV/Gate and MIDI control using the ASID protocol.
midiphy themselves have posted this video showing a zetaSID setup playing Electric Jesus by Intensity.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPD5pejYLZM
How Rob Hubbard's C64 music player worked
Luxocrates is on a mission to play the Rob Hubbard soundtrack for the Commando game on arcade hardware. In this episode he lifts the lid on Rob Hubbard's music player code and explains how Rob managed to fit so much SID goodness into such a small space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YWe811rehU
Products and reviews
Clarii Pro
The Clarii Pro is a digital wind instrument with a very advanced sound engine.
Flukutronic has explored the instrumnet across several videos. In this one he improvises to the tune Little Sunflower.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=811U10_JdwI
Performances
Master Boot Record at Chapel of Bones
This is a review of Master Boot record's performance at Raleigh's Chapel of Bones, supported by arottenbit who uses a Game Boy and illuminated trash can.
MBR originally made entirely electronic 486-themed metal music and have progressed to including real drums and guitars and live performances.
loudhailermagazine.com/concert-reviews/master-boot-record...
Traditional and acoustic instruments
Harpejji: the perfect instrument for both pianists and guitarists?
Also related to both guitar and keyboard, the harpejji is a modern 'tapping' instrument. David speaks to Tim Meeks who has been making the instruments since 2023.
It has an interesting whole-tone note layout and other features.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUeyO9F32mg
John Finnemore on the French horn/cor anglais
Have you wondered why the cor anglais has a French name meaning 'English horn', and the French horn has an English name meaning… well, 'French horn'?
John Finnemore did and found a bonkers explanation.
I'd prefer to link to John's own substack, but it's interspersed with ads and links to other things and so my main link goes to David Penfold's Mastodon post which is where I first saw this. He quotes the text in a much more readable form.
infosec.exchange/@davep/116702752713268309
This instrument could never be made again
Organs have been around for a very long time. They used vacuum tubes for a short time. There was an even smaller window for models that used neon bulbs for frequency dividing.
Emma has obtained a Philips Philicordia, complete with documentation and a rhythm record and gives us the story and a tour.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nga80rzjm6Y
But is it art...?
All that remains is for me to thank everyone who blogs, vlogs, writes articles or posts pictures on the subjects I'm excited by.
Nor can I do the things I do without your support, so thank you for that.
If you're on the email list then please forward this to anyone who may be interested. If you've received this email from a friend, then please consider joining the list, the sign-up form is below.
It's always good to hear from readers for any reason and I'd particularly like tip-offs about about any relevant stories, video, websites or social media accounts that I should be following.
Happy music-making!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
shiela@peacockmedia.software
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