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Thank you! I guess I must have read about the envelope follower but had either failed to register it's significance or forgotten about it entirely, I now have something further to investigate - much appreciated! No Arduino here. This uses an IC salvaged from a old voice changer: an OKI MSM6322. I got a lot of useful info from this thread: electro-music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?highlight=msm6322&t=60585 The build incorporates a mixer for blending the pitched signal with the original and includes an insert jack for adding effects to just the pitched signal - such as the Boss reverb used here. It's all very lo-fi. I've long wanted one of those half-rack Boss pitch shifters but never come across one at a price I could justify paying. I've subsequently built another pitch shifter device, this time based around a PIC, which is a bit more successful but still some way off from the 910, It might well get posted here in due course. Not sure if I can really claim these projects are 'attempting to recreate the Low drum sounds'. That was the starting point as inspiration but sometimes the best scrambled egg is the result of a failed omelet...

@@wildchurch Now I don't recall where I read about the env fol, and also not sure where he even got an env fol cv, maybe from a 2600 or from a compressor side chain output. I'd also love to find a project that can do 910/949 style pitch shifting. I haven't seen much DIY exploration into these things. I wonder if part of the weirdness of these early devices had to do with the rudimentary DACS.

@@ghostexits Thank you. I've just done a little reading up on this, wondering if there'd be some way of implementing an env fol into my projects but it seems unlikely given the chips found in voice changers, such as the one used in my build here, have discrete pitch steps with significant intervals between them. That means sudden jumps rather than sweeps. As I understand it, with the H910 the env fol was shifting the pitch somewhat smoothly. Good food for thought though as this technique might lend itself nicely to dynamic pitch shifting with an LTC1799 mod in some other project. Thanks again, I've now got a new avenue to explore. Cheers!

What's funny is the DR-550 was grabbed at random for this with no thought to whether or not it would provide a suitable sound source! Some sampled real drums, snare especially, would be far more appropriate for the intended purpose. Cheers!

Neither do I! This is not an entirely serious video, hence the name of the device I absolutely love the Low era albums and the use of the Eventide Harmonizer. As there's no way I could ever afford to buy one myself, I thought to try experimenting with a cheap pitch shifting chip and delay - the results were questionable hence the name' Oddtide Hansa-rizer'. I also made no attempt to program any Dennis Davis rhythms and the cheap Boss drum machine isn't the best sound source either! Thanks for commenting and giving me the chance to attempt an explanation/excuse!🙃

Merci! Almost 20 years since I built the PAiA from a kit and I've only recently twigged how to get it grooving. LOL

Cheers! Two oscillators and dual filters at your service!.

I'll have to open it up and confirm the exact circuits used. It wouldn't have been anything particularly special for the driver circuit - a simple opamp and I note from my description above that I used a modified mic pre-amp for the return. I can see from the video at around the 1:10 mark that it was based on a now defunct kit purchased from Akizuki Denshi here in Japan. Again, a very simple/nothing fancy circuit but for the life of me, I can't recall the modification I made. The main issue I have with my DIY builds is they easily distort due to over-powering the spring tanks, so I was likely attempting some way of attenuating the signal both out and back in. I'll happily open it up to take a look and report back - just give me a day or two. These things are forever a work in progress but I enjoy the experimenting. Cheers!

I tried modifying my subminiature hybrid amp that I had built as a standalone amp, since I’ve come into possession of an amazing PA amp which I’ve converted into a loud guitar amp. Long story short I used the submini amp for driving the reverb tank input and out from the reverb tank goes into another submini tube (6n16b) as a preamp into a single transistor driver and man does it sound cool…just need to add a dry mix pot into this now…like you mentioned experimentation really is the key isn’t it!!!!

I might be wrong but I suspect that it was only available in the Japan. There is a Japan Music Copyright Association (JASRAC) license number and stamp on the inner cover, so due to music publishing laws I guess any version outside Japan would have been licensed differently, perhaps with a different selection of music? That's my hunch anyway. I've never seen reference to it in other regions. I understand that it was included with the SAS-20 itself. It doesn't seem to have been sold separately as there is no price shown on the cover which would typically have been the case if it were, plus it's the kind of extra domestic manufacturers (of all kinds of products) provided in Japan. Cheers!

@@wildchurch Thank You for Your time giving me this answer. I was asking because I have bought Korg SAS-20 yesterday (I am waiting for the package now). There is not too much videos with this vintage hardware on YT. My KORG doesn't have any papers with it saddly. I was hopping to find this book in pdf format on the Internet, but no luck. Thank You, one more time, for the asnwer Friend.

@@pierrenagonio No problem - I really like this keyboard. As you say, there's not much info out there so I'm always trying to uncover more or generate some interest, so I'm happy to have any opportunity to comment about it. You may already know but the Owner's Manual is available as a PDF online (on Korg's website) and there's also a Service Manual on the net. Anyway, hope your SAS-20 brings as much joy as mine has. Cheers!

@@wildchurch Got both: Owner's Manual and Service Manual. That was the 1st thing I did to get more info about this hardware. Found some info about it on one website but could'nt find Music Book. Strange. I will record sound via AUX and try to make a music with sound from it. See U next time Friend!

@@wildchurch Have it in my house! Enjoyed it a lot! Nice retro keyboard!

Thanks! I've always liked the word 'contraption' - it implies a purpose or means of achieving some goal in a way that is seemingly slightly ridiculous. That exactly what's going on here! Cheers!

@@wildchurch Awesome to see and hear that you are embracing your creative abilities, I have missed hearing from you. Cheers!

Thank you! I'm not particularly fond of the sound myself. Luckily, there's a volume control!

Thanks. I'm happy with the art deco reference - it kind of evolved that way as it moved along, especially as the 'noise' it was generating evoked the contemporaneous Intonarumori of Luigi Russolo.

Thank you. I believe I'm advancing my know-how with these builds. Really, I'm just taking ideas from others and applying to my own nonsense. The challenge comes in that it's built from odds and ends and repurposed junk. If it still functions in six months' time, without recourse to maintenance and adjustment, then I'll have broken a personal record. Cheers!

Thanks! the art aspect is what I'm concerned with most. Regardless of whether it works properly, or sounds OK, since these thing clutter up the living room, it better resemble 'art'. That way, when a visitor asks "What's that?", I can reply, "Oh, that's art". Otherwise I'd have to say "Well, it's just something I was trying to get working but it's got some issues. Anyway, how about a cup of tea?"

One can tell you were thinking it through. I'd stay for many more cups, just to discover more of the hidden vernissage.

@@ludwigkopp8130 Next time you're in Tokyo, I'll put the kettle on!

@@wildchurch that would be the best reason for me to cut a ticket there.

Thanks - I'm not on here, or anywhere online, much these days - not sure why except time is precious so making stuff gets prioritized.

Hi. I didn't do anything with capacitors here. In my mod I just replaced the on circuit trimmer (that let's you adjust pitch via a hole in the underside of the case) with a regular pot mounted on the top panel. This only allows a narrow range of adjustment. Internally, there is a coil than can dramatically sweep the pitch but that's impractical as a real time option. There may be a way to achieve hands on control of wider pitching but I don't have the schematic in front of me to speculate further at this moment. However, I'll take a look at it again and comment here if any ideas come up - it's something I'd like to explore further anyway, Cheers!

@@wildchurch wow.. The only method I could think of was using a variable voltage power adapter, as I already had one.. The thing is that volume also drops drastically, as I lower the pitch even by the quarter-step.. I suspect, this king of adjustment should be made internally (Thank you, anyways)

It's possible to some extent but with some limitations. For realtime recording, you first arm the track or tracks and then hit start so you could have multiple tracks armed and jump between them while recording. To do so you'd tie each track to a separate MIDI channel in order to record them independently of one another. Therefore having multiple controllers, or keyboard zones, assigned to separate channels would allow this. Of course, there'd be blank sections on any tracks that weren't receiving any MIDI data at that moment, so, for example, you wouldn't be able to record a 2 bar loop on the fly and have it running while switching to another track to lay something over it - if that makes sense! Cheers!

Thank you kindly! Your comment itself stirs memories of similar experiences from the past which I know play into the reasons for making these things today. It's about responding to feelings and sensations without the need to explain them. Of course, I'm doing this entirely for myself so if they resonate with anyone else, that's a bonus!

I'm sure it's doable but as to how difficult it would be to implement, I cannot say. I'd have to examine the circuit/service manual and refresh my memory. If you're knowledgeable of such things and want to try, you can find a link to the service manual here: electro-music.com/forum/topic-39684.html

Cheers!

“Good artists borrow; great artists steal.” Picasso (possibly purloined from TS Eliot)

Thanks, much appreciated!

Cheers Max - hope you're keeping well.

Thanks. Glad you picked up on the final pic's intent! Although, it's probably wishful thinking that autumn is around the corner as there's at least another month of heat to contend with. That particular leaf was probably a sign of heat stress, unfortunately!

Thanks! It's been full-on natsubate this year - all movement has slowed to a crawl...

Thanks! There are no schematics as such but the device is built around the common 4017 chip sequencer and some analog drum voice circuitry. For the former, you could use or adapt the very popular Baby 8 sequencer and for the latter, there are numerous drum circuits you could try. In this case I used this design: park19.wakwak.com/~gadget_factory/factory/rhythm/index.html - credit goes to Gadget Factory for making it available and creating a PCB design. The 'clever stuff' is interfacing the two components. Simple on-off switches would be the easiest solution but the peg matrix is what gave the original machine its charm. The easiest solution might be switching jack sockets - ones that make a connection when a jack plug is inserted but that would be costly. I happened to have a whole bunch of microswitches so used those instead but it required a whole lot of planning for a reliable construction where everything lined up properly. Then there's the wiring with diodes to ensure the signal path is only triggering sounds as intended. None of this is complex in theory but since there's no 'off-the-shelf' solution for a peg matrix that I'm aware of, the physical construction is the tricky part - unless you're willing to spend a lot of money. There are perhaps some scraps of paper somewhere that I used to sketch out how the peg matrix might best be assembled but they would mostly apply to how I was working with the parts I had. I tend to repurpose stuff for these builds so a BOM wouldn't really make sense, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask! Cheers

@@wildchurch You are a peach :) Thank you! I'm sure I'll be in touch when I get started!

Cheers!

Yes! I got the same after checking the upload. I wonder if they greet guests with a "Nice to see you, to see you...." lol

Cheers Ludwig! Time is my scarcest resource these days but I had to get this done before AI takes over and out-nonsenses us all!

@@wildchurch indeed. What we should fear more than AI: natural stupidity

Thanks. The flush fit was hoped for but credit goes to a certain degree of luck that it came out just right.

leading to more leisure time for one and all!

My external sync mod is slightly unreliable - still a work in progress and needs revisiting. Your best bet is to download the service manual and experiment - available here: elektrotanya.com/korg_sas-20_sm.pdf/download.html Basically, you need to find a suitable point to tap into the tempo signal which is present at pin 2 of IC19 on PCB KLM-456 (see page 9 of the service manual). You can also see pages 26 & 27 for reference as they show the clock signal waveforms produced. I forget exactly where on the circuit I did this but since it's a work in progress, I haven't written it up. Another point to be aware of is the circuit has a 'floating' ground for the IC chips which are supplied with +5v to +10v so you'll need some means to offset the external signal to avoid issues. I performed a later mod to allow external triggering of the SAS-20s individual drum sounds. That's a lot easier to manage - although, again, I haven't done a write up.

Yeah, not sure why but I'm deeply drawn to 'objects moving in space'. Cheers!

@@wildchurch aren't we all.

Thanks for the kind words!

Thank you!