News
This Interactive Synthesizer, The Monolith, Is Powered By Teensy Microcontroller
In this video from Tested, we get a demonstration of The Monolith synthesizer (7:15), a colossal DIY synth that uses the Teensy microcontroller to perform a variety of real-time musical functions like drum sequencing, a chromatic piano and much more.
The Teensy microcontroller, built by Paul Stroffregen, is essentially an Arduino microcontroller with specificity toward audio application development. The USB development boards provide extremely fast processors as well as a collection of audio libraries that anyone can use to create their own interesting audio applications.
Something awesome about the Monolith is that the voices it creates evolve and change over 1 minute intervals, allowing for a truly dynamic performance. As Darcy Neal explains in the video, the 8-step drum sequencer cycles through several drum sounds, creating a subtle variation that would honestly be hard to catch.
In the video below, you can watch another sound demo of The Monolith in preparation for The Maker Faire.