MiniTeensy | Minimoog Inspired Synth

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NickCulbertson

Member
Hey Everybody!

I wanted to share my latest Teensy project, a 6-voice polyphonic virtual-analog synth built with Teensy 4.1, inspired by the iconic Minimoog Model D. It includes full subtractive synthesis, USB audio/MIDI, a menu interface and a bunch of encoders.

"DIY Minimoog Inspired Synth | A Teensy Powered Tribute"

It’s been a while since my last Teensy synth, but since then I've wanted to make a Minimoog-style clone. I learned a ton through trial and error, and hopefully some of that will be useful or inspiring to others building Teensy-based synths.

I’ve had mixed results in the past when combining pots, multiplexers, and microcontrollers, but the Teensy 4.1’s pin count and USB audio/MIDI support allowed me to simplify a lot of the hardware stuff this time around.

Full project on GitHub (code, wiring, and details):
https://github.com/NickCulbertson/Mini-Teensy-Synth

Happy building!
Nick
 
FWIW This noisy readings from pots that you mention in the video can be easily solved by filtering and hysteresis. Pots provide full range of real time performance that Is useful if you want to sweep that filter fast. I get 100% stable readings from my pots (I have 48 pots plus 48 hall sensors)

Also since you are celebrating Moog it is worth noting that ladder filter from Audio library is not equivalent to Moog filter since it is not behaving like moog filter in extreme conditions/modulations/overdrive.
 
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tomas said:
FWIW This noisy readings from pots that you mention in the video can be easily solved by filtering and hysteresis. Pots provide full range of real time performance that Is useful if you want to sweep that filter fast. I get 100% stable readings from my pots (I have 48 pots plus 48 hall sensors)
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Just make the filter linear, then it'll sweep fast. 😉

Yeah, you might be right. I'm also using a breadboard and Dupont pins so basically everything is an antenna. 😅 And the Teensy was sending power to my MIDI controller, LCD, menu encoder, and pots. All that to say, I couldn't figure out exactly where the problem was. I stopped fighting the ghost in the machine and just upgraded the board. I don't doubt that a multiplex is the way to go, I've seen them in countless projects. But for whatever reason I couldn't get a stable reading from them. Cheers!
 
Everything (esp VCF and VCO) in Moog is logarithmic, using 1V/octave convention. Human frequency perception is log too. Linear frequency sweeps don’t sound natural.
 
tomas said:
Everything (esp VCF and VCO) in Moog is logarithmic, using 1V/octave convention. Human frequency perception is log too. Linear frequency sweeps don’t sound natural.
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Yes, that was the joke. (Hence the winky face.) I think anyone that has worked on a soft synth quickly learns that a linearly mapped cutoff knob doesn't sound right.
 
tomas said:
Also since you are celebrating Moog it is worth noting that ladder filter from Audio library is not equivalent to Moog filter since it is not behaving like moog filter in extreme conditions/modulations/overdrive.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was just watching a video on how the drive could affect the filter on the Minimoog. It's pretty cool stuff! I've used the AudioKit Moog ladder filter in Soundpipe for iOS, but I opted for the built-in Teensy stuff for this. I think the bigger non-Moog thing is having it be polyphonic, but even Moog's Model D app has that.
 
I've ported this app to our Teensy 4.1 Mozart board and it works a treat. Next job is to add System Exclusive and drive it through webMidi until I get the interface sorted out.

Nice one.
 
ThinkingMetal said:
I've ported this app to our Teensy 4.1 Mozart board and it works a treat. Next job is to add System Exclusive and drive it through webMidi until I get the interface sorted out.

Nice one.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That's awesome you got it up and running! I'm going to maintain support for this build, while making a shrunk down build with additional synth engines. The code will run on both.
 
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