Zynthian Open Synth Platform

[gimmeapill]

The Zynthian project went live:
http://zynthian.org/#section-home

I am aware there's a web shop and they sell kits, so this should in theory qualify for the Market place, but everything is open source, so I thought worth mentioning in the news section as a DIY HW+SW project.

Hi level description:

Zynthian is a new class of machine. A kind of swiss army knife of synthesis, equipped with multiple engines, filters and effects. Completely configurable and upgradeable.

An Open Platform for Sound Synthesis. Based on Raspberry Pi and Linux, its hardware specification is public and software is Open Source. It is fully hackable!

DIY (Do It Yourself!). A community-focused project where you can choose between build everything from scratch or use one of the kits that we offer, adapted to the different skill levels.

You can use it for live performing, studio production or as a tool for experimental sound exploration.

Hardware

Raspberry Pi 2/3 (ARM 4 cores, 1.0/1.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM)
Support for different Audio Interfaces: HifiBerry, AudioInjector, IQAudio, etc.
Support for different Touchscreens: PiScreen, PiTFT, WaveShare, HDMI, etc.
SD storage from 16GB.

Connectivity

4 x connectors USB (MIDI-USB host)
Standard MIDI-IN/OUT/THRU (DIN-5 female)
Audio Line output (Jack/RCA)
Optional Audio Line input (con AudioInjector)
Optional Headphones output (jack/mini-jack)
Ethernet (RJ-45)
WIFI
HDMI

Software

Real-Time Processing:
The preemptive Real-Time kernel obtains maximum perfomance while guaranteeing the needed RT response.
Jack Audio is used to guarantee low latency & jitter (<10ms).
Synth Engines
ZynAddSubFX: Additive/Substractive/Pad, polyphonic multilayer, effects
FluidSynth/LinuxSampler: Wavetable synthesis
setBfree: Hammond B3 emulation
Dexed: DX7 emulation (FM synthesis)
ePiano: Rhodes emulation
NoizeMak3r: Fat grooves and more ...
etc.

Effects & Filters

Reverb
Chorus
Flanger
Wah-Wah
Compressor
Overdrive
Lesslie
EQ & much more ...

Cheers,

LX

[finotti]

Very cool! If I played keys, I'd certainly give it a try!

[j_e_f_f_g]

Ever since kickstarter launched, I've been astounded by the plethora of "revolutionary, miraculous, infinitely adaptable, life-changing, new-era-of-super-computing technological breakthroughs"..... 99.999% of which look suspiciously like a chinese-imported, ARM-based $40 raspberry PI knock-off, stuffed with as much of Debian's repository as can fit on a 500 gig hard drive.

Someone had to say it. 'Cuz this is all sounding like an unending episode of "Shark Tank", where Laurie buys it all up to hype/sell on QVC, and Marc Cuban tells her she just got swindled.

[fundamental]

@j_e_f_f_g that complaint would be entirely valid if they were just trying to sell a raspberry PI, but zynthian is building off of the cheap small form factor computer that the raspberry pi offers. Heck the complaint might even be reasonable if they were just trying to combine different software with work specific to the raspberry PI.

Zynthian is one of a relatively small number of open source hardware projects out there with more than an individual driving the project forward. They have work put into enclosures, some basic knobs/buttons, a custom GUI designed for a builtin screen, etc. All of this for what amounts to a very niche group of individuals. There might be similar devices for this application, but (correct me if I'm wrong) this is the only such (reasonably feature complete) device available that is open software + open hardware.

[chaocrator]

...but (correct me if I'm wrong) this is the only such (reasonably feature complete) device available that is open software + open hardware.

well... you're wrong
look at PreenFM2, for example, it has been there at least since 2013.
and this little one is truly reolutionary — it made me to come to the hardware side of the Force.

update:
another notable projects with both open hardware and open software are Axoloti and Bela. (these two are using audio-programming-environment-platform approach rather than ready-to-go-synth.)

so, one more open hardware+software project is cool and welcome, but it's definitely not the first & not the only one, so not that revolutionary.

[j_e_f_f_g]

zynthian is building off of the cheap small form factor computer that the raspberry pi offers.

And that's a good idea. But my point is that there's absolutely nothing revolutionary or ground-breaking or noteable or worthy of the typically over-the-top hyperbole in these kickstarter campaigns. True, computers are getting smaller and more powerful, but that has been a long running trend in the industry. And there's nothing unique about loading a small-form-factor device with downloadable software. Smart phones started that trend years ago. And whereas doing a little hacking on a open source driver for an FTDI display is nice and all, again there's nothing special about it. I was fiddling with those displays years ago, and in fact my first gigging setup of BackupBand used the smallest form factor PC available at that time, with an FTDI screen, and a custom version of BackupBand tailored for that screen. And this was over 15 years ago. And while there were some original elements to it, I realized that it was in reality a hobbyist project using a lot of off-the-shelf parts, and therefore just an evolutionary step forward, made possible by me utilizing the prior evolutionary steps of others. It wasn't "revolutionary". And I sure wouldn't have called a customized pc with an FTDI screen running a self-written app "a
new class of machine", even back then. That sounds more ridiculous today. And that's what I'm poking fun at.

[gimmeapill]

Chillax guys, we can still enjoys the news without shooting down everything in flames

I agree that the sales pitch is a bit over the top with superlatives, but that's not a Kickstarter either.
(just to be clear, I have absolutely no link whatsoever with the project, I just found them randomly on the innerwebs and found it worth posting here).
Those guys apparently made it to production by themselves and are already selling the kits.
There's a small community of active users and development is ongoing,

I like that they're building on existing components (MOD-HOST + MOD-UI, r-pi & co, Dexed, Zyn..) which brings them to a lower price point.
This being said, building that box with the price of a decent master keyboard added brings them within shooting range of a small Yamaha Reface DX, so I'm not exactly sold either when it comes to portability...

[chaocrator]

actually, i probably would buy one.
there's nothing wrong with gear, only with pathos ))

[fundamental]

@chaocrator Thanks for the links. I've heard of bela some (IIRC they had a LAC presentation) and I think I've heard mentions of Axoloti. I had not heard of PreenFM2, though. PreenFM2 appears to be a single synth which builds off commodity electronic hardware with a quite nice enclosure, though it's only a single synthesizer, right?

One notable thing about zynthian is that it's very easy to change which synth/effect/etc is used on device which looks like it might require a recompile on the PreenFM2 (I can't verify that assumption as their website is throwing a 400 error at the moment). As per Axoloti/Bela they're both pretty cool, but they're much more of a development platform, no? Both PreenFM2 and Zynthian target something that could in theory be handed to a non-engineer and provide something of a more immediate value. I don't think that there's anything wrong with the dev platform approach, it's just a different use-case.

[chaocrator]

I had not heard of PreenFM2, though. PreenFM2 appears to be a single synth which builds off commodity electronic hardware with a quite nice enclosure, though it's only a single synthesizer, right?

right. a single 4-timbral unit (8-timbral firmware with reduced polyphony is also available)

[ssj71]

I wouldn't say Zynthian is revolutionary but its a rare (I would have said the only but that PreenFM is similar) project that is actually polishing up open synth HW and software for an end user to use. Mod Duo is close, but much to guitar centered to really be considered the same. Honestly I think its wise to leverage an open system like raspberry pi and existing open soft synths. I think its a great project and I'd love to see if people know of others like it (that are similarly open and plug and play synths).

It does take some sizzle to sell steak. And even if you're giving free steak, some sizzle won't hurt.

[briandc]

I like it!!
Great to see that hardware synths can also be open source. Really nice! And inticing..


brian

[tramp]

I think its a great project and I'd love to see if people know of others like it

The OWL is a other open source hardware pedal, which is open in hard and software as well.

It is available both as a guitar fx pedal and a Eurorack synthesizer module.

[chaocrator]

actually, great topic. at last, the community begins to pay attention to open hardware-based projects.

[gimmeapill]

actually, great topic. at last, the community begins to pay attention to open hardware-based projects.

Now that you talk about it, there's probably a good reason for open hardware-based projects to lack exposure: The "Linux Powered Mobile Devices" sub forum is still inaccessible to most users (including myself)...

(as discussed here viewtopic.php?f=26&p=88962#p88962)