Conference napalm::commusic_v1

87.0. "PAiA Just Intonation" by PIPA::JANZEN () Tue Apr 23 1985 14:04

I built and last night plugged in the PAiA EK10 Just Intonation Generator,
which can, if you buy a DIP to DIP cable from Radio Shack, plug into the
socket that cheap organs have the 50240 top octave generator IC in.
The pitch was a fourth higher than the 50240, so I will think that one over.
Maybe I'll just leave it.  Obviously, some fifths are way out of tune
(like d-a, f#-c#, others) and the rest are perfect perfect fifths, ratio 2:3.  
I have no comments about the scale used, but it worked.  I was not thrilled.

This is one of the underdocumented kits that are a little cheap for what they
are.  You should be pretty electronical to be able to build it.

My synthesizer is 5 octaves, built on Don Lancaster's mid-70's Radio
Electronics Magazine articles about how to build a synthesizer from
CMOS logic.  I built it to get out of school.  The articles don't show you
the output buffer amp, the chassis, or the power supply.   And the envelope
generator is crummy.  I made a new one out of 339 op amp variable pulse width
oscillators, and even they have mutual interference problems.
I also built a calibrated quarter tone clock.
Note that you should not buy off-the-shelf crystals for the clocks.
Learn how to specify crystals and buy them through the mail from crystek
or somebody, so that your synth is in tune.

Maybe it would be nice to have a computer-programmable clock board that
could have many different twelve tone scales, or a harry partch scale.

Did you see that show of movies on public tV saturday night or sunday night
about Brian Eno, Harry Partch, and that percussionist, van Teigham?

Thomas