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 Forum index » DIY Hardware and Software
A Hardware Boolean Sequencer
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Inventor
Stream Operator


Joined: Oct 13, 2007
Posts: 6221
Location: near Austin, Tx, USA
Audio files: 267

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:26 pm    Post subject: A Hardware Boolean Sequencer
Subject description: Converting software to hardware...
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Hi everyone, I was recently complimented by several folks on my music software which is based on a thingie that I call a Boolean Sequencer. In fact, folks even expressed interest in making a hardware version of it which I think is way cool indeed! So I'm opening up a thread to discuss the topic here on electro-music.com.

So what is a Boolean Sequencer? It is just logic hanging off of a binary counter. Believe it or not, you can get awesome tunes by just putting a tangled mess of logic off of a binary counter. I like to use sum of products logic, but really any logic will do.

I should elaborate more, but let me end this initial post with a sample of Boolean Sequencing. Just play the audio file below to hear it.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of building a hardware version of a Boolean Sequencer, please post in this thread. I will be happy to share all details of course. Cheers and be good or else be really really bad, haha!


KNoW_Wave24.mp3
 Description:
Boolean Sequencer Music Example

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 Filename:  KNoW_Wave24.mp3
 Filesize:  1.8 MB
 Downloaded:  1372 Time(s)


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andrewF



Joined: Dec 29, 2006
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Location: australia
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

sounds good!
would you be able to draw a block diagram of your thoughts

anything like this? -
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~aland/PAPERS/ACMA2000forWWW.pdf
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Inventor
Stream Operator


Joined: Oct 13, 2007
Posts: 6221
Location: near Austin, Tx, USA
Audio files: 267

PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hi andrewF, that paper sure looks a lot like it, and it was published in 2000 so they got me by eight years! Nothing new under the sun, eh? Well in it's current form the Boolean Sequencer is a little bit more than that because it walks up and down a scale, but yeah that's probably the basic concept right there.

I always knew that this thingie was just an old idea which I had embellished, and now I see that is true. Ah well, it's worth making in hardware for synthesizers anyway. I'll work on a schematic for it soon, but here is a verbal description of the sum of products version.

You start with a binary counter. Say it's an eight bit counter. The bits each go into an AND gate and each AND gate has a SPST switch that sets it's other input to either zero or one. They all go into an eight input OR gate. Then you make some number of those structures, k of them, so that you have k outputs. You then have an adder that adds up how many outputs are one. Add that to a MIDI note and that gives you your frequency.

That's one example of how to do a Boolean Sequencer but there are many other ways, including walking up and down a scale which I do in the above audio sample. I'll try to get a schematic going soon.

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fluxmonkey



Joined: Jun 24, 2005
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Location: cleve

PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

great idea, looking forward to more detail. might this also be akin to grant richters hardware neruons?

b

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Stream Operator


Joined: Oct 13, 2007
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Location: near Austin, Tx, USA
Audio files: 267

PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

bbob wrote:
great idea, looking forward to more detail. might this also be akin to grant richters hardware neruons?

b


Hi bbob. It is different from that hardware neuron, though that neuron looks pretty interesting also! This concept is based on truth tables. You have a counter and each sum of products expression produces a truth table entry then you do something interesting with that truth table output. Hope that makes it a little more clear.

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Inventor
Stream Operator


Joined: Oct 13, 2007
Posts: 6221
Location: near Austin, Tx, USA
Audio files: 267

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I just googled "Boolean Sequencer" and this old thread from a year ago came up as second on the list, so I thought I would insert a link to the development thread which is here:

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-36165.html&postorder=asc

If you read that thread (well, skim over it i guess cause it's long), you will find that the project originated as a single board with a Boolean Sequencer and a Karplus Strong circuit. It has since evolved into two boards, one for the Boolean Sequencer and another for the Karplus Strong.

At the time of this writing the Karplus Strong board has been manufactured and tested working, and will hopefully be available for sale soon. The Boolean Sequencer board is still under development and a first run circuit board is planned for later this year.

I hope you enjoy reading about these boards and listening to the music samples and radio shows linked in the development thread. Have fun and enjoy!

Les

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Sound



Joined: Jun 06, 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 1:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Very Happy Thanks Inventor. I was impressed listening in radio electro-music your boolean sequencer.

I'm interested in. I'll build it.
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Inventor
Stream Operator


Joined: Oct 13, 2007
Posts: 6221
Location: near Austin, Tx, USA
Audio files: 267

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Sound wrote:
Very Happy Thanks Inventor. I was impressed listening in radio electro-music your boolean sequencer.

I'm interested in. I'll build it.


Great, I hope you enjoy the project!

Les

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