The White Tornado is the piano-playing, songwriting alter ego of mild-mannered physics professor Dr. Bill Peterson, and was born in the blues jams and funkin' jazz jams of Eastern Iowa. His main pursuits are writing music, getting funky, building things, playing video games, and drinking coffee.
I'm 72 and my wife and I are starting a Soul/Motown band and this might be what we need! She plays: 1st keyboard- piano, 2nd Hammond M solo-organ (awsome sounds), 3rd ? We really need great R&B horn sounds. I've got a Nektar SE 25 midi controler, can this all joyously come together?
I just built my kit a few days ago but I have a few questions and if you answer them in later videos I apologize. The first thing is for whatever reason if I switch patch from my midi controller the screen does not change accordingly, which is kind of annoying when I’m trying to remember what patches I like. Another thing is the momentary switch doesn’t seem to do anything on patch selection. A music note appears in the corner of the screen but nothing happens. And lastly is there a way to change boot options so I don’t have to bother with banks I can just load into sound fonts and scroll through all their sounds individually without going menu diving.
The advantages I see of banks is the ability to do the splits as well as effects.both of which I’m sure I will tinker with at some point but I’m really just trying to use it like a guitar stomp box and fiddle through the presets until I find things I like
Sorry for the slow response - your midi controller likely is sending program changes, which directly changes the preset number in whatever soundfont is selected on that channel, not the patch. If you want to change patches with a midi message, you can create a router rule with a "patch" parameter. I don't have a video on this yet, but it's explained in the docs: geekfunklabs.github.io/fluidpatcher/bank_files/#router_rules
Thanks! The SquishBox is on the floor/ground and I'm using a Vortex Wireless 2 keytar in all the clips. I find this is the best solution - MIDI controllers use very little power so your batteries last through multiple gigs. Building the Pi into the keytar would eat batteries. I used to keep stacks of rechargable AA batteries and a charger on my amp during shows when I had my AX-Synth
Sorry but these soundfonts are pling plong nothing more. Record one tone and play other tones in different speed is a bad method. Try Pianoteq STAGE trial a mega difference.
hi , i tried installing this fluid naked synth in raspberry pi 2 B and it installed successfully but after reboot it does not starts automatically.. what to do..
Is it possible to create a sequence whose root is the current note being held? It would be like triggering a sequence when a note is pressed, but then adding the note to the sequencer base notes.
Synthesized guitars are hard to get right because IMO a big part of guitar sounds is the effects, and tweaking things to get just the right tone. You can use LADSPA effects in the SquishBox to add distortion, compression, etc., so I think it should be possible - just haven't found the right mix yet 😉 Once I do or someone does we can provide a nice guitars bank right out of the box!
This is amazing - I was wondering: Is it possibly to run the SquishBox with SamplerBox's software? Basically, I love the interface/design of the SquishBox kit, with 1/4" cable outputs, the rotary push button knob, LCD screen, etc. But I like the simplicity of SamplerBox's software, and the idea of just using WAV files and a thumbdrive to play the samples better suits my needs. Is it doable? Thanks in advance!
Sure! Samplerbox gave me a lot of inspiration for this project. Since it's also written in python, it should be pretty easy to write your own interface for it using the squisbox API: geekfunklabs.github.io/squishbox/software.html#api-reference
The SquishBox uses FluidSynth by default, but as long as the VI will run on a Raspberry Pi (looks like Pianoteq does have a linux version), you can write an interface for it using the squishbox API: geekfunklabs.github.io/squishbox/software.html#api-reference
awesome. questions: are both audio input and output restricted to mono? is the demo using a midi or audio looper (external or running inside the squishbox)
The SquishBox only has audio output at the moment - with only the left plugged in as I did in this video it outputs mono. If you plug in both outputs you get stereo. Sorry, no looping yet, as stated in the video description - I overdubbed the parts with recording software and edited it together.
The SquishBox currently only has audio outputs - mono if you plug in only the left output (as I do in the video), stereo if you plug in both. Sorry, no looping yet (as I stated in the description - didn't mean to false-advertise) - I overdubbed the parts and edited them together to make it look seamless.
Sorry - the link in the video description needed updating. The updated requirements and install procedure are documented here: github.com/GeekFunkLabs/fluidpatcher#requirements
This should happen automatically when you connect it to one of the Pi's USB ports. You can report any specific issues here: github.com/GeekFunkLabs/fluidpatcher/issues
I've never had one to test, but with a regular Pi 3B (not 3B+) I had noticeable latency when playing. I'm guessing the 2B+ would be worse since it's a good bit slower.
Maaan i would love one like this but with two buttons for changing patches. My squishbox's rotary button doesn't work right and I can't do the patch changes on time :(
Rotary encoders are fiddly. You can tap/step on it to advance one patch. You can also use router rules to change patches using buttons on your keyboard: tinyurl.com/2taj7ta7 You can even set specific CC messages to change patches in SquishBox.py tinyurl.com/2bw75cpr
I installed the software and get "Root path "/home/og/SquishBox" not found!" when starting the web app, although the directory is there. What's going on?
3:22 jawdrop: I never knew cc 11 could be used for that! I was always looking for that extra volume parameter to separate gainstaging vs dj-style channelmutes (0 or 127) so thank you for tthat! may the funk be with you
Please, do you have an update to this video. I've just spent all afternoon trying to follow different instructions and got absolutely nothing to work. Eeek!
Hopefully I'll have a chance to create an updated video soon, but until then you can post details of your issues at github.com/GeekFunkLabs/squishbox/discussions and I can help you troubleshoot
@@white2rnado Trying it multiple times today with a Rasberry Pi 2 and the same keyboard as in this video, it seems like the script just isn't running properly, like there is some error/incompatibility.
I have been troubleshooting for 2 days and there´s no way of making work with any of mi Pies. With windows 11 it works fantastic, but with Raspberry it just disables the audio jack and enables hdmi audio by default. Audio jack does not even appears listed.
hi i just bought one and was wondering if there was any way of configuring the exact signal sent from it? i wanna use it as a toggle switch and it seems to be only working as a "hold" switch meaning i have to keep my foot on for my effect to be toggled on and once i lift my foot off the effect shuts off
Sorry for the slow reply. In your DAW or effects module, map or set up a midi rule so that control change 64 on channel 15 with values 70, 75, 80, and 85 activates the effect, and values 100, 105, 110, and 115 deactivate it.
So, how much for this? I can buy a Galaxy tab A7 or 8 for $80 to 100 and have a giant touch screen and endless apps. Just holding onto outdated solutions. Pi projects end up cost 2 to 3 times a tablet in 2023!
Store link is in the description. There certainly are more apps available for a tablet, but there's less ability to tweak things if that's what you're into. I'd say it's down to what form factor you prefer.
@@white2rnado I see your project is really you sharing a cool idea and your skills. I'm a bit jaded on count of some folks are charging insane prices for their kits! Didn't really see you are making nothing here. Thank you for sharing. Cool stuff.
At this point, old tablets or old phones are cheap enough to just go that route. They have touch screens, powerful processors, and intuitive ui. I am just starting back into music and will be focused on cheap tablets running dedicated apps and midi controller as if they are hardware synth. Controllers labeled to the vst/app. Pretty much an endless possibilities at roughly 200 to 300 per 'synth' setup.
Seems like someone did it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Sec7Sf4q34s.html. It would be nice to set up something that just requires your Pi and a MIDI controller. I've only messed with PD a bit, but this is on my list to try.
Around 15 seconds if you follow the instructions in the video and description and set up on a fresh RPiOS install. There are tweaks you can search for to speed things up a bit if you need.
very nice video! I would like to use this for electronic drum pads, can I add custom sounds and trigger them with different pads/midi notes? (also, Im currently making an adc with an arduino, y already made the "octopad" part)
Yes, you can do this. You create a soundfont with your different drum samples, then write a bank file that routes the notes on your pads to different notes in the soundfont. You could even set up one of your pads or a slider to switch patches, so you could have multiple sets of drum sounds.
@@white2rnado Im already picking up signals from my piezos on an arduino, and already have the piezos set up in an array like with cymbal support whole, so Im halfway there, :D trying to install your amazing software in my raspbi3 now
Just saw this today, and thinking it may be just what I need. I've a Pi4A+ board that now I get to print a case for to get itto d o something useful for me (I hope.) May have space for a hat to add buttons and an I2C screen on as well. Still would be fairly low profile I think. Thank you.
And two made. 1 Pi3A+, and 1 Pi4 2G. I doubt that I'll be performing any time soon, but it gives me some way to listen while dabbling. Thanks for the great work. Going to need a headphone amp from the sounds of things. Have a fun, and keep up the good work.
Glad it's useful! You could also use the PCB from my other video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-64-OijJMXRo.html - that has an onboard DAC with line-level output.
@@white2rnado I may go with that on another build. I don't know if I ran into a flaky pi3a+, or some other issue. Amber showed the volume at max, but audioout of fluidity was low. Amp works with it. I didn't bring either on this trip though. Next time. :-) I will have to work out the codes for controls for three different keyboards. All in good time. I will consider the board though. And I do have a separate audio board hat I can try. Thanks for the great work!
The microcontroller used in this circuit is an ATMega328p (same thing as in an Arduino UNO), which is an 8-bit controller running at 16MHz, so with this device you are stuck with appreciating the 8-bit crunchiness 😉
do the sounds have to be soundfonts or are vsts also supported? and if not can i convert vst to sf2? and if i do that will i lose quality and/or functionality? sorry for the questions but im new to midi in general
No worries. VST and soundfonts are different types of things - SF2 are files with samples and rules about how to play the samples. VSTs are plugins - mini-programs designed to run inside a DAW (digital audio workstation) program such as Ableton or Ardour. There's no direct way to convert a VST into a soundfont. You _can_ use a soundfont editor to sample the sounds a VST makes (or any instrument/audio source) and create your own SF2 file. FluidPatcher only uses soundfonts.
For me, a Raspberry as a MIDI controlled synthesizer is so obvious that I wonder why there is not more fuzz about it. As far as I know, Korg Kronos and Yamaha Motif are actually Linux computers inside a piano keyboard.
This is my feeling as well - if my keyboard basically has a computer inside it I want to be able to rewrite the code if I want to. That was part of my motivation for this.
