1. • I thought that Crystal Ann Palma Lagria’s Laser Ukelele was certainly interesting, and modifying an instrument in that way, turning it into a midi controller, is an extremely interesting prospect for the final project. This demonstration was the first one I watched and certainly got me excited for next semester.
   • Max Chidzero’s E Cajon was another example of this type of instrument modification that I thought was super cool, and I feel that this combination of electronic and acoustic components can be an interesting way to modify the way in which we traditionally think about how we play digital music.
   • Yasmin Williams’ Drum Glove absolutely blew me away. I think that is both because the Drum Glove is so applicable, and the demonstration combined it with acoustic guitar performance spectacularly.

2. The first project I found was a non-musical robotic hand, which the user could control. The hand would memorize the positions and be able to repeat the ways in which the user moved it by itself. https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/ChanR19/simple-programmable-robotic-arm-bd28a0?ref=similar&ref_id=143911&offset=0

The second project I found was a Bluetooth Midi-Controlled Reed Organ that could take MIDI files and used a vacuum motor to work like a pump organ or player piano without the pumps. This was a big project, using three big Arduino chips, and the creator had to attach solenoids to each key on the keyboard. https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/willem-hillier/bluetooth-midi-operated-antique-reed-organ-787495?ref=search&ref_id=music&offset=299

3. In digital electronics terms a switch or button is a analog input, an LED is an digital output, and a potentiometer is an analog input.

4. I took Intro to CS at NYU Fall 2019, where we worked in Java, but I admittedly did not enjoy it or do that great. Previously I’d taken a community college course in CS concepts Spring 2019.

link to multisim site –

https://www.multisim.com/content/ovLz4q7mWrNNCASNSLRFuB/monostable-multivibrator/open

I found this project online that used a 555 timer chip in a monostable multivibrator to create a timed nightlight that would stay on for approximately 20 minutes.

1. • Fuzzrocious Pedals – https://fuzzrociouspedals.com
     • Fuzzrocious is a boutique, Philadelphia-based pedal company that specializes in analog fuzz pedals. I think that this company is particularly interesting because of how inventive they are even with fuzz pedals, which often seem to be relatively straight forward. Pedals like the Cicada Fuzz, an oscillating fuzz tremolo, or their Croak, which they describe as an “expressive double filter fuzz” highlight this creativity. I also love how all of their pedals are built and painted to-order, which, while takes a long time, makes the craft much more interesting and meaningful.
   • Zvex Effects – https://www.zvex.com
     • Zvex is another smaller pedal company, most famous for their Fuzz Factory pedal, a fuzz with particularly unique gate and “stab” controls. The fuzz is paired with filters that can make the sound resemble anything from a computer glitch to tearing velcro off the wall, and the pedal is designed so that the fuzz cuts off as soon as you stop playing, which is an interesting feature that I really love.
   • BOSS – https://www.boss.info/us/categories/stompboxes/
     • BOSS is perhaps the biggest pedal manufacturer in the world, and I have certainly used and own a few of their pedals. While their analog distortion pedals like the DS-1 Distortion and Metal Zone are very often attacked with (not unfair) accusations of producing derivative, unoriginal, and static tones, they certainly are ubiquitous. I actually have a BOSS DF-2, which is both a distortion and feedbacker which I believe was discontinued in the 1990s. This “SUPER Feedbacker & Distortion” provides both a classic BOSS distortion sound and allows the user to hold down the pedal to hold out an feedback-like overtone of the sound going through the pedal, which I love and have used quite a bit over the years.

It seems that larger companies often make the most basic forms of each effect, often creating the baseline, while smaller companies focus on more creative and specialized modulations of effects.

A pedal that seems unique is Fuzzrocious’ “Playing Mantis”, a drive pedal that also features a very strange synth-like oscillator that can double the signal. Even after reading so much about it, I feel that it is best understood by just watching this demo video:

A momentary button sends a momentary signal and would pop back up again to allow for another immediately. A latching button holds down and sends a constant signal and would have to be manually turned off.

Link to circuit:

https://www.multisim.com/content/6N9SgHwJgjQvBedK96yAaK/week-10-lab/open

1. If the signal is distorting, the wave would look like the wave in A, where you can both the positive and negative ends of the wave clipping.
2. The sine wave through this circuit would look like the wave in B, where only the positive half of the signal is distorted, since there is only one diode.
3. Since there is no resistors in the Op Amp circuit in the second diagram, these two would sound the same.
4. With this circuit, if you turn the crossfader all the way to one side you’ll hear the clean signal.  If you turn the crossfader all the way to the other side you’ll hear the distorted signal.
5. If the crossfader is in the middle, you will hear the average of the two signals.

1. With the oscillator we are studying, the comparator outputs a square wave, and the integrator outputs a triangle wave.
2. With an integrator, if Vin is positive the output voltage ramps up. If Vin is negative the output voltage ramps down.
3. With a comparator, if the op amp’s + input is connected to a greater voltage than that connected to its – input, the op amp’s output will be about +9v DC.  If the op amp’s + input is connected to a lower voltage that that connected to it’s – input, the op amp’s output will be about —9v DC.
4. The bigger the resistance R you use the slower the ramp gets, and the bigger the capacitor gets the slower the ramp gets.
5. To turn this monophonic synthesizer to a polyphonic synthesizer, I believe that you would need an extra comparator for each note of polyphony. For example, 8-note polyphony would demand 8 comparators, which explains why analog synthesizers are so infrequently polyphonic.

Adding a resistor and a capacitor to the inputs and outputs of the circuit is a good idea because the resistor can block any excessive AC current and the capacitor will block all DC current from going through the circuit.

The inverting amplifier, while also amplifying the signal, shifts the waveform 180 degrees. The noninverting amplifier does not.

video elements for this lab.

In the display section of the Oscilloscope, there is the power button, which turns the machine on or off, and the focus / intensity knobs, which control how thin / thick the wave is and how bright it is, respectively.

In the horizontal section, you can control the waveform’s horizontal center with the knob furthest right. The large knob is the the time/div knob, which changes the horizontal width of the waveform by affecting the amount of time represented by each mark on the graph.

Below is the vertical section. You can control the vertical height of the waveform with the volts/div knobs for each channel. You can also control the wave’s vertical center with the y-position knob and the type of current going through each probe, be it AC, DC, or ground.

The trigger controls on the top right-hand corner allow you to choose when the wave is displayed and which source is controlling that. The level-hold knobs are what allow you to focus on the wave in order to measure it.

The probes that stem from the vertical section each have two connectors that can be attached to two different points on the circuit. In. the video above, there are two different sine waves, and one’s amplitude is being affected by the potentiometer on the circuit. The potentiometer changes the resistance on the signal, going from about 1 Ω to 10 kΩ., with 1 Ω allowing 100% of the signal to come through and 10 kΩ not allowing anything at all.

1a. When you go to solder a component, you need to first wet your sponge, see if there’s any extra solder on the tip of the iron, and if so, wipe it off on the sponge. Then, turn on the iron and wait for the it to heat up and ensure its at about 750 degrees—usually the hottest setting. Then, test with the solder to see when it is hot, and then finally touch the iron to the component.

1b. Once you are done soldering, you need to wait a few seconds for the solder to cool and wipe off any extraneous solder onto the sponge. Then, place the iron back into the holster. After that, turn off the iron and make sure that the circuit is cool enough to touch before you pick it up.

2a. Before measuring current or voltage on the multimeter, you need to check that you are plugged into the right side, depending on which you want to measure. You also need to ensure that you are measuring DC power, rather than AC.