Ras Pi synths

The Studio
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There is no topic in here about this yet, so now there is. :slight_smile: I just bought a Rasberry Pi 4 in a fit of pique during the Amazon Prime days as it was on sale. I have always wanted one because of the huge variety of things you can do, but I never really dove into the music angle until I had clicked the buy-now button. Lo and behold, there are a shed-load of options for using Pi in your studio, so I thought it was high time to 1. Make a list of such things, and 2. document my journey through the world of Pi in music, and encourage others to jump in with their experiences.

So here is a list I will try to dutifully maintain, of various things you can do with Pi in your studio.

  1. use it as a midi host
  2. create a synth/effect monster via Zynthian
  3. install Patchbox OS
  4. install Sunvox over linux.
    …install any number of other synths, primarily over linux, like Qsynth

Anyone else doing/have done/want to do stuff with a Pi? Please share your experiences. :grin:

2 Likes
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I have one. In my opinion version 2.5
I installed NON DAW on it. https://non.tuxfamily.org/

Very little memory to install something worthwhile, for example Linux daw Ardor
I can’t solder.

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I’ve always wanted to turn my Rpi into a synth but then I’ll always say, “what about MIDI ports?”.

1 Like
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Is there any software that would let me turn a SBC into a hardware sequencer that works like the 80s machines?

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what do you mean with “80s machines?” like the Roland step sequencers?
I have been mostly interested in using mine for a sequencer of sorts…it should have enough power to do all sorts of sequencing things. So far I have seen a few Midi “hats” for the Pi, but also started to look at arduino as a more firmware/analog option. Less software layer, no GUI interface to speak of, just sequencing with knobs and buttons. But then I keep thinking I really want a touchscreen because it is more flexible. Not much of a point here I guess, I just wanted to comment that there are tons of ideas, and even a few solutions available if you google around a bit.

vis-a-vis Midi, you can also just get a USB-Midi adapter, they apparently work well with RPIs.

1 Like
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Thanks for the heads up creepr…I appreciate it.

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That Zynthian thing looks dope but why does the tax cost so much?

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What the hell are you even talking about. Bro.

The only synths I know of are made by the korg and the moog.

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If you’re interested in live coding, you could try Sonic Pi (you’ll have to google it as I can post URLs) which is based on the SuperCollider engine.

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Yeah that looked cool too. :slight_smile: i found a few other things to add so I will update my list soon.

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I only saw this thread new, install Sonic Pi!

(Late to the party, see 2 posts above)