Axoloti - hardware modular environment

[thetechnobear]

you can allocate midi channel and devices* however you wish... to different voices or same voices, you choose its up to the patch. e.g. you could have 4 separate drum voices each one voice, and a string patch given 4 voices etc. so yes, multi-timbral

the limit is your imagination and processing power ! (you could of course use more boards for more power)

delivery time is very close, here you can see some of the boards of the production line:
https://www.facebook.com/axoloti.be

* Axoloti now supports both hosting of usb controllers (e.g. midi controller) and being a usb device (i.e. to connect to a computer).. it also has a few more h/w features than originally specified include SDRAM and USB Host port.

Ive been lucky enough, over last few months, to help in testing the prototype board, and I really do love it, can't wait to see what the 'axoloti' community will make with it

[whyterabbyt]

I forgot all about this when it was being funded. Can we assume there'll be a proper commercial version at some point?

[thetechnobear]

not quite sure what you mean by 'proper commercial version' ... the shipped version from indiegogo are very much 'proper versions'

if you mean, will there be an opportunity to buy if you hadn't pre-ordered/backed campaign.
I believe Johannes hopes to make more available, obviously, after all backers have their boards, not sure how quickly after, as will need web-shop, and also he may want to wait a short while for some initial feedback.
(but I don't think it would be too long... production/process is all in place)

note: this is just my understanding... Im sure Johannes will make it very clear after funders have their boards, which is obviously keeping him very busy and is complete focus at the moment.

best bet for news at the moment is the Facebook page, but 'watch this space' ... lots happening very soon!

[whyterabbyt]

not quite sure what you mean by 'proper commercial version' ... the shipped version from indiegogo are very much 'proper versions'

if you mean, will there be an opportunity to buy if you hadn't pre-ordered/backed campaign.

Yes, by 'commercial', I mean sold to people who didn't donate. I don't personally consider kickstarter etc campaigns to be 'pre-orders', as there's no guarantee that the product will actually be delivered; most of the crowdfunding systems are clear that that's the case. Its more like volunteer venture capital than preordering.
That's not an objection to that system, btw, just a differentiation; Ive donated to multiple KS type campaigns.

[NNevez]

you can allocate midi channel and devices* however you wish... to different voices or same voices, you choose its up to the patch. e.g. you could have 4 separate drum voices each one voice, and a string patch given 4 voices etc. so yes, multi-timbral

the limit is your imagination and processing power ! (you could of course use more boards for more power)

delivery time is very close, here you can see some of the boards of the production line:
https://www.facebook.com/axoloti.be

* Axoloti now supports both hosting of usb controllers (e.g. midi controller) and being a usb device (i.e. to connect to a computer).. it also has a few more h/w features than originally specified include SDRAM and USB Host port.

Ive been lucky enough, over last few months, to help in testing the prototype board, and I really do love it, can't wait to see what the 'axoloti' community will make with it

Great!
My intention will be having probably more than one board.
I think it will be needed, the more processing power the better.

Do boards attach to themselves easily or soldering will be needed between boards?
I´ve never DYIed electronics, but i think i can have someone do this for me if it is somehow complicated to mount.

[thetechnobear]

Great!
My intention will be having probably more than one board.
I think it will be needed, the more processing power the better.

Do boards attach to themselves easily or soldering will be needed between boards?
I´ve never DYIed electronics, but i think i can have someone do this for me if it is somehow complicated to mount.

you might be surprised how good one board is - multiple voices, sequencers, samples playback... I was pleasantly surprised

there is some provision on the board for 'chaining', so they can be soldered (i guess header pins for ribbons?), but its not supported in the firmware yet.
so Im planning on initially connecting together via usb hub for midi, and then a small mixer.

This will be an area i want to do some work on, once Ive access to multiple boards

(remember its all open source... so the community can help develop features too)

[Shy]

Is there a list and details about available modules? (sound generators/oscillators, delay, filter, functions, etc.)

[thetechnobear]

theres not a text page describing all the objects (at present?), instead the objects are all searchable/categories in the Axoloti UI. for 'help' axolotis approach is similar model to Max, where each object is getting a help 'patch' which can be selected to demonstrate how it works, and you can cut n' paste from that into your own patch.

there will soon, on release, be a download which will make it easy to install and run, so you can see for yourself.

(if you want to see a 'raw' list, the code including objects is in github: see http://axoloti.be , on github you will find a directory called objects, which has subdirectories for each 'category' ... but as Id say, its easier to view in the axoloti editor)

anyway its all the stuff you would expect - different oscillators, filters, fx, lfos, envelopes, UI components (dials, sliders, scopes, stuff for sequencers), maths, utility (selectors,routers etc) , audio in/out, logic, midi, tables... the list goes on and on... Ive not found anything 'obvious' missing.

(oh, and there is support for creating your own objects and also sub-patches (like macros in Reaktor) )

with so much stuff, thats where the tutorials/demos/help patches become important, and theres lots... which go from basic to pretty complex. (see patches subdirectory in github)

of course, then there is the community aspect, which can help people get up and running, and also share patches and objects etc.... this is a side that I'm really excited about.

I find it amazing for a board that is 60 Euro, and software is free and open... less than the price of many VSTs!

p.s. I will have a chat with Johannes about a list of objects, we may be able to generate one... its useful when people just want to know a little more about it - the issue is with so many, it would have to be automatic, so that its always up to date.

[NNevez]

No news about this?

[VariKusBrainZ]

Can't believe I have to install an app just to view the project on indienono !

[thetechnobear]

Can't believe I have to install an app just to view the project on indienono !

? you can view using https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/axol ... for-makers

hoping to bring some good news shortly ... thats all I can say for now

[thetechnobear]

and the good news is....

Axoloti is shipping and the supporting forum for users to share experience and patches (and of course support) is also now live

more info at :
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/axol ... s#/updates

very excited to see where this will all lead

[NNevez]

Damn, It seems it is going to take a little bit more to be available to everyone.
It´s available only for the project backers.

I was watching a video where the guy did a poly synth patch and that took around 40% DSP.
Judging by that, 2 DSP cards will be more than needed in order to have great multi-timbral capabilities.

4 DSP cards would be ideal.
But that gets expensive.. again!

Do 2 DSP cards fit exactly right, under a Control card?

[thetechnobear]

Damn, It seems it is going to take a little bit more to be available to everyone.
It´s available only for the project backers.

the reward for backing, you get it first...

anyway, it shouldn't be too long afterwards, basically these have to be shipped, hopefully this week... then manage the obvious initial support requests. then I guess perhaps pre-orders might be taken, as there are quite a few interested.

CPU usage, depends on how much processing you have doing, Im able to have 8-12+ voices for use with my Eigenharp (which is sending 3 dimensions of control for every note), running 2-3 oscillators, a couple of filters, VCAs etc (all per voice), and not had any issues. even adding a global distortion and delay I was still ok.
but if you start doing 'expensive' cpu operations, then of course the voice count will drop.
(personally, I'm enjoying the modulation possibilities most... i.e. doing modulations that 'off the shelf' synths tend not to allow, or modulating per voice fx channels ... all this is not particularly cpu intensive)

I have got other boards coming though, so I can do more intensive stuff.. and also perhaps dedicate a board (or two) to FX.... Johannes recently created a really nice 'granular reverb', which I want to have on a send channel


but as i said before, I think, many may be surprised how far one board will go... just don't expect heavy convolution reverbs, or massive FFT based fx etc.

[NNevez]

Yeah, it is not going to take too long to be available for everyone.

A dedicated board for FX on a send seems pretty cool. It would be perfect if it had multi outputs since there is a lot of power in one board.

I want to build a Virus like synth with this. I am seeing immense synthesis possibilities with this and with people creating various modules. I want to take advantage of the multi timbral capability to have a very powerful synth.
I will need a lot of CPU.