STR-500
Gestural granular synthesizer
The STR-500 is a sampler that does one thing: you record a sound and then play it back by pulling a string. You travel through the sound in time, so you can pull the string slowly or quickly, or stop in the middle to freeze the sound.
OK, it actually does a few other things too. There is also a filter and pitch control, which can be switched on individually. When they are switched on, the movement of the string is mapped to those controls, resulting in a remarkably expressive thing.
I’m currently working on this and documenting it a lot on Instagram, where it has proven rather popular. I’m hoping to develop it into a small-scale device that people can buy and/or build themselves.
If you’d like updates on this project, please join the mailing list! I’ll send a message when I need people to test, and if any devices (or kits) are available for sale.
Some frequently asked questions:
How is it built?
The string is a part salvaged from an old video game controller called a Gametrak (specifically the 2nd version of the Gametrak). Otherwise the rest of the controls are standard components and the whole thing is running on a Daisy Seed microcontroller.
Can I have one?
I’m currently hoping to be able to make some for sale, though I’m still working on it and can not say anything very certain yet. No matter what, due to the salvaged nature of the string (which is kind of the most important part) this will necessarily be a very limited run thing.
Can I build one myself?
Yes, please do, as part of my work on this project I plan on making a set of documentation that should help people try and make their own versions, detailing how to hack the Gametrak and all of that. In the mean time, the code is available now on github and I’ll post the schematic/PCB on there soon too.