Some of you may know that I've been working on trying to build something that sounds like bagpipes for a few years now. Considering that I knew nothing about electronics when I started, beyond how to read a schematic, I'm pretty thrilled about where I've finally ended up. I've built 2 devices, one with a unique Stylophone-type extended keyboard.
I've just completed what is probably my last mod to the 2nd device: ripping out the drones circuit and replacing it with 2 little frequency/pulse-width-modification generators (from mpja.com). I've done a revision to my last PDF (which was intended to be mostly just schematics of where I’ve finally ended up), detailing this mod. (I've documented every part of this adventure.) There's a new build photo; part of the mpja datasheet for the nifty little modules; and a layout showing my chanter circuit on a smaller circuit board, along with the wiring and connections to and from the modules.
I now have several ways to tweak the sound: The drone modules with PWM; 2 mod boards each with a trimpot and one with a 4-toggle DIP switch for an array of clipping diodes; a tone control circuit with 2 trimpots that I built into a separate box—a mint tin (not shown in the photo above); a switch to be able to switch the 2nd mod board in and out of circuit; a switch to be able to switch the lower-frequency drone module in and out, independent of a foot switch for the drones; as well as volume controls for the drones. One of the mods is my modified version of the ‘Dead Easy Dirt’ circuit.
Here's the link to the above-mentioned PDF on my mediafire page:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/cav4mscoysu0wdc/2nd_Device-Mostly_Schematics_%2526_2_Mod_Boards.pdf/file
Here’s the link to my last audio clip after all modifications to the 2nd device:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/msuufdovf4qv6p9/Latest_%25E2%2580%2598Bagpipe%25E2%2580%2599_sound.mp3/file
And here's the link to the whole folder, the whole adventure, complete with audio clips of both devices, a short video of me playing the unique Stylophone-type keyboard that I designed, and more PDFs:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/q4ave4tjk87ns/Bagpipe_Project
(I don't know why this comes under the category of "Drones." I've had the damnedest time posting this!)
