Bliptronic 5000′s Creator: Hacking Tips, Prototyping, and the Switchnome
Ed.: Resident hardware hacker and sound artist Michael Una chatted via phone with the creator of ThinkGeek’s $50 Bliptronic instrument. We’ve already got some early tips on how you might hack this design into custom creations, which could make the Bliptronic 5000 an ideal hardware hacker choice. (And, because it is cheap, you may be a little more adventurous with the thing.) Designer Ty Liotta also talks about prototyping, the design process, and reveals an entirely toggle-switch prototype that I wish they had actually shipped. It’s a must-read for hardware geeks. -PK
I just spoke to Ty Liotta, the head of ThinkGeek’s custom product group. They’re responsible for the playable guitar/drum kit t-shirts, and a number of other fun geeky things.
The development team started working on a grid-button synth back in April, inspired by the Monome and the Tenori-on. Their goal was to make it as low-cost as possible while retaining a sense of fun and playability. Cost was a big factor in their design process; the Thinkgeek team is well aware of the exisiting devices in the marketplace and didn’t want to directly compete with the APC or the Launchpad’s price points.
The first prototype was inspired by the grid layout but had a set of 64 switches instead of membrane buttons and LEDs:
The switches were intended to be a cost-saving measure, but the engineers figured out that it was actually a little bit cheaper to use LEDs and the plastic buttons. The sounds come from a standard Casio-type FM synth chip, which is controlled by the onboard sequencer/logic chip. The Bliptronic can be chained together with other units to form longer sequences via the sync jack on the side, which operates via voltage pulses.
The team made sure that the operating BPMs (60 to 180 in 20BPM increments) are accurate, so you can play it side-by-side with another device until they drift apart (check out the end of the demo video with the Kaoss Pad).
The intended audience here is music/synth geeks firstly, but Ty hopes the device’s low cost and intuitive playability will appeal to kids and a more mainstream audience as well. If the Bliptronic does well, the team hopes to offer a slightly higher-priced version with MIDI (exactly how they’ll implement MIDI control is still being discussed). Ty’s first idea is that the Bliptronic could send MIDI notes as a visual step sequencer, but he talked about the possibility of external clock synching as well.
We also discussed possible hacks and modifications to the Bliptronic, and Ty offered a few suggestions and hints. Firstly, he suggested that anyone looking to build a Monome-type controller with visual feedback would find that the button-and-LED matrix can be easily repurposed. Since this is usually the most expensive/time-consuming step, people might find this a cost-effective part.
Another angle of attack may be to get at the tempo adjustment and sync controls, if you’re looking to hack in your own external MIDI clocking- I myself plan to pursue this angle as soon as the unit I ordered arrives.
Also, Ty mentioned that the synth chip is external to the logic controller, so I assume that one could circuit-bend that chip independently of the logic controls. There may also be some unimplemented sounds waiting on the chip, and it may be possible to modify the scales played. I’m fairly familiar with some of these chips used in the casio-clone keyboards found at thrift stores- makes me wonder if there are some drum sounds hiding in there as well.
I’ll keep everyone here updated on my modifications and discoveries once I get my hands on one of these little guys, but early indications are that the Bliptronic 5000 might be on par with the Gakken SX-150 in terms of both price and bendability.
49 Comments
Leave a CommentMichael Chenetz
Just bought one of these to see how i can hack it. Should be interesting. I have to see how big the DIY board that Livid Instruments is sending me is and maybe i can use them together. hmmm, should be interesting.
November 25, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Document 02
MIDI & glitch….. MMMmmmm sounds much better already.
November 25, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Matthew Davidson
Right, so bliptronic (case, buttons, leds)+monome logic kit = …
November 25, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
mapmap
matthew, my thoughts exactly.
November 25, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
flight
I ordered one of these for my daughter, but I’ll probably get a couple more later. Is there any information available about the synth chip?
November 25, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
David Viens
Nice baby (we just got it today).. cant beat the price, but i just want to make a slight precision here.
Casio never made FM synths, only PD, and this 5000 unit is no FM synth, its obviously a PCM playback device.
November 25, 2009 @ 4:11 pm
Mudo
…
It could be possible (and easy) attach an arduino…
…
November 25, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
Joshua Schnable
I was a little “I dunno” after seeing and hearing the bliptronic the other day, but after reading this, I’ve done a 180.
I love that the mfgr recognises the market potential here amongst hardware hackers. It seems to have been put together in a way to encourage it, really.
I don’t expect to see people like Roland or Yamaha doing stuff like this (here’s our new product – please hack it!), but one can dream.
November 25, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
Oliver Chesler
I want that one with the switches!
November 25, 2009 @ 6:09 pm
mapmap
also, what’s this about a Bliptronic 10000?!? i want to know more.
November 25, 2009 @ 7:49 pm
Aaron
Good stuff had to buy one.. hadnt got a music toy in awhile and this seemed like a perfect excuse ;)
November 25, 2009 @ 8:04 pm
Mckenic
If only ThinkGeek shipped overseas :(
PLEASE – keep us posted Peter! Interested in how the synth chip could be bent!
November 25, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Keats' Handwriting
I’d definitely buy one if it had midi… I agree with some earlier posts on the previous CDM entry- it’s a little too lo-fi for my tastes… but I’ll be interested to see how much a MIDI version costs.
I’m having a hard time understanding the key/scale part of the bliptronic. If it only has one 8 note scale, are you stuck playing one scale unless you hack it in some way? What about the key? Is there any way to transpose it or are you stuck playing in one key?
November 26, 2009 @ 12:29 am
mattyg
I’d be really interested to know what the “special in/out is actually sending. Is it 5+v gate? if so that would rock my world. Who cares about MIDI if i’ve got a CV
November 26, 2009 @ 2:35 am
CLombardo
If they pull out MIDI control in this thing.
:O
Even better is if the scale modifiable, i wouldnt even care if it had an internal synth.
I could just see using it as a controller
GI saw this today in class and had a total geek gasm
November 26, 2009 @ 2:51 am
Jonathan F
Is there an iPhone app yet with this LED/Grid controller type?
November 26, 2009 @ 3:45 am
Tenori-On Orange Gets Tangoed By Bliptronic
[...] an infinite number can be linked together for multi-party sequencing, and it seems to offer some hacking potential as well. When you consider the significant features that have been removed from the Tenori-On [...]
November 26, 2009 @ 7:18 am
ScarKord
@ Jonathan F… There are loads of grid style sequencers for the iphone / ipod. The ones I’ve used are Sound Grid (which has some simple drum sounds too), Melodica (which has some nice ‘mood based’ instrument scaling) and Tone Board (which is the most limited of the three).
November 26, 2009 @ 7:28 am
One Stop Technology Shop
[...] an infinite number can be linked together for multi-party sequencing, and it seems to offer some hacking potential as well. When you consider the significant features that have been removed from the Tenori-On [...]
November 26, 2009 @ 2:08 pm
Keats handwriting
@Clombardo-
If it’s got midi you can modify the key/scale however you want in Ableton or through using toby bear microtuner (or some other free plugin) in another DAW.
BTW, for non-Abletoners, Toby has some sweet midi plugins: http://www.tobybear.de/p_midibag.html
November 26, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
Bliptronic 5000 synth is monome on a budget [Video] - SlashGear
[...] but that helped keep the price down: $50 is, frankly, a bargain. Create Digital Music discussed the instrument’s development with the ThinkGeek team member responsible for it (there’s a photo of one prototype, using [...]
November 27, 2009 @ 10:17 am
Aaron
So it’s confirmed that the link outputs use CV? I take it that it’s a reset sig (aka repeated once perpattern repeat)? Anyone know what the actual output of the voltage is?
November 27, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
JP
http://nomeist.com/bliptronic/209
Mine arrived and I took it to pieces, the above blog post includes some of the initial findings and links to some other info including a wave where I’m posting more info. Great product. I wish they’d release some hardware hacking specific information, like what all the chips on the button board are and what they’re passing through the header to the logic board.
November 27, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
Bliptronic 5000 synth is monome on a budget [Video] | ToGadget , The Guide to Gadgets
[...] but which helped keep the cost down: $50 is, frankly, a bargain. Create Digital Music discussed the instrument’s development with the ThinkGeek group part of obliged for it (there’s a print of one prototype, regulating [...]
November 28, 2009 @ 11:08 am
Bliptronic 5000 synth is monome on a budget [Video] — TMS Tech Blog
[...] but that helped keep the price down: $50 is, frankly, a bargain. Create Digital Music discussed the instrument’s development with the ThinkGeek team member responsible for it (there’s a photo of one prototype, using [...]
November 28, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
s
Thank you JP!
November 28, 2009 @ 10:16 pm
creekree
@aaron: at the end of the pattern a pulse of approx 10 msec with an amplitude of what seems to be 2v is sent to the “link out” socket. (my measurements are not that accurate because my old russian oscope is not properly calibrated).
i had success triggering the blip5000 with my tr707 (the pattern will play once and can not be retriggered while playing).
November 30, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
mclaren
Without MIDI or USB out this thing’s useless. Might as well throw it in the garbage. You have got to have MIDI or USB output from something like this to make it useful as a music controller.
November 30, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Ruin
@mclaren you should keep in mind that this is a new product with an extremely low pricepoint. $50 is the price of a kids toy, but with pretty damn good hackability. this is for the hackers and tinkerers. sorry its not your dream machine.
November 30, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
infradead
@Keats handwriting
Thanks for that link!
November 30, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
aaron
@creekree : thanks for the info! have you tried experimenting with splitting the cv/trig out and routing it back into the same bliptronic? it seems as though the way the chained devices work this might be nessicary for a 1:1 pattern repeat trig instead of 2:1? anyways.. will find out tomorrow when mine arrives ;)
December 1, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
LegionDAED
I started a thread on these at the muff wiggler forum. Would be good to follow up there with pics and such as well as here.
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10265
So far no joy in bending the sounds themselves. The chip is labeled quite extensively however so perhaps there is way…
December 1, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Vlad
@Mckenic
ThinkGeek does ship overseas — at least they did ship mine to Russia. The shipping fare turns to be rather mindblowing though (more than the actual unit price in my case)
December 6, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
mattyg
@ mclaren
,
if your looking for a midi controller perhaps you should check out the several thousand that are already out there, but if you want a monome-style, casio-sounding sequencer with CV in the key of C maj/A min, then your have found your machine.
December 6, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
Vlad
@David Viens
Sure, Casio’s name for the technology was PD, but afaik it was very much the same as Yamaha’s FM. Also, to my ears the Bliptronic sounds not much unlike some 90′s FM-capable PC soundchip (TB Tropez comes to my memory as I used to have one of those). Might be 8-bit PCM too, but still the sounds are quite FM-ish to my ears.
December 6, 2009 @ 4:51 pm
aaron
vlad: it’s pcm based..the piano preset should be enough to convince you of that, plus listen to the way it pitches/scales.
PD was reviewed as being similar to FM, or improperly called a “poor-man’s FM” (in the same improper fashion that DCO’s were labeled as Digital by stupid mag reviewers), which we nowadays know is bunk. The CZ-line of instruments is very unique. PD can sound like FM, but the (sometimes) tonal similarity is where it stops.
Gimme a CZ-1 over a DX-7 any day ;)
December 7, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
aaron
btw.. still waitin to see someone sucessfully mod this thing!
December 7, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
Michael Una
I got mine last week and got it to sync with Ableton Live over the weekend. Gotta make a video…
December 7, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
sylvie
Hey Guys;…
Does anybody has a clue where the clock crystal is on this thing?
I saw this silver long cilinder thingy next to where all the caps are ….but I’m not sure ….. it’s marked X1 on the board…
If i find the crystal I’ll replace it by a precision oscillator so the thing can be tuned very low and high….
Thanx
x
Sylvie
December 10, 2009 @ 9:45 am
Michael Una
Hey Sylvie, that’s the crystal. The notation is usually “Xtal,” or “X” for short.
I haven’t opened mine up yet, but that was going to be my first hack as well.
For anyone looking to sync these to an external source, the “Sync” jack accepts 5V pulses to trigger the sequence.
December 10, 2009 @ 10:14 am
Jazzdoktorn
I got my bliptronic few days ago and I was hoping I could find hacks for it in the near future. I have no interest to sync it but when I see the “sync jack” i really want to see if it is somehow possible to rewire stuff to control a Gakken sx-150 with CV. It would be nice to have them in the same box…. :-)
December 11, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
protofuse
I want one !!!!
December 19, 2009 @ 8:42 am
Nathaniel
Hello from Australia,
My GF bought me 3 of these for christmas and one of the speakers does not work on one, easy fix or send it back?
December 31, 2009 @ 5:59 am
electri-fire
NO FM SYNTHESISER HACKING POSSIBLE!
In fact: NO FM SYNTHESISER AVAILABLE!
There are reasons to believe the sound chip plays sampled FM sounds.
Circuitbending the bliptronic thread:
http://electro-music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39167
January 11, 2010 @ 2:03 pm
electri-fire
@ mattyg, mclaren
NO CV OUT’s
Like creekree said: at the end of the pattern a pulse of approx 10 msec with an amplitude of what seems to be 2v is sent to the “link out” socket.
That’s all it sends.
January 11, 2010 @ 2:20 pm
Aaron
@ electri-fire: old news, and theres much better info already in this comments section than @ that page.
re: 2v, what do you think cv is? cv can be generated by anything, audio, electricity, pencil sharpener, contacts. it serves its purpose and is easily amplified up. if you plug an output jack into any synth’s cv out, you’ll hear the voltage sigs.
January 12, 2010 @ 5:13 am
Michael Una
Yeah, I also discovered that it’s sample playback rather than FM synthesis.
I was able to use a Getlofi Precision Clock kit to modify the master clock rate, and I found some bend points on the baord that create a pleasing harmonious drone.
The Sync in/out is a standard 5v pulse from what I can tell, and I’ve been synching it with my other gear by sending it “start” signals via the HighlyLiquid MD24 kit.
I need to make some video and document it, but overall I’m very pleased with how it turned out. For such a simple toy, it had just the right amount of bendability.
January 12, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
Aaron
Perhaps electri-fire meant to link to this thread (much more useful info): http://electro-music.com/forum/post-280162.html
Also Will Lindsay posted the pin-out with images at his site here: http://www.straytechnologies.com/bliptronic-5000-hacking-full-pin-out-to-the-64-button-pcb/
January 14, 2010 @ 10:37 am
Grids and Music [1] : RootJam
[...] around for ‘hacks’ related to the instrument, we were able to locate an interesting short blogterview with the designer/creator of the Bliptronic, complete with a cool image of the first [...]
March 9, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
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