JonDent - Explorations in Electronics, Electronic Music, Coffee, Sci Fi, Art & Travel (but mostly electronic music)
Sunday, 30 April 2023
Friday, 14 April 2023
How do coffee expresso machines work ?
Espresso coffee machines, also known as espresso makers or espresso machines, work by forcing hot water through finely-ground coffee beans at high pressure to produce a concentrated, flavorful coffee beverage known as espresso. Here's a basic overview of how they work:
Water Heating: Espresso machines have a water reservoir or a direct water line connection. The water is heated to near-boiling temperature, typically around 195°F to 205°F (90°C to 96°C), depending on the machine and personal preferences.
Grinding Coffee: Espresso machines require finely-ground coffee beans. Many espresso machines have built-in grinders to grind the beans to the appropriate consistency just before brewing. However, pre-ground coffee can also be used.
Tamping: After grinding the coffee, the grounds are compacted into a puck-like shape using a device called a tamper. Proper tamping ensures even extraction and helps to create a consistent shot of espresso.
Extraction: The tamped coffee grounds are placed in a portafilter, a handle-like device with a basket at one end to hold the coffee. The portafilter is then locked into the espresso machine.
Brewing: When the machine is activated, hot pressurized water is forced through the compacted coffee grounds in the portafilter. The high pressure (typically 9 bars or higher) extracts the flavors and oils from the coffee quickly, resulting in a concentrated shot of espresso.
Crema Formation: As the pressurized water interacts with the coffee grounds, it creates a layer of foam called crema on top of the espresso. Crema adds texture and richness to the espresso and is considered a sign of a well-made shot.
Dispensing: The brewed espresso is then dispensed into a cup or shot glass.
Espresso machines can vary in complexity and features, with some offering additional options such as programmable settings, milk frothers for making drinks like cappuccinos and lattes, or even built-in grinders and automatic tampers. However, the basic principle of forcing hot water through finely-ground coffee under pressure remains the same across different types of espresso machines.
Monday, 10 April 2023
Upcoming synth sessions at elk elektroniks
I'm looking forward to these.
Save the dates.
Elk Elektronics have a new address.
Contact Ed for details
Sunday, 9 April 2023
Designing a production-ready audio compressor
This looks really cool.
..
...
The Erica's website link to the compressor is here.
I think I'll probably need to go down this rabbit hole sooner or later.
The builds are easy and very educational.
500 euro for the basic kit
Chat GPT - elk elektroniks - sonic Pi coding
Its interesting to think where AI is taking us.
I thought I'd ask chat GPT what it thought.
and
Elektron - Program Changes
Generally, Program Change messages are used to specify the type of instrument which should be used to play sounds on a given Channel.
This message needs only one data byte which specifies the new program number.
MIDI Control Change messages in comparison are used to control a wide variety of functions in a synthesizer.
In Elektron terms “program change” means pattern change.
So, for example, an Digitakt and a Digitone can step in sync to the next pattern.
This is how I set up Program Changes on a Octatrack-Digitakt-Syntrakt system.
Many thanks to EZBOT for his great sync video.
The OT is the master.
Its sending Program Changes on channel 10
Both the Digitakt & Syntrak are slaves.
Make sure they both are also receiving clock, transport & Program messages.
They receive Program changes on channel 10 in this example
Now when you change a pattern on the OT, the ST & DT should change in sync.
Friday, 7 April 2023
Lindos - Greece
Its a short 2 hr journey from Rhodes
..Lindos is a small town located on the east coast of the Greek island of Rhodes. It is known for its stunning natural beauty, rich history, and beautiful beaches. Lindos has a history that dates back to ancient times, and the town is famous for its impressive acropolis that sits atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea.
On the summit of the Lindos Acropolis are the ruins of the goddess Athena Lindia, temples from the 4th century BC As well as the Propylaea, the great Hellenistic Stoa and the Byzantine chapel of Saint John.
One of my guides said that a statue of Poseidon originally stood on the deck of the ship, symbolising Lindo's naval superiority. However other sources state that on the bow stood a statue of General Hagesander Mikkion.
Maybe the association between these two sculptors is the ship.
The Victory of S stands on the prow of a ship.
The ship bears traces of paint. Dated to approx 180-170BC.
..
Wednesday, 5 April 2023
Korg Volca FM - intro (Control Panel)
I love the Volca FM.
This cheap tiny box is so powerful.
Three note polyphony. 6 operators.
It's amazing what you can do with just 3 notes.
FM is very different from Subtractive Synthesis .
There isn't a filter, or oscillator.
Subtractive synths start with oscillators that are harmonically rich which
you filter down.
In FM you have things like Operators, Modulators & Carriers.
The operators generally use Sine waves which sound boring as they have just 1 frequency in them.
You need to combine these harmonically poor sine waves to create something richer.
Think of it like this:
Operator = Oscillator +amp+ EG
Carrier = The operator that makes a sound or a tone.
Modulator = Operator that modulates (the frequency of the carrier).
Modulators are not LFOs. They are HFOs ... high frequency oscillators.
Starting from left to right.
Transpose Slider : shifts octaves. Its a great performance effect.
This slider raises or lowers the pitch in units of octaves or semitones
Velocity Slider : this controls the brightness (pitch or frequency of the modulators).
In PLAY mode, this slider controls the global velocity giving you greater
control over timbre.
In EDIT mode, this slider functions as the VALUE slider for editing
the FM synthesis parameters.
Modular/Carrier section.
Modulators and Carriers are both Operators.
Operator = Oscillator +amp+ EG
These 4 knobs make global changes to all the envelopes in the Carriers & Modulators.
The envelopes [EG] control how fast an operator comes up to full level (Attack) and how fast an operator dies down (Decay) after the key
is pressed or released.
ALGRTM
This knob selects the operator algorithm for the FM sound engine.
This knob selects the operator algorithm for the FM sound engine.
You have 32 options. Tree like structure.
Thus it helps you decide which operators will be operators, and which will be modulators.
Eg: Algo 32 = all operators are carriers.
Algo 1 = 2 carriers & 4 modulators.
These arrangements of Ops vs Mods make a huge difference to the sound
LFO
+ RATE: This knob sets the LFO speed of the FM sound source parameters.
+ P.DEPTH: This knob sets the depth of the LFO applied to the pitch of the
+ P.DEPTH: This knob sets the depth of the LFO applied to the pitch of the
FM sound source parameters.
Program Knob.
These are our presets.
Normally, this knob selects the program.
In EDIT mode, this knob selects the FM synthesis parameter
VOICE MODE : Poly/Mono/Unison
Press Func + 1/2 or 3
•FUNC + POLY: Up to three-note chords can be played.
•FUNC + MONO: One note at a time can be played.
•FUNC + UNISON: All three voices will sound in unison, operating as a mono
Press FUNC + 4
ARP on/off:
Press FUNC + 5
Fenix II & III
Some tweaking of the old Fenixes
II & III this time.
The Fenix III is a sequencer
Comparing the sounds of the filters.
This one uses filter 1.
Its a state variable filter with CV controllable inputs
for cutoff frequency and resonance
for cutoff frequency and resonance
12dB
Sunday, 2 April 2023
ARP 2600 - Voltage processor
Talking about the ARP 2600 voltage processor.
It looks like a really complex module but once you understand the fundamentals
its actually quite simple.
Starting at the top. The 1st voltage processor.
Lets call it VP 1
This processor acts like a mixer.
Both control signals and audio signals work equally well.
It has 4 inputs (labeled 1 to 4) and a single un named output.
There are 2 sliders which attenuate whatever is entering their jacks (2 & 4).
Jack 2 is hardwired to a -10V source.
Jack 4 is hardwired to the keyboard CV
Jack 1 & 3 don't have any attenuation sliders.
The final out-put jack is an inverter.
Thus any input signal will be inverted when it leaves VP1.
An inverter is an electronic circuit which essentially flips a waveform or
incoming voltage upside down.
Another way to describe this is that the
signal is moved 180 degrees out of phase
with the original signal.
eg:
If nothing is plugged into jack 2 & the slider is fully to the right , the voltage at
the final inverted output will be +10V
As the slider is moved to the left, the voltage at the inverted output will drop to eventually reach 0V.
This is a useful offset voltage.
The beauty of this device is that it allows you to add & mix up to 4 voltages.
These can be inputted from external modules or with what is normalled to jacks 2 & 4.
VP2
This is similar to VP 1.
Its simplier... has just 2 inputs labelled 5 & 6.
Its single output is also inverted.
Input 6 is connected to a +10V source.
Thus if the slider is fully open, the voltage measured at the output will be -10V
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If you are using VP1 to mix 4 audio inputs & you wanted a non-inverted output,
just take the inverted out of VP 1 and plug into an input of VP2 like so...
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The Voltage Processor can also be useful for boosting external trigger/gates from eurorack sequencers.
These eurorack modules often spit out +5V and are not sufficient for triggering
the 2600's envelopes which need +10V.
This is the patch:
Use it's slider to add voltage to taste..
VP 1 is just an inverter.
The Dual Atenuverter is a dual attenuverter from Barcelona-based manufacturer Befaco that will attenuate and invert the input signal and, if necessary, can also shift it (+/-10V).
This is a nice 4channel utility for all kinds of signals.
CVP
my favourite
In this short video the Turing Machine is providing +5V pulses which are being boosted
to +10V by the Voltage Processors
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The Lag Processor
Just 1 input & one output.
The input is normalised to the Envelope follower.
The lag processor has a parameter called "Lag time".
Lag is the act of slowing things down, or more specifically,
the lag processor increases the amount of time it takes for change to occur.
It's commonly used to process control signals from LFOs, envelope generators,
and the envelope follower.Another common application is portamento.
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Some modern Eurorack takes of the classic 2600 VP module.
+ Befaco
The Dual Atenuverter is a dual attenuverter from Barcelona-based manufacturer Befaco that will attenuate and invert the input signal and, if necessary, can also shift it (+/-10V).
Doepfer A 138j Inverting/Interrupting Mixer
This is a nice 4channel utility for all kinds of signals.
It will Mix, Attenuate, Invert, Offset, Mute
Channel 1 can also deliver an Offset-voltage of +/-5V when
nothing is plugged into the input.
Manhattan Analog
CVP
Level – Attenuverter, positive attenuator or inverted attenuator.
Offset – Add a stable DC offset (+/-5 V) to make
sure the modulation is in exactly the range you need it.
Glide – Slew your signal to smooth it out for filter response or portamento.
There is a two-color LED present to provide a visual display of the output signal.
Synovatron CV Tools
my favourite
Its great for adding, subtracting, attenuating, amplifying and offsetting.
It has a cascade architecture.
It is a polarizing mixer which allows an input signal’s level to be adjusted or inverted.
It also has a lag processor at the bottom.
sadly, the module is out of production.
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