Using a combination of sliders and rotary pots a variety of atmospheric sounds can be created, such as might be used to score a science fiction film.

• 4 DCOs (digitally-controlled oscillators) + mixer
• pitch and amplitude LFOs
• waveforms - sine, square, triangle, rising sawtooth, falling sawtooth, pulse, noise
• frequency modulation and ring modulation
• delay line with feedback
• flanger
• user patch (non-volatile)
• MIDI and command line interfaces

The demo sounds linked below (all recorded live) give a good idea of the variety of sounds that can be produced. The associated patches are available in the firmware accessible via pushbutton combinations.

The more interesting patches arise from the use of feedback with the delay line. This generates complex non-linear sounds that exist on the border between order and chaos.

An expansion interface for a MIDI connection is available. Note that this is a 'raw' MIDI interface in that there is no optoisolator and no DIN socket. It is simply a direct connection to the microcontroller’s UART input pin (3.3V or 5V voltage level). It accepts a MIDI data stream in the correct format at 31250 baud.

A command line interface (CLI) is also available to connect Noise-X to a terminal program on a host computer. Typically a USB-to-serial cable would be used with 3.3V signal levels. The CLI could be used as an API for a GUI front-end on a host PC.

Supplied as a kit of PCB and components. Power input is via a 2.1mm DC power socket or battery snap, and audio output is mono through a 3.5mm jack socket.

Demos on SoundCloud