Out of the Pack - DH100 - A POKEY House of the Rising Sun

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I finally put together a semi-live performance using the DH-100 Digital Horn to control the sound of an Atari XE computer. I know that improvements to the hardware/software is not going to improve my ability to play the horn but there is much that can be done to improve the sound.

There were some changes made to the last Atari program. First, the second hi-res voice was added and an off-set. This was to see how much of an effect the phase shift would have on the combined frequencies. In places you might be able to hear this beating effect, when the notes are of sufficient duration.

Second, I removed the print statements, turned off the screen and recompiled the BASIC program. This improved the data collection and processing speed to the point where the portomento loops had to be modified.

I did find another glitch in the DH-100 data stream. When you turn off the horn, a patch change is sent through the MIDI channel. This was a pain when the screen was turned off. Oh, Well…

I said semi-live because the BAND IN A BOX contribution was recorded once. Drums, keyboard, and tuba sounds don't sound to bad.

Then I recorded myself playing the DH-100 on several tracks and pasted the usable sections together. I left some mistakes in just so you know that the DH-100 wasn't computer controlled. Don't worry, I didn't give up my day job to become a performer.

This is the seventh blog entry for the DH-100. It seemed like a long process and there is enough information if you are in need of such information. I think I'm done playing with the DH-100 but will be looking into improving data flow using the Cassette Motor Control link and look into Fritzing an Arduino shield for the optocoupled joystick connections.

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/572/entry-14551-dh100-a-pokey-house-of-the-rising-sun/