Teensy

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ruffrecords

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
16,158
Location
Norfolk - UK
There have been a small number of posts here that have mentioned the Teensy, a set of  Arduino compatible ARM based micro-controller development boards.

https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/index.html

Recent developments include 16bit/44.1K audio boards:

https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy3_audio.html

and a graphical touch screen

https://www.pjrc.com/store/display_ili9341_touch.html

All reasonably priced. Looks ideal as the basis of a range of audio projects including test equipment.

Anyone any recent experience with these?

Cheers

Ian
 
I can tell you about my experience with Teensy but please keep in mind I learned how to use development boards and minor programming using a Teensy, having only used an Arduino before then and having given up with some of the other atmega programmers. The projects i had done were neophyte at best and rather generic e.g. oled vu meters (which are actually really acurate btw) The teensy 2.0 and 3.1 feel like they were  designed for audio related projects (plenty of people use them for non audio stuff too) and its size, usb connectivity, and that you can run arduino codes through it which have a million projects at github make it very appealing.  Also using the arduino library also makes it versatile. On a single teensy i had rudiment daw transport control, a single fader controlled, an a/b monitor selector, an a/b input selector, and 2 x 5 led metering.  3.1 has more digital in outs than i could ever use while for analog it has 34.  So i could have added a bunch more like volume control, switch selection, mute, dim, etc...
As far as a teensy project goes its like i said beginners toys at best. As far as a monitor controller goes, it compared to other highly regarded stuff albeit totally diy looking and made by me.  The 34 in out is a lot considering you arent adding anything. I copy and pasted other peoples codes to but still had to modify it to fit what i wanted (so i kinda felt like i had done something)
Theres a ton to learn but pretty quickly one can start doing some creative things with it (i had to do a bunch of projects before i even attempted).
A lot of people out there are making some incredible projects that freely give all the info needed for one to make their own which is also really great.
So yeah i like teensy and will be getting more into it if time allows.
 
Rocinante said:
On a single teensy i had rudiment daw transport control, a single fader controlled, an a/b monitor selector, an a/b input selector, and 2 x 5 led metering.  3.1 has more digital in outs than i could ever use while for analog it has 34.  So i could have added a bunch more like volume control, switch selection, mute, dim, etc...

This sounds pretty great - do you have photos or project details of this anywhere online? I’m thinking of revamping my DIY monitor controller, and incorporating a Teensy might be in the cards now…
 
leigh said:
This sounds pretty great - do you have photos or project details of this anywhere online? I’m thinking of revamping my DIY monitor controller, and incorporating a Teensy might be in the cards now…

Sadly I don't as I ripped it apart while playing around with an arduino. I definitely plan on redoing it and I will share what I come up with. They are so affordable and there is such an array of projects that can be done with them it seems like the time and expense are worth it for what they can provide
 
There is now the new Teensy 4.0 which uses the super fast 600 MHz Cortex-M7 chip NXP iMXRT1062:
https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy40.html

It's very small board, usually you just build a motherboard for it with converters, power supplies and connectors and insert or solder the Teensy into a socket.

The chip also supports TDM audio upto 8x8 in/out.

Too bad the Teensy audio library (for Arduino) is only 16-bit, though the new chip in 4.0 (NXP iMXRT1062) supports 64-bit double floating point arithmetics. Also this board has no support for regular programming and debugging with JTAG, only way is to use the Arduino bootloader. Also the pinout for I2S/PCM/TDM pins is different to 3.x versions, so it is not fully backward compatible.

 
16 bits are plenty when creating a programmable compressor side chain.

The computing power per watt for $20 is incredible on the Teensy 4.  Nuts!
 
I've used Teensy boards for USB MIDI before now. They're well built boards and Paul really knows his stuff when it comes to the software side of things.
 
Follow this guy: Rolf Degen

Teensy 4.1 Polyphonic DIY Synthesizer​



Jeannie Polyphonic DIY Synthesizer Part: 11​



next stop ( ... or a few more), how to create waves at 192kHz at 24bit.

there seems to be also a "music library" for Teensy that contains these functions ready yo to use, forgot the name.
 
Thank you for posting :)

Jeannie 8-voice polyphonic open source synthesizer with 24dB Ladder Filter and 12dB State Variable Multimode Filter​

Jeannie is an 8-voice polyphonic open source synthesizer kit with digital sound synthesis and digital filters based on a fast ARM Cortex-M7 processor with 1MByte Ram. For sound generation, the user has a variety of classic and band-limited waveforms at his disposal. A pool of 15 waveform banks with 63 different waveforms each offer plenty of space for sound experiments. A waveshaper with different characteristics provides for gentle to vicious sounding distortions. To tame the waveforms, there is a digital 12dB multimode filter with fade function from low-pass to highpass and a band-pass function. In addition, there is a 24dB LP ladder filter. A 24Bit DSP effect module with adjustable parameters rounds off the sound synthesis. An integrated polyphonic 16-step sequencer provides for the playfulness of the small synthesizer. A total of 2048 sound patchesfrom 15 banks can be loaded and stored via an integrated SD card. A color 1.8 inch TFT display allows a clear menu structure and easy operation of the synthesizer. The parameters are entered via four rotary knobs below the display and an encoder for selecting the sound programmes and switching to the menu functions. In addition, there are six buttons for operating special synthesizer functions.

My project page in german. But you can write in english. Tubeohm - Jeannie Polyphonic DIY Synthesizer




155886519-6487f244-0d26-4bb1-a49f-27a8bb392fcf.png155886525-f779591a-6bcb-4492-a7fb-afd06165b7c4.png155886528-a2bef7d7-925e-4425-aae9-4ab8d6f1af34.png155886532-33c55341-f179-4a1a-aa54-1c0e27544c61.png

Features

• DIY 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer
• ARM Cortex-M7 processor 720MHz with 1MByte Ram
• two digital oscillators per voice
• 15 waveform banks with a total of 945 waveforms
• 12 standard waveforms, some of which are band-limited
• Noise generator (white and pink noise)
• Oscillator Modulation (XOR, XMOD, MOD, AND, PHA, FM)
• Waveshaper with different curve shapes
• 2 LFOs with 6 different waveforms and fade in / fade out function
• 2 ADSR generators 0.3ms – 12s with positive and negative control
• 1 PWM LFO from 0.04Hz - 25Hz
• Digital 12dB multimode filter with resonance and fade function (LP/HP/BP)
• Digital 24dB low pass ladder filter with resonance
• 24Bit DSP effect module with 15 effects and adjustable parameters
• Polyphonic 16 step sequencer
• SD cards for loading and saving the sound programs max. 2048
• Colored 1.8 inch display with a resolution of 160x128 pixels
• Volume control
• Boost function for improved bass reproduction
• Stereo audio output jack 6.3mm
• 4 potentiometers for parameter input
• Encoder for menu control and sound selection
• 6 function keys
• Midi In and Midi Out / Midi True
• USB 2.0 midi interface
• Simple firmware update via USB
• External power pack 12V DC / 1000mA
• and power switch

DIY-Kits: www.tubeohm.com

Sound





more here..

Video









Greetings from germany. Rolf
und mehr..
 
Last edited:
What about "S1" for the encoder?
are there ic's for it, i was looking around a couple of days ago, i have made something with 2 x CD4011, some time ago, but i can't find the schematic anymore.

apart from the teensy what are the boards on the back?

how does this SPIN-FV work?
is it bi-polar audio?
http://spinsemi.com/Products/datasheets/spn1001/FV-1.pdf
apparently something went wrong with your previous post, the attached sound files?
 
Soundcloud sound samples seem to work fine here. (cool!)
i think something went wrong with the YouTube video's and his text, what makes his post long in size.

Indeed that's an incredible Home Made Device, it was last Year that i saw his first version/video.
 
What about "S1" for the encoder?
are there ic's for it, i was looking around a couple of days ago, i have made something with 2 x CD4011, some time ago, but i can't find the schematic anymore.

apart from the teensy what are the boards on the back?

how does this SPIN-FV work?
is it bi-polar audio?
http://spinsemi.com/Products/datasheets/spn1001/FV-1.pdf
apparently something went wrong with your previous post, the attached sound files?

Hello Analo_Fan
The encoder button S1 goes to pin 17 of the Teensy 4.1 board. The S1 button is for menu switching and patch selection.

You can connect up to 4 encoders to the Teensy 4.1. If you need more encoders, you need to do a multiplexing query.

https://forum.arduino.cc/t/multiplexing-rotary-encoders/575255
Greetings from germany. Rolf
 
Last edited:
Hi

I have used a lot of them mostly for controlling DC motor, solenoid in any kind using PWM, or for create USB/midi or OSC interface. I've also used many times the audioshield.
for fews month now I'm going into Digital potentiometer for controlling audio devices.
they're great devices...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top