Entangle ^XM  | 2017 Entangle ^XM is an electronic instrument featuring a 2-operator chaotic synthesis engine based on ring modulation techniques with feedback via a variable-length delay line (0–8 seconds) and digital wavefolding for additional signal complexity.





The controls include frequency of oscillators 1 + 2 and delay time (via 3 linear potentiometers), panning (via a center-detent horizontal slider), feedback amount + universal bypass (via a rotary encoder + switch), and volume (via a Vestax IF-37 Input Fader).

The software for this instrument is written in SuperCollider (cf. entangle_xm.scd) and runs on the Bela platform (Xenomai Linux on a BeagleBone Black board) for ease of updating via the browser-based IDE (over USB) and ultra-low latency (~100μs).











The input devices communicate with SuperCollider via serial messages sent from an AtTiny84 microcontroller using the Arduino IDE (cf. entangle_xm.ino). I designed and milled both the component and microcontroller boards, each with a 10-pin header, to allow for signal flow between the boards and future development of additional input boards (cf. entangle_xm-components.brd, entangle_xm-components.sch, entangle_xm-microcontroller.brd, and entangle_xm-microcontroller.sch).



The enclosure was laser cut out of 1/8" hardwood and made using press-fit construction techniques (cf. entangle_xm.pdf), which allows easy access to the circuits and hassle-free maintenance and upgradability—no tools necessary.



The 3.5mm TRS (stereo) output and integrated speaker enable performances to take place anywhere through the use of an external rechargeable 5v battery.







The component board features a number of specialized components, which must be sourced from a variety of manufacturers (cf. entangle_xm.xlsx).

Further information is available via archive.fabacademy.org.



The Entangle ^XM software is distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL 3.0), available here: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.txt



The Entangle ^XM hardware designs are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-SA 3.0). Details here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

FILES

entangle_xm.ino
entangle_xm.pdf
entangle_xm.scd
entangle_xm.xlsx
entangle_xm-components.brd
entangle_xm-components.sch
entangle_xm-microcontroller.brd
entangle_xm-microcontroller.sch