Yoshimi Pi

[BJG145]

I'm thinking there aught to be a silver one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdTFeW8FCto

[zenguitar]

I've been giving this some thought Will.

There are two parts to this. Yoshimi as a powerful software instrument that is outside the mainstream because it is open source and requires Linux. And Yoshimi Pi as a stand alone hardware synth that has the potential to be mainstream because the Raspberry Pi hardware & software build 'hides' the end user from Linux.

So, stage one... Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Yoshimi are all open source. So how about making Yoshimi Pi open source?

Create a web site with a basic hardware specification for Yoshimi Pi and a build diary with photos. Then allow the open source software/hardware community to build on your work by testing different audio/MIDI/screen drivers etc. And some intrepid experimenters might look at building a euro rack module, or a Doepfer keyboard with a Yoshimi Pi & screen built into the case. And stuff we can't even begin to imagine.

Your niche is a 'standards compliant' Yoshimi Pi.

Stage two is to raise the profile of Yoshimi as a great software instrument once you have stage one in place. I can't remember whether or not Yoshimi has been reviewed in SOS; but even if it has been reviewed, it has evolved a great deal in the interim. Until now a review would always reflect that Yoshimi requires the user to commit to Linux and is hard to integrate into a hardware/Windows/Mac system. But now a reviewer could sing the praises of Yoshimi, and in a boxout could draw attention to Yoshimi Pi and your open source software/hardware site and the work you and others had done on the platform.

Certainly worth a long term plan mate.

Andy

[Folderol]

Thanks for this Andy. A lot of good stuff in there.
It will have to be quite a long term plan I'm afraid. I've really been stretched to the limit these days, to the extent that for the last couple for days I've felt totally drained, what with the garden, yoshimi development, Yoshi Pi, D.I.Y. amp, and then all the 'normal' stuff

I'm definitely going to have to slow down somewhat.

[Folderol]

I've made a start on an advert, hopefully taking on board the suggestions above. This is a first draft, and I'd be grateful for comments/suggestions. What's missing? Is anything too verbose?

[BJG145]

I'd probably keep it short and sweet with less info about practical stuff like cables and MIDI channels, and more about how it's a cool little box that makes amazing sounds plus some nice pics, something along the lines of the Loopsynth or the Organelle (which is also based on Pi).

[Eddy Deegan]

I've made a start on an advert, hopefully taking on board the suggestions above. This is a first draft, and I'd be grateful for comments/suggestions. What's missing? Is anything too verbose?

It may be a little overly detailed for advertising copy, although it's a great start! I'm no advertising executive but I've taken the liberty of giving it a once-over and changing a few things in case you like them as ideas.

I've stayed mostly with your original text flow but it might be worth removing some of the detail and adding a little bullet-point list of attractive features:

• Three synth engines (AddSynth, SubSynth and PADSynth)
• 'Mixer' mode supporting multitimbral layers across one or several MIDI channels
• ... etc

O===========O

Introducing Yoshimi Pi

Yoshimi Pi is the hardware incarnation of the sophisticated Yoshimi soft-synth, running on a Raspberry Pi 4 in a rugged metal case with a built-in audio interface, power supply and accompanied by a dedicated 7” HD LCD display.

Designed to be ‘plug and play’ it can be run with just a basic MIDI keyboard and an amplifier (or most headphones). Just like any other synth it can be used with any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or a class-compliant controller supporting MIDI over USB.

The LCD display is connected using captive power and HDMI leads which are just long enough for comfort. As a result everything is powered using a single standard IEC power cable and there is no risk of losing the interconnect leads.

Yoshimi Pi is extremely portable and robust enough for gigging use. Should you prefer it to the 7” display, Yoshimi Pi will happily connect to any HDMI monitor using an HDMI extension to the captive video lead and as such you can easily integrate it into a studio.

There is a single button which serves both as a power-on and power-off control alongside a pair of LED indicators; red indicating power is on and green indicating the unit has fully booted and is ready for use. When off, Yoshimi Pi draws zero power.

Each unit is hand built to order, so can have unique customisations on request. There are extensive MIDI controls, including use of many NRPNs (Non Registered Parameter Number). Almost all internal controls are accessible to MIDI-learn and up to 200 such events can be defined for any session. All 16 MIDI channels are independently available, or there is a SOLO feature you can use to seamlessly switch channel 1 between patches with designated CC (Continuous Controller) messages. This provides great flexibility to the musician – especially for live performances.

All these settings can be saved and automatically restored next time the unit is switched on meaning it is perfectly practical to use with no monitor attached.

The Yoshimi soft-synth itself has a context based system of windows which works very well with the small monitor, exposing only what you need to see at any one time. As such you can run it as a single sound source, using the instrument bank window to select patches as you require them, or you can add/modify various effects.

You can also connect a USB keyboard and mouse in order to interact fully with the GUI. This enables you to dive deeper in order to access the sound engines (of which there are three different types), edit or create your own custom patches, apply FX and much, much more besides.

[Folderol]

Thank you both for your comments. Eddy, I very much like the makeover you gave this, and will do more work based on your ideas.

[Martin Walker]

Great start Will

I'm also impressed with Eddy's makeover - essentially the same information, but presented in a much more 'user friendly' form, which sounds far more enticing to a potential purchaser.
I think you could also expand slightly on Eddy's sales point of Three synth engines (AddSynth, SubSynth and PADSynth)

Yes, I know that you're primarily advertising the 'Yoshimi Pi', but I suspect that most potential purchasers will be as interested in what sounds the Yoshimi synth can make as your unique standalone hardware approach.

For instance, while everyone and his dog know the basic approach of SubSynth, the particular strengths of both the AddSynth and PADSynth engines turn this into a unique machine - you need short (10 second or so) audio demos highlighting these strengths (or at the very least short descriptions of what they can offer you that other engines can't) so that people appreciate what's on offer.

For example, those pipe organ sounds using AddSynth are stunning, while the real-time wavetable movement possibilities of PADSynth are most intriguing - these are the first things I wanted to explore on mine, to find out what Yoshimi Pi could offer me that I couldn't already get with other synths (Never mind the standalone and live performance benefits).

BJG145 is also spot-on with his mention of good photographs (I bought a Gechologic LoopSynth largely for its capabilities, but also because it comes in a package that's so damn gorgeous ), and I suspect here that a few tidied up 'user pics' of systems in various scenarios might help, or failing that, a few good quotes from users demonstrating practical applications of this tiny yet so powerful system.

Hope this helps!

Martin

[BJG145]

I bought a Gechologic LoopSynth largely for its capabilities, but also because it comes in a package that's so damn gorgeous

I really think you need an Organelle too Martin, trust me on this. I mean it has the built-in speaker now...those nice maple keys...and don't get me started on Orac.

...just kidding. Sorry Folderol, as you were...

[Folderol]

I bought a Gechologic LoopSynth largely for its capabilities, but also because it comes in a package that's so damn gorgeous

I really think you need an Organelle too Martin, trust me on this. I mean it has the built-in speaker now...those nice maple keys...and don't get me started on Orac.

...just kidding. Sorry Folderol, as you were...

{sigh}
And you were doing so well earlier

NEway all points noted.

I'm wondering if the best way to manage all of this is to take two different approaches.

First:
More work on refining the text/PDF copy of the information. As for images. There's no way I can now get better copies of the different ones out there, apart from asking the owners if they can take them. That would be a bit of an ask, as I know (from trying it myself) that it's very difficult to get a picture that shows the colours correctly and still shows the display itself clearly.

Second:
Get in touch with the Yoshimi website guy to produce a dedicated YoshimiPi page, with a link across to the main site which would then give a lot more detail.

For anyone interested the main Yoshimi website:
http://yoshimi.github.io/

[Martin Walker]

Second:
Get in touch with the Yoshimi website guy to produce a dedicated YoshimiPi page, with a link across to the main site which would then give a lot more detail.

For anyone interested the main Yoshimi website:
http://yoshimi.github.io/

That sounds good Will, although I've just explored all the demos over there once again, and there aren't any specific tunes highlighting some of the possibilities of the three different synth engines (which I'm convinced would be a major selling feature once people realise what 'different' sounds can be achieved compared with a bog standard subtractive synth engine).

Martin

[Folderol]

Good point. I was actually thinking about having some examples in the the dedicated Yoshimi Pi page itself.

Ummm, something like what I've just described in the other Yoshimi topic

[Folderol]

I've been investigating a slightly different, extremely lightweigh OS version for a while now, and have reached the point where it's a definite improvement. It is snappier in operation and can handle graphics quite a bit better, even supporting a Chromium browser.

Also it can run with the network continuously enabled, and auto-detecting when it has a connection, without any loss of performance. From cold (regardless of the network state) it takes 22 seconds to reach the desktop, and 26 seconds if set to autostart Yoshimi.

I haven't yet got it to auto-manage USB sticks, they can be a bit tricky when you're working from scratch

I've also been adding other utilities to it. There is a MIDI arpeggiator, a MIDI router (which can also modify incomming CC etc). Also a lightweight sequencer. As well as the very lightweight Audacious music player, it will run the Audacity recorder/editor/player.

I don't have a full-fat YoshimiPi to test on yet, just the basic Pi 4, but if anyone is feeling a bit brave and doesn't mind opening the box, I can send a programmed SD card for a tenner (the cost of a mid range 16G card).

P.S.
This will also have Version 1.7.2 of Yoshimi

[Eddy Deegan]

Money is in your account Will, along with an extra fiver for postage and shoe leather

[Folderol]

That was 'kin quick!
I should be able to get that sorted in the next day or two.
Things at folderol towers have got 'interesting' ... again.
My office machine has gone down most emphatically this time. Currently it can't even read a DVD so I'm working on my music machine using backups. I'm not sure how much damage has been done to the disk drives, but I'll pull them and stick them in a usb header and try and read the data off them to this machine.

The good news is that I do now have two working Pi SD cards. Just the quick document on them that's out of date.

[BJG145]

My office machine has gone down most emphatically this time. Currently it can't even read a DVD.

DVD? At least it hasn't run out of Tipp-Ex paper.

[Folderol]

If that was supposed to be humour it failed.
good morning.

[Folderol]

Issues now resolved. No YP images were harmed in the process

[Folderol]

For anyone wanting to upgrade their YP to V1.7.2, the following is what you need to do.

In the Apps directory, double click on the NetControl Icon, and enable the network.
Shutdown and restart the unit (obviously with a network lead plugged in).
Stop Yoshimi itself, if you have it set to autorun.
Click on the Terminal Icon, and wait for the prompt to appear.
Type in the following line:
cd /home/pi/Software/yoshimi/build

The prompt will change to reflect this.
Type in the following:
git pull

You'll see a lot of text running past. When it stops type:
make

There will be a lot more text. Only if there are no errors reported, type:
sudo make install

When this has finished, go back to the NetControl app, and disable the network again.
Shut the unit down and restart it.

Enjoy your shiny new Yoshi Pi

[Folderol]

A shout out to our happy owners
One of Yoshimi's little band of helpers has started developing a Yoshimi Pi website, so I'd be very grateful for any comments, short reviews and/or photos.
These would of course be acknowledged in whatever way you prefer.

If anyone can also produce a video that would be fantastic. I've a feeling the Internet Archive can host videos these days, and if so, I'd prefer to post these there (or make downloadable links) Youtube is getting really aggressive with adds and other intrusions

Also, a reminder.
There is still YP003 available at the original price of £260. It will be updated with the latest Yoshimi improvements too.

[Martin Walker]

Excellent news Will!

Looking forward to viewing the website when it's up and running, and I daresay I can provide some feedback and maybe even a tiny bit of user content in due course.

Martin

[Folderol]

Just an update.
Website could be up by Monday, but could still do with photos and or reviews.

[Folderol]

Just an update.
Website could be up by Monday, but could still do with photos and or reviews.

Ummm...

[Folderol]

Withe the help of people here, and some of Yoshimi's little band of helpers we now have a temporary hidden site here.

There are a couple of working links, but for fairly obvious reasons it can't go public yet.