Re: [LAU] Took the leap and ordered an Intel Mini-ITX

On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 12:21:43PM -0400, Paul Coccoli wrote:
> On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 7:18 PM, Ken Restivo <ken@email-addr-hidden> wrote:
> > After following the thread here about laptop survival rates live, I've decided to roll my own ruggedized embedded softsynth box:
> >
> > http://www.restivo.org/blog/archives/a-more-portable-setup
> >
> > I'd appreciate any advice anyone here might have to share regarding this adventure.
> >
> > I'm particularly curious about storage options. I'd rather not put in a spinning hard drive, and go with some kind of flash drive with an ATA or SATA interface, if such things exist.
>
> When I built my Shuttle XPC 4 years, the goal was to have a
> semi-portable setup. I actually took it to a drummer's house a few
> times. Setup time was about 15 minutes. I just used a normal
> hardware though (no SSD or anything fancy).
>
> Have you considered no HDD at all? Like rolling your own live CD.
> Just burn a bunch of copies. If you want to record your gigs, maybe
> use SD cards or USB drives. Just a thought. Probably harder than it
> sounds...
>
> What about a rackmount mini-itx case (Ihave not used these vendors or
> products; these are just some search results):
> http://www.logicsupply.com/categories/cases/rackmount
> http://store1.alrightdeals.com/CommonItem.htm?Product=S1_Cases_Rackmount___66632
>
> Pricey, but seems like a good idea for a gigging musicians.

Thanks!

I'll have to see what size the thing is when I get it, and load it up with RAM and flash drive, and then come up with a case. The reason I don't do a lot of hardware hacking is because it is very hard for me to visualize things before they are done or to plan or architect something. I kind of make it up as I go along.

For example, I'd love to repurpose a case from some old vintage synth gear, such as from old half-rack (if it fits) or rack-size effects units. The 2x80 char LCD would fit nicely in there. Or find a cool-looking hard plastic case from some garage sale or junkyard, or from old computer gear found at Weird Stuff warehouse. Weight is going to be an issue; I'd like to fit this softsynth thing in a backpack or in the little pocket in the front of my MIDI controller's gig bag.

Thanks for the kind words about my blog! I'll see what I can do in WordPress to enable comments again without letting it get overrun with SPAM as it used to. However, I think it is better for discussion of stuff like this to happen in a more "public" community space like this one, where it may be more accessible to others.

My goal is to have a synth that is as rock-solid and easy to set up as, say, a Nord Electro, but for a fraction of the cost, and with total Freedom and ability to customize. I want to be able to plug my Novation (or any other!) MIDI controller into it, turn it on, plug it into my amp or house PA, wait a minute or two for it to boot up, and start playing. Totally Pro. I don't want to have to think aout it or worry about it; I just want to be able to focus on playing the gig reliably, and making a good show of it. All the classic sounds I use and need can be made with Fluidsynth, AZR3-JACK, AMS, and Nekostring/Nekobee, and a couple LADSPA plugins.

As for user interface, I'm fine with the MIDI controller and a 2x80 character LCD. But I may converge this with the thread about the Linux phone: if the mobo has bluetooth and I get a Linux phone that also has bluetooth, I can ssh into it and let my phone be the touchscreen UI to my softsynths. I could write some GUI stuff for the Linux phone and have it control synths via OSC, possibly. But, again, I'll probably keep it very very simple, and use this little Mini-ITX box for gigs where I'm basically just playing keyboard parts, not being an electronic music nerd. If I'm doing a solo liveset or something where I need a GUI to do things like mess with Hydrogen or do crazy electronic stuff in PD or whatever, I'll probably bring the laptop for those, and use the laptop's screen and keyboard/trackpad as a UI.

Thanks also for the links to the flash drives with PATA interfaces, and to the adapters that interface a SD to PATA. All I will need is maximum of 8GB, or even less; just enough for a minimal 64Studio/UbuntuStudio/Musix/something distro, some samples, and a couple large soundfonts. I won't be recording on this box, just using it as a synth.

Apparently the motherboard has shipped, so I'll have more to report (and I will take pictures) next week when it arrives.

-ken
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Received on Fri May 30 08:15:02 2008