GENERATIONS is a handmade MIDI controller designed for creating generative, ambient soundscapes.

GENERATIONS uses models of simple dynamic systems to create MIDI control change signals that can be used to modulate various parameters in the DAW, including the volume of an instrument, the panning of a channel, filter cut-offs, envelopes, etc.

In its primary mode, GENERATIONS models the motion of particles in a simple bounded system. A 128 x 64 pixel OLED display illustrates these dynamics in real time. Notes are generated on one of four channels when particles bounce off the borders of the display. The distance among those particles is used to create dynamic control change values that can be used to modulate DAW parameters.

A configuration menu can be used to uniquely set the minimum and maximum limits of those control values for 9 controllers, as well as to select among a traditional mode (i.e., a traditional MIDI controller in which control changes are sent via manual changes to the knobs), a dynamic mode (control changes are generated via the dynamics displayed), and a more chaotic one (a combination of displayed dynamics and chaos).

A note menu allows the user to choose among several built-in scales for up to four channels, as well as channel-specific user scales. Notes and octaves can be adjusted as needed. Note trigger probabilities can also be adjusted.

This isn't a traditional, performance-based MIDI controller, although it can certainly be used as such. Instead, it IS the performer: GENERATIONS creates the patterns autonomously once the user has configured the starting conditions.

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This is a DIY kit that includes:

1 x GENERATIONS printed circuit board (PCB)
1 x PCB front panel (purple)
10 x potentiometers
4 x tactile buttons
4 x 4 button caps/covers
1 x Teensy 4.0 microcontroller (pre-loaded with GENERATIONS software)
1 x multiplexer
various header pins, screws, spacers, and nuts
1 x USB cable
1 x instruction manual
1 x assembly guide.

For this kit, the components need to be assembled and soldered. (Easy DIY job: just screwdriver and soldering.) This kit does *not* include knobs or enclosure. The front panel for the kit is a PCB shaped to the same size as the controller PCB; it is not the same panel that comes with the pre-assembled version.

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Please note that GENERATIONS is a MIDI-controller; it is not a synthesizer per se. It is a plug-and-play MIDI instrument that should immediately be recognized by any computer, and it works with any MIDI-compatible DAW. It is powered by, and sends data through, a USB connector; it does not use a 5-pin MIDI connector.

Please see the following video for examples of GENERATIONS in action.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuHWyBo8iW4

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2024-02-04 update: I'm currently stocking components as I run out. Thus, kits should ship out within 1 to 10 days, depending on where I am in my stock when the order is placed. All kits will be shipped when I have parts in hand.
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