YM3812 EuroRack Module Part 1 - Controlling Registers

This is the first episode in a series on building a YM3812 EuroRack module. In this video we explore the basics of Frequency Modulation, map out the registers of a YM3812 and walk through the electrical steps necessary to set a register on the chip.
A GitHub repository with the module's code is coming (I will probably release it once I have a chance to talk about the algorithms a bit more) but in the meantime, you can explore all of the content discussed here on my blog.
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[@rosenote2462]

I literally can't describe in words how I'm impressed by the quality of your videos in context of your sub number.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Wow, that means a lot! Thank you!

[@rosenote2462]

@@ThingsMadeSimple np bro, just keep doing great work ^^ good luck

[@funkytransport]

literally

[@pantalalabs]

Hi Tyler. Thank you so much for sharing all these info. I´m at beggining "Part 1". Your animated explanation about writing the registers is awesome. I´m gonna watch all of the YM vids! See ya!

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thank you! Good luck, and let me know if you have questions!

[@OzzieCoto]

Thanks Tyler!! This is super dope. 🤘

[@laserspaceninja]

Cool stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Thank you so much for sharing this 👍

[@xotmatrix]

Great intro to this chip and presentation of signal timing.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thank you!

[@lookitsgraphic]

Your differents projects are really amazing, can't wait to see your future github

[@jkuebler89]

This is so awesome and incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@le_cybermancien]

Thank you for your work

[@MichaelObed]

Ahhhh so cool, what a godsend as I was just thinking of digging out a YM2612 I have in my pile of ICs which I've been meaning to get working for a while...great presentation too! Subbed! 😆

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thank you! The YM2612 is another great chip. You get a bit more envelope control and some special features like SSG envelopes, stereo output, a DAC channel, and some kind of 3-channel thing that I don't totally understand yet. Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

[@PeetHobby]

Great video! 👍

[@strangersun7721]

Great video with great production. Loved it. Would love a eurorack module with this chip.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Many thanks! Once I get through a few more of these videos I will definitely open source the project. (a.k.a. I still need to clean up the code a bit). Oh... and there are actually TWO of those chips crammed into the module. :)

[@erikelshout]

Excellent done

[@wedkarzkosma]

This channel is a hiden gem. Looking forward to next epiodes. My only issue is that audio tests can be heard only in right ear. Cheers

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thanks Frank! Will work on that audio.

[@tangiblewaves3581]

Hi Tyler, great! Maybe you remember our email contact a while ago regarding this topic; it's funny, just the last days I was thinking several times continuing the project of making an AE module with the Yamaha chip (had to suspend ot for several reasons) , and via Juanito's post of your video this project is fueled again! ☺️ Thanks for your great work! 👌👌✌️♥️

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

For sure! I actually followed your recommendation and used an AVR128DA28 as the micro in the module. (I used the DA vs the DB because you get a full 8 pins on port D).

[@waporwave5066]

amazing

[@butsukete1806]

If your Siglent supports web browser control (most of them do), you should be able to use VNC to do better screen caps.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thank you for the tip, I will definitely have to look into that!

[@MrBenMcLean]

I would really like to be able to control a YM3812 with presets using my Alesis Vortex Keytar for live performance. I eventually just bought a Yamaha Reface DX instead as that was the closest thing but it'd still be great to get that specific sound. But that would definitely require MIDI

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

That would be a really cool combo! This module will be (is) midi controlled, so for what it’s worth, that would likely work. It should be possible to add pitch bend too, which feels very necessary in a keytar :)

[@MrBenMcLean]

@@ThingsMadeSimple Oh yeah I forgot about pitch bend! Yes that's important!

[@ZElTGElST]

You really did an insane amount of work here on this module. All the registers translation seems a bit of nighmarey. Also the video edition and blog documentation are top notch. Hyped to see the next chapters. Kudos, man. What processor are you using?. Cheers!

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Thank you sir! Still working on the next bit of documentation. Describing programming concepts is not easy 😅. The micro controller is the AVR128DA28. It has been my go-to recently. Like an arduino nano in a DIP package, but wayyyyy more powerful.

[@cr0wland]

I am interested in using old synth chips in modern eurorack, however it's understandably better suited to midi given the complexity of the chip. Would it be possible to make a non midi mono VCO using the same IC, with the usual 1v per octage note scaling etc? Obviously we would sacrifice a lot of the chips ability, but they're still very cheap and easy to buy.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Hey Clive, you could definitely use a CV to control pitch. The 1v/oct would be fairly simple to accommodate because you would do the exponential conversion in the software anyway before sending to the chip. If you only wanted to use as a mono synth, you could probably fatten the sound by having all of the voices play together and slightly change or detune them. Or, you could allow notes to sustain after they are released (in a way that a normal oscillator wouldn't be able to do). You could also use multiple CV inputs to play multiple notes at the same time as well. Sounds like a cool experiment :)

[@cr0wland]

@@ThingsMadeSimple thats good to hear, but way above my skill set, love watching your progress on this all the same so keep it up!

[@Galova]

Where can I find all the info regarding opl programming in one place to read?

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Take a look at my website, www.thingsmadesimple.com it has a whole series of articles that walk through the concepts and code for controlling the OPL chip

[@AnalogDude_]

YM3438, YM2612 is this the best yamaha FM chip?

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

I haven't been able to play with a YM3438, and the documentation seems sparse. From what I've read it's similar YM2612, but CMOS and with a better DAC. The 2612 is another great chip. It seems like each of the YM chips have their own quirks that make their sounds unique, so it's hard to say which is the "best" chip. I like them all!

[@AnalogDude_]

@@ThingsMadeSimple well, it seems to have 4 operators, seemingly more than the one you are talking about. do you have a few of them? or YM2612 want to build one as wel.

[@AnalogDude_]

@@ThingsMadeSimple i found the Yamaha YM3438 datasheet, but's mostly japanese.

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Great find on the data sheet! You are correct, the YM3438 and YM2612 both have four operators, and will definitely produce more complex sounds as a result. I ended up choosing the YM3812 because it is extremely versatile, but also easy to control. The extra parameters significantly increase the complexity of the UI that you need to control them. Hopefully if we can get at 2-op synth sorted, we can figure out how to extend it into the more advanced 4-op synth chips. One fun fact though... the YM3812 supports multiple waveforms, while the YM2612 only supports sine waves. So it still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

[@AnalogDude_]

@@ThingsMadeSimple You got 4 pieces (one spare) for me? and the header file with the register settings also wanna give it try to make a eurorack module. probably not easy to make a sine wave inside a chip, dunno.

[@Jchot]

HAHAHAH! "what better way?!?! Holy crap dude, literally ANY OTHER WAY than Eurorack!!! I mean, I get it, but I absolutely can't believe you said that! Shoehorning a computer controlled chip into an analog environment is more than a little hairy

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

But… for the challenge! 😂

[@Antonio_Gallego]

How much I love this stuff! Another cool intro to YM3812 is this 8BitGuy video kzbin.info/www/bejne/h32thJeEjsiXps0

[@ThingsMadeSimple]

Yep! I saw that video a couple of years ago-definitely one of the things that inspired my journey into these chips. I also breadboarded out a similar circuit using the YM2413 chip, but man... it's truly a shadow of the YM3812. The digital to analog conversion sits inside of the chip itself instead of using the Y3014b DAC and I couldn't get it to work without a whole lot of noise. Anyway, thanks for watching!