ZYNTHIAN in 2022: The best DIY groovebox

[@mr_floydst]

For smartphone users: #ZYNTHIAN is a powerful #synthesiser workstation / groovebox for your #RaspberryPI, and the November 2022 update only made it better. This video is an incomplete and subjective look at some of the things I liked, but you should get a good impression what's possible here. Table of contents: 00:00 intro 00:10 there was an update 00:25 what is Zynthian? (also, please support the developers by buying the kit from zynthian.org) 00:56 hardware needed 01:26 software installation & setup 02:44 creating a drum track 02:58 adding a chain 03:55 adding a sequencer / a clip 04:40 adding a bass track 05:35 important things to consider 05:55 track and sound overview 06:41 color coding in the step sequencer main screen 07:14 mixing your track live using the sequencer (demo) 08:22 demo 2 (live sound tweaking) 09:55 MOD UI - virtual pedal board demo 10:52 conclusion, demo 3 13:19 bye-bye You will find some troubleshooting infos in my first video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6Kcc5SsmZyCp7s Links & resources ZYNTHIAN zynthian.org Capacitive touchscreen: amzn.to/3gqipXW USB sound card amzn.to/3OxnZ7B

[@zynthian]

Hi Floyd! Congratulations for the excellent video and thanks a lot for promoting zynthian project! A little tip: when using a bare-bones zynthian like this (no encoders, only touch/mouse interface), it's very very useful to enable the "on-screen" buttons in the webconf's the UI-options. Your UX will improve quite a bit!! ;-)

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for the info! But... uhm... I did? ;-) That box is checked for sure. Without it, the buttons at the bottom of the screen disappear. (Perhaps I'll show up with that topic in the forum)

[@zynthian]

@@mr_floydst Ups !! You are right @Floyd. I forgot that the on-screen buttons are not available in many screens yet (mixer, sequencer, etc.) so they are only shown in some moments along your video! Your config is OK!

[@pabloresa6588]

I've been using zynthian for almost two years now, and I find it maybe the best promising linux music hardware tool... specially in education. Learning, playing and enjoying electronic music is very easy with this little gadget! Great video, as always!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! You're right, this is quickly becoming a "you should have this in your setup" tool.

[@barnabydixon]

Great video as always Floyd. Love these insights into cool, portable setups!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you very much!

[@uhoh007]

My Zynthian Kit v4.6 is up and running, and revisiting your video is very helpful, thank you. :)

[@mr_floydst]

I'll do more videos in the future, but releasing videos on the same topic in short succession has proven to succumb to the rule of diminishing returns on KZbin. I need to cover some other topics first before returning to Zynthian. :)

[@fcfc]

Proper Digital music influencing, always at the forefront. Thanks for sharing! Massive up!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! I try to balance the "tech troubleshooting" and "oooh you have to see this new thingamajique" parts so it's not too grating. Or at least I hope so. ;-)

[@fcfc]

@@mr_floydst you balance it perfectly, without all the annoying frills of avarages youtubers!

[@Cowcodude]

This video breathed new life into my interest in the Raspberry Pi, I'm really into my DIY Zynthian. Plus I've finally found a replacement for the TX7 I foolishly sold by using the Dexed that's pre-loaded in there. Now maybe it's time to get another Pi and try out the Sunvox...

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I'll buy an actual Zynthian one day. ;)

[@JonathanDotExe]

Great introduction. Zynthian seems pretty powerful. Would you consider it ready for productive/live use or are there audio glitches and other bugs that occur from time to time?

[@mr_floydst]

When using the PI4 / 400, this is a very stable system that won't bother you with glitches or crashes. Boot time might be a problem, it's very long.

[@Maschinestorm]

I will be updating my zynthian today. The effects pedals feature looks very purposeful. The last two tracks great sound.

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! Glad you liked the tracks. I felt a bit exhausted / tired when recording the demo tracks, but I thought they somewhat show what's possible. My viewers will certainly create better tracks. :-)

[@dolvaran]

The encoders are indeed supported on the new version. I booted my Zynthian v4 kit from a freshly burned SD card and everything worked out of the box.

[@mr_floydst]

Yeah, I think my grammar was questionable there. I meant to say "you can use this with a touchscreen only, if you'd like to"

[@smellymala3103]

I feel like I should order the kit, yet here I am with a soldering iron, some encoder breakouts and a hiduino tutorial pulled up 😂

[@paulbergel9191]

Excellent video as always - thanks so much for the overview of the new UI! I installed 2211 immediately when it was released and couldn’t make beads or tails out of it! How do you figure this stuff out so quickly??

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you very much! Well, I read the manual/the Wiki/the forum. ;-)

[@LogicBeach]

Thanks for the video! I borked my touch screen in my latest build so I’m forced to fumble around with knobs to navigate the new sequencer, but it’s an awesome addition!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful. Zynthian is great, and there's a new OS release "on the horizon" - can't wait to get my hands on it ;-)

[@LogicBeach]

@@mr_floydst I have been looking forward to recording in the sequencer that takes note length into account! Hopefully that's fixed. My build makes it prohibitive to swap the sim card to try testing builds. Loving it so far!!!

[@gameboyz7497]

floyd ty very much for all yours videos ! i would ask you did you trying to install amazing SunVox on Pie ?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thank you very much! SunVox is on my to-do-list. :-)

[@gameboyz7497]

@@mr_floydst it was great and Ty very Much for all your great stuff !

[@luizkowalski9476]

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for show it and explain the main features so well. Have you tested or suggest another solutions like that?

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I frequently show open source music projects based on RasPi or other mini computers on my channel.

[@Flat8G]

Super interesting video (as always)! 💯 I still have not done anything useful with my RP3 with 3.5 gpio screen/case other than installed Pi OS on it. Will it run a pair of Zynthian tracks ok, being just the RP3?

[@mr_floydst]

I tried, and yes, it will. Just don't use the CPU-hungry plugins. Couple of Sound Fonts plus one virtual synth should work without problems.

[@Flat8G]

@@mr_floydst Awesome, thanks for sharing! 😀

[@Digithalis]

Great Groovebox from Zynthian and great Demo Floyd! I have one question: Is it possible to configure a Autostart for "Noobs" to play Instruments/Sounds on external keyboard directly after turn on the groovebox? Something like a Ready-To-Use feature for beginners. Much greetings!

[@lumm71]

I own a Zynthian kit and my MAudio Keystation MIDI Keyboard works out of the Box when connected to USB.

[@dolvaran]

You can set up a default chain that is loaded each time - so yes, absolutely.

[@mr_floydst]

Zynthian will also preload the last "snapshot" you worked on. I didn't show those in the video - basically, a snapshot contains all the settings and music you worked on.

[@SamiJumppanen]

Thank you for the infos and cool music!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@metokyo4960]

Nice! Thank you!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! :-)

[@HarryvanderMeulen]

Hi Floyd, Great video's you make! Currently trying to make the Zynthian to play around with. If it works for me, I might buy the Zynthian 5. I run a RaspberriPi 4B with a Wimaxit M728 touch screen. Get the following error: Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! exitcode=0x00007f00 With both the latest release (2023-11-02) and the one from 203-08-25. Same behaviour. Do you have any ideas?

[@mr_floydst]

PI can't find a filesystem. Please check your SD card - try another one, for example, or run a filesystem check on another computer. Hope this helps!

[@johncabrer2328]

I'm curious about the use of USB sound this time. In other videos you have always opted for DACs.

[@mr_floydst]

Two reasons. First is, shooting this took days and I was super tired and I knew USB would just work. ;-) Second reason is the PI 400 needs an adapter for connecting anything to the GPIO port (otherwise the sound board sits on the back of the computer at a rather awkward angle).

[@julesd]

pi 3's with usb sound card can be a bit clicky and have xruns. Pi 4 / 400 is much much better. This is due to the better bus architecture on the Pi 4 (and pi 400) I use a behringer 404 usb 4 channel sound card with my pi4 zynth and it is solid.

[@matheuscamara84]

nice! Do you know if its possible to install the Zynthian software on orange pi instead of rabsberry ?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! I don't know if it's possible. If you have one, just try it - download the SD image and try to boot. If you're able to get to the web interface (zynthian.local), chances are it will work some way.

[@bassgeballer]

Nice videos you make!! ...i own the v3-can i use the new version of the device on my v3?

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! Yes, absolutely. I mean you could just try it, download the new OS to another SD card and switch back if you don't like what you see. :-)

[@bassgeballer]

@@mr_floydst thank you very much for your quick response!! Tried out a different sd card but it doesnt work-it seems that the sd has to be deleted on a linux? Anyways-tried to update over internet like the manual says and it worked!the ,,new" obx sounds soo amazing...just wow Thank you!!

[@UNOCASTILLO]

please help, for some reason Zynthian just wont start. it keeps on a loop where it shows me the log then some system lines, then the logo agian and so on . what coul it be happening?

[@mr_floydst]

This sounds like you need to adjust the config files for your screen: resolution, orientation, type. Please connect your Zynthian system to a network and on another computer, open zynthian.local On that page, you can adjust your screen settings.

[@UNOCASTILLO]

@@mr_floydst thanks for answer. But no, my problem was with the raspberry pi 400. For some reason just don’t like the zhnthian os. In a raspberry 4 it runs ok.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for your reply! I never tried on the PI400. If I find the time, I'll look into it (or perhaps drop a note to Team Zynthian)

[@yanickborg3118]

​​@@mr_floydst What about Midi out for sequencing external instruments ? I have plugged in a USB to Midi device into the pi. Now plugged in to my external synthesizers, but nothing.

[@HOLODECK-MUSIC-PROJECT]

Is there no real time recording for midi notes?

[@mr_floydst]

There is. I didn't talk about that in this video, but I've shown it in my longer Zynthian 5 video. Basically, press the pattern button, open the pattern view (grid) and press record. Notes will be recorded as-is, off-grid; you can later quantize them.

[@Xianpaul0523]

I have an idea going to my head right now. Can I just install the os let's say on the likes of steam deck perhaps?

[@mr_floydst]

I'm afraid that won't work, Steam Deck has an X64 CPU, this here is ARM-based. There are RasPi emulators around, those _could_ work...

[@arcanics1971]

Cool. Much like that banana-coloured submersible.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! It's a blue banana now. And I guess that's some very bad slang somewhere on this planet. :-)

[@arcanics1971]

@@mr_floydst What IS the blue/purple thing? I feel like I should recognise it.

[@mr_floydst]

@@arcanics1971 it's a "ghost" from halo

[@slimpyman]

jazzy as heck

[@luminouscloud1269]

Will it load Disco DSP OBXd ?

[@mr_floydst]

As far as I can see, there's no ARM64 version. So I'm afraid that won't work.

[@superkeenaudio2095]

Nice one Pink , Like a Boss as per !!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks ;)

[@WewbaccaTheChookie]

0:01 Is that a Decepticon?

[@mr_floydst]

No it's a "Ghost" from HALO.

[@WewbaccaTheChookie]

@@mr_floydst Ahhhh…. 😂😂😂

[@thatsfinn]

How long does it take to boot on the raspberry pi 4?

[@mr_floydst]

Boot time is very long, unfortunately, depending on your storage media, it can take around a minute. (I'll check later and edit this answer if necessary)

[@thatsfinn]

​ @Floyd Steinberg This makes it a bit hard to use in my situation. I love the power and capability of Zynthian but will sometimes just simply want my midi controller to be a portable piano, and maybe even headless. May end up having two sd cards and swapping between the two. The boot duration you mentioned surprises me though. I have a pi 4 in the mail, but my pi 3 usually takes 30-40 seconds, definitely under a minute. Maybe me having less instruments and sounds helps? I hope the upgrade to the pi 4 speeds that up, or else maybe I'll try botting with an ssd over usb.

[@senacht]

Extremely difficult getting kits at the moment. Oh well…

[@mr_floydst]

I hope the supply chain situation will improve this year :)

[@gaborb6577]

This set would exactly fit to my needs. Today that is an app. That is exactly the feature set i would expect Behringer could implement in a small box without display in 100€. This way i stick to my Pi Zero+ lmms+ SF2. Thanks for the demo.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Thing is, there is an official Zynthian product which has professional audio, some encoders and a metal case, so there's no need for other companies to create something like this. ;-)

[@stuartchapman5171]

@Floyd Steinberg that's never stopped them, it'll be released next year in a plastic box, with cheap knobs and clicky buttons for €25.00 less than the original.

[@extrajava9175]

It'd be great if their stock lasted more than 5 minutes....

[@mr_floydst]

I agree, that would be great. Acquiring electronic components is still a challenge for any venture that's not a multinational mega corporation, though. Some of those obviously built up a large pile during the COVID crisis and now the market has some catching up to do...

[@davidgoogle]

That looks stressful to own.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Yes, if you don't enjoy building things, this is not recommended. :-)

[@johnzawicki5032]

Now wait a minute. It's advertise as a "standalone unit". So why the outboard stuff in this video? Is it truly standalone? Maybe do a standalone video and show the product "as advertised". I absolutely hate either the false advertising or showing it with other equipment.

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, I guess you came here via synthtopia or synthanatomy? This is an older video on the DIY version of Zynthian, which has nothing to do (apart from the software) with the hardware they build. I guessed they placed my video on their pages because there's not much on that topic. I actually got one of the new boxes here, they're standalone and I'm creating a fairly lengthy video at the moment. Please come back in 2 or 3 days ;-)

[@johnzawicki5032]

Awesome thanks. I just was watching a video the other day or a Bass amp company and they shoot "their band" and the sound was obviously mixed buy a guitar player. Because instead of featuring the base amp and letting us hear what the base amp does you hear a whole band with the guitar the most predominant in the mix. I mean if you're trying to sell a product feature that product not your band or your guitar player