Planet Arduino

What can you do with ferromagnetic PLA? [TheMixedSignal] used it to give new meaning to the term ‘musicians’ gear’. He’s made a proof of concept for a DIY tone generator, which is the same revolutionary system that made the Hammond organ sing.

Whereas the Hammond has one tonewheel per note, this project uses an Arduino to drive a stepper at varying speeds to produce different notes. Like we said, it’s a proof of concept. [TheMixedSignal] is proving that tonewheels can be printed, pickups can be wound at home, and together they will produce audible frequencies. The principle is otherwise the same — the protruding teeth of the gear induce changes in the magnetic field of the pickup.

[TheMixedSignal] fully intends to expand on this project by adding more tone wheels, trying different gear profiles, and replacing the stepper with a brushless motor. We can’t wait to hear him play “Karn Evil 9”. In the meantime, put on those cans and check out the demo/build video after the break.

We don’t have to tell you how great Hammond organs are for making music. But did you know they can also encode secret messages?

Via the Arduino blog.

YouTuber “The Mixed Signal” has come up with a fun way to make music: spinning a gear-like ferromagnetic tonewheel next to a homemade coil pickup. 

A stepper motor turns the wheel using a CNC shield under Arduino control. When set up, it’s simply a matter of programming in the proper speed via G-code to create the correct sound.

The concept isn’t entirely new, as this type of assembly was used in Hammond organs produced in the middle of the last century. The Mixed Signal’s project, however, is a very interesting take on this technology, with the use of 3D-printed parts including the iron-embedded tonewheel, as well as the integration of a MIDI keyboard.