Sound synthesizers are musical instruments that are used frequently in modern music. Synthesizers create sounds using electrical signals. There are many types of sound synthesis, including additive, subtractive, and frequency modulation. The following project report is about the design, development, and implementation of an Arduino Due-based MIDI-controlled subtractive synthesizer.
This synthesizer uses the Arduino Due’s powerful hardware PWM to generate various types of waveforms, including sawtooth, sine, square, and triangle waves, at a 192kHz sampling frequency. The synth is monophonic and can be controlled with a MIDI keyboard using the standard MIDI protocol. It also has an ADSR (Attack Decay Sustain Release) filter so that the musician can control the amplitude response when a note is pressed or released, making different sounds. An analog low-pass Butterworth filter smooths the PWM output, which can be connected to an amplifier using a 1/8th inch audio cable.
