Tubeohm Jeannie User manual

Jeannie

POLYPHONIC DIY SYNTHESIZER

User manual

Firmware V2.19

Jeannie is an 8-voice polyphonic open source synthesizer kit with digital sound synthesis and digital

ilters based on a ast ARM Cortex-M7 processor with 1MByte Ram.

For sound generation, the user has a variety o classic and band-limited wave orms at his disposal, as

well as a polyphonic multi-saw. A pool o 15 wave orm banks with 63 di erent wave orms each o er

plenty o space or sound experiments. A waveshaper with di erent characteristics provides or gentle

to vicious sounding distortions. To tame the wave orms, there are three digital ilters. The 1st ilter is a

12dB state variable ilter with TP/HP/BP unction. The 2nd ilter is a 24dB ladder low pass ilter. The 3rd

ilter is located at the internal sum output. It is a 12dB high pass ilter with adjustable cut-o requency

rom 20Hz - 2000Hz. A 24Bit DSP e ect module with adjustable parameters rounds o the sound

synthesis. An integrated polyphonic step sequencer provides or the play ulness o the small

synthesizer.

A total o 2048 sound programmes rom 15 banks can be loaded and stored via an integrated SD card.

A colour 1.8 inch TFT display allows a clear menu structure and easy operation o the synthesiser. The

parameters are entered via our rotary knobs below the display as well as an encoder or selecting the

sound programmes and switching to the menu unctions. In addition, six keys are available or

operating special unctions o the synthesiser.

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Operatin manual ..........................................1

Table o contents ..................................................2

Prologue ...............................................................3

Special thanks ......................................................3

The development team .........................................3

Firmware ...............................................................3

The assemblies ...............................................4

Block diagram .......................................................5

Jeannie Synthesizer .............................................6

Speci ications .......................................................7

Controls and connections ...........................8

Front .....................................................................8

Connections on the back ......................................8

Power supply connection .....................................9

Power supply ........................................................9

Power ON .............................................................9

SD Card ............................................................10

Folder and ile structure ......................................10

Operatin concept .......................................11

DATA ...................................................................11

Poti ......................................................................11

Switches..............................................................11

Volume.................................................................12

Display.................................................................12

Menuestructure ..................................................13

Menu pa es.....................................................14

Selecting a Sound Program................................14

Showing the unction parameters........................14

Oscillator.........................................................14

Selecting a wave orm..........................................14

Pitch setting.........................................................15

Glide....................................................................15

Oscillator Level ...................................................15

Oscillator Mixer ...................................................15

Pulse width modulation.......................................15

Quadsaw ............................................................16

SawMix and spread ............................................16

Detune.................................................................16

Oscillator submenu ....................................17

Wave Shaper ......................................................17

Gain ....................................................................17

Sync ....................................................................17

Transpose............................................................17

Tune ...................................................................17

Noise ..................................................................17

Oscillator modulation ..........................................17

Filter..................................................................18

Cuto / Resonanz................................................18

Resonanz ...........................................................18

Envelope .............................................................18

SVF Typ ..............................................................18

Filter submenu...............................................18

Keytraking ..........................................................18

Velocity ...............................................................18

LFO .....................................................................18

Filter submenu 2 ..........................................19

Cuto / Resonanz ...............................................19

Filter switching ....................................................19

Envelopes........................................................20

Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release ........................20

Envelope submenu .......................................20

Curve ..................................................................20

Velocity ...............................................................20

LFO.....................................................................21

Shape, Rate, AMT, SYN .....................................21

Velocity ...............................................................21

LFO submenu..................................................21

Mode, Fade-In, Fade-Out, Curve .......................21

Modulation.......................................................22

Slot 1 - 24 ....................................................22 - 23

FxDSP menu....................................................24

Parameter adjustment ........................................24

SEQUENCER ..................................................25

STEP ..................................................................25

PITCH .................................................................25

BPM ....................................................................25

DIV ......................................................................25

SEQUENCER submenu ...............................25

LEN .....................................................................25

TIME ...................................................................25

DIR .....................................................................26

MODE .................................................................26

Sequenzer Pattern .......................................27

Loading and saving a sequencer pattern............27

SYSTEM menu ...............................................28

Midi cannel..........................................................28

Velocity curve......................................................28

Pickup unktion....................................................28

MIDI-Clock...........................................................28

Program change..................................................28

parameter Pot 1 - Pot 4.......................................28

SYSEX DUMP .................................................29

Parameter settings .............................................29

Receiving and sending SysEx data.....................29

Save Sound Pro ram....................................30

Create Init Program ............................................30

Appendix .........................................................31

Tipps & Tricks .....................................................31

Start problem ......................................................31

SD card is not recognised ..................................31

Tutorial 1 : programing sounds....................31 – 33

Midi Controller Messa es .........................34

Midi Controller Messages (0 – 31) .....................34

Midi Controller Messages (32 – 63) ...................35

Midi Controller Messages (64 – 95) ...................36

Midi Controller Messages (96 – 127) .................37

Technical data...............................................38

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Prolo ue

Thank you or purchasing the polyphonic synthesizer kit "Jeannie" rom TubeOhm Instruments.

The synthesiser is desi ned as a kit and is aimed at customers with basic

knowled e of electronics and some experience with di ital or analo ue

synthesizers.

Some mechanical experience is required, as solderin and the assembly of a

cabinet are necessary.

This synthesiser combines di erent types o sound synthesis and is thus a great playground or sound

tinkerers. A graphic 1.8-inch TFT display or visual representation o the wave orms and a simple menu

structure acilitate operation.

Special thanks to

Paul Sto regen, https://www.pjrc.com/

ElectroTechnique, https://electrotechnique.cc/

and to all those who have been orgotten here.

The development team

Hardware Andre’ Laska, Rol Degen

Designe: Andre’ Laska tubeohm.com

So tware: Rol Degen github.com

Firmware: V2.19 Januar 2023

Download: tubeohm.com

Jeannie DIY Block: sequencer.de

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The assemblies

The kit consists o a total o our boards, whereby the Teensy 4.1 board and the PCM5102A board are

supplied already assembled and are simply plugged into the existing contact strips on the back o the

panel board.

The panel board contains all the controls and a 160x128 pixel colour TFT display. The FxDSP board is

equipped with an FV-1 reverb IC rom Spin Semiconductor and is responsible or the sound e ects.

Panel Board (SMD bereits bestückt)

Teensy 4.1 Board (fertig bestückt) PCM5102A Board (fertig bestückt)

Fx DSP Board (SMD bereits bestückt)

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Block dia ram

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Jeannie

Jeannie is a digital synthesiser. The sound generation o Jeannie is based on an ARM Cortex-M7

processor with a clock requency o 720 MHz and 1 MB RAM. With this, eight voices can be generated.

Two digital oscillators with a selection o over 900 wave orms are available or each voice. These

include classic to band-limited wave orms and a multisaw. In addition, a noise generator with white and

pink noise is available. There is a digital multimode ilter with 12 dB slope, which can be operated as

low-pass, band-pass or high-pass. In addition, the multimode ilter can be switched to a ladder low-pass

ilter with 24 dB slope. At the sum output, an adjustable high-pass ilter attenuates the low tones.

Downstream o the ilter is a waveshaper with di erent characteristics, which can be used to distort the

sound rom light to strong. Two ADSR envelopes and three LFOs are available or modulation. A 24-bit

DSP e ect module based on the FV-1 processor rom Spin Semiconductor rounds o the sound

synthesis. A polyphonic sequencer with 16 steps provides or urther play ulness.

DCO / Noise / Modulation / Waveshaper

Two oscillators are available or each voice and can generate di erent oscillation orms simultaneously.

For the pulse oscillation orm, the pulse width or each oscillator can be varied manually, by its own LFO

or via an ADSR generator. Both oscillators can be switched on or o . Stepless mixing o both oscillators

is also possible. In addition, white or pink noise can be added i desired. The pitch can be adjusted up

or down over 2 octaves. In addition, there is a pitch envelope that can a ect both oscillators separately.

The oscillators can modulate each other with the modes XOR, XMOD, MOD, AND, Phase and FM. A

waveshaper with di erent characteristics and adjustable gain provides gentle to vicious sounding

distortions behind the ilter.

Filter

Jeannie has three digital ilters, which have di erent settings. In the ilter menu you can choose

between a controllable 12dB state variable ilter (TP / HP / BP) or a 24dB ladder ilter (TP). At the sum

output there is a 12dB high-pass ilter with a requency rom 20Hz to 2000Hz. For each ilter the

requency and resonance can be adjusted. The ladder ilter also has a drive parameter.

Envelope / LFO

An ADSR envelope generator is available or both the ilter and the VCA. The attack phase can be set

rom linear to exponential. Decay and release are always exponential. The adjustable rise and all times

range rom 0.3ms - 12sec. Jeannie has three LFOs that are permanently assigned. LFO1 modulates

the pitch o oscillator1+2. LFO2 modulates the requency o the ilter (cuto ). LFO3 modulates the VCA

and e ect parameters in the FX DSP. Each LFO also has an adjustable ade-in and ade-out unction.

This allows you to create small delays or decay e ects in the LFO modulation.

Effekte

Jeannie is equipped with a programmable e ects module. The module is based on a 24bit FV-1 reverb

chip rom Spin Semiconductor. There are 15 e ects to choose rom. Each e ect can be changed by

modi iable parameters such as reverb time, eedback or pitch. With the LFO3, each e ect parameter

(P1-P3) and the Fx volume can be modulated.

Sequencer

An integrated polyphonic sequencer with 16 steps ensures playability. A maximum o 4 notes can be

entered per step. The notes can be recorded and edited directly in the sequencer editor using a midi

keyboard. The volume o the notes (velocity) is also recorded. It is displayed in the orm o coloured

steps.

Memory

The synthesiser has an internal SD card on which a total o 2048 sound programmes can be stored.

Individual programmes or banks can be loaded or saved via USB using the SysEx protocol.

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Specifications

- 8-voice polyphonic DIY synthesizer

- ARM Cortex-M7 processor 720MHz with 1MByte Ram

- two digital oscillators per voice

- 15 wave orm banks with a total o 945 wave orms and MultiSaw

- 12 standard wave orms, some o them band-limited

- Noise generator (white and pink noise)

- Oscillator modulation (XOR, XMOD, MOD, AND, PHA, FM)

- Waveshaper with di erent wave orms

- 3 LFOs with 64 wave orms or pitch, ilter, AMP and e ect modulation

- 2 PWM LFO rom 0.04Hz - 25Hz

- digital ilters

12dB state variable ilter with resonance LP/HP/BP per voice

24dB low pass ladder ilter with resonance, gain and saturation per voice

12dB global high pass ilter 20Hz - 2000Hz with resonance at sum output

- 2 ADSR generators 0.3ms - 12s with linear and exponential wave orms

- 24Bit DSP e ect module with 15 e ects and adjustable parameters

- Polyphonic sequencer with 16 steps

- SD cards or loading and saving a maximum o 2048 sound programmes

- USB SYSEX protocol or trans erring sound programmes

- colour 1.8 inch display with a resolution o 160x128 pixels

- Volume control

- Bass boost unction

- 4 potentiometers or parameter input

- Rotary encoder or menu control and sound selection

- 6 unction keys

- Midi In and Midi Out /Midi True

- stereo audio output jack 6.3mm

- USB 2.0 Midi inter ace

- Easy irmware update via USB

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Controls and connections

Front

1SOUND PATCH / MENÜ 8SHIFT FUNcTION 15 FX CLIP LED

2PARAMETER pot 9LOAD / SAVE 16 FX ON / OFF LED

3PARAMETER pot 10 SEQUENCER 17 UNISONO MODE LED

4PARAMETER pot 11 MUTE / PANIC 18 TEMPO LED

5PARAMETER pot 12 VOLUME 19 BASSBOOST ON / OFF

6UNISONO 13 DISPLAY

7BASSBOOST 14 MIDI LED

Connections on the back

20 12V DC POWER SUPPLY CONNECTION

21 Power switch

22 STEREO OUTPUT

23 MIDI OUT / MIDI THRU

24 MIDI IN

25 USB CONNECTION ( or irmware update)

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Power supply connector

The synthesiser is powered by an external 12V DC power supply at the power supply connector (20).

The power supply must be rated or a current load o at least 500 mA or more. The power switch (21) is

used to turn the synthesiser on and o . Make sure that all peripheral devices such as active speakers

or ampli iers are switched o and turn down the volume on the volume control (12).

Power supply unit

The synthesiser is supplied without a power supply unit. We recommend using a switching power

supply with 12 volts DC and 1000mA load. The power supply should have a 5.5 mm / 2.1 mm spar

connector and a positive polarity o the inner conductor as shown in the illustration.

PIN Spannung

1 + 12V DC

2 Ground

Switch on

A ter switching on, the system parameters or initialising the synthesiser are loaded rom the internal SD

card located in the Teensy 4.1 board. During this time the start screen with the TubeOhm logo is

displayed. The necessary system olders and iles must be present on the SD card, otherwise an error

message will appear.

A detailed description o the required system olders and iles can be ound on the ollowing page.

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SD-Card

The synthesiser is supplied without an SD card. Micro SDHC cards o the type Class 10-UHS I rom 8 -

64GB can be used as shown in the illustration.

microSDHC Karten Class 10-UHS I Teensy 4.1 mit SD-Karte

All required olders and iles can be downloaded as a ZIP ile rom the download section o the

tubeohm.com website. SD cards up to 32GB must be ormatted as FAT32, SD cards up to 64GB as

exFAT. Please copy the contents o the unzipped ZIP ile completely onto the SD card (see below).

Folder and file structure on the SD card

The olders A - P contain the stored sound programmes. Sound programmes are numbered rom 1 to

128. An exchange o iles and olders is possible at any time, as long as the numbering and designation

matches the original.

The PIC older contains the start screen and other picture elements. The SEQ older contains the saved

sequencer patterns. A sequencer pattern can be saved as individual iles in the sequencer editor. The

pattern iles are numbered rom 1-128.

Up to 128 sequencer patterns can be saved and loaded in the Sequencer Editor. I you are outside the

Sequencer Editor and save a sound programme, the current sequencer pattern is saved as part o a

sound programme.

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Operatin concept

DATA controller and potentiometer

The data knob (1) is used to select a sound programme and to switch the menu pages. It is equipped

with a push-button to switch between the sound programme and the menu pages. Below the display

(13) are our potentiometers (2 - 5) or entering parameters. The respective parameter unctions are

shown in the lower area o the display menu.

Keys Functions (6 - 11)

Uni switch

The Uni key (6) activates the unison mode. All voices sound when a note is struck. The key has two

modes. In unison mode 1 (uni LED lights up) the voices are slightly out o tune with each other. The

detuning can be changed in the OSC2 menu with DETUNE. I you press the button a second time, you

enter unison mode 2 (uni LED lashes). With Detune you can now select the type o chord (major,

minor, augmented...). Pressing the button a second time switches the unison mode o again (uni LED

o ).

Boost switch

The output ampli ier in the synthesiser is equipped with a switchable bass boost. The low requencies

below 100 Hz are boosted to make the sound atter. The boost key (7) switches the unction on or o .

LED 19 signals this unction.

Shift switch

The shi t key (8) is used to change to an existing submenu (SUB) or to cancel a unction. It is also used

when selecting a sound programme to scroll through the sound programmes in steps o 10 with the

rotary knob (1).

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Load / Save switch

The Load / Save button (9) is used to save and load a sound programme or sequencer pattern.

Seq switch

The internal step sequencer can be started and stopped with the SEQ button (11). The Temp LED (18)

lights up in time with the sequencer.

Mute switch

With the mute button (10), a step can be muted or reactivated in the sequencer editor. I the button is

pressed or longer in the sequencer editor, all sequencer settings are deleted and reset to de ault

values.

Pressing the MUTE button outside the sequencer editor or longer than 2 seconds sends a note o to

Jeannie.

Volume

The analogue volume control (12) is used to set the volume level or the stereo output (22) o the

synthesiser. It is recommended to turn the volume to zero be ore switching on (turn the potentiometer to

the le t) and to set the desired volume level only a ter switching on.

Display

The colour TFT display (13) in the synthesiser has a resolution o 160 x 128 pixels and has LED

backlighting that cannot be changed in brightness.

When assembling this synthesiser kit, please ensure that you use the TFT display supplied by

tubeohm.com. There are similar displays on the internet which are not compatible. To prevent errors,

the display is supplied with all kit variants.

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Menu structure

From the sound programme page, pressing the DATA knob takes you to the editing pages. Pressing it

again takes you back to the sound programme page.

Pressing the Shi t key takes you to the edit submenus (SUB menu). Pressing the Shi t key repeatedly

takes you either to a second submenu (i available) or to the previous edit menu page. You can also

scroll to other menu pages within the submenus.Pressing the Shi t key takes you to the edit submenus

(SUB menu). Pressing the Shi t key repeatedly takes you either to a second submenu (i available) or to

the previous edit menu page. You can also scroll to other menu pages within the submenus.

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PATCH SELECT

OSC 1

PATCH SELECT (Shift)

OSC 2

OSC Sub

FILTER FILTER SUB 1 FILTER SUB 2

VCF ENV VCF ENV SUB

VCA ENV VCA ENV SUB

LFO 1 LFO 1 SUB

Modul tion

LFO 3 SUB

LFO 2 LFO 2 SUB

LFO 3

FX DSP

SEQ SEQ SUB

SYSTEM UP SYSTEM SUB

SYSTEM DOWN

Menu pa es

Sound pro ramme pa e

A ter switching on, the synthesiser is on the programme page.

The DATA knob (1) is used to select a sound programme rom

1 - 128. The BANK knob is used to select a sound bank rom A

- P. When switching a programme, the sound is switched o

or a short time and the message [Loading...] appears in the

display. This avoids loud inter erence peaks in the audio

signal. I you hold down the shi t key (8) while switching, you

can step through the sound programmes in steps o 10.

The upper hal o the display shows the programme name and

number as well as the sound bank. Next to them are eight blue

indicators that show which voices are active. A green dot with an S indicates the presence o a

sequencer pattern in the sound programme.

The oscilloscope is located in the lower part. It shows the signal amplitude o all active voices in the

internal audio processor o the Teensy CPU. The e ect signal is generated in a special DSP chip

(SPN1001-FV-1 Spin) and mixed analogue to the audio signal. For this reason, it cannot be displayed in

the oscilloscope.

Display of the function parameters

When you are on the programme page, you can use the shi t

key to show a total o our unction parameters. This allows

quick and direct access to individual parameters and saves

searching in the menu pages. The unction parameters are

selected in the system menu (last menu page). The

parameters or cuto and resonance are preset.

Oscillator 1

The synthesiser has two digital oscillators per voice whose

parameters are almost identical. The parameters are selected

with the SELECT knob. A coloured rectangle marks the

selected parameter. The parameter values are changed with

the VALUE knob. I the WAVE parameter is selected, one o 15

wave orm banks (A - O) can be selected with the BANK knob.

Waveform selection

WAVE

With WAVE, one o a total o 63 wave orms can be selected rom a wave orm bank. A total o 945

wave orms are available to the user in banks A - O. The wave orms 1 - 12 in bank A di er rom the other

wave orms. They are calculated by the CPU in real time and are partially band-limited (recognisable by

the designation BANDLIMIT in the wave orm preview window).

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Waveform 0 - 12 BANK A

0The oscillator is switched o (All banks) 7Sawtooth sloping

1Sinus 8Sawtooth to triangle (varying)

2Tri 9Sawtooth sloping (ban limite )

3Sawtooth rising/ QuadSaw 10 Sawtooth ascen ing (ban limite )

4Rectangle 11 Rectangle (ban limite )

5Pulse width modulation 12 Pulse wi th mo ulation (ban limite )

6Sample & Hold

The other wave orms are sample-based and are loaded rom the programme memory. The selected

wave orm is shown in a small preview window at the top right o the display.

Only i the WAVE parameter is selected, a wave orm bank can be selected with the BANK control. The

same applies on the menu page o oscillator 2.

PITCH

With PITCH, the pitch o the oscillator can be adjusted in semitone steps in the range o -24 ... +24

semitones.

P.ENV

The P.ENV (Pitch Envelope) modulates the pitch o oscillator 1 and is controlled by the ilter envelope.

GLIDE

The GLIDE parameter determines the continuous glide o the pitch rom one note to the next. Low

GLIDE values produce a short glide and higher values a longer glide. GLIDE a ects the pitch o both

oscillators.

LEVEL

LEVEL controls the volume o oscillator 1 and oscillator 2.

OSCMI

The OSCMIX in luences the volume ratio o Osc1 to Osc2 .

The parameters LEVEL and OSCMIX are marked with an arrow on the menu page o oscillator 1 and

oscillator 2 and in luence both oscillators simultaneously.

PWMOD / PWAMT

Both oscillators have variable pulse and variable triangle

wave orms. These are located in wave orm bank A (wave

no.5 / no.8 / no.12). With PWMOD, the modulation type (PW /

ENV) or the modulation requency can be determined by the

PWM LFO. I the parameter is set to PW (le t stop), the pulse

width or triangle wave orm can be set with PWAMT. The

middle setting corresponds approximately to a pulse wave with

50% pulse width or a triangle wave orm. I you turn the

PWMOD control clockwise a little urther, the ENV sign is

displayed in the wave orm preview window.

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The pulse width or triangular wave orm is then controlled by the Envelope ilter. The strength o the

envelope modulation is determined by PWAMT. I you turn the PWMOD parameter a little urther to the

right, the control range or the PWM LFO (1 - 121) begins. An LFO sign then appears in the wave orm

preview window. The requency o the PWM LFO can be set rom 0.04Hz - 25Hz. The wave orm can be

set in MODULATION menu slot 5. You can choose between sine, triangle and SAW.

SAWMI / SPEAD (only QuadSaw)

Oscillator 1 and oscillator 2 have a polyphonic QuadSaw

Engine (wave no. 3 in bank A). Four modulated sawtooth

waves are generated in each oscillator, detuned against each

other. SPREAD adjusts the amount o detuning. With

SAWMIX, the three additional sawtooth waves are blended to

the undamental wave. The higher the SAWMIX value, the

louder the additional wave orms. I the value is set to zero,

only the undamental wave is heard.

Oscillator 2

WAVE

Function as described in oscillator 1. To visually distinguish

between OSC1 and OSC2, the colours o the wave orms are

di erent.

PITCH