I have been working diligently to find the perfect hardware setup that will allow me to just sit down and jam out, recording the “performance” in case something good comes out of it. My “eureka” moment was when I was sitting there with two separate clocks running thinking, “How do I synchronize all of this and make it all work together?” That’s when I remembered that the MPC and Bitwig Studio both support Ableton Link.

About seven or eight years ago, I started down a path to create my own synthesizer using discrete electronic parts like CMOS chips, resistors, capacitors, and the like. Early on, I discovered the “Lunetta” synthesizer, made from 40106 CMOS chips. By hooking them up a certain way, you can achieve a square wave. This was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I got distracted by more capable machines like the Arduino and various FPGAs along the way, so my adventures were short-lived.

My retro computer is an SC126 designed by Stephen C. Cousins. It has two serial ports. I am using 1 serial port to interface with my retro amber monitor. That leaves the second one open to use as a way to transfer programs and data from my laptop to the retro computer. The port circled in orange is the primary serial port. I have mine plugged into the amber terminal. The one outlined in blue is used to communicate with the PC.