20231114

The following is technical documentation of the "Fall 2023" touring rig for the "Pudding Club" - a, now defunct, live robotic band. The focal points of this system are a "robotic" cymbal and tuna can [1].

Both the cymbal and tuna can are struck by USB-MIDI-controlled solenoids. This allows for synchronization with MIDI compositions, backing tracks, and a loop pedal. The PCB that actuates the solenoids is currently being open-sourced. A (messy) GitHub repository for the board is live.

┌────────┐ │ │ ┌────────┐ USB-MIDI │ LAPTOP │ │S4 BOARD│◄──────────┤ │ └──┬──┬──┘ └──┬─────┘ ┌─────┐ │ │ │USB │ CAN ├───┘ │ ┌──▼──────┐ └─────┘ │ │AUDIO │ │ ┌──────────┤INTERFACE│ ┌─────────┐ │ │ └────┬────┘ │ CYMBAL ├─┘ │STEREO │MIDI └─────────┘ │OUT ┌────▼───────┐ ┌──────┐ │ │ LOOP PEDAL │◄─┤GUITAR│ │ └────┬───────┘ └──────┘ │ │MONO OUT ┌─▼──────┐ ┌───▼─────┐ │VENUE PA│ │AMP or PA│ └────────┘ └─────────┘ Fig. 2

Everything fit into 3 bags: a duffle bag [3], a guitar gig bag, and a backpack for clothes & personal items. I was able to carry the entire load for extended periods on foot and unobtrusively ride trains.

Inside the duffle bag I kept a cable kit [4.1], a spiritually significant cloth [4.2], a pedal kit [4.3], a laptop kit [4.4], a dampening device [4.5], a fastener (for the cymbal) [4.6], a cymbal [4.7], and the robotic cymbal + tuna can bases strapped together with electronics wrapped in plastic [4.8].

The cable kit consisted of USB A to USB C cables [5.1], a very long micro USB cable [5.2], 12V 2.5A DC power supply for the solenoids [5.3], Focusrite interface power supply [5.4], medium length 1/4" guitar cable [5.5], long 1/4" guitar cable [5.6], MIDI cable [5.7].

The pedal kit consisted of a loop pedal with MIDI-sync [6.1]*, a power supply [6.2], a reverb pedal [6.3], a phaser pedal [6.4], and an external switch I found on the street [6.5]. The external switch primarily controls the undo function on the looper. I had a lot of issues with this particular loop pedal on the road.

The laptop kit contained a laptop power supply [7.1], laptop [7.2], and an audio interface with MIDI out [7.3]*. The laptop ran REAPER for audio + MIDI playback on the Pop!_OS Linux distribution.

The guitar gig bag contained a Steinberger travel guitar [8.1]*, whammy bar [8.2], electrical tape [8.3], packing tape [8.4], picks [8.5], extra strings & hex keys for the guitar [8.6].

A "spares" kit [9] of cables and components was kept in a potato roll bag inside my backpack.

The "spares" kit included 2 1/4" patch cables [10.1], a long 1/4" cable [10.2], a pedal power supply cable [10.3], a binder clip (for the cymbal dampener) [10.4], a USB A to USB C cable [10.5], a multitool (I kept this in my pocket but it's a vital part of this kit) [10.6], solenoids [10.7], velcro cable straps [10.8], an extra S4 board & Teensy 3.6 [10.9].

If you're curious to hear everything together, Kristian Cho (@kristian_cho) recorded a set at The Pottery Gym in Philadelphia, PA. You can watch it on the WNOADIARWB YouTube page: