#1

A cool little video synth that’s fully programmable in PyGame!

https://www.critterandguitari.com/products/etc

I kind of wish they had gone with Processing instead, just because it’s more widely adopted, by PyGame is not too far off and also really easy to learn. I kind of want to pick one up since I’ve been wanting to add audio-reactive visuals to my performances without having to have too much extra gear… this looks like just the ticket. The price is a little steep for my weak Canuck dollar though :frowning:

2 Likes
#2

Poor man’s approach:

I’ve been running it on an extra monitor next to my instruments, and it’s really rather pleasing. Audiences might think many of the presets are overly familiar I suppose, but it’s basically OpenGL if I remember correctly, so no problem with creating new presets. Have to admit it’s been years since I opened a milkdrop file for editing.

#3

Only the poor man’s approach if your computer has enough horsepower to do everything you need sound wise at the same time without hickups, or you don’t mind having a second computer :slight_smile:

1 Like
#4

Good point. I tend to forget that my small pile of computers is a bit strange. Oops. That being said, it’s relatively resource-friendly, given that it was mostly designed to run on computers from several generations back. Of course, it’s possible to make presets that will turn your fan on almost immediately.

#5

Yeah, and also most computer based music I tend to do uses a ton of CPU (because why not?). That’s why having a separate device is attractive, no chance of one interfering with the other.

#6

An alternate “poor” approach could be something like Raspberry Pi running PD or Processing, since it has built in audio and HDMI. It would be enough for anything but intensive 3D.

1 Like
#7

And even without true 3d there are a lot of ways to fake it in a visualizer.

I kinda miss the demoscene. So much wonderful hackery…