Byte

Byte is a bytebeat synthesizer similar to ALGODRONE or ByteBeat-Xfade. You can provide up to 16 bytebeat expressions (defined as BYTEBEAT_1 through BYTEBEAT_16 in the code), and then select and play them. Feel free to change them! But they must be valid C/C++ expressions or they won't compile. You can change the pitch and tuning, as well as the volume. Additionally you can reset the bytebeat algorithm at any time by sending a trigger or gate to DIGITAL OUT.

Building ByteBeats

A bytebeat is any C expression using the 32-bit variable 't'. It's called 16384 times a second and the result, mod 255, is output as an audio sample.

Byte has a special feature: a special variable called x which ranges from 0 to 255. It's set by CV coming in to IN 3, and is by default 0. You could stick x in your expressions to control them in real-time via CV.

Byte is fragile: if in your expression you modify Byte's internal variables (like triggered or pitchCV or even t!) you can seriously break Byte. So don't do that.

There are many bytebeat expressions available online. For a small collection, see Viznut's archive. Note that some of these are designed for JavaScript or have Sine or Pow in them: they are unlikely to work.

You can test bytebeats on the following webpage before adding them to GRAINS. You can change the Hz values on that page as well. GRAINS's default HZ is 16384, though you can turn it down to half of that or less.

Tuning

You can't really tune BYTE: to do so would require changing the sampling rate, and Mozzi doesn't make it easy to do that without modifying Mozzi's config in its library. Maybe later.

On Pot 1 I have set things up so you can change the pitch to some degree. There are 16 settings. Setting 8 (typically a bit to the left of due center) is the default setting.
Since Mozzi's sampling rate is 16384 Hz, this is about one octave above and twice as fast as the traditional pitch, which normally corresponds to 8000 Hz. If you turn the knob to the LEFT of this, Byte will get slower and lower in pitch. It does this by just playing fewer times when Mozzi asks it to. It's pretty crude but it works. If you turn the knob to the RIGHT, Byte will get higher in pitch but also change how it plays. This is because it is incrementing the "t" variable by more and more (by default it's incremented by 1).

Configuration

IN 1

Pitch CV

IN 2

Bytebeat CV

IN 3

Auxilliary Variable 1 CV (x)

AUDIO IN (A)

[UNUSED]

AUDIO OUT

Out

DIGITAL OUT (D)

Reset

POT 1

Pitch Scaling

[Set the switch to MAN probably]

POT 2

Bytebeat

[Set the switch to MAN probably]

POT 3

Volume