Create Electronic Music Using a Single Device with OTTO

Making electronic music is time intensive — you have to set up the equipment (synths, drum machines, FX, etc.), and chances are, the laptop being used is sorely underpowered for the audio processing needed (not many feature DAC and MIDI). GitHub user Topisani has designed a portable solution that crams everything you need to create EM in a single workstation box with OTTO.

Heavily inspired by the OP-1 portable wonder synthesizer, OTTO hosts a wide range of features, including numerous synths, sampler, effects, sequencers, and studio modules, which can be controlled through the board’s 50-key button matrix.

Topisani designed two prototype versions of the OTTO, which features all of the same hardware in both; however the first is hand-wired, has a laser-cut enclosure, and utilizes Arduino Pro Micros for key and encoder handling. The second is outfitted with a 3D-printed case and transfers all key and encoder functions onto a microcontroller.

As far as hardware is concerned, both are outfitted with a Raspberry Pi 3 SBC, a Fe-Pi Audio Z V2 I2S ADC/DAC combo, 4X rotary controllers, 2X Arduino Pro micros (depending on version), and a 320 X 240 RGB SPI display.

On the software side, Topisani wrote most of it using C++ 17 for the core platform, and C++ for the graphics and DSP, although you can replace it with Faust if necessary. The audio/MIDI is designed to be swappable, though he states that only currently available is Jack.

It should be noted that at this point, Topsani will never make the OTTO commercially available product, as both hardware and software are open source by nature, stating, “If you want an OTTO, you’re going to get your hands dirty, if not with the code, at least with the hardware.”