synthcart.

[daniel.]

hi there.

 

i recently purchased the synthcart for my 2600. i'm trying to use it in a live situation.....so i bought a portable tv from radioshack. but the only way it's working is if i take the atari to a vcr....then a/v out to the tv. but the tv is portable.....and therefore shitty. so there's all of this hum when i hook up the tv to the amp. i saw the mod on the "how to" section. but it's for the 2600, jr. i'm a little confused as to how to get all of this together. is it easier to mod the atari to a/v out? or should i try to find a converter for the rf?

 

anyone else using the synthcart in a live situation?

 

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

daniel.

[Room 34]

Well, with the VCR, you're halfway there. If the VCR has audio outputs you could just use those directly instead of using the TV's output.

 

Here's the setup I have been using to record with Synthcart:

 

1. Hook 2600 to VCR's coaxial input. An important thing to note here is that I do NOT use a switchbox, which would introduce RF interference. I got one of those composite-RCA-to-coaxial adapters Radio Shack sells for about $5. I use it whenever I play my 2600... great clear picture and sound.

 

2. Hook VCR's RCA video out to TV (so I can see what I'm doing). You could also just use the VCR's coaxial output for this step, if the TV doesn't have RCA input. Just turn the sound on the TV all the way down.

 

3. Use RCA-to-1/4-inch adapters to connect VCR's RCA audio out to 1/4 inch patch cables.

 

4. Run 1/4 inch into my Mbox and record with Pro Tools LE.

 

Sweet! It works great. My VCR is the weak link, because it's a crappy $70 model with only mono sound... but the 2600 is mono anyway, so no big loss!

[daniel.]

yeah....that's sort of what i had to do. i ran the atari into the vcr (not using a switchbox). then the audio out on the vcr to my amp....and then video out to the tv. it works. but i was just wondering if there was an easier way to do it....without the vcr. i'd rather not lug an extra piece of equipment around if it's not necessary.

 

thanks for the response!

[Paul Slocum]

Really the best way is to mod your Atari. It's a pretty easy to do the audio mod. I put a 1/4" out on the back of mine. You get a much more crisp, bright sound this way.

 

Ben's VCSp site tell how to mod any of the Atari models. Just do the audio portion (which is the easiest) and ignore the video part.

 

http://www.classicgaming.com/vcsp/HowToMAIN.htm

 

And I'd be interested in hearing what you're doing with the Synthcart

 

-Paul

[daniel.]

so if i only do the mod for audio, will i still be able to use the portable tv to see the screens?

 

sorry....i'm technically handicapped.

 

 

and my band, the silver sessions will be playing it's first show next saturday. we're trying to get this together so we can use it live then. we'll probably record the show, and i'd gladly send you a copy if you want. just email me your address. and thank you thank you for synthcart!

[Paul Slocum]

It is possible to use it without a TV at all if you want to avoid lugging a TV to the gig (I often do this.) But when I do use a TV (it does look cool!), I just plug the custom audio out into my amp or mixer, but also hook up the Atari to the TV as you normally would using the RF connector and setting the TV to channel 3.

 

-Paul

[daniel.]

oh! so the mod won't replace the rf cord. gotcha.

 

thanks.

[mat]

i am the other part of the silver sessions. mad props for making synthcart. it's opened my eyes to so much with electronics and sound and music.

 

i will be doing the mod for the video outs and audio outs as soon as our show is past tense...

 

i cant thank you enough for this great cart...

 

rock,

mat

[Rob Mitchell]

If you do the two channel audio mod ... you can get some stereo effects with the Synthcart.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Paul Slocum]

Thanks for the nice comments, guys.

 

Let me know how the show goes.

 

-Paul

[gulag picture radio]

I've got a six switch that I two channel modded (gosh... what kind of grammatical mess was that last sentence?). What's nice is that you can then apply different effects to each oscillator's output. Very handy if you just want to add a little reverb on the beatbox, but want to do something heavier to the lead sound.

 

I like the sound of it pure and unmodified, but a little reverb here and there is nice. I've got the Alesis Ineko box (I wrote a review about it in the "gear" section of http://www.staticmultimedia.com if you want to know more) which is a really tiny multi-effects box. It is the perfect compliment to the Atari and helps the sound out in oddles of ways in addition to totally screwing with it. With enough gating, I got the beatbox to very nearly sound like real over-processed drums!

 

Again, the purity of Paul's invention is the beauty of it and you don't want your audience to think that all the magic is coming out of something other than a plain old $2 Atari from the thrift.

[mat]

how do you do that audio out with two outs?

 

thanks,

mat

[gulag picture radio]

If you look at the FAQ on this site, they give some details. I've still got some hum in mine, and I just can't find where the problem is. I'm gonna try it on a different unit to see if it's just me or if it's the particular one that I modded.

 

It takes a few extra parts than the regular mod on Ben's site, but it's nothing costly. Well worth the work. I also did Ben's Y/C mod - it only took like 20 minutes to build.

[mat]

What is Ben's site's URL?

 

thanks,

mat

[Room 34]

http://pitfallharry.tripod.com

[gulag picture radio]

Is there a link on the pitfall harry to page to Ben's site? If so, I can't see it. Ben's site is hosted at www.classicgaming.com. You'll see it listed under "hosted sites" or something similar. Grab a bit of Google search action to get more specific than that.[/url]

[chrisbid]

nice avatar Paul

 

i really wish i wasnt so dam poor, ive been meaning to pick up a synthcart for a year now

[daniel.]

Let me know how the show goes.  

 

-Paul

 

the show was great. the audio didn't come out as well as we were hoping.....but we put up some clips from earlier practices. you can check it out here: http://www.thesilversessions.com/audio.php ....the last song on that page, wein's law from april 19th, is the one we used with synthcart. both of us have it set up. i'm just doing the beats on mine.....while mat is doing the melody with his.....and it eventually goes into live instrumentation.

 

enjoy.

 

daniel.

[gulag picture radio]

BALEETED.

 

Sorry for double post.

[gulag picture radio]

I'm on a modem connection, so it looks like a pretty hefty download. Am I seeing it right? It's a 16 meg download? Is that like a practice session, or a whole performance, or perhaps a prog-rock length tune? What should I be looking at if I want to hear you jam on synthcart?

[daniel.]

yeah. sorry......it's a practice session. but it's the same song we played live. and yes....it is prog rock length.....but we are not prog rock. i think it clocks in at about 45 minutes.....but it's really three songs put together. it's the very last song on that page.....wein's law....19april2003.

 

 

sorry for the file size.

[BeerGnome]

Just grabbed it.. sounds interesting so far.. is that appegiation cord with the flange coming from the synthcart as well?

[daniel.]

i'm not sure which part you're referring to.....but mat only used a delay with his synthcart melodies. and i used a delay and a wahwah pedal for the beats.

 

glad you liked it.

[djdsl]

sounds good daniel.

youve got some interesting rhythmic things happening

and theres a nice progression to the track as a whole.

but thats one gigantic file. keep up the good werk

[Paul Slocum]

Yeah, neat stuff. I listened to it yesterday at work.

 

-Paul