News

Convolver production, Big GR-1 update, Cool Corona

March 17, 2020 Comments Off on Convolver production, Big GR-1 update, Cool Corona ECR-1, GR-1, Granular, Multitimbral, New products, Polysynth, Production

Much has happened in the recent weeks. Almost too much to summarize in such a news post. Here it goes..

Corona & scams

First, the bad news. The ongoing Corona pandemic has now had its effects on almost everyone and everything. We went through significant delays with respect to purchasing parts, but they seem over (!). Yes! For now.. For our own work force, here in The Netherlands, we’ve decided to send everybody home who’s even feeling mild symptoms, and to work extra hygienically. All design and administrative work is to be done from home, preferably. We expect to keep shipping at a moderate rate for the coming month at least. We’re reducing the estimated lead time on GR-1 units from 4 weeks to a conservative 2 weeks.

Scammers had advertized the GR-1 for a whopping 28 USD, lol. Thanks to our efforts, and that of our users, these guys have now given up. Once again, you can only buy the GR-1 from us, PCA, KMR and Schneiders. No one else!

GR-1 Granular synthesizer

The GR-1 Granular synthesizer. Order now and ships in about 2 weeks.

€849.00
Shop now

ECR-1 Convolver

The first ECR-1 production model.

Ok, only positive stuff from here on!

The ECR-1 Convolver module is in production now. Our beta testers have reported back. We’ve fixed the problems they encountered and made the controls even more responsive than they were, adjusted audio input levels and added a few more “Shift” functions like previewing the processed sample including envelope and pitch bend, and fast forwarding when turning the encoder. Expect to see it in the webshop early April, priced 499 EUR including VAT.

GR-1 Firmware 2.2, new video, and sound packs

The GR-1 has just received a major update last week. Firmware 2.2 adds new tape mode that allows you to do vinyl scratching. It has new modes of cloud generation (more “punch” when triggering notes), and it has proper multi-timbral MIDI support, and much much more.

It’s the biggest update in over a year, and this version has been tested to destruction and back for the best possible user experience. Check the release notes, it’s quite the list: RELEASE_FW_2.2.0.txt. We’ve also done a bit of work on the GR-1 manual and added mini tutorials on how to easily modify and save performances and patches: User-manual-GR-1-v2.2.0.pdf.

We believe this firmware turns the GR-1 into more than the machine we always wanted it to be. We thank everyone for their patience and suggestions, and of course the beta testers!

The new famous Youtube synth reviewer Loopop has also done a new video on the GR-1 as well. This shows some of the 2.2 features too.

Loopop’s official review of the GR-1

Loopop gives a solid hands-on overview of the GR-1 basics, but for GR-1 users that want to know know how to get the most of our machine’s functions, check out the latest sound packs here (firmware v2.2 required):

SpringPack2020.zip : Spring 2020 sound pack, from our in-house sound designer, including creative sample work, granular glide, and slightly detuned LFO modulations

OneCell-2.zip : Sound pack from user Sef Spee, including creative use of scan mode and LFO quantization

In the last months there have been a couple more sound pack uploads too. You can always have a upload to and download from our patch sharing page: gr-1-downloads/ , near the end of the page.

Beware of scammers!

March 14, 2020 No Comments Uncategorized

Just a short update here, next week we’ll update you on the real news.

Since last week we’ve had numerous reports of scammers offering the GR-1 for impossibly low prices. Some people have actually fallen for it!

The only places you can buy a new GR-1 are:
Us, from our webshop tastychips.nl,
KMR Audio in the UK,
Perfect Circuit Audio in the USA,
Scheidersladen in Germany.

And it most definitely won’t sell for 100$ !

We ask, if you when you find such a scam site advertised on facebook or instagram, to please report it immediately. We’ve already done so ourselves, and reported the scam sites to the DMCA for copyright infringement.

An example of a scam site: https://jadelie.site/products/the-best-synthesizer-in-2020

You have been warned. Don’t fall their nonsense and report them as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

Production status and beta tests.

February 5, 2020 No Comments Uncategorized

Dear all,

2020 is now well underway, and Tasty Chips is continuing its journey into sample based synthesis.

Tasty Chips new years Tompouce!

Let’s start with the bad news: The GR-1 production has been delayed by several component shortages, and hence production time is now expected to be 4 weeks. This is not all terrible: the attention diverted away from production can serve to improve the firmware. Read on!

GR-1 firmware version 2.2 is now being beta tested by both in-house testers and by a few loyal customers too. This will bring many new features and make it an even more usable instrument. We cannot reveal details at this moment, but stay tuned for a detailed instruction video coming next month!

More beta testing: The ECR-1, our Eurorack convolver, is now on its way to our beta testers. It is functionally complete, and performs terrifically. Even if it’s a very high power DSP system, the power usage and thermal performance are exemplary. Series production has already commenced, albeit it somewhat cautiously. Expect to see it in our webshop at the end of March. Feast your eyes on the first excerpt of the manual below. For a detailed specification sheet, please see the product page. https://www.tastychips.nl/ecr-1-eurorack-convolver/

ECR-1 Convolver – Schematic overview of the user interface

That’s it for now. Don’t stop making music and see you in the next post. Cheers! 🙂

GR-1 Production and ECR-1 final prototype.

December 3, 2019 No Comments Uncategorized

Just a quick newsletter, since we’ve been silent the last months.

GR-1 production

As you may know, the GR-1 has been on direct order since October. We initially shipped them within the week, but due to high demand the production time has now increased to two weeks. We’ll also be taking some days off between Christmas and New year. Early next year we hope to return to near-direct shipping.

ECR-1 final prototype

We’ve sorted the noise problems, added a final feature, and made a new, prettier, front plate design. We’re also optimizing the engine to have as long reverbs as possible, and perfecting the timing to overcome all possible glitches. We hope to have the first test models out with the beta testers in January. Series production should commence in February.

The latest front plate (without the display)

The overdue newsletter: featuring ECR-1, and GR-1.

September 7, 2019 Comments Off on The overdue newsletter: featuring ECR-1, and GR-1. Uncategorized

It’s been a long time since we’ve written our last newsletter. We’ve not been sitting still. Hold on, this is going to be a long one!

GR-1 Dust covers

First of, a lot of GR-1 users have been asking us for custom dust covers. Initially there were no options, since for instance Decksaver supplies covers for the most popular devices, but not for the more niche and experimental devices like the GR-1. Recently, a GR-1 user showed us these covers. Nice find: https://lecover.com/proddetail.php?prod=11060.00

The dust cover and the GR-1.

GR-1 Production schedule update

Unfortunately, this summer was a bumpy one. We’ve had setbacks with a couple of our suppliers. Right now dozens of units are already finished and ready to go, but their knobs are still missing. They should finally arrive the coming week, after which we’ll send out finalization mails in bulk! All-in-all the preorder wait has grown from 2 to 3 months because of this. Keep an eye on tastychips.nl/gr1schedule for the exact time table.

ECR-1 [Eurorack convolver] Development

Our new Eurorack module is true-stereo convolution reverb, allowing you to use recorded real-life reverbs of many places like tunnels, caves, churches, basements, and resonators like bells, glasses, etc. While this is a first only in Eurorack format, it offers features to manipulate the reverbs smoothly and in real-time, which is actually a world first. It can also record responses on the spot and save them to usb stick. But we’ll not dive any further into the details here. We’ll reveal them at Dutch Modular Fest later on this month. https://www.dutchmodularfest.com/

Of course the model we’ll show there won’t be production ready, but it’ll be functionally complete, at least. The last stages of development have now begun: we’re ironing out the bugs and trying to boost the performance (signal-to-noise ratio, power usage and temperature, max length of reverbs, etc)

GR-1 Firmware

For those of you that missed it, already a couple of months ago, firmware 2.1 was released. This brought a vastly more usable multitimbral mode. Numerous small additions and bugfixes were also added. After we’ve demonstrated the ECR-1, we’ll get back to the GR-1 firmware updates, starting with the most demanded bugfixes.

That’s about it for this newsletter. We’ll probably write the next one in two months or so. See you!

New GR-1 Sound pack, New videos, ECR-1 progress

March 25, 2019 Comments Off on New GR-1 Sound pack, New videos, ECR-1 progress Demonstration, ECR-1, GR-1, Granular, Reverb, Synthesizer, Uncategorized

Dear all,

We’ve not been sitting still. For our GR-1 customers we decided to make video’s: a tutorial and a new teaser for 2019. The tutorial covers some of the more in-depth features that weren’t covered before, including the new multi-timbral mode. Enjoy, and watch and learn 😉

We also produced a brand spanking new set of patches for the GR-1, 32 to be specific. We designed these patches to show how versatile the machine really is. Anything from field recordings to samples of classic bass synthesizers are usable for many musical applications. There are very lush sounding ambient tracks and pads in there, and just as many glitchy and noisy drumtracks. You can check some excerpts from this pack on Soundcloud:

The new sound pack is completely free and ready to go from our GR-1 downloads page: GR-1 downloads.

In terms of actual product development we’ve not been sitting still. We’re still updating the GR-1 firmware every month or two. And our new Eurorack Convolution Reverb module, the ECR-1, has now reached the stage where it is actually usable by a non-developer. It has a small full-color display mounted and has all the buttons, pots and audio/CV in and outs it needs.

The current prototype of our Eurorack Convolution Reverb module, the ECR-1.

You can also look at the convolution reverb thread on Muff Wiggler if you like to know more. Cheers!

GR-1 Firmware 2.0 !

February 13, 2019 No Comments Controller, GR-1, GRC-1, Multitimbral

Dear all,

The last 2 months we’ve been busy with a large rewrite of the GR-1 firmware. The new version 2.0 makes it multitimbral, and adds many new features and improvements. The new engine allows you to stack up to four patches, assign patches to MIDI channels and/or to play mode, record audio to one patch in real-time and play chords and solos with the others.

GR-1 firmware 2.0 running four part multitimbral.

Get the upgrade, and the new manual, from our GR-1 downloads page. Credits and thanks to the beta testers who worked to quickly track down the bugs!

In a few weeks we’ll start a new video campaign on Youtube. Of course we’ll cover all the new features.

The GRC-1 MIDI controller is still in heavy development, and we hope to have the first model ready in autumn. As said before, the GRC-1 will offer hands-on controls for everything to do with multitimbral and more. The GR-1 at this moment only offers multitimbral controls via GUI menu’s and secondary button functions.

Production: at one point production was going so well we were almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Then problems with component stock and a mistake with PCB assembly hit us.. and now we’re delayed a week again. In any case, you can keep track of the progress in our GR-1 production schedule. We try to update it weekly.

New year – new multi-timbral GR-1

January 6, 2019 Comments Off on New year – new multi-timbral GR-1 ECR-1, GR-1, MIDI, Multitimbral, Polysynth

Hi guys,

It’s been a while since we wrote a news update. First of all: Happy new year!

GR-1 production:

Due to a miscalculation on our side, we’re a good week behind, and we took a week off during the holidays. But the good news is the production is still running full steam. We’ll update the time table @ tastychips.nl/gr1schedule accordingly. We expect to build up the first stock late March..

ECR-1:

Our Eurorack Convolution Reverb (code name: ECR-1) is still in the pipes. You may have recognized it from our previous update. So far the software is largely finished, but we may want to add various bits and bobs, where you can cross-fade from one impulse response to the next. The mechanical stuff like the front plate, the right knobs, and getting the whole assembly line in order will probably take a few months more. We’re still thinking 400 EUR retail price.

Multi-timbral GR-1:

The GR-1 is being prepared for version 2.0. This will effectively make it multi-timbral! A lot of users and people interested in the GR-1 expressed their interest in this feature, so we decided just to go for it. For those of you who want to know: yes, this allows you to stack several patches (timbres) on top of each other. It will also allow you to record a sample into one patch and play the others simultaneously!

Below you can see the first impression of the main screen. It displays 8 parts, while the engine is running all of them in real-time. LFO’s, scanning and effects are now separate per part.

Multi-timbral GR-1

Now there’s something special to mention here. While the GR-1 itself allows you to use the new engine, the controls are quite limited. And we didn’t want to have any deeper or longer menus. So, to make the best of it we are designing a new USB-MIDI controller especially for this purpose. It can also do a lot more than just unlock the multi-timbral potential. Stay tuned.

Lastly, we’re considering a “drop-in” replacement of the GR-1’s Raspberry Pi computer. Since multi-timbrality requires it do some heavy lifting, more processing power is very welcome. We’ll probably announce this in a news update or two. See you then! 🙂

GR-1 production update // The old ‘bench & something new

November 4, 2018 Comments Off on GR-1 production update // The old ‘bench & something new DIY, GR-1, Granular, Knobs, Reverb

Dear all,

Just a post to inform you of what’s going on in the world of Tasty Chips.

First of all, the GR-1 production schedule. We’ve been on time for the last 5 months. We’re still good, but we’re 1 week behind now. We’ve identified some of the slowdowns in the assembly&test program, and solved them. We should be able to produce unhindered for the rest of the year at least.

We’ve open sourced the old Sawbench hardware! Since it was always a DIY project, a schematic is welcome. We’re still selling the DIY kits, if you’d like to try. In a way this is our thank you to the open source community that fed us, and helped us to grow. Sawbench github is the place to visit of your DIYing this or perhaps making a clone.

One more thing: feel free to visit our forum to ask for help with these. Just know that we ourselves cannot supply information indefinitely to people wanting to clone parts of it. We have a business to run. Which brings us to our next topic:

Innovation! We’re producing a new Eurorack module. It’s the first of its kind: A true-stereo convolution reverb with display. On the photo you can see a prototype, of course based on the Raspberry Pi (although we may switch to another Single Board Computer later on).

ECR-1 prototype: the first Eurorack convolution reverb!

Some features:

  • Load your own responses from USB stick
  • RECORD your own responses from the inputs, and SAVE to USB stick
  • Up to 40s impulse response
  • 128×128 full color display
    • up to 4 responses
    • envelope shape
    • parameter read-out
    • WAV name
  • Separate Dry and Wet controls
  • Attack and Release controls
  • Input gain control
  • Stereowidth control
  • Predelay control
  • Audition feature to replay your responses

The software is about 90% finished. The hardware does still need a bit of work, but prototype on the photo does actually record and replay at HIFI 48 kHz quality.

Release date: March 2019, price TBA.

GR-1 production schedule and additional information

September 29, 2018 Comments Off on GR-1 production schedule and additional information GR-1, Granular, MIDI, New products, Production

Dear customers,

After a few months of silence in the mailing list, here’s an update.

You may have been aware of our GR-1 production schedule tastychips.nl/gr1schedule. On this page our GR-1 production schedule can be found along with all additional information concerning payment and delivery. The good news is that we we’re very much on track and didn’t have to change it for almost 4 months. We’ve received a large amount of casings and foresee no obstacles for the rest of the year.

IMPORTANT: if you have pre-ordered the GR-1 and your unit is ready, you’ll be mailed by us with a payment request. If the payment is not received within 30 days your unit will go on to the next in line. We’ve made exceptions in the past, but really cannot do so anymore since the waiting list is quite large. We expect it to shrink from 6 months down to 4 months, in the future, though.

GR-1 Firmware 1.5.2.2 has been out for a while now. This is a stable version of 1.5 and can be found on our downloads page tastychips.nl/downloads/. 1.5 includes grain window modulation and note pile-up, to get the best out of the engine’s polyphony: truly a very useful feature for which a lot of users had been waiting. Loads of improvements were made as well: MPE and MIDI clocking support is more complete, the menu’s are more user-friendly, LFO’s can be quantized, slowed down to periods of many hours with a high degree of accuracy (ambient overlay galore).

Furthermore, we’re proud to say we’ve started work on an hardware expansion for the GR-1. The features will have to remain secret for a while, but we can already say that some features from the menus will be directly accessible through this device. This will function to make the GR-1 experience even more intuitive and prolong its market life.

To our patient and loyal customers we’d like to extend our gratitude, also for their suggested features and bug reports.

Cheers,

Tasty Chips Electronics

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