Once I got the MIDI Implementation all sorted out and figured out how to make the drum patterns work, it really came together. Given the old-school nature of the Atari circuit board, the installation of the MIDI brain couldn't have been easier. I added two LED lights to the top of the case. One indicates power to the MIDI unit and the other indicates MIDI activity. Since the range of the device is pretty limited, it only responds to five octaves of MIDI notes. Only four of those are for actual musical notes. the highest octave is for triggering the rhythm patterns programmed on the cartridge. In the following video you'll get an earful of all the the rhythm patterns the device is capable of. As there are two oscillators on the original Atari circuit board, you can two notes at the same time! Polyphony is kind of rare in non-musical devices that are 30 years old, but the folks at Atari knew what they were doing. This little bit of awesome allows you to play melodies over a rhythm pattern or, in the case of this video, multiple rhythm patterns simultaneously. Bust out the glowsticks, here comes the low-fi heat!


Up next: A better description of MIDI.

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