A Chat with boochow: Legendary Logue SDK Developer!

Boochow recently set the open-source synth world ablaze with a web-tool that converts Pure Data patches to Korg Drumlogue/Minilogue XD instruments, you can read about that here: https://sonicstate.com/news/2026/02/15/

This has lowered the barrier of entry for instrument creators. Indeed, I myself - a person with zero coding knowledge (I know a little ZX Basic but certainly no C or Python!) just created 9(!) new wavetable, additive and FM instruments for Drumlogue, which you can get here: https://www.patreon.com/

Boochow has been exceptionally kind to me over the past few weeks, helping me when I had browser issues or when my patches wouldn't compile - he even stated that I was definitely one of the "most enthusiastic users so far!" which you know, Autism (points to self) but it was still a nice gesture. So I thought I'd ask a few interview questions and find out more about this kind, genius developer.

I, like many synth fans, first heard of you via your Korg SDK work; instruments for the Minilogue XD, NTS1, etc. But I want to know about your beginnings, had you produced any hardware or software synths before your SDK work?

I am a software engineer with experience in embedded systems, PC, and web applications, but I had never made any hardware or software synth before I started using the logue SDK. However, I was already familiar with the STM32 microcontrollers used in NTS-1. Also, I had experience repairing old synths and modding hardware synths. So I had enough knowledge to start developing with the logue SDK, and the SDK felt like a perfect entry point.

What first attracted you to Korg's platform?

Before I got the NTS-1, I already had Korg Volcas, a microKORG, and an original minilogue, and I loved their sound. I picked up an NTS-1 in February 2020, right at the beginning of COVID-19. I needed something to take my mind off things and decompress, and I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands. That's when I started writing software for the NTS-1.

I was really impressed by how easy it was to develop an oscillator for the NTS-1. All you need is simple code to generate your waveform, because the NTS-1 provides the rest - like a filter, an LFO, and an envelope generator.

A very elegant solution, yes. The SDK's vary a little in their capabilities from instrument to instrument - does this make porting from the NTS1 to say, the Drumlogue, tricky?

Technically, it is not that tricky to port a unit from one platform to another. However, you need real hardware to test the sound and the UI of the ported unit -- that is often the real bottleneck for independent developers, like me.

What's the favourite instrument/effect you've created for a Korg device?

It is difficult to choose one -- but I love my vocoder unit for the NTS-1 mkII. To me, an analog channel vocoder is one of the most iconic synth sounds of the 1970s. Emulating that sound is something I've wanted to build since I started developing with the logue SDK.

Cool. Personally, I absolutely love Lily/Lillian! Having Mutable Braids inside my Drumlogue has absolutely increased the instrument's potential - where there any development challenges in porting this Eurorack module to Korg's platform?

Thanks, really happy to hear that. Technically, porting Braids to Drumlogue itself didn't require any special tricks. Drumlogue's CPU power and RAM are enough to run Braids. Also, the code of Mutable Instruments is very well-written; it's worth reading. I only needed to write an integration layer to connect the Braids sound engine and the logue SDK API.

The main issue with the Drumlogue port was to make it a synthesizer, not a port of a Eurorack module, because a Drumlogue synth unit can't rely on external modulation sources, so it must be self-contained. So I added some modulation sources with a limited number of parameters. They are not always the most intuitive parameters, but I managed to make it work.

Regarding the ports for NTS-1 mkII and prologue/minilogue xd/NTS-1, the biggest problem was the limitation of the memory footprint. To fit all the Braids models within the oscillator unit size limits, I had to split the Braids code into multiple parts. I went through trial and error many times until I found the perfect way to divide it.

Wow, that's some delicate work. So now onto your landmark Pure Data to SDK converter...tell me, were you an existing Pure Data fan?

Not really, at least not at first. When I started developing the converter, I knew only the basics of Pure Data and was not familiar with writing Pure Data patches. I also knew about hvcc, the Pd-to-C converter, and I even had an Electrosmith Daisy board, though I hadn't really used it yet.

In early 2025, I felt like starting something new, and decided to start this project - the hvcc external generator for the logue SDK. Until then, I had mainly been using Python for DSP prototyping, but I thought it would be convenient if I could use Pure Data for both algorithm prototyping and deploying it on the logue SDK. The goal was clear to me, so I started both developing the converter and learning Pure Data in parallel.

Developing for Korg's platform is quite an undertaking usually, requiring knowledge of C. But there's a whole level of people who have detailed knowledge of signal paths and the structures and trappings of programming without the low level coding skills...and probably, some very warped & cool ideas along with that! Your converter makes development far more accessible (though PD is no walk in the park, it's still pretty tricky!), and I think we'll see some amazing things, made my people who don't know you're not supposed to connect X to Y and try it anyway...what are you looking forward to seeing from users?

It is a tool, and I hope users will have fun exploring their sonic ideas in their own ways. Personally, I am in favor of non-clean sounds, unpitched percussive noises, glitches, and textures. So I would be happy if somebody created those kinds of sounds. But honestly, I'm most excited to be surprised.

Was accessibility; reduction of development barriers, a prime concern for you in developing this - or perhaps you created this tool to speed up your own process? I'd be interested to know.

Making development easier for beginners, and providing a prototyping tool for developers - including me - were my concerns. The web app is for beginners who are not familiar with the logue SDK. Under the hood, the web app uses my hvcc external generator for the logue SDK, which developers can also run manually to generate code from Pd patches.

It's great that there's a manual, offline converter for developers. So where can our readers find your work?

All my units for KORG synthesizers are on my site with brief introductions:
https://blog.boochow.com/logue

If you are interested in the source code, it is on GitHub along with some other projects not related to the logue SDK: https://github.com/boochow

Finally, what's next for Boochow?

Right now, I am still working on the hvcc external generator for the logue SDK to bring the platform-specific code into a single codebase. It is a necessary step toward unifying all logue-SDK generators under hvcc. I have been discussing this with Wasted-Audio, the maintainer of hvcc. I am also going to add some features, such as supporting a metafile, a small text file that describes information outside the Pd patch. This makes it easier to include developer ID, unit ID, version number, etc., in the generated C code. Regarding the logue SDK units, I have been considering some ideas, and I'll share more once the next project is locked in.

Thanks for chatting to us Boochow - and good luck with everything, we can't wait to see what you'll make next!

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