Broke Beats pt2 - A £30 DAW & Microcomputer

It's tough out there, what with the cost of living crisis - "cozzy livs", and data centres eating up all of our RAM. So what does one do if they require the escapism and dopamine provided by a new synth toy and don't want to break the bank? Thankfully, we have are some budget hardware options which should satiate even the tightest of belts.

M5Stack Cardputer ADV

The Cardputer is a curious little device. For between £26 and £32 (AliExpress, Pi Hut, Amazon, etc) you receive a tiny ESP32 S3+ based computer with a clacky little keyboard and a small 240x135 screen. The dual onboard 32-bit 240Mhz CPU's are pretty damned powerful for such a small, inexpensive device.

The tiny wonder offers USB, MicroSD card storage and crucially for our needs - a speaker and stereo headphone output; the original Cardputer had only the tiny speaker. On the back, there are 14 GPIO pins for adding I/O - knob controllers (though the most popular GPIO expansion seems to be little aerials for hacking networks/WiFI, etc - you'll need a trenchcoat of course). There are all sorts of microcomputer emulators available for the machine (although I doubt ZX Spectrum text adventures will be very readable on the ADV screen!), plus games and utilities - but what about musical stuff?

Music software

So what's available - well, in perusing the offical firmware catalog, one can find a number of delights:

• BKLVA is a 4-track pocket DAW that features sequencing, sample slicing, synthesis (wave, color, detune, ADSR!) and output efffects.
• Cardputer-ADV-Tracker is a real-time music tracker (synthesizer/drum machine) for the Cardputer-ADV. This portable acid-house production tool features wavetable synthesis, state variable filters, and pattern-based sequencing. The project is open-source and welcomes contributions! Come help!
• MiniAcid for Cardputer ADV is a tiny groovebox for the Cardputer ADV (and the web). It has two squelchy 303-like voices, punchy synthesized drums, pattern sequencing and randomization for instant acid jams.
• GLIDE-Synth is a continuous-pitch polyphonic slide synth for the M5Stack Cardputer. Four key rows act like strings, every note glides between pitches, and the sounds are generative: you roll, evolve, and keep your own patches. Built by CHARL3X
• Voice Mixer 3000 is a voice recording and real-time effects processor for the M5Cardputer-Adv. Record up to 60 seconds of audio to a MicroSD card, then play it back with 7 different voice effects, pitch shifting, ring modulation, delay, and full analog/digital signal chain control.
• SMF (MIDI) Player for Cardputer plays SMF (.midi) from SD Card with Soundcanvas emulation.
• Drumputer allows you to create, edit, and play drum patterns with up to 4 instruments and 16 or 32 steps.
• Speak & Spell a nostalgic "Speak & Spell" emulator for M5Stack Cardputer. Relive the classic 80s educational toy experience! This app features high-quality speech synthesis and spelling quizzes using the Cardputer's built-in keyboard and speaker.

Certainly enough to be getting on with there - and there's even more i didn't have time to mention! Join me next time for more budget-pleasing synth and effects devices!

• 10 Minutes with HUM 2 28-Sep-26
• Apparat's Live Setup 25-Sep-26
• Kemistry & Storm Interview 23-Sep-26
• Top 10 Video Game Soundtracks 23-Sep-26
• Simon The Magpie's Fluxophone 22-Sep-26