Pushpin MIDI Music Synthesizer for the Game Boy Color
Although it was first announced September 2000, Noah Vawter & Brian Whitman are proud to finally present Pushpin, a MIDI synthesizer kit for your Nintendo Game Boy Color. Pushpin converts your Game Boy into a MIDI ready device that you can control from any keyboard, sequencer, or software. It comes as a ROM file you program to any flash cartridge along with simple instructions to build a cable that hooks into the GBC’s Link Port — one end of the cable is a link connector, and the other is a MIDI in.
Pushpin is controllable from every dimension, including 90 MIDI CCs. It’s four channels of multi-timbral retro-video-game perfection. 2 square waves, a noise channel and a programmable wave channel. Each can be tweaked real-time from MIDI Controller messages. It’s a great handheld battery-powered performance tool. Use it with any hardware or software sequencer you choose. Pushpin listens to and interprets MIDI note messages, continuous controllers for every single possible sound parameter of the Game Boy, pitch bend messages, and program changes.
Pushpin requires an actual Game Boy Color. No other Game Boy or Game Boy Pocket or Game Boy Light or Game Boy Advance or SP or DS device or any emulator will work due to the hardware requirements.
Documentation
Complete documentation and MIDI specification
The story of Pushpin (extra credit)
ROM binary download
You’ll need a Game Boy flash programmer to load Pushpin on your device. Check out this exhaustive list of DIY or commercial Game Boy programmers. Download pushpin.gbc file for use on a flash programmer for Game Boy Color devices. This ROM image does not require any SRAM on your flash cart (it saves no state.)
Hardware
See Ove’s new connector, untested but much simpler and more clear instructions.
A confirmed working schematic.
If you don’t like the sound of the GBC, there are fixes.
Source code
Pushpin Google Code project. Pushpin’s source is GPL.
Discussion group
|
| Subscribe to pushpin |
| Visit this group |
Sound samples (more coming soon)
Brian’s loop
Noah’s song