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About
Manual
About
CalcSynth is a synthesizer and sequencer based on the Chinese cultural phenomenon of ‘singing calculators’ – online creators repurposing calculators with sound as musical instruments. It formalizes this playful hack into a complete esolang-based synthesis system. Using only numbers, basic calculator operators (+ – × ÷ % =), and calculator memory functions (MC, M+, M-, MR), users can generate complex sounds and sequenced patterns: addition builds harmonics, subtraction shapes envelopes, division filters frequencies, etc. The severe constraint makes explicit what synthesizers hide: that sound manipulation is mathematical computation. Bridging digital and physical forms – web application and hardware-hacked calculator – CalcSynth asks what creative possibilities emerge when we repurpose dismissed technologies into serious performance tools.
Project is in constant development and evolution.
Manual
Operators
+: Waveform & Additive Synthesis
+ [ number ] : Single digit
0 = Sine wave
1 = Square wave
2 = Sawtooth wave
3 = Triangle wave
4 = Pulse wave
+ [ number 1 ][ number 2 ][...][ number n] : Multiple digits
numbers indicate which harmonic of the base sound to include
-: Envelope
[ A ][ D ][ S ][ R ]
x: Tremolo
x [ rate ][ depth ]
÷: Filter
÷ [ brightness ]: 0 - 9 (muffled → bright)
%: Vibrato
% [ rate ][ depth ]
+/-: Pitch shift
+/-[ semitones ]
range +/- 24 semitones
Example input:
1+52-2109x14÷3%32
Execution & Control
=: Apply all operators and trigger sustained sound
second tap stops the sound
If not stored with MR, sound is cleared on stop
AC: Clear all input
MODE: Change between Synth / Record / Play
Memory
MR: Store
Store new sound created
MC: Clear all recorded tracks
M+: Add track (Record mode only)
M-: Delete recent track OR selected track under TRACK mode (Record mode only)
