Critter & GuitariDIY platforms
Pure Data keyboard instrument on a Raspberry Pi Compute Module with open OS and patches
The Organelle is a music computer from Critter & Guitari: a small Linux computer behind a 25-key maple keyboard, four knobs, a volume knob, a selector encoder and an OLED screen. Instruments are Pure Data patches loaded from the microSD card or a USB drive, and the system also has MIDI in and out, an HDMI output and WiFi through a USB adapter. The Organelle M has a built-in speaker and battery power, the S omits them, and the S2 is the current model. Patches can be edited on the device with a keyboard and monitor, from a browser over WiFi, or over VNC. The manual for these models covers the M, S and S2 together; the original 2016 Organelle has its own entry.
The operating system lives on the microSD card, so updating means writing a new disk image to the card with a tool such as balenaEtcher; this erases the card, so back up patches first, and the same step restores a card that has gone bad. The image links are in section 7.1 of the user manual. Organelle OS 5.x runs on the M, S and S2 from one image; the original Organelle is not supported by it. Patches are folders with a main.pd file in a Patches folder on the card or on a FAT32 USB drive, and zipped patches install from the patch menu. Community patches, which run on the stock OS and are not catalogued here, are collected on Patchstorage and the Critter & Guitari forum.
Official Organelle operating system, a Linux disk image with the C++ menu application that loads Pure Data patches and drives the keys, knobs and OLED, plus WiFi, MIDI and a browser editor.
Critter & Guitari's open library of Pure Data patches for the Organelle: synths, samplers, effects, hybrids and utilities, including the factory EXPLORE set, one folder per patch.
| Version | Date |
|---|---|
| v2.3 | 2021-03-29 |
A modular environment for the Organelle built on Pure Data, where synths, effects and sequencers are ready-made modules you chain, with presets and MIDI learn.
by Mark Harris (TheTechnobear)