I can’t wait to see all the 555 contest entries. Here’s one:

Here are the details for my 555 Contest entry. It is a three channel music synthesiser, capable of four octaves per chanel. The 555′s are used to generate each octave for each voice (or channel). There are twelve 555 timer IC’s used for the synthesiser section and two more for tempo control and paper speed. It is sequenced by a Heathkit H-10 paper tape unit and programmed with a 486 PC running QBasic (seriously, it’s easier).

There are a few reasons why I chose to use a paper tape machine instead of an EEPROM and counters, or a microcontroller. First, I wanted this project to be made with components available in the 1970′s. Also, I think it looks better to have something moving with the music and I’m not a great fan of using IC’s with bazillions of transistors in them.

[Via Hack A Day ]