999 Dub Warning

Tom's Picksynthesizereffectdronetrigger

A small, immediate dub warning siren for the Workshop Computer. Main sets the base pitch, X drives the sweep, CV In 2 colors the oscillator, and Y opens up the PT2399-style delay. Use Z Down for a compact Wheel Up one-shot gesture, Pulse In 1 for a gated siren, or Pulse In 2 for reset plucks and fast-trigger textures. Audio In 2 can override the Main pitch knob when patched.

WatchDemo video

Panel

Workshop Computer panelPitchSweepEffectPitch ModMain CVPitch CVColor CVFireReset PluckWarning MixDirect + EchoLFOEnvelopeActive GateHit

Controls

Main knob

Pitch
Base siren pitch, defeated by Audio In 2 when patched

X knob

Sweep
Sweep rate and pitch bend depth

Y knob

Effect
Raises delay time, modulation, repeats, dirt, and wet level

Switch

Continuous: Free-running siren

Gated: Triggered siren that fades after Pulse In 1

Wheel Up / Reset: Move Down to fire the Wheel Up one-shot and reset phase

Inputs & Outputs

Inputs

Outputs

Inputs

Audio 1

Pitch Mod
Audio-rate or CV pitch modulation mixed with CV In 1

Audio 2

Main CV
Overrides the Main pitch knob when patched

CV 1

Pitch CV
Adds to the base siren pitch

CV 2

Color CV
Modulates siren wave color and drive

Pulse 1

Fire
Rising edge fires the normal gated siren envelope

Pulse 2

Reset Pluck
Rising edge resets oscillator/LFO phase and fires a short pluck; fast triggers create useful textures

Outputs

Audio 1

Warning Mix
Main warning siren output through the wet/dry effect mix

Audio 2

Direct + Echo
Alternate direct-plus-echo output

CV 1

LFO
Internal siren sweep LFO

CV 2

Envelope
Gate and hit envelope for patching other modules

Pulse 1

Active Gate
High while the siren envelope or Wheel Up gesture is active

Pulse 2

Hit
Short pulse on trigger, reset, or Wheel Up

LEDs

LED 1

Gate
Brightness follows siren level

LED 2

Pitch
Shows active Main pitch source, either the Main knob or Audio In 2

LED 3

Sweep
Shows X knob position

LED 4

Effect
Shows Y knob position

LED 5

LFO
Follows the internal sweep LFO

LED 6

Hit / Echo
Flashes on trigger, then follows echo return level

README

Dub Warning

Beta status: passed single-device hardware testing.

Dub Warning is a playable siren oscillator for the Music Thing Modular Workshop Computer. It makes a bright triangle-to-square tone, bends it with an internal LFO, adds a short noisy attack on triggers, and feeds it into a PT2399-style delay that can smear into a reverb-like dub wash at high repeat settings. Z Down fires a compact Wheel Up one-shot gesture for punctuation before drops, while Pulse In 1 fires the normal gated siren. Pulse In 2 is a reset pluck: at fast or audio-rate triggers it becomes a useful rhythmic/noisy exciter, especially while sweeping Main pitch.

The card is meant to be immediate: patch either audio output, grab the knobs, and hit the switch or a pulse input when you want the siren to shout.

Controls

Control Function
Main Base pitch, unless Audio In 2 is patched
X Siren sweep rate and pitch bend depth
Y PT2399-style delay character: time, modulation, repeats, dirt, and wet level
Z Up Continuous siren
Z Middle Gated mode. Pulse In 1 fires the siren, then it fades away
Z Down Fire Wheel Up one-shot and reset phase

Inputs

Input Function
Audio In 1 Extra pitch modulation
Audio In 2 Main pitch CV override. When patched, it defeats the Main knob
CV In 1 Extra pitch modulation
CV In 2 Siren color and drive modulation
Pulse In 1 Fire gated siren
Pulse In 2 Reset oscillator/LFO phase and create a short pluck

Outputs

Output Function
Audio Out 1 Main siren through the wet/dry effect mix
Audio Out 2 Alternate direct-plus-echo output
CV Out 1 Internal LFO
CV Out 2 Gate / hit envelope
Pulse Out 1 Gate while the siren or Wheel Up gesture is active
Pulse Out 2 Short hit pulse on trigger/reset/Wheel Up

LEDs

LED Meaning
LED0 Siren level / active gate
LED1 Active Main pitch source: Main knob or Audio In 2 override
LED2 X sweep knob position
LED3 Y delay/effect knob position
LED4 Internal siren LFO
LED5 Wheel Up / hit envelope while active, otherwise echo return level

Test

Use UF2/DubWarning.uf2 for hardware testing. The full input and output test checklist is in TEST_PROCESS.md.

Development notes

The firmware uses the ComputerCard framework and keeps the audio callback integer-only. CV In 2 handles oscillator color so the Y knob can stay focused on the effect. DubWarning.uf2 is the shippable PT2399-style delay version: darker repeats, slight clock dirt, smeared feedback, and reverb-like wash at longer settings. The Wheel Up gesture is fired from the switch and temporarily overrides the free siren sweep with a short trilled pitch phrase and stronger delay send. Audio In 2 uses jack detection, so the Main knob is only defeated when a cable is patched.

Build in the repository dev container from this directory:

make

The dev container will configure CMake, build the firmware, and stage the UF2 in UF2/.

Credits

  • Dub Warning for the Workshop Computer by Adrian Vos, 2026.
  • ComputerCard is the Music Thing Modular card library by Chris Johnson, MIT, included here as ComputerCard.h.
  • Music Thing Modular Workshop System Computer by Tom Whitwell / Music Thing Modular.

License

Dub Warning is released under the MIT License. ComputerCard.h keeps its own MIT license and attribution to Chris Johnson.

Firmware distribution notices

See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for dependency copyright and license texts. Keep the accompanying NOTICE.txt with each UF2 when redistributing it.

Verify your download

Confirm the file you downloaded really is that new firmware.

macOS / Linux (Terminal)

shasum -a 256 firmware.uf2

Linux also has sha256sum firmware.uf2.

Windows (PowerShell)

Get-FileHash firmware.uf2 -Algorithm SHA256

Compare the result to the SHA256 on the website — it should match exactly.