OPL3 Duo!

The OPL3 Duo is a very flexible synthesizer board for your Arduino or compatible dev board that gives you almost unlimited possibilities to play with OPL2 and OPL3 music synthesizers. The board has two YMF262 OPL3 chips that give you double the capabilities of a single OPL3. The characteristic sound of the OPL3 will be instantly recognizable for anyone who has played PC games in the 90s. This synthesizer allows you to recreate these nostalgic sounds and go far beyond what you thought was possible with OPL2 or OPL3 synthesizers!

Features of the OPL3 Duo

The OPL3 Duo gives you almost limitless possibilities to play with OPL2 and OPL3 audio synthesizers. Whether you want to build your own MIDI synthesizer, playback tracked music or video game music files, or experiment with the OPL3 chip, the OPL3 Duo can do it all!

1. Works with any Arduino, Teensy, Raspberry Pi, Node MCU, or other Arduino compatible boards with SPI and 5 free digital IO pins
2. Works with either 5v or 3.3v
3. Fully OPL2 compatible
4. Up to 36 2-operator channels
5. Up to 12 4-operator channels and 12 2-operator channels simultaneous
6. Up to 10 simultaneous drum sounds in percussive mode
7. The software can address each YMF262 individually or treat both as one OPL2 or OPL3 with up to 36 channels
8. Stereo audio through 3.5 mm jack, amplified speaker out and unamplified line out
9. Software compatible with the OPL2 library for Arduino and the OPL2 Audio Board
10. Library software that comes with simple and fun examples

Example projects

The examples that are included with the Arduino OPL2 library will get you started quickly and show you how to program and use your OPL3 Duo. You can use the examples as the basis for your own projects or use them as they are to:

1. Build your own OPL2 or OPL3 based synthesizer the way you want it
2. Compose your own music with the Tune Parser that plays music from simple text strings
3. Play video game or tracker music files such as DRO, IMF, RAD, VGM
4. Connect the OPL3 Duo to a Teensy++ 2.0 or later to create a MIDI synthesizer
5. Use it as a real sound card with DosBox (requires a custom DosBox build)

What you will get

When you order the OPL3 Duo you will get a fully assembed and tested board that is ready to go! A small instruction leaflet is included to show you how to connect the board and install the software as well as some adhesive feet that you can stick to the bottom of the board.

Hear the OPL3 Duo in action

Below is an example of the OPL3 Duo playing a MIDI file from the DOS game Descent. The OPL3 Duo is connected to a Teensy 3.6 that is running the MIDI example that is included in the Arduino OPL2 library.

Enclosure

I now also offer a 3D printed enclosure for your OPL3 Duo!. The enclosure comes as two parts printed in stylish Vertigo Grey PLA and 4 screws. If you want to print the enclosure yourself then you can download the STL files here: https://www.printables.com/model/298827-opl3-duo-enclosure.