Custom Pure Data Groovebox + Zynthian Main Board V5.1 PACK

Hardware
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Hi everyone,

I’m Johann, and I’m excited to join this community! I’ve been following Zynthian for a while and am really impressed with the quality of the V5 hardware design and the open-source philosophy.

I’m building a groovebox called Modular Live Performer (MLP) - a curated electronic music performance instrument focused on improvised live performances created almost 100% in Pure Data. The goal is to create a workflow-optimized groovebox that gets out of the musician’s way and prioritizes immediate playability over configuration complexity.

Current Setup

Right now, MLP runs on:

  • Modified Patchbox OS (Raspberry Pi 5)

  • Pure Data for real-time audio processing

  • Python/tkinter GUI for touchscreen control

  • HiFiBerry DAC8x for 8-channel audio output

The system works well, but I’m hitting some limitations around power management and hardware integration, which is exactly what brought me to Zynthian!

The Plan

I’d like to use the Zynthian V5 main board as my hardware foundation while keeping my existing software stack (Patchbox OS + Pure Data + Python GUI). The V5 board solves so many problems I’ve been wrestling with: proper power management, professional audio quality, MIDI DIN ports, and RTC with battery backup.

The project is fully open source and will live on GitHub once it’s more mature.

Questions:

I’m planning to order the V5 main board as a standalone part, and I have a couple of technical questions:

1. Is the V5 main board (when ordered as a part) standalone workable with a Raspberry Pi 5?

  • Can I just plug in an RPi5, boot Patchbox OS, and have audio/MIDI working?

  • Or are there dependencies on Zynthian OS that I need to be aware of?

2. Do I still need to buy the “microSD-card adapter to FFC” accessory?

  • I saw this in the parts list, but I’m not clear if it’s required or optional

  • My understanding is the V5 board has an onboard microSD holder/extender - does this replace the need for the adapter?

3. Any gotchas running non-Zynthian OS on V5 hardware?

Thanks for building such an awesome platform!

Johann

1 Like
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Hi @johannkabuye - This topic seems to have some similar questions:

re your question 2 - you can just plug the SD Card directly into the Pi if it is accessible in your design. The adapter lets you use the SD socket on the Zynthian Mainboard, since on Zynthian V5 the Pi is sealed in the case and you don’t have access to it.

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Thanks for the fast reply! I just ordered the main board and I am super excited to test it soon!

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