# Trinket Sound-Reactive LED Color Organ
## Overview
A color organ was a staple of the music scene in the 1970s and is still in use today at concerts and select home theaters.
The principle is simple: flash colored lights in step with music or other sounds.
"In the day", these could be obtained as ready to use accessories or as kits. Radio Shack sold units that were rather popular, these from a 1977 catalog:
## How It Works
Color organs sample sound and flash lights based either the sound intensity or frequency. The higher end units use analog or digital signal analysis to determine the sound energy in selective parts of the frequency spectrum and flash the lights accordingly.
The [Adafruit Ampli-Tie project](http://learn.adafruit.com/led-ampli-tie/), using FLORA, has two different algorithms to light a string of [Neopixel LEDs](http://www.adafruit.com/category/37_87) according to sound intensity. We will reuse much of the first Ampli-Tie algorithm's code. The more complex algorithm uses a good deal of floating point math, which is too large to fit on a Trinket or Gemma. The simpler algorithm fits with room to spare, using integer math. The code is slightly modified to give the effect one may want in a color organ. The user may alter this code to produce other effects for their own projects.
- [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/trinket-sound-reactive-led-color-organ/build-the-circuit.md)
## Featured Products
### Adafruit Trinket - Mini Microcontroller - 5V Logic
[Adafruit Trinket - Mini Microcontroller - 5V Logic](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1501)
**Deprecation Warning: The Trinket bit-bang USB technique it uses doesn't work as well as it did in 2014, many modern computers won't work well. So while we still carry the Trinket so that people can maintain some older projects, we no longer recommend it.**
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1501)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1501/guides)
### Adafruit Trinket - Mini Microcontroller - 3.3V Logic
[Adafruit Trinket - Mini Microcontroller - 3.3V Logic](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1500)
**Deprecation Warning: The Trinket bit-bang USB technique it uses doesn't work as well as it did in 2014, many modern computers won't work well. So while we still carry the Trinket so that people can maintain some older projects, we no longer recommend it.**
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1500)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1500/guides)
### Electret Microphone Amplifier - MAX4466 with Adjustable Gain
[Electret Microphone Amplifier - MAX4466 with Adjustable Gain](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1063)
Add an ear to your project with this well-designed electret microphone amplifier. This fully assembled and tested board comes with a 20-20KHz electret microphone soldered on. For the amplification, we use the Maxim MAX4466, an op-amp specifically designed for this delicate task! The amplifier...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1063)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1063/guides)
### Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 3 - Pack of 4
[Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 3 - Pack of 4](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1260)
What's a wearable project without LEDs? Our favorite part of the Flora platform is these tiny smart pixels. Designed specifically for wearables, these updated Flora NeoPixels have ultra-cool technology: these ultra-bright LEDs have a constant-current driver cooked right into the LED...
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1260)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1260/guides)
### NeoPixel Ring - 16 x 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers
[NeoPixel Ring - 16 x 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1463)
Round and round and round they go! 16 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 1.75" (44.5mm) outer diameter. The rings are 'chainable' - connect the output pin of one to the input pin of another. Use only one microcontroller pin to control as many as you can...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1463)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1463/guides)
### Breadboard-friendly RGB Smart NeoPixel - Pack of 5
[Breadboard-friendly RGB Smart NeoPixel - Pack of 5](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1312)
This is the easiest way possible to add small, bright RGB pixels to your project. We took the same technology from our Flora NeoPixels and made them breadboard friendly, with two rows of 3 x 0.1" spaced header on each side for easy soldering, chaining and breadboarding. These ultra-bright...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1312)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1312/guides)
### 5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed
[5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276)
This is an FCC/CE certified and UL listed power supply. Need a lot of 5V power? This switching supply gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA. 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are "US 2-prong" style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/276/guides)
### 5V 10A switching power supply
[5V 10A switching power supply](https://www.adafruit.com/product/658)
This is a beefy switching supply, for when you need a lot of power! It can supply 5V DC up to 10 Amps, running from 110V or 220V power (the plug it comes with is for US/Canada/Japan but you can use any plug adapter for your country, or just replace the cable with a standard computer/appliance...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/658)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/658/guides)
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