# Walkmellotron: Cassette Player Mods ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/112/762/medium800/hacks_edited_P1380261.png?1656479518) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/112/761/medium800/hacks_walkmel-7877.jpg?1656479386) https://youtu.be/wTrl89AjCcw Portable cassette tape players aren't just the best way to listen to music on the go, they also can be turned into musical instruments in their own right! By adjusting playback speed of the tape motor, you can increase or decrease the pitch of the playback. This guide shows a couple of great ways to hack your Walkman for speed control. First there's the Walkmellotron, which uses USB MIDI on a QT Py RP2040 with a DAC board for voltage control of the player's potentiometer wiper. Use a MIDI keyboard, controller, or sequencer to "play" tape tunes. The second method replaces the tape player's on-board motor controller entirely, allowing total motor control, including a wide range of speeds in both forward and reverse! NOTE: custom tape loop cassette required. https://youtu.be/ivdLFmMQwIQ - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/walkmellotron/walkmellotron-midi-controlled-tape-player.md) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit QT Py RP2040 [Adafruit QT Py RP2040](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4900) What a cutie pie! Or is it... a QT Py? This diminutive dev board comes with one of our new favorite chip, the RP2040. It's been made famous in the new [Raspberry Pi Pico](https://www.adafruit.com/pico) _and_ our [Feather...](http://www.adafruit.com/product/4884) Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4900) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4900/guides) ### Adafruit MCP4728 Quad DAC with EEPROM [Adafruit MCP4728 Quad DAC with EEPROM](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4470) If you've ever said to yourself, "Gee, I wish I had four 12-bit DACs that came in a single package with the ability to save their settings to an EEPROM", well I have good news. The MCP4728 is the answer to your wishes! Within its little package, the MCP4728 has four 12-bit DACs... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4470) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4470/guides) ### L9110H H-Bridge Motor Driver for DC Motors - 8 DIP [L9110H H-Bridge Motor Driver for DC Motors - 8 DIP](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4489) Run two solenoids or a single DC motor with up to 800mA per channel using the super-simple L9110H H-bridge driver. This bridge chip is an 8 DIP package so it's easy to fit onto any breadboard or perfboard. Each chip contains one full H-bridges (two half H-bridges). That means... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4489) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4489/guides) ### Alpha Single-Gang 16mm Right-angle PC Mount - 10K Linear [Alpha Single-Gang 16mm Right-angle PC Mount - 10K Linear](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5280) This **Alpha 10K Linear** potentiometer is a two-in-one, good in a breadboard or with a panel. It's a fairly standard linear taper 10K ohm potentiometer. It's smooth and easy to turn, but not so loose that it will shift on its own. We like this one because the legs are 0.2"... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5280) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5280/guides) ### Soft Silicone Top 6mm Push-buttons (20-pack) [Soft Silicone Top 6mm Push-buttons (20-pack)](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4183) This product is really annoying to have to write a description for because it's really something you have to touch to understand! Instead of a hard plastic actuator-button, these have a soft molded silicone button top. The underlying switch is still a clicky dome-switch but you have this... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4183) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4183/guides) ### Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch [Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805) These nice switches are perfect for use with breadboard and perfboard projects. They have 0.1" spacing and snap in nicely into a solderless breadboard. They're easy to switch no matter what size fingers you have, but not so easy that they'll get flipped by accident. Work great as... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/805/guides) ### IC Socket - for 8-pin 0.3" Chips - Pack of 3 [IC Socket - for 8-pin 0.3" Chips - Pack of 3](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2202) An IC (Integrated Circuit) socket allows you to insert and remove chips easily from an assembled kit or project **This item contains 3 of the 8 pin 0.3" wide version.** Best used with... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2202) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2202/guides) ### 2.54mm/0.1" Pitch Terminal Block - 2-pin [2.54mm/0.1" Pitch Terminal Block - 2-pin](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2138) After a long day out harvesting in the terminal block fields, we've returned with a veritable bounty of these very nice and compact 2.54mm/0.1" terminal blocks in a variety of sizes. Our harvest of terminal blocks is great news since nothing makes a project harder to... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2138) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2138/guides) ## Related Guides - [Adafruit MCP4728 I2C Quad DAC](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-mcp4728-i2c-quad-dac.md) - [Adafruit QT Py RP2040](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-qt-py-2040.md) - [An Introduction to RP2040 PIO with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/intro-to-rp2040-pio-with-circuitpython.md) - [Tandy 1000 Keyboard to USB with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/tandy-1000-keyboard-to-usb-with-circuitpython.md) - [Audio Synthesis with CircuitPython synthio](https://learn.adafruit.com/audio-synthesis-with-circuitpython-synthio.md) - [Toddler Timer](https://learn.adafruit.com/toddler-timer.md) - [Fruit Jam Video Music](https://learn.adafruit.com/fruit-jam-video-music.md) - [NeoKey Emoji Keyboard](https://learn.adafruit.com/neokey-emoji-keyboard.md) - [PermaProto Feather Case](https://learn.adafruit.com/permaproto-feather-case.md) - [Make a Pi Trash Classifier with Machine Learning and Lobe](https://learn.adafruit.com/lobe-trash-classifier-machine-learning.md) - [Raspberry Gear](https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-gear.md) - [Halloween Neon LED Signs](https://learn.adafruit.com/halloween-neon-led-signs.md) - [Trellis Feather DSP-G1 Synthesizer](https://learn.adafruit.com/feather-trellis-dsp-g1-synthesizer.md) - [Blinka Says Tabletop Arcade Game](https://learn.adafruit.com/blinka-says-tabletop-arcade-game.md) - [PlayStation Spinner Controller](https://learn.adafruit.com/playstation-spinner-controller.md) - [UV Manicure Lamp](https://learn.adafruit.com/uv-manicure-lamp.md) - [Four Channel Audio Passive Stereo Mixer](https://learn.adafruit.com/four-channel-audio-passive-stereo-mixer.md)