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Forums - Synths & synthesis
Subject: DIY and Modular Synth's
Original Message 1/19 30-May-00 @ 03:40 PM - DIY and Modular Synth's
I was wondering if anyone can answer a few question I have?
I am intrested in building an analog synth because I am tired of every new synth trying to be a 303 and the unreliabilty and lack of customer support for all the old one's.
I am probally going to make the Paia Fatman first and then go modular with componets from MOTM and Paia mixed and Matched together and My questions are first the Mods and Fatman say you have to supply a MIDI Keyboard but truth be told An Actual Keyboard scares me beyond belief. I like the set up of THe FR 777 is there a way to build one of these type push button in case you have never seen it. Also is a midi Keyboard capable of slide and Accent? Also has anyone ever built either tha Paia or MOTM I would appreciate any tips and suggestion on ease of assembly?
C
I am intrested in building an analog synth because I am tired of every new synth trying to be a 303 and the unreliabilty and lack of customer support for all the old one's.
I am probally going to make the Paia Fatman first and then go modular with componets from MOTM and Paia mixed and Matched together and My questions are first the Mods and Fatman say you have to supply a MIDI Keyboard but truth be told An Actual Keyboard scares me beyond belief. I like the set up of THe FR 777 is there a way to build one of these type push button in case you have never seen it. Also is a midi Keyboard capable of slide and Accent? Also has anyone ever built either tha Paia or MOTM I would appreciate any tips and suggestion on ease of assembly?
C
Message 2/19 30-May-00 @ 04:33 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
hey, working on a few MOTM modules myself. 900 power supply, 420 filter x2, 440 filter, 320 LFO, 800 EG x2.. MOTM has painfully detailed directions & near-immediate email support from a whole bunch of MOTM geeks & Paul S of synthtech.. *good tools* is what you need, and a few hours practice with the soldering iron. make some patch cables first if you haven't soldered. soldering gets fun though. however it may just be frustrating. i like solder fumes, but more i like being super perfectionist about making thing like module. yes. it's really fun for me to watch it go together.. i have one 420 filter done, & the power supply. it does work, too! nice sinewave at high resonance bla bla bla i'm going on too much now without breaks & paragraphs & such i realize
Message 3/19 30-May-00 @ 06:23 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
Don't Mind at all. Wished ya gone on longer. Uhmm so anyone do Paia?
Message 4/19 30-May-00 @ 08:12 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
i have thought about paia.. that's really about it. the MOTM stuff is pretty simple to assemble. a few steps could be made easier, like soldering the wires up to the jacks.. various things one would think to do before this or that.. stuff you'll think of after a module or two built. now i'd probably apply some solder to the jacks before i have to attach the wires. it can get pretty tight in there. the 3-way switch is tricky. you have to be very patient with the iron, trying to keep components from getting too hot. other than that you might want to subscribe to the synth-diy and/or MOTM mailing lists. i'm tired.
Message 5/19 30-May-00 @ 08:17 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
well now it looks like (to me) i'm saying up there not to get three-way switches too hot. you could do that, probably i think i got mine pretty toasty warm. i really meant all the things on the pc board, them's the valuable-likes. of course getting a jack too hot can't be good as parts of it are plastic & could be convinced to melt under sufficient influence.. hey, i like making cables though. 2 connector for CV, 3 connector balanced & XLR for audio.. save a bunch, get cable & connectors in bulk from Markertek.. very sleepish now nite!
Message 6/19 30-May-00 @ 10:38 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
solder,I think I found the hardcore synth nutz.You guyz are over the top.Anybody interested in making some dreams a reality for a guy who would burn the house down if I even plugged in the iron much less deal w/ wiring it straight.I wouldn't mind learning though.Any pointers for a complete novice?Keep in mind I couldn't even finish one of those snap-tite models when I was a little bastard.
cheers
cheers
Message 7/19 31-May-00 @ 08:20 AM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
hey, i hadn't soldered since the R/C car days, and that was only a little tiny bit. so i was a complete novice at it. first resistors i put in made me somewhat nervous, but hell, mostly they cost a few pennies so replacement is easy.. desoldering gun is next on my list i think. but by the time i got to the integrated circuits, which are the most costly & as i understand most delicate, they were no problem. solder one connection for one second, then move on to a different component. go back & forth between the two so neither gets too hot then put more in. still the wackiest part is running MOTM pc boards under warm water!! really! you have to do it a couple of times. all you need is patience, a good-sized, distraction-free workspace & them good quality tools. you won't burn your house down, just get a soldering station so you can anchor the iron when not actively soldering. yep. my plan is to have a 10-space MOTM which is half filters & no VCOs, & one, later, which has 2 or 3 VCOs, ringmod/VCA, etc.. and you can buy MOTM modules assembled & tested! my understanding of that is that they are generally put together byt EE types who are MOTM owners, out in the field, sort of contracted to do some here & there. don't know how many buy assembled & tested, but i do know that in just over 2 years, there are over 1000 MOTM modules sold. bye!
Message 8/19 31-May-00 @ 09:15 AM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
Give my synth a bath?That's new 2 me.I guess it's off to Capital electronics.Any suggestion where I can find a simple Lfo circuit project?
later
later
Message 9/19 01-Jun-00 @ 01:59 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
Before it became Electronic Musician, there was Polyphony (Paia's house mag). I think you can get back copies from PAIA. There was a fabulous quadrature LFO that I built from their schematics that only took, I think, 2 chips, some resistors and caps. Amazing magazine. Pitch to voltage convertors, touch switches, sample/ holds, etc. The old Radio Shack books of circuits by Forrest Mims are worth looking at too. Amazing pet tricks with 1/4 of an IC and stuff. I havent bought a mixer in years (not that I'm bragging, I'm just cheap). Check out Polyphony, if you can. Paia always explains WHY it works and how it can be modified. I still have a pile of modules that I used to use live and they've been working for up to 27 years now. I do use sockets for IC's, though.
Message 10/19 01-Jun-00 @ 04:43 PM - RE: DIY and Modular Synth's
I am familiar w Paia and have seen a project or 2 after completion and they lacked the robust feel I like in a synth.You see I have no preset recall in my studio except on drums.I like my sound to be dynamic so you have to throw switches around at an alarming force sometimes(I'm no little guy)I just can't rock out gently.Even my MS-404 scares me sometimes when I have to waggle a switch(the whole assembly moves in it's socket.I'm trying to make these machines sound like 2 sometimes three different filter ranges in a bar of music @ 135-145bpm.Isn't there a way I can just get the individual circuits from paia and outsource my knobs and switches and heavier pcb?
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