• meschi
  • flesh eating zombot
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
  • Posts: 3,834

Topic: Synth DIY Thread

I've decided to sell loads of shit and start building synths...
I know very little about electronics and have soldered once in my life, but I need a challenge and some fun along the way...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cSNxHmsOeI[/youtube]

Just picked up the MFOS Noise Toaster as a start up project, but if this goes well, then it will be a sequencer and a semi modular after that... then on to some modules... maybe even one day designing my own PCB's, but I think that's years and years away.

Post here your experiences, tips, tricks and projects. I'd love to see them.

Portobello Library Recs

meschi's Website

2 Reply by jerklin (edited by jerklin 2012-10-17 17:26:00)

  • From: Philadelphia, PA
  • Registered: 2011-12-19
  • Posts: 46

Re: Synth DIY Thread

Nice thread! I started out repairing old gear (kind of necessary when you like old synths) then moved in to more DiY stuff and I've done a handful of things at this point. I'm in no way an expert but here's some advice based on my experience:

  • Don't skimp on the iron. Get a station with variable heat control. I have a Hakko FX-888.

  • Learn how to clean and tin your tips (watch videos on youtube).

  • Don't skimp on solder. I bought a lb of Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 for my last project and it made a huge difference in the quality of joints. I much prefer it to lead-free. I just make sure to wash my hands before I eat smile

  • Get a flux pen.

  • Desoldering sucks. Use the measure twice, cut once method and make sure your components are correct before you solder them on.

  • Take breaks if you get bored or strained. If you solder something wrong it can set you back big time.

  • You may not need it at first for simple projects but a good meter can be very helpful for calibrating components and diagnosing problems when things go wrong. I have a low-end fluke meter and it's more than I could ever need.

Good luck, and have fun smile

This guy has some great videos, easy to watch and very helpful.
http://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog

btw, what are you selling?

  • Registered: 2010-06-20
  • Posts: 228

Re: Synth DIY Thread

jerklin wrote:

Nice thread! I started out repairing old gear (kind of necessary when you like old synths) then moved in to more DiY stuff and I've done a handful of things at this point. I'm in no way an expert but here's some advice based on my experience:

  • Don't skimp on the iron. Get a station with variable heat control. I have a Hakko FX-888.

  • Learn how to clean and tin your tips (watch videos on youtube).

  • Don't skimp on solder. I bought a lb of Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 for my last project and it made a huge difference in the quality of joints. I much prefer it to lead-free. I just make sure to wash my hands before I eat smile

  • Get a flux pen.

  • Desoldering sucks. Use the measure twice, cut once method and make sure your components are correct before you solder them on.

  • Take breaks if you get bored or strained. If you solder something wrong it can set you back big time.

  • You may not need it at first for simple projects but a good meter can be very helpful for calibrating components and diagnosing problems when things go wrong. I have a low-end fluke meter and it's more than I could ever need.

That's excellent advice. If I were to suggest one more thing, it would be to take an electronics class; at some point anyway. It's one thing to poke around and do the exploratory DIY thing and its another to really know what you're really looking at. The knowledge you'll gain will be exponential which will allow you to do larger projects efficiently and safely.

  • ronin
  • cervine lugbot
  • Offline
  • From: now
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 1,266

Re: Synth DIY Thread

some meditation techniques might also come in useful

  • From: Rotterdam
  • Registered: 2009-02-14
  • Posts: 1,149

Re: Synth DIY Thread

cool thread. I'm having an electronics class in february for three weeks, I'll get back to this thread for showing some results.

score100's Website

6 Reply by jerklin (edited by jerklin 2012-10-21 18:16:04)

  • From: Philadelphia, PA
  • Registered: 2011-12-19
  • Posts: 46

Re: Synth DIY Thread

Just put an order in for two DiY kits for my Eurorack Modular. An L1 Tube VCA, and a L-1 Microcompressor.

I recently acquired a DrumDokta + expansion, which is basically a DR-110 in eurorack form + outputs for the raw oscillators that make up the drum sounds. I'm hoping these two kits pair well with the drum dokta and will give me a nice little modular drum machine.

The Tube VCA has some SMD components, which will give me more practice working in that realm. Looking forward to it!

http://l-1.su/TubeVCA.html
http://l-1.su/Microcompressor.html

  • meschi
  • flesh eating zombot
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
  • Posts: 3,834

Re: Synth DIY Thread

thanks for the advice Jerklin! I now need to wait 3/4 weeks to put it into practice smile

Portobello Library Recs

meschi's Website

  • Registered: 2008-07-09
  • Posts: 211

Re: Synth DIY Thread

I built a cracklebox from STEIM , only took like 3 hours and i have no soldering skills

Not a true synth, but it makes sounds

Got a MFOS kit, and it's still in its bag...

  • crc
  • Robot
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2009-05-25
  • Posts: 306

Re: Synth DIY Thread

about to oder a shruthi-1. any experiences anybody?

  • From: near rotterdam
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
  • Posts: 1,656

Re: Synth DIY Thread

If you love modular diy you got to check muffwiggler.
Tons of projects there and i got a huge backlog sad

i don't need the gear, the gear needs me 
http://www.mono-poly.nl/

mono-poly's Website