Recommendations on synth DIY
February 6, 2011 4:01 PM Subscribe
I am looking for recommendations for DIY synth kits. I recently built the Weird Sound Generator and Voice of Saturn kits and am now looking for more to build. Does anyone here know of any similar noise-making PCB kits, or something else in general I should look into?
Thanks.
I haven't bought anything from them yet, but Music from Outerspace has a huge selection of cool kits.
posted by drezdn at 6:45 PM on February 6, 2011
posted by drezdn at 6:45 PM on February 6, 2011
If you're interested in the noisier side of things, I highly recommend Nicolas Collins' book Handmade Electronic Music.
posted by moonmilk at 8:11 PM on February 6, 2011
posted by moonmilk at 8:11 PM on February 6, 2011
A few that haven't been mentioned yet:
Eric Archer's Andromeda Space Rockers are primitive analog drum machines and tone generators that synchronize with each other via infrared signals. There's nothing else quite like them. Being self-contained on a PCB, it's a quick build.
The 4ms Pedals Autonomous Bassline Generator kit can interface with the space rockers via IR to provide a bloopy bassline... or, just bloop away by itself. While the ABG is pretty easy to build, they sell other, more complex noisemakers, too.
Bleep Labs' Thingamagoop 2 kit was mentioned, and it certainly is the cutest noisemaker ever made, but I personally find the Nebulophone to be a more useful instrument. Everything Dr. Bleep designs is gold, though.
The Moog Etherwave theremin kit is the granddaddy of DIY synth kits. Much of the PCB work has been finished, so it's an easy build for a beginner. A little pricy, but it's a classic.
Finally, the Shruthi-1 monosynth kit is a monster. It's got an amazing, fat sound for such a little kit. In addition to a great analog filter crossed with a variety of waveforms, it's got a modest sequencer, arpeggiator, and full MIDI. The build complexity is higher than the earlier kits mentioned, but it's only a 3-4 hour project if you've mastered the rest. Highly recommended.
If you've mastered all of those, it might then be time for a x0xb0x.
posted by eschatfische at 3:45 PM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Eric Archer's Andromeda Space Rockers are primitive analog drum machines and tone generators that synchronize with each other via infrared signals. There's nothing else quite like them. Being self-contained on a PCB, it's a quick build.
The 4ms Pedals Autonomous Bassline Generator kit can interface with the space rockers via IR to provide a bloopy bassline... or, just bloop away by itself. While the ABG is pretty easy to build, they sell other, more complex noisemakers, too.
Bleep Labs' Thingamagoop 2 kit was mentioned, and it certainly is the cutest noisemaker ever made, but I personally find the Nebulophone to be a more useful instrument. Everything Dr. Bleep designs is gold, though.
The Moog Etherwave theremin kit is the granddaddy of DIY synth kits. Much of the PCB work has been finished, so it's an easy build for a beginner. A little pricy, but it's a classic.
Finally, the Shruthi-1 monosynth kit is a monster. It's got an amazing, fat sound for such a little kit. In addition to a great analog filter crossed with a variety of waveforms, it's got a modest sequencer, arpeggiator, and full MIDI. The build complexity is higher than the earlier kits mentioned, but it's only a 3-4 hour project if you've mastered the rest. Highly recommended.
If you've mastered all of those, it might then be time for a x0xb0x.
posted by eschatfische at 3:45 PM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seconding PAiA. Lots of people got their start with those kits!
posted by luckynerd at 12:37 AM on July 16, 2011
posted by luckynerd at 12:37 AM on July 16, 2011
The 4ms Pedals Autonomous Bassline Generator kit can interface with the space rockers via IR to provide a bloopy bassline.
I've built one, and the instructions were good and the final product was really fun.
posted by drezdn at 5:41 AM on July 16, 2011
I've built one, and the instructions were good and the final product was really fun.
posted by drezdn at 5:41 AM on July 16, 2011
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They have been making synth kits for ... ever as far as I can remember. I built some in the 70's. They were great fun and good quality!
posted by leafwoman at 4:25 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]