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Posted by twisted on Mar-19-2005 11:36:

Building an Analogue Synth

I have decided to take on the task of learning to build an analogue synth. i need info all about the internals of different analogue synths and how they are wired, what actually makes the sound, etc. im completely ignorant as to how they are wired and how they really work, so info on this would be appreciated. ive also just thought about buying a synth and attempting to rewire it myself, just to get some of the basics out of the way. even then, i still need a great amount of info/help.

thanks for any replys, in advance.

Posted by TMD33 on Mar-19-2005 17:07:

you can't just build an analogue synth just because you want to.

especially because
quote:
im completely ignorant as to how they are wired and how they really work

Posted by twisted on Mar-19-2005 17:32:

yeah...well thanks for the motivational words

i wasnt going to start like next week or anything. thats where the Reading and learning come into play.

i also know a few people who know a fair bit about electronics and a bit about what im going to do.

but the whole point was to get external info from others, because i cant just sit around and drain all the information of the people i know, because, they have things to do, valuable time to spend somewere else.

however, i, for one, have ALOT of time on my hands, and something like this is perfect.

i know that something like this wont come without mass tribulations and erronous results, especially the first time, and Especially in my case.

but im willing to take it on, frankly, because entertaining the idea really intrigues me, and i have shit else to do.

so if you would be so kind...

Posted by Dj Thy on Mar-19-2005 18:03:

http://www.introspectiv.org/
http://www.ucapps.de/ (midi controller, with option to include a SID chip => the sound module used in the Commodore 64)
http://www.sowa.synth.net/
http://www.colinfraser.com/

http://web.archive.org/web/20040215...net/synths.html

This last one is one of the most complete DIY synth pages, check the links page for more sites. Sadly the site is down for the moment (that's why I gave you the webarchive link, so you can still consult an older version)...

Enjoy.

Posted by fr0st on Mar-19-2005 18:47:

quote:
Originally posted by twisted
yeah...well thanks for the motivational words

i wasnt going to start like next week or anything. thats where the Reading and learning come into play.

i also know a few people who know a fair bit about electronics and a bit about what im going to do.

but the whole point was to get external info from others, because i cant just sit around and drain all the information of the people i know, because, they have things to do, valuable time to spend somewere else.

however, i, for one, have ALOT of time on my hands, and something like this is perfect.

i know that something like this wont come without mass tribulations and erronous results, especially the first time, and Especially in my case.

but im willing to take it on, frankly, because entertaining the idea really intrigues me, and i have shit else to do.

so if you would be so kind...

Well do you mean build from scratch or via a kit? Id say unless your a electrical egineer you have 0 chance of actually building it from the ground up... But you prolly can get a kit with the boards already made and just sodder a few things up etc... But even that requires some knowlegde about transisiters etc... Which it would appear you have none...

Posted by DJMaytag on Mar-19-2005 20:37:

quote:
Originally posted by fr0st
Well do you mean build from scratch or via a kit? Id say unless your a electrical egineer you have 0 chance of actually building it from the ground up... But you prolly can get a kit with the boards already made and just sodder a few things up etc... But even that requires some knowlegde about transisiters etc... Which it would appear you have none...

It's actually not that hard to do, just go down to Radio Shack and pick up some breadboards and some project instructions on how to make some basic tone generators. Bob Moog's first synths were nothing more than breadboard tone generators that someone thought sounded cool. He went on to make some basic filters and envelope generators to change the tones and voila! Instant Moog modular!

A basic analogue monosynth isn't really all that complicated. It's when you want to add computer control to the oscillators to keep them in tune (no pitch drift) and do things like programmable patch storage that the learning curve puts you into the range of a high level electronics engineer.

Posted by Zombie0915 on Mar-19-2005 21:06:

I suggest building a MOTM, they snd you all the parts, give you a list of the tools you need, and send instructions on how to put the things together, you buy each little module separately and make your own sexy beast machine with it.

motm.com is the address I beleive, but they are quite pricey.

I'm in my 3rd year of studying for an EE degree, someone hire me to build some synths damnbit, that would be a friggin dream job.

If you are lacking some funds and just want to try your hand at making your own sound generators, you could always try the digital method. Everything you need to learn DSP and code your own VST's or other plugins can be found online.

Either way you go though, you will need a lot of math and reading, good luck.

Posted by DJMaytag on Mar-19-2005 21:26:

MOTM is at http://www.synthtech.com/

Glad to see he fixed up his website, I offered to redo it about 5 years ago!

Some other good resources can be found on the Analogue Heaven mailing list about building synths. Guys like the owner of Synthtech (Paul, IIRC) can be found discussing things on there (I was a member from 1994 to about 1998).