Muff's Modules & More

[falafelbiels]

I noticed other sub-forums have this and although they have impressive systems in them, they just don't thrill me as much as seeing DIY stuff!
Now the search function couldn't find me a similar thread in Music Tech DIY so I thought why not?

I guess I'd better kick off.



This is where I'm at after about one and a half year of DIY. Please ignore the Tyme Sefari, not that I don't like it but anyway...

WHERE YOURS AT?!


Dear Mod,
If a similar thread does exist, or maybe this belongs in DIY Forum Challenge (though I don't know about that), please move it to there and I'll edit the nonsense out.

[Luka]

i dont think we have done this yet - nice idea

[Low-Gain]

Very nice systems guys! looks very productive. i'll post once i get my studio back in order.

falafelbiels: i like your tank.

[decaying.sine]

Here is my SDIY building zone. This is an older pic. I have two more of those big gray things filled with ICs now. My o-scope is on another desk. I am switching over to an L-shaped desk since it is a little bigger.

I have an ikea drawer thingy that I store PCBs and panels in. I have been collecting them while working on my skills.

Here is my at home etching setup in this thread.
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24244&highlight=etchi ng

I guess I don't have a lot of pics of my builds because most of them are at various stages of stuffing and wiring. I'll have to post a few when I get a little further.

[russma]

...soothing candle FTW.

[parasitk]

I don't have any good pics of my workspace at the moment, but here's my in-progress DIY synth (I've posted these around before):


Coppersynth, October 2010 by parasitk, on Flickr


Coppersynth patched by parasitk, on Flickr


Coppersynth patched by parasitk, on Flickr

I have the 292c clones and Mankato done. The Mankato doesn't work at the moment and I have no idea why. I'm in the middle of wiring the Living VCOs right now.

Next year I start a second row after I've moved and have my workspace all set up again!

[falafelbiels]

It got stickied even! For a minute I couldn't find it anymore huhuh...

Luka
I really love the live rig you're working on. The ultimate in SDIY or somewhere damn near!

Low-Gain
The Leman Russ or the Land Raider? The Land Raider is pretty DIY and belongs in the pic really. Too bad it will never be finished...

decaying.sine
That is ridiculously neat! My place looks like an outhouse. Get wiring man!

parasitk
That is ridiculously beautiful...

[decaying.sine]

No kidding. So much wiring to do!

Another thing I added to the little work area was a true HEPA filter. It is awesome at sucking up the solder fumes. I basically solder right in front of it and don't have to open the window. I picked up the idea from a post here, I believe, and a recommendation on the filter by xart's post.

Coppersynth is unbelievably beautiful isn't it? Actually, I'm always impressed by all the amazing DIY panel styles. Pretty inspiring stuff.

[Low-Gain]

decaying.sine: NOW THAT'S A CLEAN SPACE !! wow. i wish my benches could be that clean. >_<

[Luka]

haha same

mine become that clean about once per quarter and then they slowly become a landfill. good idea with the air filter. you would really need it in that space looking at the angle of the wall

i like to see that other people patch up their unfinished modules just to see what it looks like when in operation

[decaying.sine]

It's an attic room and you are correct about the ceiling angle. The DIY desk I am switching to is beside the window in the same room, but that little filter sucks up everything even on the lowest setting. It's been a nice surprise and addition.

I do need to finish up my stuff so I can show off my lovely nice-racks.com burgundy MOTM 5U cabinet.

I have a matching cabinet that is modcan A format. I am going to do some panel designs for that one in anodized blue to match my MegaOhm built modules. Phi's got a great design style and I am going to DIY with that in mind.

[sduck]

I thought we had already done this, but I guess not! This is a few months old...



and the scary hole in my garage I put the stuff together...

[Luka]

i think we have done the workspace thing but not had a thread to show off DIY synths. here is one side of my workspace (the other side has a drillpress and a shelf full of components)

[/img]

[decaying.sine]

Luke. Great curtains. David Lynch fan?

[Luka]

- i think some days i probably make as much sense at a lynch film

i got these curtains from an op shop for party decor but they were so nice they mostly lived in my house with the odd excursion once in awhile for special installations.

[RF]

Great idea for a thread - You all have great looking setups, but jeese sduck, that's a beautiful system..

Here's my modular a few months back - I got all the empty spaces filled with modules a week or two ago... But I still have a backlog of projects which may mean starting a new cab.

bruce

[andrewF]

this is a bit old but you get the idea




i wish i had coloured patchcords..............

[falafelbiels]

What is that thing in the bottom pic, Andrew?

[Rod Serling Fan Club]

wow, crazy setups. So far all my DIY modules are lying strewn about waiting for a case. I can't decide what kind of case I want to make, stained wood, tolex, I dunno...

[Luka]

if i had the chance again i think i would have not made my big wood case
even though making that case was so satisfying

the angled mixer rack cases are the best as you can use them so many ways
you can sit them on bench vertical or horizontally - you can take them out of your studio - you can put your racks effects in there. so useful

(i was 100% influenced by spbaker here)



this is my gig rig now

[rico loverde]

holy shit AndrewF thats a sic set up. love the mannequins...didnt realize you had done those. seen some pix of em before i believe. very colorful!!!

[andrewF]

[Luka]

im not sure if i have asked this before but how they hell do you wire stuff inside the mannequins? it must be hard to mount everything but to wire it then makes it seems impossible. do you slice them open first?

[andrewF]

its a real shit trying to wire down in the crotch region......
basically made a door out of the back (same for the back of the head)
the boards are stacked and bolted all over the place

[Luka]

we have put lights and piece of mirror inside them before and it was a nightmare - i was always blown away by how much sweat and tears (and swearing) it would have been to make your ones

[andrewF]

mostly swearing
and some blood

I still keep adding to Pinky, next is a VC sine/cosine generator

[falafelbiels]

[fonik]

my workbench (a little bit messy at this time, due to the back log):


and my instruments:

[det3]

Here's the skinny on the blockhaus. I segregate the lab into three zones: the ammo dump (parts + library), the solder saddle (workbench) and the imagination station (design/debug area). Here's an overview:



The ammo dump. I'd say excuse the mess, but it's a lab, not a manufacturing floor:



The solder saddle with red/green RoHS bins and cheapo hot air penis (pencil):



Finally, the imagination station. On the left part of the picture is the power/test bench with all the debug equipment including programmers, scopes, logic analyzers, test PC, etc. On the right is the design station which contains the workstation and enough room to keep a pad of paper or two around in case I want to go old school:



I forgot to mention the tardissynth is part of the test rig for now. Later I'll throw a proper rack frame with a QCR8 and a 3U eurorack in for testing modules.

[Spanningtree]

Crazy stuff guys and great looking synths/labs! I wish I had more time to delve deeper into the DIY bit... looking at this thread makes me want to ask my boss/wife for more time off.

[Befacosynth]

Not very good picture but ...

My first system



Second system much more portable. (Now I can take a plain with my baby without carrying 20 kilo of flightcase) Classic 5u are very nice but...

[falafelbiels]

[jenamu6]

I'm so jealous at you guys...........I love these DIY synths.

I can solder and know some electronics.
Yesterday I even finished a RCD from 4Ms

BUT......if it doesn't come with a faceplate.......it's a no go for me.....and almost every diy thingy comes without faceplates.

[falafelbiels]

I'll do that faceplate for you Jean.

[Funky40]

[Funky40]

my very little workspace from the old appartment.
here i soldered my modular from 2006-2009.
it was the space i used to make music in my pre-modular/DIY time
edit: parts where on the floor in bags. some in boxes........DIY hell

now i'm diving into DIYing radio controlled sailplanes. we do DLG.
the mess is unspeakable. Every room

[nervous_circuits]

[Low-Gain]

I'm embarrassed to be posting this.

Apartment Workshop. IT'S A MESS!!!

[Bricks]

Coming soon....

[schmidtc]

We have a SDIY meetup twice a month here in Boston. Anyone in town should drop in if interested. Lots of pics/info on the blog.

[/url]

[photon]

Awesome thread.
I love looking at other peoples workspaces and studios. I'll post some pictures of my shop as soon as I shovel it out. I'm in the middle of building a new workbench and things are a bit upside down.

[mome rath]

eeeesh

[russma]

You should get some parts.

[mome rath]

[skweeegor]

I like the buns towel.

edit: and the lava lamp lamp

[negativspace]

[Low-Gain]

The modules aren't DIY, but the cases are

[terrafractyl]

heres my 60% DIY setup at the moment.



and the associated mess that comes and goes... a thoroughly unprofessional looking workbench haha

[zthee]

I need a wider lens.

[magman]

Time to Join the fray, with yet another untidy workbench:



Which is helping to build this synth, amongst others:



This is less than half of the MOTM style modular I'm building, which currently runs to over 5 of these cabinets.

Last but no means least, the reason for my username:



You are looking at complete or virtually complete collections of Elektor, ETI, Practical Electronics, Maplin Electronics, E&MM, Sound on Sound, Future Music, The Mix, Computer Music, 45 years worth of Wireless World and a large collection of Everyday Electronics, amongst others. By the way, this is less than half of my collection, which currently stands at over 9000 magazines and counting.

Regards

Magman

[fonik]

[Low-Gain]

[valis]

Yeah, wow

[mome rath]

daaaaayum Gina

[Adam-V]

Magman or madman???

Nice collection. There's some great synth circuits in amongst that lot if my memory serves me correctly.

Cheers,
Adam-V

[magman]

[Adam-V]

I'm sue I'm not the only one who will look forward to seeing that website!



Cheers,
Adam-V

[nuckabean]

whoa the idea of scanning 9000 magazines makes me shiver

[Dego]

[kindredlost]

I see some use the blown plastic white tables used for workstations. I've found them to add a source of static charge. I've moved to a wooden top bench desk. Do you see this? A good static mat and wooden chair like you have is a good idea.

I like to use the mini drawer boxes too. Sometimes they can be a pain to find things in without labels though.

[Luka]

my diy synth setup in situ doing it's thing



i was lucky enough to have my first ever live performance & vj set in the alex grey cosm tent @ rainbow serpent festival last weekend. it was very exciting to be surrounded by such amazing art while presenting my own. a great environment for drone and visuals

[dude]

this thread has the best contents of muff i have ever seen. i feel ashamed to have not noticed it earlier. gems. here's my wiener of a log cabin:




the last one is the lady's space but i like the pic and we sometimes use it for photos so i thought i'd share.

[andrewF]

re:Luka
nice one
wish i could have been there


here's a pic of my stuff at DREAM-ING 3.

[andrewF]

[dude]

they are force sensing resistors. i make em in little boxes as you see. they are passive and so much fun with the modular or pedals. pass audio or cv or whatever. i usually put a fixed voltage through to accomplish x task.
FSR

i have the boxes for sale in my sig and can do a little custom stuff with them, of course diy people don't need my sales spam, sorry.

[andrewF]

cheers, thats what i've got.
maybe i'll stick it somewhere strategic on Pinky

[dude]

[nottt]

[fonik]

what a beauty.

[Luka]

weclome nottt
nice setup

[andrewF]

Hi nottt

please tell us about your synth(s?)

[nottt]

that are my serial DIY synths

check my page for details - http://vtol.tk

[andrewF]

[nottt]

what is "AVG"?

I dont have any problems with this link))) - works great from hear!

try this one - http://samoletuvvp.narod.ru/vto/index.html (miror)

[andrewF]

AVG is anti-virus, keeps blocking vtol.tk
the mirror site works

some really beautiful synths
and so many!!!

[rico loverde]

my set up...with the start of my 2011 builds...

[falafelbiels]

nottt
Well there's something a little bit different looking. Nice!

[russma]

@Rico: nice 'scope!

[terrafractyl]

Wow nottt

thats some amazing looking stuff right there, and the modules all sound like nothing I've ever heard of

[rico loverde]

thanx Russ, 10 bux at the local swap. It looks straight out of "1000 Leagues Under the Sea"

[dude]

this thread is too awesome

[nottt]

thanx everybody for kind words

[active]

i can vouche for nott! i did sound for ya at bent fest last year. killer stuff my friend!

[LoFi Junglist]

Here's my DIY Setup, getting ready for 2011 projects.

Besides the usual fuzzpedals for mates i hope to get some prototypes up and running of Eurorack mods to sell (my dream is to have a small business making these); Voltage Quantiser, Digitaly controlled Analog Function generator, Digitaly controlled Analog Universal filter and an 8x8 switching Matrix.



My CRO recently died, so I'm stuck using that handheld UT81B; absolutly worthless as an oscilloscope, and the worst $100 bucks I've spent (got it second hand)

[Luka]

i just sold my scope and was checking those things out
thanks for the tip

i think i might go for a USB job

[Rod Serling Fan Club]

I'm messy:

[DGTom]

messy?



... & thats the sit down bench where you can do stuff,
next to that is the 'real' mess!!

[rosch]

oh a benjolin!

[Celtic Peasant]

[parasitk]

[ragingmouse]

oh my lord....


My workspace is nothing compared to some of you guys...wow!!!

[falafelbiels]

Pictures or it doesn't even exist!

[andrewF]

more messy

[Pfurmel]

My humble mess/set up.

[falafelbiels]

You guys really need to get organized

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

You say your setup is messy?

exhibit A:


exhibit B:


all that shit for just ONE suitcase!!!

[Pfurmel]

Ah but that lampshade really ties the room together!

[LoFi Junglist]

Dude is that your bed?

[questionable]

I love messy workspace threads. Here's mine.

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

[falafelbiels]

Hey guys, remember this thread is as much about the results of your work as it is about your messy workspaces. I like to see DIY systems.

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

[nottt]

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

now THAT is cool as fuck! Info?

[falafelbiels]

[nottt]

[jbartee]

[andrewF]

this was my setup for a show on Sunday night. There were 4 acts but I got there early and totally hogged the stage - sorry
as you can see i'm a real crowd pleaser!
The track is not a recording of the show, but a recording of the patch I setup in the afternoon, made notes and set up something similar whilst playing. Its quite similar, lashings of SD card player, zeitgeist, Serge 73 VCF, hellfire modulator, CGS wavetable, CGS CMOS VCF in series.
[s]http://soundcloud.com/nonlinearcircuits/lot[/s]

[Luka]

Do you patch that all up in-situ andrew?

[andrewF]

i set up four basic patches before starting, let them roll for a while, then started patching 'freestyle'

Usually i like to start with a blank canvas and see where it ends up (often some combination of the Jerkster and a CGS Steiner)
but this was just 30 minutes so decided to give myself a head start.

Notice i stayed far away from the tube-synth, there's plenty of bitey voltages lurking within those big panel holes

[DGTom]

Awesome rig Andrew
does the Library Serge still have an open back?

My -not-quite-DIY-but-I-mess-with-everything-so-it-kinda-counts-kinda- set-up;





While it was uploading my BugBrand CTL-1 arrived

[andrewF]

yep the librarySerge is still open, still to install a few more boards - this morning it is getting a vari-BW VCF, VCFQ, real ring mod, early Serge ring mod and two DC mixers.
gotta another gig tomorrow, very cool, the guys running it have a record lathe, so the show is recorded live to vinyl and the vinyl is given to the performer.

Your synth is looking good, love all the coloured nanas.
I would love to hear that LOUD

[sduck]

What are you meaning by this... LibrarySerge? Is that some sort of code name for an old style 1 inch grid serge?

[andrewF]

the panels are made from discarded library shelves with 1 inch spacing and early Serge style graphics
Think 'librarySerge came from DGTom, its better than 'Mod#4' i originally called it.

Basically 1 shelf = 4 Serge panels

[Pfurmel]

nottt and AndrewF, amazing work

[andrewF]

[sduck]

too neat

[kupfer_m]

The first 5 finished modules of my modular :

[Zeitdehner]

Wow...that's what I call a nice first post on here

[mome rath]

[rico loverde]

wow Kupfer M that is seriously beautiful. Nice job. Welcome to the forum...

[falafelbiels]

kupfer_m

Waaaaaaaaaah welcome man! Trying to make an impression huh?

[Adam-V]

Very nice work kupfer_m.

Cheers,
Adam-V

[kupfer_m]

Thanks for the kind words!

I really enjoy building stuff.

Here a few of my other builds :

Weird Sound Generator :



FF-clone



Tube distortion I designed:



Tube amplifier I build some years ago:

[Zeitdehner]

Man, that tube amp is insanely beautiful...I guess the unit next to it has the controls

is there a place where I could see the complete system ?
do you by any chance want to sell it ?

[andrewF]

Really great designs....'specially the amp

[kupfer_m]

[frozenkore]

[kupfer_m]

[frozenkore]

[kupfer_m]

[frozenkore]

Thanks! I used one of these. Drilled the holes for the standoffs and used a deep throat punch (like this), Harbor Freight apparently no longer sells, for the pot and jack holes.

[sanders]

What are you using for the rails on this case? Is this a commercial product that someone sells, or just something from the hardware store?

I've been fuddling around with a similar case housing and have some wooden supports that I cut, but I feel like I'd be much better off with aluminum rails.

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

cut down vector rails from mouser.com

TS800 iirc

[Hi5]

dingleberry:

are you planning on adding a utility strip in that bottom empty space in your case? I ask because if you mount the vectors flipped over there is another beveled trace that you could mount an aluminum L-bar to easily. From there you could have mults, attenuators, switches, etc... in the L-bar.

[kupfer_m]

Finished some more modules :

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

[jarvis]

nice panels kupfer_m!

[iopop]

kupfer_m: That's really beautiful. You use lazertran for the panel graphics?

[KNYST]

nice, kupfer

any chance of a larger photo?
(link would do fine)

[kupfer_m]

[kupfer_m]

[Godric]

Here's mine



Godric

[KNYST]

thanks, kupfer_m

nice one Godric

[falafelbiels]

Godric

That's a real nice one, what is all of that?

[kupfer_m]

Godric,

That's impressive!
Yes, tell us more.
Maybe some detailed pics?

[werock]

Now I can see why Rapid are out of those black knobs...

[Godric]

This is my Jubileeproject. Enjoy:


Godric

[Godric]

Those are all Oakley modules. Apart from the sequencers which should be pretty recognisable

Godric

[falafelbiels]

Very nice looking. Those sequencers sure make a system grow fast!

[SMS303]

[Godric]

Depends how you define DIY.

I modified Thomas White's designs for the sequencers. In both cases more or less all I kept where the elliptical arrangements of the knobs (which makes so much sense for an ostinato generator). The MFOS I rearranged even the circular arrangement as I was using dual concentric knobs, which allowed me to give new meaning to Thomas's iconic "coarse/fine" legend. I also used a single on-off-on switch instead of the separate forward/back switches on the MFOS. There are a number of other changes. The Oakley modules I simply took Tony Allgood's panel designs and modified them for my colour-scheme (blue with no in-fill) and with the money saved from that added scales to the knobs.

The power control and multiples strips in the lower part are all mine.

Then some dude in Berlin milled them for me. So not a huge DIY element I suppose.

But still unique.

Godric

[valis]

The case and panels were built from found and recycled materials. Only one panel left on this little beast then it's on to my next major project. It's certainly not the best looking build of all time but it was my first experience working with metal and wood, so I guess it was a giant learning experience.

[falafelbiels]

Nice stuff Valis. very conscious...

[valis]

Thanks! It was a long time coming!

[Rod Serling Fan Club]

I dig it valis

[valis]

Thanks again. I'm always kind of intimidated by people's beautiful projects and panels. I'll post some vids at some point.

[falafelbiels]

[andrewF]

[analog604]

Falafelbiels,

Thanks for sharing that.

You have what appears to be a cozy space. I imagine you have positive workflow there in the diy soundlab.

I'm thinking about ways to implement a small modular that I haven't built yet into a limited space and yours and others have given some inspiration.

cheers
J

[falafelbiels]

Welcome analog64!

Hah I'm currently moving out of that place. new pics in a month or so. Let's hope for more coziness...

Keep us posted on the progress OK?

[analog604]

Thanks falafelbiels, and good luck with the move.

There is much inspiration for DIY here and.. hopefully I'll be able to help out with that at some point.

I've seen some of these synths on a few youtube videos, jaw dropping electronic goodness...

Anyhow I just put an order in for a few modules from Oakley and MFOS to get something into motion.

a little background from me
The gear that I had DiY build over the past 6 years are mic/guitar pre-amps, compressors/limiters, gtr pedals, midibox controller, and mixer stuff.. but not so much for recording as for processing sound and synths.

Bench/build pics here :: update, MFOs modules arrived and I built some of them out over the weekend with the beginnings of a MIDIBox CV :
http://analogaccess.com/pics_pics/

many projects from Prodigy Pro/Group DIY forums; great bunch of guys to learn from.

Dunno why it hadn't occurred to me until this year to build a modular, other than not having too much space left to put it.

oh and... an img of DiY stuff from 2008, I imagine synth modular stuff next to it:


cheers
J

[falafelbiels]

Well that's all gorgeous looking...

[Blue Lantern]

Here is my Modular Synth and my new smaller Euro FOrmat.

[AntManBee]

You DIY folk are crazy! I'm so impressed by the skill, originality and beauty of much of this stuff, especially Parasitk's copper synth. The best I can do with a soldering iron is manage to avoid burning myself whilst giving myself brain damage with my old lead solder.

[whitewulfe]

[falafelbiels]

running out of compliments here...

[zthee]

Blue Lantern Wow! Nice looking panels! I especially like the red and blue legend, great job!

[Adam-V]

That's some mighty nice work Blue Lantern.

Cheers,
Adam-V

[Blue Lantern]

Thanks. Yes it is all DIY.

The panel was made using a Laminator and then sticking it on the ALuminum panel with LOCKTITE Glue Spray via the Ray Wilson Technique.

More info on the Individual modules can be found HERE

When I order something if I happen to have a fresh stock I can sell a few PCB's for DIY. If stuff is running low I need it to fund the next batch of restock.

[Blue Lantern]

After seeing some of the setups in here I decided to rebuild the Euro Rack Cab. I did not want to spend too much thought into it. With one visit to Lowes USA I found pre-cut wood (Poplar) that I simply just glued and screwed together. Now I have more then enough room to fill and thrill

[analog604]

[Blue Lantern]

That's a kill yourself module, you patch it in and flick the switch.

Nah That's to add a wallwart for my Midi to CV or when i use Pedals.

[analog604]

[auftauchend]

hi just thought after month of lurking in the dark i should show you mine..

just finished building the case, multiplex wood, nothing fancy. just bananafied the whole synth and rebuild it (24 modules) into eurorack format. whole lotta work it was!
i didnt spent too much time designing the panels.. before i silkscreened everything with superb results, but it took way too much time...now i didn´t care.
i designed the case quite big to have some space for new modules.

i am currently making knobs...and i´m asking if maybe i´m taking the diy too far.. but its just so much fun!!!
greetings to all
alex

a 4x8 channel mixer module..high density wiring

hmm..now that i see the photos, i should maybe have spent more time on the panels...
greetings to all

[falafelbiels]

Naaah man it looks great, lots of character! Making your own knobs actually does cross a line, see a doctor will you? And while we are on the subject; I really enjoy lurkers coming out in this here thread and I wonder what more beautiful surprise projects will be bestowed upon us here. Can't wait to see!

And welcome Alex, what are all those circuit in there? Spill the beans...

[Adam-V]

Isn't this thread meant for showing off your messy workspaces? There's build gloat thread where you can flaunt your finished builds.

Cheers,
Adam-V

[auftauchend]

hahaa no doctor thanks..with roughly 110 knobs its really a money question. and "making" means cutting a broomstick. works surprisingly well.
the modules are: 4x vco, two on one faceplate.dual ringmod, dual sample/hold,some tools like inverters,offsets, slew,...,stepsequencer,clocksequencer+divider, 3x vca,3x adsr, 4 lfos, steiner/parker filter, noise.
this is all curetronic stuff. matthias from curetronic helped me a lot at the beginning and he is a great guy too who -to my ears- produces great stuff.
also in there the 4x 8ch mixer and 2x th. white lpg. i need two more of those...

so on every faceplate are 2-3 modules

aah and the doepfer quantizer + pll. mfb midi interface.

so far a quite "traditional" setup for tonal/melodic work. i plan to build more stuff to twist/bend/create gates and cvs, like logic, comparators, vcs and so on to have more "controlled" chaos and ways to experiment
glad you like it! i do too! the thing sounds great by the way

[auftauchend]

oups.. my english vocabulary is pretty limited. i didn't know what 'gloat'means...but i looked it up , and, yes, maybe i am ' gloatin' a bit..

so yes, sorry ,its the wrong place for this. i will try to post a picture of my messy workbench tomorrow, mine is in a state just perfect for this threat
btw great builts i did see in here! truly inspiring stuff

[Adam-V]

Hi auftauchend,

Please don't take my comments as being directed personally at you. I was just saying that this thread had deviated from its original intent.

You have a nice looking modular by the way!

Cheers,
Adam-V

[falafelbiels]

Welllll, I actually started this thread for showing off DIY systems, just like in the various formats sub forums "show your XX system here" threads. One sees a lot of DIY modules in the gloat thread, but hardly ever (semi-) complete systems. Keep the messy workspace pics coming though, and gloating is promoted here as well...

You may want to try the Ian Fritz designs for the CV mangling, Alex.

[Adam-V]

I stand corrected.

Carry on...

Cheers,
Adam-V

[auftauchend]

absolutely no problem adam-v
thanks for the advice, those fritz designs do look good and some of them quite easy to do also..i was having a look at those chaos circuits. although i like the idea of patching chaotic systems without dedicated modules that produce chaotic cv or gate..well that sure is sth for another thread. but i think that is why i am attracted by the cgs serge stuff. i think i need more tools like the dusg, vc lfos and so on. thats the problem with big cases..all the empty space you need to fill.
but the soldering iron is still warm from the stuff i showed you. so first i have to make some music and test it on a stage, because playing live is what i enjoy the most with my modular.
good night

[falafelbiels]

[kindredlost]

I'm too anal to have my workspace messy for long. I just finished a few builds and straightened up a bit. I hope this doesn't disappoint the real DIY'ers here. I've been away from building circuitry for decades and am just now getting "back-in-the-saddle-again".

A corner of a back bedroom with a full king-size bed for crashing after hours of ironing. Humble and cozy.

[A Dingleberry Monstrosity]

super nice!

[LoFi Junglist]

Is that an Owon5022?

Been using mine for a couple of months now, and its niiiiice.

[kindredlost]

[LoFi Junglist]

[Kobold]

[bridechamber]

This is a fantastic thread -- very inspirational!

Andrew, I remember seeing your dummy years ago on the web and being completely awed by it. That's what it's all about!!!!!

And the coppersynth, and everyone else's.... so beautiful.

And you'll never get a picture of my bench!

[bridechamber]

Oh wait, there are another nine pages..... droooooollllll............

[falafelbiels]

[XCenter]

12HU of my DIY:

[fonik]

this looks goooood. will i be able to take a look at it next weekend? or even put my hands on it?

[XCenter]

Hi Matt,

sure, HK11 was my deadline to get some finished boards hidden behind the panels. And I ran out of time finally. No VCPS running flawless and paneled, both VCRingMods running but not paneled. VCSwitches unfinished...
HK12 will see an exclusive Fonitronik rig. Promised.

[jooks]

This thread is fantastic! So many awesome builds

@auftaschend I just love your frontpanels and diy-style!

@XCenter BEAUTIFUL

Here is my workplace and some built and in process diy panels. Not very original but much fun:-)

[kupfer_m]

Here's mine with my partner in crime enjoying a Combichrist lullaby...

[MechaSeb]

That is a great picture !

[Pfurmel]

Jooks, that serge case with the ply-wood sides is lovely. Is it custom?

[Dego]

Jooks, I wish I had a basement to. Great looking panels. Makes me jealous...

[Celtic Peasant]

[jooks]

[analog604]

wow some great work area and completed stuff in here!

Godric- sweet cozy setup and I like the all blue panel. Is that engraved?

Jooks those are great builds and I appreciate the organization you have. : )

pic to go into build thread at some point..
-J

[Neutron7]

[YashN]

In which can be seen my first DIY project and the accompanying chaos:

The resurrection and improvement of a formerly 'dead' Korg Poly-800, which has become a modular/DIY lab of some sorts and which has got me completely hooked. It has the excellent custom Korg NJM2069 filter, which some have compared to the best CEM/SSM ones.

The Korg is what you see open in 'lab' mode.

Mods performed:
1. Extension of the battery leads and connection to external 9V power supply (resurrection)
2. Cutoff Frequency Pot
3. Resonance Pot
4. 12/24dB Switch
5. Osc1->Cutoff Frequency Pot
6. External Audio Into VCF Osc1 Mix Input Jack
7. External Audio Into VCF Osc2 Mix Input Jack
8. External Cutoff Frequency CV IN Input Jack
9. Osc 2 to Res CV In (on/off, currently just wires hanging out for more experimentation)

Lots of mods still possible and planned or explored, including:

1. Resonance CV IN Input jack
2. Rademacher->Walsh harmonics osc mix
3. External Audio Into VCF #3 - Noise/External Audio Switch and Input Jack
4. Osc1 CV Signal Input Jack
5. Osc2 CV Signal Input Jack
6. VCA CV Signal Input Jack
7. Amp Cross-Mod for Oscs
8. Multi-mode/state-variable Filter (switches/Mix pots)
9. Internal LFO CV to the various mentioned CV INs
10. Chorus board Depth/Speed Pots
11. Chorus board feedback switch/Pot
12. Chorus board Pseudo-Physical Modeling (simple Karplus-Strong) trigger(!)
13. Chorus board LFO CV to internal CV INs
14. Waveform multiplier mod
15. Integration of Expert Sleepers' Silent Way plugin for CV into those new CV IN Input Jacks (didn't manage to get it working on first few tries)

It's a very good synth to start with and this is why:

1. It can be had for cheap as many people think it's damaged forever when it loses its program memory. You just need to transfer the programs again through a wav or mp3 file when the synth is in Tape/Load mode.
2. It has an incredibly powerful filter and has analog signal paths within, so it can sound very good, but...
3. It was intentionally crippled internally by Korg (cost-cutting + 80's digital synth craze)
4. Therefore, there are a lot of potential mods that are initially easy but which open up the possibilities of the synth (i.e. the Moog Slayer and FM-800 mods).
5. It has an unusual but limited 'additive' Osc section based on Rademacher generation/synthesis. I say 'additive' because I am thinking of the usual additive as in sine waves additive, but in fact, Walsh generation removes harmonics when you 'add' more orders of the function. Therefore, doing the External Audio In mods will bring much more to the sound palette in a very easy way.
6. It also has a paraphonic synth architecture, together with a Bucked-Brigade Chorus, so you could get very good classic string sounds with it . The synth is not that complex to modify and use, therefore. Putting it into Chord mode allows you to have some monophonic-type of operation.

The way I use this now is:
Kurzweil K2500 Oscs -> Korg Poly-800 External Audio IN -> VCF -> Pro Tools FX (!)

This gets rid of the Osc limitations, the polyphony limitations and the Velocity to OSC amp or Vel-to-other destinations limitations prior to the VCF. Multi-track audio recordings show how much the Korg VCF filter warms things up.

So this is my modular setup currently...

The Kurz is an 88-key K2500XS + KDFX. It is a polyphonic semi-modular in itself (but DSP/Digital, not analogue).

You can also see on the lower right: an Arduino kit, which came with a mini-breadboard which makes me feel cramped sometimes.

Not shown:

- an Ensoniq ESQ-1 soon to be 'parted',
- a Yamaha Sy-22 (soon to be parted/sold too - PM me if interested).

Some videos of my summer progress on DIY and the mods are here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/yashnu?feature=mhsn

Enjoy!

[slaughterhousesam]

thats me, right there

some eurorack, then the gold and black are diy, as is the 6u off to the right. think im done now....

i hope im done now....

i may not be all that done now...having to slap my own wrist when i catch myself checking out progress on that haible vocoder

anyway,

haible:
interpolating scanner x 2
scanner chorus
solina chorus
krautrock phaser
living vco X 2
stormtide flanger
freq shifter

fritz:
teezer x 4
jerkster x2
dual well x 2
threeler

cgs:
bintic x 2
wavefolder
gate logic x 2
slope gen x 2
dual lfo x 2
analog logic
stomp box adaptor x 2
asr
slope detector
wasp filter
active ring mod

yusynth:
panning stereo mixer
fixed filter bank

tellun:
neural agonizer

motm:
440 filter

scott stites:
klee

and a bunch of mixers and attenuators in the gaps.

[slaughterhousesam]

the pulse and digitech quad effects are just there to fill the visual gap and stop me plotting to fill it with something else. they arent even plugged in

[YashN]

With that much, you have to appreciate the curved table

Questions: favorite VCO, VCF, VCA, favorite module?

[mckenic]

[rezzn8r]

[slaughterhousesam]

[savage_vomit]

WOW

[slaughterhousesam]

my hit/miss ratio on all that was unbelivable.

every module worked first time (pending calibration)

only toasted one pcb, a 4 stage cgs folder (6 stage one ended up behind the panel), and thats only because i was testing it bare on the lid of the monster base from an existing psu, and cable tension slid it off the cardboard it was sitting on right over the metal edging of the base case lid - shorts everywhere.

replaced all the ics on that, but it never showed a glimmer of life again.

but it never get mounted behind a panel so doesnt really count in the loss column

[YashN]

I was actually out to get some KRK Rokit pair, but then I compare the sound and the soundfield and of the Fostex to others and I was satisfied. Compact, powerful, seemed colorless and balanced, superb soundfield, got those and they're still going strong.

[Neutron7]

this is where i build stuff, rather than my synth setup. Ikea expedit shelves bolted together and bolted to some legs and the wall. ikea drawer thingy.
self made table part.

Light was adapted from something a neighbor threw out. those are chinese ebay LED bulbs!

6 pictures stitched with microsoft ICE,



there are a bunch of component drawers and stuff on the other side of the door.

I am building a little utility module with just the basics, as well as a power outlets, amplifier/speaker and stuff. will be a panel on one of the shelf boxes.

[falafelbiels]

Cozy...

[gigasturtz]

must post more before i can post images.

[gigasturtz]

want.... to.... show.... you....

well, I guess I can explain first. I started building my modules a few months ago. So far all I have been making are Ray Wilson's designs from MFOS. I bought a couple of boards from him (VCO and power supply) but for the most part I have been etching my own boards. I have also been making my front plates out of acrylic, using a laser cutter at LVL1 (a hackerspace in louisville, ky where I live). I have a VCO, a dual LFO, and a dual VCA done (the VCA needs fixing....) and a dual ASDR alllllmost done. Pic to follow!

[gigasturtz]

aaaaannnnnnd here it is!



I just ordered a board for the MFOS 10 step sequencer as well.

[falafelbiels]

Wow that picture almost fooled me, floating parts! Nice job, gigasturtz

[Cable]

[Neutron7]

If you are a windows user, there is a thing from microsoft called ICE which is free. i just dragged a bunch of photos i took in sequence, and did NOTHING ELSE and it stitched this up for me.

and there is my modular asking for more stuff with all that empty space!

[Sebo]

Hi:
Here is a video interview to my band, showing my DIY Modular Synth.
Some nice shots!!!




Hope you like it!!!

Sebo

http://www.cosaquitosenglobo.com.ar

[streetspirit]

absolutely love this diy section. these systems are inspiring. just build my first kit from MFOS this month. got the diy itch now... gonna build some euro modules now i think.

[andrewF]

dunno if these pix can give a good impression of my obsession... its much worse than it looks, the cupboard is packed with all kinds of archaic electronica - 1000s of tube, old dials, etc recycled from old lab gear.....crap really
note the panel on the chair ready to be almost sat on, in timeless muffwiggler fashion

[LoFi Junglist]

Wooden tube amp?

[andrewF]

[LoFi Junglist]

It great, the power transformer looks Awesome...

It's like 1/4 of the size of the CRO

[sduck]

AndrewF is my hero!!!

[andrewF]

At least in the sense of how NOT to do diy

I need a shed

[analog604]

I updated the diy workbench using chunks of metal bolted together into the shape of a desk tier :



Provides more surface area to test circuits with the bench PSU and o'scope (not pictured). This is getting use as I focus more debugging the modules being built!

On the bench here: MFOs VCO and MOTM-960 power adapter board mounted to a 19" perforated steel panel

-J

[EATyourGUITAR]

your parts bins are inspiring. I only have two cases but they are all labeled and sorted. I don't know how you do it without labels. reading resistor colors is boring for me. I spent a whole day stocking my parts bins and labeling them. that is love for DIY.

[fluxmonkey]

the workbench:

storage & drillpress:

parts bins

[burdij]

This view is a bit dated. Since taking it I have added a Wavetek sweep generator and an HP DVM.

[andrewF]

[andrewF]

[kupfer_m]

[quote="fluxmonkey"]the workbench:


Nice "SuperSaw" you have!

[fluxmonkey]

[Rod Serling Fan Club]

I want to see all your "serge" panels flux.

[RF]

[burdij]

Yes that is an HP 331a. I have the older HP 330b too (matches the HP200 oscillator). The large yellow unit is also a distortion analyzer, a Sound Technology 1700a. It incorporates a low distortion oscillator and analyzer in one unit.

[Richarius]

Here's a pic of my $PLURJ! modular as of January 3rd. I'm in the process of converting all of my copper panels to the black on white laminated panels.
As of a few days ago, I've just started building a pile of CGS Serge modules that came in. to Ken Stone / Serge Tcherepnin.

There's a 19" rack to the lower left that also contains:

1 x MFOS 16 step analog sequencer
4 x Quadatrix 4 Step Semitone 1V/octave sequencers (my design)
1 x Thomas Henry MPS
1 x Liquid HiHat V3 'Bentley' edition (my design)

To the right out of the photo is my extremely messy workbench. I'll take a photo if anyone's curious.

[sduck]

Where's Dethlehem?

Hi Dolphinicus! I love your videos on youtube! Everybody find them, watch them, fetish over them - they solve a lot of the mysteries of the universe. And make me want to take up smoking...

[Richarius]

[falafelbiels]

[Richarius]

[mome rath]

[falafelbiels]

A girlfriend came along a week ago that likes to take pictures, so finally I have something to show off. I moved to a new house half a year ago so it was about time for an update!



I have about another cabinet worth of modules ready but no new cabinet so the next update may come sooner...

[SMS303]

[SLAMBERT]

Just completed the 6 mods on my Moisturizer!
Now it's even more fun to play and full of surprices..
It's a mess inside but it looks very pretty from the outside with the new switches & knobs.

[Zeitdehner]

Well done Slambert, nice first post...

Here's mine ...



Cheers