DIY Week: Pt 5: Build your own synth

Here's how to build yourself an analog mono synth with £60 and an old cigar box:

Visit Ray Wilson at Music from Outer Space

Send him $30, and he'll send you a printed circuit board for a tiny battery powered monophonic synth. Details

Spend some time at a fantastically geeky site like All Electronics or Maplin buying the other components. The whole thing should cost $30-$60. Apparently pots are the expensive bit. Don't get distracted

Find a case. This is the fun bit, judging from the gallery

Assemble

Play!

Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:

Nice, i'll have to attempt to make one of these..

Thanks

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:50 am

Cool...Hard to build...First diy project???

# posted by

Anonymous : 6:31 pm

It's not too hard if you buy the PCB. It cost me about £100 all in all, but I did get the parts from a place that kinda ripped me off, lol.

# posted by

Finlay Shakespeare : 7:39 pm

ok total noobie here, if i built one of these, what about the keys? what would u need to make it work? like a keyboard or something like that?

# posted by

Anonymous : 6:37 pm

it will play by itself.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:48 pm

you need a cv keyboard there are plans on the site for one

or you can just use it for ambent and noize on its own

# posted by

Anonymous : 12:57 am

It says "buy the other components", what are they?
I know nothing about electronics. Is that a problem, or can I figure it out?

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:58 pm

The synth creates it own sound. You just change the sound of it using the knobs and stuff.

The other components are the resistors, pots, etc. It gives you links to buy them online.

# posted by

Anonymous : 2:29 am

No seriously, can you add a real keyboard to one of these things?

I already use a Microkorg synth, so I don't need any extra noisemakers. I'm just curious to see if I can build my own simple monosynth, with maybe a 12 key scale (to hit all twelve notes in an octave).

Would this be possible? The real hook for me is being able to build my own casing for it. But if it's just going to be another "twist knobs and make sounds" thing, I don't know if it's worth the time.

So let me know, anyone.

[js]

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:36 pm

yes, you def can add a keyboard.
Look for 1V/Octave mod, which maps voltages to an octave. It's pretty easy since Ray provided a quick mod for it.

# posted by

Anonymous : 12:20 am