KVR Audio

Sound Mechanics · Post by **Sound Mechanics** » Tue May 24, 2011 8:36 am

I would like to have a go at building a monophonic synth from a kit and learning about electronics at the same time. I'm sure there's quite a bit to learn before commencing but I'm not sure where to start.

I'd appreciate any help and advice please.

hanzo · Post by **hanzo** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:01 am

Building kits is really a great way to learn how a synth works and learn stuff about electronics.
There's a couple of kits I can suggest you:

The Shruthi-1, my favourite one, comes with different filter options (analogue and digital) and is pretty hackable (if you wish to do so). Does offer quite some synth-power in a small box. It's easy to assemble, and has a good community behind. I've built a couple of those and am really happy with them!
http://mutable-instruments.net/

Meeblip, comes in built and diy version. It has a more knob oriented approach than the Shruthi and is all digital. It's hackable and also offers some nice features (though not as much as the Shruthi-1 imho). This one also has a big community supporting it (create digital music is behind it)
http://meeblip.noisepages.com/

SammichSID: if you're into chipmusic or just love the Commodore 64 sound, this is the kit for you. You'll need to source for SID chips yourself though. The kit is really well made and the Midibox SID firmware really gets the most out of the SID chip! Here also you can count on a very active community
http://www.midibox.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=sammichsid

If you're not so experienced with electronics and soldering I would suggest you start with something easier though. Get an Atari Punk Console from Jimmie P. Rodgers (or from Make or Get Lo-Fi), or maybe a MiniYM synth from Stray Technologies and practice a bit.
http://jimmieprodgers.com/
http://www.straytechnologies.com/
http://www.getlofi.com/

edit: how experienced are you with electronics?

ejr · Post by **ejr** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:33 am

I've been building my MkIII modular for 2 years and the advise I'd give is
avoid circuits with obscure components and until you've got some electronics experience
stick to purchased pcb's rather than stripboard.
http://www.electro-music.com forum is really helpful and I wish I'd found it earlier.

Sound Mechanics · Post by **Sound Mechanics** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:50 am

I'm afraid I have no electronics experience so I would be a complete novice - but you have to start somewhere!

trimph1 · Post by **trimph1** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:27 am

I'd pretty much go as simple as I can for a start...try some of the simpler kits from Jimmie P Rodgers of GetLoFi...good soldering tips can be found also at...
http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm
http://www.technologystudent.com/pcb/solder1.htm

Mind you...I have also started with breadboarding as well...just to see what certain circuits would do...before one went and soldered stuff together...

hanzo · Post by **hanzo** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:37 am

If you are a total novice I can also recommend the book "Handmade Electronic Music" by Nic Collins, it's a great read and a good way to start learning things by doing and experimenting. Another good book is Make: Electronics (published by Make magazine), it's less music oriented, but pretty good. If you are in the US you can also buy the whole kit where you get the book and the essential tools and components to do all the exercises.

Anyway, I can assure you, electronics are easier to learn than you may probably think!

How do I go about building a monophonic synth?