| Synth Modules |
Cabinet #1
I am in the early stages of building an analog modular synthesizer in the
Oakley Sound (MOTM
compatible) format. Ten modules are completed and a few more are almost
done. The synth is enclosed in a 20U wood
cabinet which holds 11 modules. Power comes from a
Power-One 1.5A +15V/-15V supply and a small 12 module power
distribution board from Synthesis Technology. The cabinet is 12 inches
deep so theres plenty of room for the power supply, distribution board,
and the two reverb tanks that are used for the TLN-156 spring reverb.
The
front panels for most of the modules were made by Front Panel Express, but a few were made by Steve Thomas for a little better price. Currently,
this synth is controlled by a Kenton Pro-Solo MIDI to CV converter
which
I play from my keyboard or a software sequencer on my computer. I am
now out of space in this cabinet and am in the process of getting some new cabinets (now that I have a job).The links below correspond to each module I have completed or am working on. Several of the new modules are my own designs. For these, I try to provide enough information so that a person with sufficient experience can acurately reproduce my results. Often times, a design is heavily based on that another DIYer. In this case I will link to the original author's website and possibly provide a modified circuit diagram (depends on some things)
New Modules:
| VC-Echo - A complete delay module based on the PT2395. Also some experiments with other delay ICs. An improved version is in development. |
| Frequency Shifter - A single sideband modulator built for modular synthesizers. Certain portions of this circuit are based on Jürgen Haible's design. (partially complete) |
| Multi-Stage EG/LFO and Simple Sequencer - 2 to 8 stage function generator with variable slew rate and linear/log/pulse slopes. (design phase) |
| Burst Generator - Generates a burst of pulses with voltage control of period, duty cycle, and number of pulses. (design phase) |
| SSM2040 Style VCF : Combined Jürgen Haible and René Schmitz' circuits with some minor changes (matched transistor pairs, I/O and Resonance level adjustments). |
| AD/AR Transient Generator - The concept is based on Ray Wilsons Retriggerable AR Envelope Generator with some added features and several other changes. |
| Analog Computational Unit (ACU)-
Design phase; Also known as a multi-function converter. I am currently
evaulating some options (AD538, or MAT04 + some Opamps + AD633). I have reccently canceled this project when I found out I could buy a MOTM-510 wavewarper bare PCB. I would have spent as much on my own PCB anyway. |
Modules built from PCB suppliers:
Most of my synthesizer is made up of Oakley Sound modules. Tony (creator of Oakley) is no longer selling PCBs for these modules. I have kept the pictures of my construction for each of these modules and they can be seen here (250KB). The TLN modules were designed by Scott Juskiw. Schematics for these modules can be found on his site. PCBs may also be availalible.
Most of my synthesizer is made up of Oakley Sound modules. Tony (creator of Oakley) is no longer selling PCBs for these modules. I have kept the pictures of my construction for each of these modules and they can be seen here (250KB). The TLN modules were designed by Scott Juskiw. Schematics for these modules can be found on his site. PCBs may also be availalible.
| Oakley VCOs - 2x voltage controlled oscillators |
| Oakley Multiladder - Moog ladder VCF clone |
| Oakley ADSR/VCA - Evenlope generator with built in VCA |
| Oakley Equinoxe Phaser - Voltage controlled phase shifter |
| Oakley VC-Mixer - 4 input voltage controlled mixer |
| Oakley Envelope Follower - With built in preamp and gate generator |
| Oakley Tripple VCA - 3 voltage controlled amplifiers |
| TLN-156 Spring Reverb - A flexible spring reverb with voltage control of all parameters |
| TLN-904 Level Meter (Veeblefetzer) - Voltage level LED display. (incomplete) |
Ryan Williams : 2005