An avalanche oscillator fro Jolin Labs.
Again, not much building to do on this one, all surface mount pre-installed, just have to put the pots and jacks on. Very simple, heck, the demo starts 12 minutes in.
Sonically, it’s OK. Not sure how I’ll be using it, but will be good to have in the backup rack just in case I need this sound.
[Build}()
A new CV generator/recorder unit from Neutral Labs.
I love this unit.
Very simple build, mostly surface mount pre-installed, a few things to solder.
Contains many waves arranged in pages, with two output channels, one on the main clock, the other on divisions from that clock. Each channel can be using different waves. Many any things you can use this for, I touch on a few in the demo section but there is so much more.
Very simple build, this is a great early module to build as you get started.
A new distortion unit from Neutral Labs.
Very simple build, mostly surface mount pre-installed, so only one pot, 3 jacks, and a few other things to solder.
Similar to they Scrat, this allows you to plug random electronic components into the audio chain to create distortion.
Slightly less aggressive than the Scrat,, but a good module and a great 1-2nd module.
A VCO from Look Mum no computer. Basic but solid, they name this a “performance” VCO, which means (to me) that it’s intended to be stable in live performance without any tinkering. Though you can adjust voltage trims from the front of the unit, which is nice in a live setting.
Limited modifications, but what you’ll need.
Sounds pretty good.
Some finicky parts in the build. There is one surface mount oscillator chip, and one rotary switch that took me a bit to get on. And getting the trim pot screws through the front panel was tricky.
Calibration is straightforward, but may take you some time.
Build
Another great kit from 4MS (I gotta get more from them).
This is their noise generator, and it's full of modification sources to make some really fun noise. Also allows you to put tones in to pass through the noise section.
Another great output is a noise-generated random CV source, in the test section you'll see me feed that to note CV on a VCO with very interesting results.
Moderate build, not bad.
I highly recommend this one if you want a highly variable noise source and random CV source.
Build
A filter from Jolin Lab in Italy.
Another very quick build, mostly surface mount already installed. Not necessarily for beginners, though, it can be tricky to not damage the surface mount parts while you're soldering the jacks and so on, some parts are VERY close to delicate surface mount parts.
It sounds OK. Not as aggressive as I expected, seems to be milder to my ear.
An 9 LFO module from Jolin Lab.
Not much to the build, all the surface mount components are pre-installed so there are just 9 jacks and 9 switches to install, so the build was 10 minutes.
The test and demo, though, came out at 20 minutes. Took a bit to change rates, and messing about with chaining was interesting.
For me this is a good studio module, but not live or jamming, since the rate responses are slow to start and not intended to be precise.
But fun.
Build and demo
BD-Z drum module kit from Patching Panda build and demo
A bass drum module from Patching Panda with lots of modifiers. Excellent sounding unit, and flexible.
Not a lot of electronic building, this I primarily a surface mount kit with all the SMD components pre-installed.
But still lots of knobs and jacks to put on.
A multipurpose module from Music Thing Modular,a clock source,a mixer,a line out/headphone amp.Meant to be a small space addition to a small rack.
Very easy build, SMD components already installed, took about 30 minutes to build even with my talking.
Always good to have another clock source if nothing else.
Great for a beginning builder.
Build
700 State mk 2 Filter kit from Frequency Central
A filter reminiscent of a Roland filter from Frequency Central.
Very straightforward build. Great sounding unit.
Recommended
Build
An interesting sequencer from Frequency Central. Sliders for note values, knobs for divisions per beat, and a number of presets for different modes. Most of which can be controlled externally.
Not sure how often I'll be using this one, but you might find it very useful
Straightforward build.
A OTA Filter from AI Synthesis. Good quality and pretty quick build, as I’ve found with their other modules.
Nice sounding, though you’ll want to tweak the resonance (with the installed trimmer) to get it to bite where you want it to bite.
Good mod control, you’ll see me using both an LFO and an ADSR to spice things up. Test section went a little long as I was having fun playing with it.
The 8S sequencer from Transient Modules. As the name implies, it’s an 8 step sequencer with some nice mods. No note CV so you’re setting note value by turning pots, but great control over forward/reversing the sequence, holding notes, and randomizing the sequence.
One surface mount IC, but it’s a pretty easy one to install.
I like this unit very much, I’ll be using it a lot.
A distortion unit from Little Fish Audio.
A very simple build, great 1st or second, took me 30 minutes.
And OK distortion. I found (as you can see in the test section) that I got the best results (for my taste) with sequenced notes and using an LFO to modify symmetry. Your taste may vary, of course.
Another one from Djupviks Electronik, this is their Bunker Archeology reverb/static module.
Lots to solder, including 6 surface mount capacitors, but not too hard. A bit of an issue with panel fitment, had to file out a couple of holes, but not bad.
Sounds really good, went a while on the demo because of that. This one moves into my main studio rack.
Build
A 4 voice cluster from ADDAC Systems.
A little sad because it had all the surface mount components installed already so no surface mount soldering today. Makes the build quicker also.
Interesting sounding unit. Because it doesn’t take Note CV, I think it’s best as a drone/background unit, but triggering voices from a keyboard, sequencer, or LFO make it pretty dynamic.
A good unit.
Erica Synths has a series of educational modules for learning about electronic music generation. This is the seventh I’ve built, their sample and hold/noise generator.
A very good kit. This one is probably the EDU module that has the most general purpose utility of all the ones I’ve built, would work very well in a pro rack.
Even if you don’t buy the kit, I recommend you download the user manual, it’s a great practical guide to electronics in music.
Build
A Seismograf bass drum module from Frequency Central.
A good little unit, some effective CV mods for tuning, distortion, and sound select.
A easy build, would be a great first build for someone.
A new-to-me manufacturer, this is a VCO, VCA and wave multiplier with feedback.
One side of the unit is a mellow sounding sine wave. The other side is the wave multiplier with nice feedback.
A good build, a few surface mount capacitors but the rest is straightforward.
And it sounds great, really interesting sound and flexibility from the wave side.
I recommend this one.
Build
What kind of midi data do you use it for?
-- LYFoulidis
Mainly note on-note off (ignoring the pitch value) and CC messages. They can be pretty non-messy in terms of voltage to digital. And if a CC message gets garbled that can often be pretty neat.
So sequencers, LFOs and logic modules are what I translate into MIDI. And also round-tripping those, using a arpeggiator in Logic outputting to, say the Missed Opportunities eurorack module and getting the note on's back from that to a MIDI track.
NEVER actual note values, since you're very correct, that translation can be inaccurate easily with the pitch CV to MIID note value, not worth chasing it to accuracy.
But ramps, patterns, and logic work well because you can take a bit of randomness, that will just enhance things.
I've written a lot of MIDI software over the decades so already have some MIDI pre-filtering virtual devices installed on my DAW so getting rid of bad data, or unmatched on/off pairs, is something I've done a lot.
One of those places where you embrace randomness and glitches to create interesting music
I want to be able to use my eurorack modules with my DAW in interesting ways, so I picked up Befaco's CV Thing, a CV to MIDI converter.
Pretty straightforward build, a couple of tricky spots but not bad.
A good module, if you want to work with your DAW get this.
A harmonic mixer from AI Synthesis. Straightforward and simple (a mixer doesn’t do a lot, after all), with the addition of some harmonic grit if you want it.
Would be a very good first or second kit, and you do need a mixer….
The sixth EDU module from Erica Synths that I’ve built, this is their mixer,
Does what a mixer should, a little bit fancy with inverted out and clipped out. A quick and straightforward build.
And as always with these modules, the manual (which you can download for free without buying the kit) is superior, a great practical guide to electronics for music.
A VCO from Patching Panda. Really a good one, lots of waveforms, lots of mod inputs, lots of cross-collaboration in the unit. And it sounds really good too. I went long on the test/demo section because I was having fun just playing with it.
Hybrid boards, many surface mount components pre-installed but plenty to solder. Good build, though some soldering is tight and very close to SMD components so care is advised. Not a beginner kit.
The fifth EDU module from Erica Synths that I’ve built, this is their voltage controlled filter,
.A pretty good foundational filter, has some beefy resonance and some good mod inputs. You might use this in your main rig.
And as always with these modules, the manual (which you can download for free ) is superior, a great practical guide to electronics for music.
traded it for my first ARP 2600
I sold my 2600 to buy a Korg 770 because I needed a lead synth to do bad covers of ELP songs. Should have kept the 2600....
A new effects unit from Neutral Labs, the Scrat They describe it as “an aggressive sounding multimode Steiner-Parker filter with a twist”m the twist being that you are able to plug in random electronic components to ports on the front to change resonant capabilities. They include some cards and random components to try.
A generally good build, though the trimming you need to do to get the headers for the plug-ins through the front panel could be challenging.
Sounds great, and lots of modification potential, another good Neutral Lab kit.
Follow up to the above, I was not selecting patches correctly, here's how you do it
A VCO with a built-in Attack/Release envelope that you can use, or use your standard enveloping.
Quick build. Does not have the presets I expected, just one, but it’s programmable.
OK sound (not quite to my taste) and reasonably small.
Handy little module containing a simple Attack/Release generator and a basic LFO.
Kit was missing 3 capacitors, I had spares so no delays. And I put one diode in backwards, which you’ll see when I get to the testing area.
But a good, straightforward build.
Recommended.
An Echo from Synthrotek. Pretty basic, they are just putting a Princeton tech chip and an op amp on a board with the right support components. They haven’t added any additional circuitry to enhance or modify the chip, it’s a pretty basic unit.
Sounds OK, and good to have as a secondary echo.
I own several of the Austin Ribbon pads, but this is very cool. Thanks for posting it.
-- Vow3ll
You're welcome! As I say in the vid, I'm certainly not trying to reduce Austin's business, he makes a great product. And I am certainly not going into the business of making these for a living
But he doesn't ship worldwide (I've been told) so good to have options.
Ever built one of his mic kits? I did his mic, a pretty strightforward build except for working with the super-thin ribbon material itself. And the sound (since it was my first one) is kinda grungy, but is cool for mic'ing a guitar amp to get an interesting distorted sound.
Two part video of the build here;
(Austin ribbon mic build)[]
that have the usual spring-type shock absorption, but that would make the tubes less "showy".
-- Lugia
I understand, when I build a guitar amp the customer usually wants the tubes to glow out the back.
For that I use the "bare" spring retainers like this. Usually just on the output tubes (6V6s and such) since they're the showiest, but they make them in AX7 size also.
and even the hottest-running ones won't foobar that.... "shock-absorb" tubes, which is always an issue when doing high-volume gigs (raves and the like).
That could work. Some things to address;
Heat dissipation. As well as being resistant to high temp, it also insulates very well, so you would have an issue with the tubes being able to dissipate heat.
It's also very adherent, so changing tubes would be an issue.
Though as I write that, I can see making a tight-fitting collar around the base of the tube.
Shape a circular piece of plastic about 2cm tall about 4 mm in radius wider than the tube socket, affix it to the board. That will have the rubber go maybe 1/4 of the way up the tube sides, which should leave plenty of glass surface area for heat loss.
Put a dummy/old/dead tube in the socket. Pour the rubber mixture inside the plastic circle, it would adhere to the board and the base of the tube. Pull out the dummy tube (which would be a chore), then put the working tube into the tight collar of rubber.
Lots of shock cushioning and very unlikely to work loose.
Since I haven't gigged live in waaaayyyy more decades than I care to admit, not useful for me, but someone might want to give it a try.
Messy...wouldn't a "third hand" make more sense for soldering work?
-- Lugia
It can, but I've tried a lot of things and like this best.
I prefer using pads like this for any board less than, say, 128x128 mm. Two reasons;
- It's easier than setting up the PCB holder/3rd hand
- I have never found a PCB holder I like. Always something irritating about them, so I use these.
Lager boards, like a guitar amp board, I'll use a PCB holder, but smaller stuff (like eurorack boards) it's so much easier to just hold it on one of these.
and won't catch on fire if the soldering iron gets dropped on it.
-- Lugia
Neither will these. This material is rated to 565 dF, and as you could see at the end of this vid pressing my 675 dF tip against the material leaves no mark or damage. Really high temp rubber.
I use a high temperature silicone rubber soldering helper from Austin Ribbon Mics to support my soldering.
However, I’ve read some comments that people would like to use this, but A.R.M. does not ship to their country.
Well, how about making one? I bought some silicone rubber from Amazon and built my own.
Pretty simple, pretty messy, and in the end pretty useful.
If you can’t buy one, or if you just want to make a custom one for yourself, here’s the process.
(Making it)[]
A very good multiple from Synthrotek, the MST ’07 buffered multiple.
Pretty straightforward build, and pretty quick.
And the results are just what I wanted, a very accurate reproduction of the input wave. Even better, one input can be echoed out 14 outs, or a number of combinations of ins/outs, making it very useful
Recommended.
A probabilistic pattern skipper/generator eurorack kit from CuteLab
A pretty simple build, though you do have to be careful around the surface mount components that come pre-installed to not heat and nudge them aside.
Useful unit when you’re done. Scope traces really show you what’s going on
A fun dual purpose module from Synthrotek, a wave folder and a ring modulator in one unit.
Pretty straightforward build, and good interface when you start to use it.
Fold build
The fourth EDU module from Erica Synths that I’ve built, this is their sequencer.
A very basic sequencer, not something you’d probably use in your rack. The other EDU modules you might, but probably not this one. Good build except for some VERY tight space soldering, not great layout on some components.
And as always with these modules, the manual (which you can download for free without buying the kit) is superior, a great practical guide to electronics for music.
A fun unit from Befaco, their Crush delay version 3.
A good digital delay, and of course since it's from Befaco it's not a one trick pony, also has the CRUSH side of things which gives you some serious crunchiness if you want it With a feedback circuit that goes on for days.
Not a hard build, but LOTS of parts so will keep you busy for a while.
And one small issue with the power connector interfering with some jack legs, but workable.
but if you've got a kid or grandkid that's fascinated with sound and electronic tinkering, these are >fantastic. Take it from someone who grew up with all sorts of electronic toys.
-- Lugia
Yeah, and as I mention, the manual that goes with it (which you can download for free) is probably the best practical set of guides to music generation electronics (and basic electronics in general) that I've ever seen in my 64 years.
In my opinion, perfect for a 10-12 year old.
--rw
Erica Synths has a series of educational modules for learning about electronic music generation. I’ll be doing all of them, and we started with their EDU oscillator, then did the envelope. Next is this one, their simple VCA . Even if you don’t buy the kit, I recommend you download the user manual, it’s a great practical guide to electronics in music.
Very serviceable dual VCA, if you need more this is a good choice, easy to build and inexpensive.
EDU VCA build
I've built a number of their modules, and like them. Good board layout, good power budgeting, and of course interesting sonic qualities. And their route master power supply is beefy enough for a complex rig.
A fun little module from Frequency Central, their Volts Plats, a Roland 100M 132 based audio and CV Mixer.
Very quick build, and good result. Use it simply as a mixer, or do some overdriving and other interesting things.
Volts Platz build
Erica Synths has a series of educational modules for learning about electronic music generation. I’ll be doing all of them, and we started with their EDU oscillator. Next is this one, their simple envelope generator. Even if you don’t buy the kit, I recommend you download the user manual, it’s a great practical guide to electronics in music.
The SeM20 from Bubblesound, their interpretation of an Oberheim SEM filter combined with a MS20 filter.
This is an older module, from 2008, not their later one. Modular Addict still sells this one.
Great sounding unit. OK build, but getting the pots, jacks, and faceplate aligned was a big pain. Even though the soldering is easy, I would not recommend this as an early kit in your career.
But again, it sounds great.
SeM20 build
Erica Synths has a series of educational modules for learning about electronic music generation. I’ll be doing all three, and we start with their EDU oscillator. Even if you don’t buy the kit, I recommend you download the user manual, it’s a great practical guide to electronics in music.
Erica VCO build
I have not brought my geiger near it yet (it's in a drawer upstairs) to confirm or deny the presence of actual nuclear decay, sorry. I'll add that step to my test/demo section in the future....
A very quick VCO/VCA build from Tesseract Modular. All surface mount except for the controls and LEDs, but all the surface mount has been pre-soldered. Means that the build is super fast, like 10-20 minutes for most folks.
Sounds really good and has interesting controls, recommended.
