monowave pics

heres the pics of the front of the MUTABLE INSTRUMENTS SHRUTHI-1 "monowave" im making. im trying to make it very ppg/machine- ish as i can..minus the ebony side overlays...:)

final frontiers: new synths

so ive discovered microprocessor based virtual synths as DIY projects... the meeblip was first. HARSH raw and its own animal.. i loved it immediately, so i set about to build another that had modifications.. cv ins for all the potentiometer controls! ... then i discovered the SHRUTHI-1. woah. what a beast of an engine! basicly a mono voice ppg of sorts with selectable filter cards . all that you build. im in.. so i set about doing desighns and ordering parts... measuring, testing.. etc. heres some pics of updates and such. both ended up being 3 u rack units since its the most efficient space wise and to make the easy of assembly work in my advantage.

so for the "monowave" the shruthi, i had to design a switching circuit that allowed multiple parallel lines to be switched in unison to utilize the multi filter card set up with no physical switching. enter CD 4052 CMOS IC. 4-1 switcher. love it. i had to proto a switching circuit.. man it was like a science experiment! but alot of fun to figure it all out direct from the chip spec sheet. so after that was done i could go ahead with implementation and build.. im using a greeen over sized OLED for the display as well so its easy to read and edit. im also using recycled MAC keyboard switches for all buttons/switches. i really want to make look as much like a ppg as i can! so..

on the meeblip i went straight for the old roland SH series in design.. they were some of the best looking machines ever! so...

the light..

so ive finished my sort of ms-20 copy. since ill never pay what they go for now. waaaay overpriced. its the second doepfer diy ynth and the first in one enclosure and when they are linked... MAN THEY SOUND DOEPFER! ha. seriously the sound exactly as i had hoped. its actually sort of better than an ms since i can use them in any configuration of oscs and filters i need to. or as seperate units even. i still have to figure out why the 3rd env on the new on is slightly funky.. cold solder joints i think. i didnt have a ton of time to ferret out things .. just the initial first test. made it about 93% of the way.. not too bad at all! things never work right out of the gate. those moments are gifts from above!:) anyway heres some pics.. ill put up some vids later on this week. i tried running a simple 8 step sequence off the sequencer (1 pitch 1 filter A one filter B) rows of cv.. man was it FUUUUUUUUCKING sweet. like an ms with the ASQ10. but even more flexable...

over the edge...

so for the last couple weeks ive discovered the entirely new world of microprocessor diy synths. the first and most ridiculus sound for the money (70.00 USD) was the MEEBLIP. holy shit does this little gremlin of a synth have balls! its angry, harsh and just tears through a mix! it has tons of bottom and is extremely staright forward to use and "program". its fairly limited soundwise, which makes i really good for musical things. i was overwhelmingly impressed with it immediately. i of course soudnt use the enclosure they had or their pots and switches. i used sweet ass rockers for the switches and a spare 2 U faceplate to do it as a test unit of sorts. the real one is a 3U face with cv in for each of the knobs.. a little mod that wasnt very had to do.

the next one is the SHRUTHI-1. this is one of the stunning synth engines ive ever seen. holy shit is it. its a wavetable based monosynth with your choice of analog filters. ssm 2044, cem3379, dual 2p SVF, a proprietary stock/standard 4pole LPF like the moogs, and several others. or you can add your own. i chose the 2044, stock 4p and the dual svf. i then set about to figure out how to have all 3 and switch between them :) without physically removing them. this also will sit in the 3 u rack space and have some recycled mac computer keyboard (fromt he 90's) switches. clicky style joints. also utilizing a new haven OLED. with .9 milimeter characters it will be awesome to edit on it.

the engine is simply perfect. it has soo many things that you always wanted to have on a synth. along with 2 cv outs (lfos, envs etc..) and 4 cv ins and a full matrix mod and step sequencer and arpegiator. its a badass little motherfucker!

ill keep you informed as i get into it...

i also did another doepfer DIY. i added some extras.. 2 extra MFOS envs and huge amounts of ins and extra patch points/in/out.

the task of tasks has begun

so ive begun to wire up the ody and its associated components.. i had to really familiarize myself with its circuitry a bit better and see if what i laid out and had in mind was going to actually work.. so far id say 100% ..its a total fucking miracle actually. i was able to get done VCO 1 and its patch points, switches and pcb connections. the breakaway headers offer much better eas of use to remove and fit/test hings and also though, they double the wiring time it takes to each section. but for what they allow its very worth it for me. here are some pics of the prelimary session on the ody..

yes. that is a HUGE repro/printout of the PCBS! its fanstatic to have as a reference or as for art! right now its great since i can see component values, traces and component numbers/designations. its ideal.

the face plate and pcbs can be removed seperately and in any fashion/combination really. i wanted to be able to access the inside from either the rear or the front. so , so far this design has worked out really good.

quick studio panarama

heres a quick peek inside....

more of the current...

heres the poly 6 as i recieved it. its pretty beat. no power connection . its been cut off and stripped (frightening) . so with that guy we're pretty much starting at zero. i spliced a quick poer cord on.. it powered up. no smoke and alot of ill behaviour though. upon a quick initial inspection i found : battery is not exploded (good) . several corrosive spots on pcbs from previous soda spills (bad) general oxidation of traces (bad) alot of free floating objects ( 4 pennies, 3 screws) inside (that could cause shorts it in contact with the WRONG things.. (VERY BAD) . so lets say that i'll start with a serious bath for all those pcbs in some iso alcohol and high pressure air to blow them dry. then deoxit all the connectors. remove the battery and maybe put in a coin cell if i can get it running. not to mention installing an IEC socket for the power cord. what a fuckin mess. i have a feeling this may be a "ill buy it for parts" kinda repair job for me. it might not make it back from the grave. it depends on how much the client is willing to spend on her. shes time intensive for sure. mine was.
if you notice the serious grime on it from the pic of the single wipe of tissue with iso on it. wow. mad grime. then you can se the clean spot that was made when i swiped it.. nasty shit. so we'll see if i can get it running then maybe made a little nicer looking after her hearts beating..:)