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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;
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.
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.
An interesting module from Bastl today, a probabilistic pattern generator. You can read what that means from the product link in the description.
Straightforward build, interesting output. Useful for changing up your rhythms in interesting ways,
Now you'll put me in a rambling mood....
Yeah, I had to deal with eh Yamaha FM patent in the early '90s at the computer company I was working for, they had it locked up so tightly we had to go in a different direction, and fortunately that direction paid off, we did better than we could have had we licensed theirs.
And thinking about this made me miss Ensoniq again. Their chip in the Apple IIgs was a pretty awesome thing to work with in the mid-80's, the programming model fit my brain really well.
And... ah, I'm not going to ramble more tonight, I could have a problem stopping. Have a digital delay module out in the workshop I have to finish up tonight so I'll go do that.
True
Democratization of design via inexpensive components, fast and inexpensive PCB development , and a reasonably open platform in Eurorack.
I think it's very healthy for the business, and (except for Yamaha viciously defending their patents) most folks don't mind too much when there are derivative products.
A VCO from Feedback Modules, modeling West Coast style oscillators.
Not a simple build, but not too bad (no SMD), intermediate builders and up.
Fun sound, I plan to use this one a lot. Two59 build
A looping ADSR from AI Synthesis. Good kit, a pretty easy build, the circuit board has lots of space and easy component installation. Good ADSR, though I can’t see how to control the pulse time for the loop, maybe feeding voltage into the retrigger jack will do that, but I can’t see it otherwise.
Good 2nd-3rd kit to build. C.K. builds a looking envelope from AI Synthesis
A new unit from Neutral Labs, their Meg. It's a wave manipulator module, produces interesting effects on audio or control voltage signals.
A very straightforward and fast build, pretty good beginner kit. C.K. builds a Neutral Labs Meg
A Quad VCA mixer from AI Synthesis. Can be used as a simple mixer, or do interesting things with response tuning and blending sounds.
LOTS of surface mount soldering, NOT for beginners, please hone your surface mount techniques before you buy this. Only buy this if you’re comfortable with a full board of SMD components.
Good unit, lots of interesting things to do with it. C.K. builds a Quad Mixer from AI Synthesis
The ProK BD bass drum module. One of four drum mods based on the same circuit board and panel, just different IC programming, so seeing one shows you how all will go together. C.K. builds a ProK BD module
A VCO from Befaco, their EvenVCO. A competent VCO without frills, though good to have 4 waveforms available at once.
Some fit and finish issues, a little unusual for Befaco, but overall a good kit. CK. builds a Befaco EvenVCO
A Clock O’Pawn clock source from Shakmat, Good tool to have available in your studio. Good BPM knob, as well as external clock and tap tempo. Also allows connection to MIDI, which is useful.
Quick build for an experienced builder.
Recommended. Clock O'Pawn clock source build and demo
A More VCA module from Frequency Central. Two VCAs in a pretty narrow module, 4HP. Obviously not as full featured as some VCAs, but very good basic units if you don’t need a lot of frills for a specific sound,
Straightforward and fast build,Recommended C.K. builds a More VCA module from Frequency Central
System X Envelope from Frequency Central. A straightforward kit and a straightforward envelope, easy to build and use.
This video is my first after figuring out picture-in-picture oscilloscope traces during demo, which is nice. System X build
Another suggestion, more limited, would be Frequency Central's Stasis Leak. Reverb, chorus, tap delay in 6 hp.
-- Lugia
Plus one for the stasis leak. The ability to use a "real" external reverb tank (I have a few from old Fender amps) is nice, and the digital units you can add provide small, medium, and large space reverb which is also very handy. And yes, I did a build and demo video on this for any DIY'ers who might be interested. Stasis Leak Build
A Muxlicer from Befaco. A very rich unit, a Digital Step Controller, a Gate Generator and an Analog Switch (a.k.a. Mux/DeMux). Good build, though a couple of challenges.
I will admit I just scratched the surface o this one, didn't go into the mux/demux side much, it's such a deep unit.
Recommended. C.K. builds a Muxlixer
Glad you found some value in it! I do try and post a Eurorack module build every 4 days (or so) so keep your eye out, I may be building a module you're interested in.
I am amazed at what this thread turned into
Nah, it's all good. That has always been the shape of the on-line world, and not a big deal. Often simply misunderstandings that get big. Easy to blow up, and just as easy to get back to smooth waters. I think the last time I got upset at an on-line argument/disagreement was in 1982
Konstant Labs' PWRchekrs so you can easily keep an eye on your DC rails' health. The most sensible 1 hp module ever!
-- Lugia
IMy main issue isn't dust etc. unfortunately. I live on the California coast and salt air corrosion is a problem with electronic connections and tool corrosion, I use a lot of contact cleaner, so this might be perfect.
I just ordered 4 PWR Checkers to put in this new rack (1 HP is a perfect size) to give 'em a try.
Thanks,
Ah! I used Frequency Central Routemasters everywhere,I've built 10 of 'em so far. Reliable and stable as heck, and very able to provide lots of power, particularly if you add larger heat sinks to the power transistors.
I was, especially your post with your rack in it - everything else is DIY - so frugality seems to be
important to you - which is the opposite of racking a semi - I like DIY 1/2 my racks are DIY!
-- JimHowell1970
Hehe. I actually recently retired from 31 years in software management at Apple so frugality is not one of my hallmark characteristics. Being a slob and loving to build stuff from scratch my entire life is, which is why so much looks (and is) DIY.
Muxlicer build video - much better idea... non-controversial - did you buy a kit or source your
own components?
For a company like Befaco I find that they provide high quality parts and I buy their full set. Some others (I won't mention names) use really poor quality parts, or parts that don't actually fit (very aggravating) so I buy the PCB and panel and dd my own parts from my bench stock or buy from Mouser, AmplifiedParts, Thonk, or others.
the correct sized part is TME and not mouser! - TME is where befaco buy their components >from... found out after!
Yeah, Befaco is interesting. Has anyone ever found out why their circuit board traces have curves and curly bits vs. the relatively straight traces everyone else uses? I've asked them with no response....
can we rate you compared to SynthDIYGuy? extra points for swearing, self-deprecating humour, >burning yourself, desoldering accidents etc etc! he gets nil points for any of those - so you might >be on a winner!
Rate away. I have evolved over my life from "smartass kid" to "overbearing know-it-all" to my now current "grumpy old man" personas, and it's all fun.
Want to see extreme DIY? Here's a snapshot of my testing rack in my workshop, truly a lashup.
But not when you are the butt of the joke, it seems!
-- JimHowell1970
OK, insert the obligatory "Haha LMFAO" to all my posts, since that's what's happening in my head anyway.
And I will admit, posting wars (whether through 300 baud BBSs or gigaspeed forums ) has always been very entertaining to me. Diktat posts that aim to impose absolute "this is the correct thing, noting else is valid" are always rich fields for engaging in lively conversation. To Quote from Gladiator Are you not entertained?????
But enough on this thread, since Im sure it's not necessarily entertaining to enough people, I'll cease my little enjoyment.
But there will be a new build video in a couple of days on the Befaco Muxlicer, which I found to be an interesting build and a very deep unit which I have just scratched the surface on.
--ck
I don't believe I am missing the point, however you are free to express that opinion. And believe me, I have an excellent sense of humor. I also like to provide clarification when something I have said or posted appears to be misinterpreted.
Hopefully you can embrace that also, and engage your own sense of humor.
--ck
hahaha - well usually when people start posting in a forum, they've hung around a bit and read a >load of other posts...
Or not. If a poster stays within the boundaries of the forum rules (if posted) then they can certainly post anything that is relevant and within those rules.
the general thinking on the subject of putting semi-modulars in racks is that it's incredibly wasteful -... so posting a video of something that should be discouraged
So what you're saying is that a post on this forum is supposed to adhere to the "groupthink" currently existing, rather than to an expression of an alternative option? Again, seems very odd to me.
For me, and for other people I have encountered, rack space is much more available than desk space. So moving a desktop synth into a rack is much much more effective than piling stand-alone synths on various flat surfaces. For me, putting a Mother 32 or Model-D in a rack is much much more efficient and useful than not. Others have many valid reasons for not doing that, but doing so is not wrong.
is against the general grain of the forum and should be expected to meet with derision and sarcastic humour
-- JimHowell1970
Responding to a valid alternate use for a synthesizer unit with "derision and sarcastic humour" seems a very hostile and unpleasant way to develop a community. Light hearted humorous responses certainly add spice to a forum and are fun, but not "derision". I will continue to not assume hostility to ideas that are valid but not part of some forum-universal thought-ban and post them.
Thanks for your feedback.
--ck
You'll get dust in that 1hp gap or worse something conductive, trust me.
-- aramaki23
Good thought, but as you'll see from the picture I posted in response to another comment, this is going in to an open-backed setup in my studio, so dust, cat hair, and other airborne contaminants are rampant. I live with it.
All of the quoted material below is very odd to me.
I'll address the questions, but first want to be clear on my intent. When I do something in this space (as I've done in many specialized forums (including a very popular one I co-owned in the '90s focused on Kurzweil keyboards) over the past 43 years since getting my Hayes modem for my Apple ][ in 1979) I will post about it. This post is in the "You" area, where social media information is presented. I did something with a modular rig, recorded it, and posted it. That is the intent of the "You" area, correct?
But in all seriousness, I don't understand the goal here
-- toodee
This is difficult for me to understand. The title of the post is "Putting a Mother 32 in a Behringer Eurorack rack" . That's what is subsequently shown. So the "goal" as expressed in the title is demonstrated as a unitary thing in the subsequent text and video. If there were another goal expressed, like "Putting a Mother 32 in a Behringer Eurorack rack and integrating it with a larger setup" then I certainly would have attempted to meet that goal, but that was not the expression.
Or is this supposed to be part of a larger setup, in which
case why is that information completely missing from here,
Again, that was not the intent. I often produce videos that are "modular", the address one single aspect, one bite-sized piece of information in a larger whole. Nothing was intended or implied to be comprehensive or part of a grander strategy or layout. It is, of course, and there will be a photo of the current studio rig below, but that's irrelevant to this post. This was and is about one thing that some might be interested in seeing prior to doing it themselves.
Where I do have wanted to show integration into a larger studio I would have titled the post something different.
And simply because some people on a forum are not interested in a topic is, of course, no reason to withhold a post, else most forums would be very bare indeed.
greatly reducing the interest for others users of this forum ?
And that is why a title is used. The title encapsulates the information to be provided. This (hopefully) prevents someone who may not be interested from wasting his or her time viewing the post. My intent is never, since it's generally impossible, to make a post that is interesting to every individual member of a forum. That is a Sisyphean task that I don't undertake.
Did someone really ask you offline ? If so, why did you chose >another communication channel to answer their question ?
Yes, on YouTube. I shared the response here since in my experience I've found that a question by one person is unasked but in the minds of at least 10 more, potentially in other locations. And since it was added to this thread (instead of creating a new one) then it was no more intrusive than the original, bounded, post.
I wish you would celebrate logical and critical thinking instead
But I am. My logical thinking is, again, "here's a thing someone might want to do, now they have [another] resource to review before doing so". And my critical thinking is "I don't want to bury this information in a broader video about an entire rig, so we'll isolate the key points".
What Lugia is trying to tell you or not trying to tell you >here, is that taking anything out of one powered case and >putting it in another case is pointless in terms of cost.
-- Baltus
I really don't understand this. No where in my post or in the video directly was there any mention of cost. Cost was and is irrelevant in this posting, I don't understand how "cost" could have been pulled out of anything posted.
My "point" was "Here's a thing people might want to do. I'm doing it. I'll post a video resource for a future person's potential reference". Had I said "and you'll save money" then certainly that's a point for discussion, but I did not.
And while this may be true (I don't know, since this person did not clarify their intent themself) the original post that I responded to did NOT contain that information, nor any other information, to determine what the intent was. That is a non-useful posting on any forum.
Anyway, this discussion is certainly interesting. And I will continue to post links to videos that might not be "complete" in a global holistic entire studio sense with every aspect of any installation detailed in great length every time I post. I do not believe that violates any Forum rules, though it may from time to time not be to the taste of specific readers.
And just for fun, here is the sub-rack that this unit is being integrated into, still needs a number of components that I am currently building, and posting videos of the builds that you'll also see links to posted here. Of course, this is just one of my racks, I hope not including the entire current state of my studio is not also received as a faux pas.
Someone asked off-line how I was going to finish out this rack module. Three more modules;
- the Quad LFO from 4MS, since Moogs love Mods
- A Befaco Out to feed my Focusrite Claret in the studio
- And one empty slot. I plan to put a powered Multi in there, but I don't have a spare right now, will fill it with a Patching Panda Copycat.
Very quick followup to my Behringer eurorack rack overview video.
Putting my Mother 32 in this unit. Very simple, very straightforward, but figured I'd post it just for completeness. A
A nice unit today, a pingable LFO from 4MS. It’s actually 4 LFOs, each one can be tap-tempo’d or “pinged” by an external voltage source to set the rate.
Good slew action too.
A long demo section at the end, with ‘scope traces, there are some interesting slopes to the curves when you use the slew knobs.
Moderate complexity build.
Recommended C.K. builds a Quad Pingable LFO from 4MS
A Brunswick synth from Future Sound. Not a eurorack, a general purpose synth with some good sonic characteristics and a excellent way to get started with modular synths. A but pricey, but still a good deal.
