Anyone building synth modules?

[Erik S]

I’ve unintentionally fallen down a synth rabbit hole.

A family member passed recently and left an original ARP 2600 synth behind in need of some restoration and I volunteered to do some work on it for the family member who will end up with it.

During this process I ended up with a Behringer 2600 (cheap clone of the ARP). My roommate ordered one on Amazon and they accidentally shipped two! He contacted them about the mistake, but they haven’t asked for it back, so it seems like I have a synth to play with now.

Seems like if I continue far enough down this rabbit hole, I’d eventually get into euro rack modular stuff. I’ve got a soldering iron and I know how to order parts, so I’m wondering what’s out there for DIY PCBs/ kits.

Google says yes - this exists, but does anyone have any experience/ advice/ recommended suppliers or projects?

 

[delayed]

MFOS projects are simple and nice. Check out Modwiggler for lots of info. Synthcube and Thonk

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Haven’t gotten into it yet bc it’s definitely quite a bit more expensive than pedal building, but I have big plans for the future
Definitely would love to see where you go with this once you fall fully down the rabbit hole. In the meantime, feel free to share progress on the 2600 restoration! I’m a BIG fan of anything and everything ARP!

 

[Erik S]

MFOS projects are simple and nice. Check out Moddwiggler for lots of info.

Will do! Thanks - that’s exactly what I was looking for.

Any suggestions for a cool/ useful project to start with?

Also interested in any basic advice about implementing pedals into a synth signal chain.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Google says yes - this exists, but does anyone have any experience/ advice/ recommended suppliers or projects?

on Facebook there’s a great diy modular group that has great info for people new to the hobby. There are also groupbuys for parts, pcbs, etc on there pretty often.

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The admins have their own web store too with a bunch of pcbs for sale and stuff. Got a lot more interesting stuff than Synthrotek does. I’ve heard nothing but great stuff about them, and I’ve bought a few non-synth pcbs from them in the past and I’d highly recommend them

Pusherman – Modular Synth Store bringing you Eurorack / 4U and other synths – PCB's • Panels • Components • Kits & Built Modules

pushermanproductions.com

 

[delayed]

A full module synth takes a lot of sections to get started. I would suggest a simple all in one to see if you like it first. Mini synth , noise toaster, ect. Ray Wilson site page, now owned by Synthcube has a lot of detailed information about diy synth.

 

[Erik S]

feel free to share progress on the 2600 restoration! I’m a BIG fan of anything and everything ARP!

So far most of the work hasn’t been super exciting - lots of tolex scrubbing to address a slight mildew issue and cleaning and re-bushing all the keys to try and get the action right. Just starting to get into the main panel.

The only thing that’s totally DOA is the reverb. I replaced a dead IC last night and now it’s passing a signal but still no verb. If I don’t crack that nut soon I might write something up to help organize my thoughts and ask for troubleshooting suggestions.

 

[Erik S]

A full module synth takes a lot of sections to get started. I would suggest a simple all in one to see if you like it first. Mini synth , noise toaster, ect. Ray Wilson site page, now owned by Synthcube has a lot of detailed information about diy synth.

I guess I was hoping to start with some effects module/s that would be fun to run post the Behringer 2600.

 

[mybud]

A side-effect of my restarting my electronics adventure was building a number of synth modules. I have built boards mainly from Erica Synths, Synthrotek, Frequency Central, and a couple from AI Electronics. They have an impedance-matching device (aisynthesis.com) called the A1006 Stomp Box adapter, useful for enabling pedal use within a modular setup. Bear in mind that modules generally use + and -12V power, an additional expense you may want to keep in mind.

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

Mainly building modules these days, even though I still build the occasional effect pedal. Built from Atumbra, AI Synthesis, kassutronics, Frequency Central and can vouch for the quality of these. There are also numerous small diy companies you can find through Etsy/IG that offer interesting things.
Apart from that, mostly buy stuff/parts from Thonk and Pusherman, as shipping from the US is too steep. Can recommend both those vendors for awesome customer service.
Also, I encourage you to look at Hagiwo on YouTube. He makes cheap modules and offer all schematics, so you can build/have pcb made easily (I did one of his module as a way to learn the basics of KiCAD and having smd board done through jlcpcb…).

Have fun building and bleep-bloping!

 

[drgonzo1969]

I didn’t know behringer made a 2600 clone… that’s dangerous information hahaha! That price is right to at around$600

 

[Erik S]

I didn’t know behringer made a 2600 clone… that’s dangerous information hahaha! That price is right to at around$600

It's pretty sweet! I've been playing with it for a few days without a controller to try and get familiar.

I'm coming into this world with zero knowledge, so I don't have the whole story, but from reading comments it seems like Behringer makes a lot of cheap copies of things, but is deeply uncool among the snobby synth gear-heads. Maybe they've also had some reliability issues?

Someone also corrected me when I called the Behringer a "clone". There have been (may still be) some 1:1 copies that look exactly like the original. Behringer mostly copied the layout, but they did some things different, like they included most of the controls that were on the separate ARP keyboard. And they included some features that are essentially mods.

For 1/20 the price of an original it seems pretty good to me. The smaller form factor is also way more manageable.

 

[Passinwind]

So far most of the work hasn’t been super exciting - lots of tolex scrubbing to address a slight mildew issue and cleaning and re-bushing all the keys to try and get the action right. Just starting to get into the main panel.

The only thing that’s totally DOA is the reverb. I replaced a dead IC last night and now it’s passing a signal but still no verb. If I don’t crack that nut soon I might write something up to help organize my thoughts and ask for troubleshooting suggestions.

Oh man, I used to love playing through the 2600 that resided in the ARP employee studio back when those things were king. I wasn't there long enough to work up to the 2600 QC tech line though, unfortunately, so I have no hands on experience on that end.

 

[Erik S]

Oh man, I used to love playing through the 2600 that resided in the ARP employee studio back when those things were king. I wasn't there long enough to work up to the 2600 QC tech line though, unfortunately, so I have no hands on experience on that end.

That's awesome! When were you there/ what was your role?

 

[Passinwind]

That's awesome! When were you there/ what was your role?

I was there mostly in '77-early '78, so right during the Close Encounters hoopla. I started as an entry level assembly tech on the main production line, but at my 3 month review I was pissed at the 25 cent raise and decided to challenge to a QC tech job (i.e. the guy who made them actually work), which I managed to pass the test for on the first try. The evil floor manager inadvertently showed me the test the day before I took it, thinking it would deter me, but I went straight to the library that night and boned up on opamp and TTL circuits...LOL!

For me the highlight was building up a few 2500 wing panels, when they gave me that assignment I pretty much knew they saw me as more than an assembler drone. Although most of the assemblers there were awesome musicians and really smart people, it was considered a very desirable job at that time.

 

[Erik S]

I was there mostly in '77-early '78, so right during the Close Encounters hoopla. I started as an entry level assembly tech on the main production line, but at my 3 month review I was pissed at the 25 cent raise and decided to challenge to a QC tech job (i.e. the guy who made them actually work), which I managed to pass the test for on the first try. The evil floor manager inadvertently showed me the test the day before I took it, thinking it would deter me, but I went straight to the library that night and boned up on opamp and TTL circuits...LOL!

For me the highlight was building up a few 2500 wing panels, when they gave me that assignment I pretty much knew they saw me as more than an assembler drone. Although most of the assemblers there were awesome musicians and really smart people, it was considered a very desirable job at that time.

I'm jealous! Work is work, but it looks like it would have been a nice thing to work on. The boards are really beautiful compared to anything modern. CAD is great and all, but there's something special about all those hand-drawn traces. Nice open layout on that big flat panel too.