Not Breathing STRIKES AGAIN

With the Astra. Video here.

I quote the creator:
“ken stone power supply board – caps/regulator/heatsinks/diodes from gutted wersi organ.
ray wilson’s 1v/oct single bus pcb. the keyboard is from a gutted lowrey wandering genie keyboard.
i recycled most of the capacitors in the unit from the genie and a dead tr606
(the rotary switches from 606 and a dead scope)
inside five small protoboards w/ 2 VCOs based on thomas henry’s 3080 vcos
(w/ matched transistor pair/tempco/polystrene caps).
white noise source (based on henry’s PNP noise source) through a Lm386 amp.
passive ring modulator using BAT56 schottky diodes – through their own lm386 amp.
VCF is a CEM 3328 from a dead mirage keyboard following jeff pointus/scott stites schematic – thomas henry 3080 VCA – a 555 based ADSR, two asm-1 lfos.
whew.
each CV section has it’s own modulation matrix rotary switch w/ choice
of lfo 1 tri, lfo 1 squ, lfo2 tri/squ, adsr, noise, gate, vco cross modulation
i didn’t buy anything for this unit.
i used some pretty crappy pots – but used good ones where it counts –
even the wire was from an old medical device

this is my depression era thrifter

the unit has linear FMs to the vcos and voltage controled Q
that are not even available on the front panel 🙂
i also built another lag in the unit – but didn’t need it…
someone can circuit bend it when i’m dead….

used decal paper for the first time to do the panel –
wood was dumpster wood

assembly of a mad man…”

But smarter than most mad men……and not afraid to part out crummy old combo organs. 😉

Even more what-the-hell-is-this stuff…..

Yet another Flickr gallery of pics of a homebrew synthesizer. No idea what it was or if he even finished it. The PC board looks like a kit but I don’t recognize it.

A Swedish DJ who is building a modular synth–apparently.

And here’s a really good photoset from the AHBA synth meeting last September. I don’t think Matrix ran this one.

Finally. Manmachine is a great comic. And features a “homebrew analog synthesizer”. Which the robot-oid protagonist apparently blows up after connecting power. (Scroll to the right using your mouse.) The creator ought to be encouraged to make more.

Rare inside views of two legendary modular synths.

First, in 2007 Matrix covered Greg Danner’s restoration of the notorious Sal-Mar Construction, an obscenely complex synthesizer from 1969 controlled by digital logic sequencers. What you didn’t know: Greg has a Flickr account full of photos of the restored Sal-Mar.

Also in 1969, Joel Chadabe had Moog build a modular synth along roughly similar lines–no keyboard, lots of sequencers. The innards of the CEMS are documented here.

Things you won’t see on Matrixsynth. :P

First, the Infinite Response folding keyboard. I’ve seen folding keyboards before, but never one this nicely made. Even has a magnesium chassis.

Second, the Fender electric version of the Takaratomy Air Guitar. Now available from acgears.com. They also sell the acoustic version that Matrix ran a video of long ago, plus the FM3 Buddha Machine.

Also the Ta Horng iSmart roll-up soft keyboard.

And MiJam’s Pro Air Drummer. You can still buy some amazing gadgets at Toys R Us. In fact, MiJam makes all kinds of clever and great music toys. Most of which Matrix has never mentioned……