#672 Make: Analog Synthesizers
Book notes: Make: Analog Synthesizers: Make Electronic Sounds the Synth-DIY Way, by Ray Wilson. First published March 22, 2013.
Notes
See also:
Contents
1. What Is Synth-DIY?
- A Bit of Analog Synthesizer Etymology
- What Can I Build?
- How Far Can I Go?
2. Tooling Up for Building Analog Synths
- Instrumenting Your Workbench
- The Oscilloscope
- Frequency Response (or Bandwidth)
- Input Channels
- Sensitivity
- What Else Should I Look for in a Scope?
- The Digital Multimeter (DM)
- Multimeter Advanced Features
- Logic Probe
- The Bench Power Supply
- Some Nice-to-Haves
- Second Multimeter
- Capacitance Meter
- Frequency Counter
- Function Generator
- Tips for Reliable Soldering
- Temperature-Controlled Solder Station
- Soldering Tips
- Desoldering Is Important, Too
- Obtaining Electronic Components
- Surplus Parts
- Capacitors
- Capacitors to Keep On Hand
- Resistors to Keep On Hand
- Mechanical Components
- Active Components
- Solderless Breadboarding
- Hand Tools
- Troubleshooting Tips
- How to Minimize Troubleshooting
- Divide and Conquer
3. Analog Synthesizer Building Blocks
- Three Configurations: Normalized, Modular, and Hybrid
- Voltage Control
- The Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO)
- The Voltage-Controlled Filter (VCF)
- The Voltage-Controlled Amplifier (VCA)
- The Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO)
- The Keyboard Controller
- The Envelope Generator (EG)
- AR Envelope Generator
- ADSR Envelope Generator
- The White Noise Generator
- The Sample and Hold (S&H)
- Audio and DC Signal Mixers
- The Ring Modulator
- The Voltage Sequencer
- Putting It All Together
4. Make the Noise Toaster Analog Sound Synthesizer
- Noise Toaster Block Diagram
- Building the Noise Toaster
- Gathering the Parts
- The Bill of Materials (BOM)
- The Noise Toaster Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
- Populating the Noise Toaster PCB
- Making the Noise Toaster Front Panel
- Making the Noise Toaster Front Panel Legend Overlay
- Installing the Noise Toaster Front Panel Components
- Wiring the Noise Toaster Front Panel Components
- Preparing the Noise Toaster Case
- Wiring the PCB to the Front Panel
- Testing the Noise Toaster
- Testing the White Noise Generator
- Testing the VCO
- Testing the VCF
- Testing the VCA
- Testing the AREG
- Testing the LFO
- Testing the Output Jack
- My Noise Toaster Is Being Sullen and Listless
5. The Incredible Op Amp
- Op Amps as Amplifiers
- Negative Feedback Demystified
- Op Amps as Comparators
- Positive Feedback (Hysteresis)
6. How the Noise Toaster Works
- The Noise Toaster Schematics
- The Power Supply
- The Attack Release Envelope Generator (AREG)
- The Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO)
- The Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO)
- The White Noise Generator
- The Voltage-Controlled Low-Pass Filter (VCF)
- The Voltage-Controlled Amplifier (VCA)
- The Audio Amplifier
7. Your Electronic Music Studio
- Connecting a Project to Your Computer’s Sound Card
- Introducing Audacity
- The Audacity Interface
- Sound Card Interface Discovery
- Saving Projects
- Exporting Audio Formats
- Transport Controls
- Audacity Tools
- Audacity Edit Toolbar
- Sound-on-Sound Recording
- Audacity Effects
- Effect Tails
- Recording Exercises
- Musique Concrete
- Multitrack Layering
- Multitrack Volume Envelope Layering
- Floobydust
A. A Field Guide to Op Amp Circuit Applications
- Buffers
- Inverting Buffer
- Noninverting Buffer
- High-Impedance Buffer Follower
- Comparators
- A Basic Comparator
- The Window Comparator
- Signal Mixing
- Simple AC-Coupled Audio Mixer
- Simple Multichannel DC Modulation Mixer
- Simple but Useful Op Amp Oscillators
- Single Op Amp Square-Wave Oscillator
- Two Op Amp Square- and Triangle-Wave Oscillator
- Digital-to-Analog Conversion Using Binarily Weighted Resistors or the R/2R Resistor Ladder
- The Binarily Weighted Resistor DAC
- The R/2R Resistor Ladder DAC
- Light Up Your Synth with LEDs
- The Simplest Way to Light an LED
- Isolating the LED Control Source with a Transistor (I)
- Isolating the LED Control Source with a Transistor (II)
- Isolating the LED Control Source with a CD40106 Inverter (I)
- Isolating the LED Control Source with a CD40106 Inverter (II)
- Light an LED Using a Comparator (I)
- Light an LED Using a Comparator (II)
B. The LM13700
- LM13700 Manufacturers
- LM13700 Chip Details
- Three Examples of LM13700 Circuits
- A Simple VCA Using the LM13700
- A Simple State-Variable VCF
- A Triangle-to-Sine Converter
C. Working with CMOS Logic Chips
- Logic Chips in Synth-DIY
- CD4013 Dual D Flip-Flop
- CD4011 Quad Two-Input NAND Gate
- CD4001 Quad Two-Input NOR Gate
- CD4066 Quad Analog Switch
- CD4024 Seven-Stage Ripple Carry Binary Counter
- CD4042 Quad D Latch
- CD4094 Eight-Stage Shift Register
- CD40193 Binary Up/Down Counter
- CD4514 4-Bit Latch/4-to-16 Line Decoder
- CD4017 Decade Counter with 10 Decoded Outputs
- CD4067 Single 16-Channel Multiplexer/Demuliplexer
- CD40106 Hex Inverting Schmitt Trigger
- CD40106 Square Wave Oscillator
- CD40106 Pulse Wave Oscillator
- CD40106 Multiple-Input NAND Gate
- CD40106 Multiple-Input NOR Gate
- CD40106 Positive Edge to Negative-Going Pulse
- CD40106 Negative Edge to Positive-Going Pulse
- CD40106 Narrow Pulse Stretcher