Alright so I’ve always been FASCINATED with synthesis as a means to make ambient stuff, cuz I love just the way a wall of harmonious ambient sound FEELS - and I never knew where to start. Now I do. Your videos have definitely made synths, especially whacky, modular, non-keyboard based synths, a lot more accessible man. I’m hoping I can build one of these in the near futute
Short hint: LDRs works best with yellow LED. Cause most of the cheap LDRs are made to work with daylight. I found out that this works best when you build vactrols.
Simple to explain: Here's a datasheet of an LDR: de.scribd.com/doc/128939598/LDR-Datasheet - Figure 3, we see the maximum response is between 540-560 nm. Yellow Light starts at. 560nm. Lower freq. is green. I tested a lot of cheap ldrs to optimise a cirquit and measured that yellow works best. Green sometimes, depends on LDR, and Red ist bad.... The reason for this is, that the main use of ldr's is measure daylight or flames. An btw, driving the LED with an opamp in a current regulated cirquit works best to transfer audio signals. BTW: I got this hint form an old electronic engeneer.
also, what you made is called an Opto-isolator, they come in 4 pin packages, so it makes it nice and easy for ya. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator www.ebay.com.au/i/251993168558?chn=ps piss cheap too :D
I've build a module with 16 of the simple oscillators from your last video as my first module for a modular synthesizer. thanks to this video I now also know how change complete sections of it. the most simple stuff is the best one one for someone like me who does everything on his own without much money and not much knowledge. a good start to understand whats happening.
What is the specification of the capacitors you used? I can't figure out which to buy as some say 10uf but then have a voltage eg 10, 20, but none between 12 and 18 Which do I use?
@Ora nge I know this is an old comment, but voltage ratings on capacitors just refer to the maximum voltage they can handle. So you just need to use something higher than voltage you’ll put through them, ideally with some extra headroom. So if you’re using a 12V system, use the 20V capacitors and you’ll be fine. If you’re using 18V to power it like he does here, you would probably want some more headroom, so look for 25V or 30V (both common ratings available), though a 20V should work if it’s all you’ve got. Regarding the farad rating (uf stands for “microfarad), he explains at the beginning of this video that the higher the farad rating the slower it will oscillate, so the best idea I think would be to buy a range of capacitors (they’re pretty cheap to buy an assortment pack) and use a socket strip like he shows in the video so you can swap them out without soldering and try different values to get the frequency range you want. Hope that helps you or someone else passing through the comments!
Please keep making these DIY videos, they're the best content on TH-cam, and us less talented people really like to try to build some stuff from time to time. Also, is that just an RC filter you added?
So 5 years on, this is the oscillator that keeps on giving tones and inspiration! You're very talented, humorous, and your enthusiasm is contageous. Just bought 200 of the SS transistors off eBay... When I told my wife, she went and bought 400 earplugs :))
thank you for making your videos about fun stuff with electronic modules more accessible to people who get immediately bored w/ how stuffy most electronics tutorials can be, your videos inspired me to get started on building modules and i built an atari punk circuit based on your recommendation, it worked after the first try, now i'm learning how timer ICs work and how to read circuit diagrams so i can build more things (like modular synths) :)
Ermagrrrd!!! Those sounds you squeezed out of that little beast are fantastic!!! Next you should tackle a super simple envelope generator for your super simple synth series!
I used to watch Sam purely for entertainment (love the music) and wanted to start learning. Today my first 3340 chip arrived and I'm so excited it's unreal. Thanks so much LMNC for inspiring me to think 'why not give it a go?!'
I’ve watched your videos so many times that I am starting to get a grasp on the basics, recently ordered a soldering kit and an Atari Punk Console to start with, thank you so much for the inspiration
I really enjoyed watching you guys taking your little device and actually working with the sounds it made. Even something as simple as Greg talking out loud as he thought through his next steps was fascinating to watch the sounds evolve and all out of a simple little box we can make ourselves. Top shit guys!
Couldnt you make like.. 49 of these, and hand tune them each to a specific dedicated note, and then use a keyboard to control the volume of each? that would allow "perfect" tuning and polyphony like a piano for a 49 key synth.
Just getting started in learning electronics and had absolutely no idea where to really start. Your videos are a great source of inspiration on small scale things to try out (as well as more complex things to aim towards!) So for that, I can't thank you enough :)
Thank you mate, I love modular synths but i's always seemed well overwhelming but you have just given me hope of understanding all of this by breaking it down so simply and in turn you've given me some hope that I can get into building something myself some time as well as the motivation to get learning so that I have the required knowledge!. Thanks chap, strong work, good man!
Hey there! Is a one opamp chip dual oscillator considered to be out of the realm of “simple?” I’ve got one pretty damn simple circuit based on one little TL074 chip that runs both triangle and square on two oscillators :) •Almost 1v/oct control voltage can be added to each oscillator via a 2N3904 And a resistor Cheers, Mylo (I love your shit man)
I am so glad I found this channel. I have always been into electronics, making things and creating music. I usually play metal, however, I like electronic stuff and find circuits fascinating. You make me want to start making some modules and doing some cool stuffs with them.
I first came across you channel last winter. I bought all the stuff to make these guys and for whatever reason could never make them work correctly. I was frustrated and threw all the stuff into a box and labeled it “ time travel stuff”. Soon as winter hits, I’m busting it back out. I really enjoy your channel. Man if you had some of your songs on iTunes, I’d buy them. I dig a few of the tunes a lot, and I’ve never really been into electronic music all that much.
I like to measure things. I have a maths degree. I’m a perfectly good person, I’ll have you know. My mother says so. (This is such a cool little circuit. It’s great to see pieces of synth equipment being made in a seriously punk rock DIY aesthetic. I’m tempted to build them up myself, but I have zero musical talent. And I’m cool with that =) Looking forward to seeing what all else you get up to!)
Yo, this is an AMAZING project and an even MORE AMAZING collaboration 😵 Those drones melted my brain.. You two should do more together!!! Thanks for all your hard work. It's super inspirational!! ✌️
I ended up using the 2n2222 because I could run it at it's best range at 12v 330uf, 100uf, 47uf 22uf and 1uf are going in the spooky synth box :D I just got a vactrol... so I'm giving that go right now, I just got the first "vacpak" assembled :D (Really not expecting a VCO like the CEM3340s I ordered)
I used to get lost in drones and audio landscapes and then think I'd wasted a shit load of my time as I never really managed to create anything massive or of major use. Now it's chaos that's back hahaha but I used to build a shit load of mine on Reason (the DAW) as you could patch stuff together reasonably well to give you a modular synth but in a B+ to C+ fashion which was still good and everything was still under control. NEVER GIVE UP CONTROL, EVER... The audio will take you and kidnap your soul!
So I'm hear cus I'm helping my Son with his soldering project. Holy crap now i understand where my son is coming from. Your buddy with the box of tricks played some beats which made my hairs stand up. Here's hoping my son gets shit hot at this so he to can create such wonderful sounds.
You could have got a job with Robert Moog in the late sixties. Simple is good. DIY electronics starting from first principles. I did electronics when I was a kid and understand exactly what you are doing (puts my Dick Smith handmade electronic organ to shame), love how you coupled the LDR to an LED, brilliant, your VCO sounds fantastic man.
for all the people struggeling with the oscillator: the circuitbord schema has the LED included in the ring with the transistor and the capacitor. while the other representation(just some lines and text) shows the LED outside of the transistor-capacitor ring. having the LED outside fixed my problems
All I can say is WOW DAMM Awesome. I had no idea how easy you guys make it look to make sick music. Keep it up so inspiring and informative. You Rock Thank you
I'm definitely going to do this, to make it a keybord. I'm just going to make a bunch of sets of these, then tune them all differently, have one pushbutton switch to each one, that way when I power one one it'll make that note tuned to the individual set. Have a bunch of push button power in a row, bam i got a keybord
Build like 25 of those, activated by buttons, tune them up, and you've made a playable keyboard with very little technical skill required. Polyphonic too :-)
The SS9018 seems like it's very hard to come by and I don't want to wait months to get some in the mail from China. Are there any other comparable transistors that I could use that are easier to get and still only use 8-9volts?
Actually, there is a little circuit called a joule thief which lets you make the 3904 oscillate rather fast with 1.2V, perhaps you can combine that circuit to make a noisemaker.
I've built 4 osc dronebox with S9018 thx to your schematics and advices, it works awesome. Just combined it with fuzz for five and it is massive as...:)) But when I tryed CV with superbright LED it does not work properly. The LED almost does not shine at all, it's light is really weak. All running on 9V powersuply... any advices please? Cheers from Czech Republic!
I did this by accident one time. I have a Proco rat pedal and I replaced the plastic Jacks with switchcraft Jacks and I guess I clocked it wrong so that the tip of the output was shorting out to ground and it oscillated pretty bad if I touched anywhere on ground and I could change the pitch by how hard I touched it.
Wow. So it seems the LDR's aren't entirely necessary but that they might give a little more analog warmth to the circuit because of the energy is going through ther circuit then buffered by the environment outside of the circuit. Like a modern tube circuit almost?
question: Do you need to connect to the main grnd/negative of power source to the negative leg of the cv socket made of ldr and led? No right? because their ground will be in the source that will modulate that led voltage... right?
Tayda Electronics usually has them reasonably priced and with decent shipping. They have lots of other stuff on the cheap as well, worth checking out. (No affiliation, just someone who’s ordered from them here and there for years, always happily.)
Wouldn't it be cleaner to use a VCR or another low power transistor at the Potentiometer legs? Just to reduce the noise and offset generated by the light to voltage "hack"
Hey, sam! I'm really wondering if its possible to do something like this with a zenner diode. A zener diode is essentially a diode that only allows current to flow in one way, unless a certian voltage is reached, in which case current *can* flow backwards. So, you could entirely ignore the forward current flow, and, just use the *zenner value*, which is the value at which it will "avalanche." A zenner diode won't start malfunctioning or breaking when you use this function. Is it possible to make this circuit with a zenner diode? Sorry if you did mention this in the video, I don't have time to watch all of it rn, I'm pretty buzy. :/
It depends on the current characteristics of the diode when in avalanche it's essential that the current goes up as quickly as possible when that situation occurs but not enough to melt anything, which is why a pn diode cannot be used in this application it will just break!, A zenner or schotky diode ought to work, but from what I recall the reverse current is lower than a bjt like sam has used. which means it should work though one would have to use lower values on pretty much every component.
MazeOfEncryption it depends on the exact model of zener diode, similar to what Sam did in the video with the BJT you have to find the model of zener that matches a < 5v reverse avalanche voltage of which I imagine there are many options
I don’t think it would work with a Zener diode as a component with negative differential resistance is required to get this circuit to resonate, which seems to occur when operating BJTs in reverse avalanche region. But as long as I know, Zener diodes don’t have negative differential resistance, so the capacitor would just charge up to the breakdown voltage of the diode, where a constant current will begin to flow through the potentiometer and the diode instead of charging the cap. What should work though would be to use a Zener diode to trigger a thyristor. Then all components are used as they are supposed and it can be used with many different supply voltages (probably even lower than 5 V) by swapping the diode.
I don't know what the cost difference is, but I know there are LED vactrol replacements for the Fender Trem circuits that used the cadmium lamps. I wonder how they would work?
For the past two days I've been watching the video over and over and this coment is driving me crazy haha. For anyone with the same doubt, link in the description.
Aw, sweet! I want to make one! Also, have you listened to David Bowie's album Low, more particularly, Warzsawa or Weeping Wall or Always Crashing The Same Car or, finally, the best, A New Career In A New Town? I love all the sounds he and Eno put together. Also Eno is great, though, I never gave him to much of a listen.
Hey there, my dude! Love your stuff. Here's an idea: Figger you could devise a simple on/off keyboard with different voltages to control one or many of these fine oscillators? I guess the rest of the guys would really like to get into MIDI integration... which I think you've already delved in. Think it'd be nice to have a simple, finnicky analog set as an accompanyment for our more sophisticate consumer-grade tools :3 Cheerio and ta-ta!
I've been eyeing the RAMPAGE for a while now. This video just convinced me to go for it. Also, the guest musician of yours is a fucking wizard. Keep him in your circle of friends.
@@igorfedik5730 the only commercial optoisolators I've come across use photodiodes as light sensors. An LDR can replace a resistor in any circuit because it's symmetrical. A photodiode isn't, it only passes current in one direction and will entirely foul up the signal if used as a replacement. It's not hard to design a circuit around a photodiode, but it would be more complex than this one.
@@raykent3211 you are right. Resistive optocouplers are considered an outdated technology. But they are still manufactured. Check out NSL 32 and VTL5C series
Not chopping the leg turns the leg into an antenna. It MAY work without cutting the leg, it depends on how noisy the area you are in is. Noisy, as in, EMF. It picks up just enough floating voltage to completely ruin the oscillation on some transistors.
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
Alright so I’ve always been FASCINATED with synthesis as a means to make ambient stuff, cuz I love just the way a wall of harmonious ambient sound FEELS - and I never knew where to start.
Now I do. Your videos have definitely made synths, especially whacky, modular, non-keyboard based synths, a lot more accessible man. I’m hoping I can build one of these in the near futute
There is FM (frequency modulation) and this (Subtractive synthesis) Love the old school Hawkwind sound
Short hint: LDRs works best with yellow LED. Cause most of the cheap LDRs are made to work with daylight. I found out that this works best when you build vactrols.
great info!
Peter Heß Your the first person i have ever heard mentikn that fact. Nice one 👍👍👍
Simple to explain: Here's a datasheet of an LDR: de.scribd.com/doc/128939598/LDR-Datasheet - Figure 3, we see the maximum response is between 540-560 nm. Yellow Light starts at. 560nm. Lower freq. is green. I tested a lot of cheap ldrs to optimise a cirquit and measured that yellow works best. Green sometimes, depends on LDR, and Red ist bad.... The reason for this is, that the main use of ldr's is measure daylight or flames. An btw, driving the LED with an opamp in a current regulated cirquit works best to transfer audio signals. BTW: I got this hint form an old electronic engeneer.
also, what you made is called an Opto-isolator, they come in 4 pin packages, so it makes it nice and easy for ya.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator
www.ebay.com.au/i/251993168558?chn=ps
piss cheap too :D
@@Litruv
Nice, all the ones I found were 50p each!
I've build a module with 16 of the simple oscillators from your last video as my first module for a modular synthesizer. thanks to this video I now also know how change complete sections of it. the most simple stuff is the best one one for someone like me who does everything on his own without much money and not much knowledge. a good start to understand whats happening.
What is the specification of the capacitors you used? I can't figure out which to buy as some say 10uf but then have a voltage eg 10, 20, but none between 12 and 18
Which do I use?
@Ora nge I know this is an old comment, but voltage ratings on capacitors just refer to the maximum voltage they can handle. So you just need to use something higher than voltage you’ll put through them, ideally with some extra headroom.
So if you’re using a 12V system, use the 20V capacitors and you’ll be fine. If you’re using 18V to power it like he does here, you would probably want some more headroom, so look for 25V or 30V (both common ratings available), though a 20V should work if it’s all you’ve got.
Regarding the farad rating (uf stands for “microfarad), he explains at the beginning of this video that the higher the farad rating the slower it will oscillate, so the best idea I think would be to buy a range of capacitors (they’re pretty cheap to buy an assortment pack) and use a socket strip like he shows in the video so you can swap them out without soldering and try different values to get the frequency range you want.
Hope that helps you or someone else passing through the comments!
Oh man do i love those "explain how to build something super fast" segments
Please keep making these DIY videos, they're the best content on TH-cam, and us less talented people really like to try to build some stuff from time to time.
Also, is that just an RC filter you added?
Kyxe Music it is an rc filter indeed! Pop a Vactrol on it it’s quite nice!
I was looking at your schematics from the original video, isnt it possible to hook up a audio jack instead of a potentiometer to control the tone?
is there a difference between protoboard and strip?
HOLY HOTDOG TOASTER I believe protoboards are temporary and strip board is meant for the final thing (soldering it all in)
I thought protoboard was the step after bread boarding but before making an actual circuit board
So 5 years on, this is the oscillator that keeps on giving tones and inspiration! You're very talented, humorous, and your enthusiasm is contageous. Just bought 200 of the SS transistors off eBay... When I told my wife, she went and bought 400 earplugs :))
Sick beats, sick host, sick circuits. This channel is something different
It's sick
Whoa. This photoresistor-led combo looks like a great way to electrically isolate your audio devices! No buzz bleeding into your wires this way.
thank you for making your videos about fun stuff with electronic modules more accessible to people who get immediately bored w/ how stuffy most electronics tutorials can be, your videos inspired me to get started on building modules and i built an atari punk circuit based on your recommendation, it worked after the first try, now i'm learning how timer ICs work and how to read circuit diagrams so i can build more things (like modular synths) :)
He makes things sound so fun and interesting! Ya gotta love his enthusiasm lol
Ermagrrrd!!! Those sounds you squeezed out of that little beast are fantastic!!!
Next you should tackle a super simple envelope generator for your super simple synth series!
This was so fun!! Cheers man 👍🏻
White Noises Nice patch man, sounded great
Love your performance on it, dude!
sound artisan
i like the fact, that your session is filmed, like a cheap pornmovie :)
I used to watch Sam purely for entertainment (love the music) and wanted to start learning. Today my first 3340 chip arrived and I'm so excited it's unreal. Thanks so much LMNC for inspiring me to think 'why not give it a go?!'
I've been using internet for 13 years by now. And never seen a fella thats crazy like you. I love it. Unique. Pretty Unique style. Love it!
I’ve watched your videos so many times that I am starting to get a grasp on the basics, recently ordered a soldering kit and an Atari Punk Console to start with, thank you so much for the inspiration
9v works great, thanks for this! I'm making a box of osc's and LFOs, for relaxing self-modulating hum, howl n fuzz.
I really enjoyed watching you guys taking your little device and actually working with the sounds it made. Even something as simple as Greg talking out loud as he thought through his next steps was fascinating to watch the sounds evolve and all out of a simple little box we can make ourselves. Top shit guys!
you are the best youtubes ever
U my personal hero
When a part 3 with different waveforms?
Hi Sam! Thank you very much for the video, especially for the Vactrol technique explanation! 💡
Fantastic episode. The construction of the pach was totally mesmerizing. Good work guys
White noises over here! :- th-cam.com/users/TheBoondoogle
Couldnt you make like.. 49 of these, and hand tune them each to a specific dedicated note, and then use a keyboard to control the volume of each? that would allow "perfect" tuning and polyphony like a piano for a 49 key synth.
Just getting started in learning electronics and had absolutely no idea where to really start. Your videos are a great source of inspiration on small scale things to try out (as well as more complex things to aim towards!)
So for that, I can't thank you enough :)
Great stuff, both the instructional content and the collab patch. White Noises guest appearance on LMNC was a nice surprise indeed!
Thank you for inspiring me to actually do this!
I used a mini breadboard instead of stripboard and I used the SS9018 with a 10uF cap and it works!
Thank you mate, I love modular synths but i's always seemed well overwhelming but you have just given me hope of understanding all of this by breaking it down so simply and in turn you've given me some hope that I can get into building something myself some time as well as the motivation to get learning so that I have the required knowledge!. Thanks chap, strong work, good man!
Hey there!
Is a one opamp chip dual oscillator considered to be out of the realm of “simple?” I’ve got one pretty damn simple circuit based on one little TL074 chip that runs both triangle and square on two oscillators :)
•Almost 1v/oct control voltage can be added to each oscillator via a 2N3904
And a resistor
Cheers, Mylo (I love your shit man)
I am so glad I found this channel. I have always been into electronics, making things and creating music. I usually play metal, however, I like electronic stuff and find circuits fascinating. You make me want to start making some modules and doing some cool stuffs with them.
And a massive thumbs up for Sam!
So lovely of you to make this vid!
Ty this was exactly what i needed. Please make more Videos in that style
If someone cut off my middle leg, I'd be oscillating too ... :eek:
Fair play
so you are a transistor, than??
arent all men transistors?
man, that's a good one. consider it stolen, fren.
Brian T this was just so good.
when i saw the led and the light depended resistor taped together like that for the first time, i was like like weew that's so cool! great work!
battery chicken If it looks stupid but it works, was it really that stupid.
I first came across you channel last winter. I bought all the stuff to make these guys and for whatever reason could never make them work correctly. I was frustrated and threw all the stuff into a box and labeled it “ time travel stuff”. Soon as winter hits, I’m busting it back out. I really enjoy your channel. Man if you had some of your songs on iTunes, I’d buy them. I dig a few of the tunes a lot, and I’ve never really been into electronic music all that much.
I like to measure things. I have a maths degree. I’m a perfectly good person, I’ll have you know. My mother says so. (This is such a cool little circuit. It’s great to see pieces of synth equipment being made in a seriously punk rock DIY aesthetic. I’m tempted to build them up myself, but I have zero musical talent. And I’m cool with that =) Looking forward to seeing what all else you get up to!)
Josh Myer You don't need musical bone in your body... you can have a heap of fun with sounds effects, such as drones and sirens.
Wow. So cool. So many concepts just fitting together in one vid.
Yo, this is an AMAZING project and an even MORE AMAZING collaboration 😵 Those drones melted my brain.. You two should do more together!!! Thanks for all your hard work. It's super inspirational!! ✌️
This was such a cool video! I’ve been looking for people with the same idea, you’ve executed it perfectly.
6:15 Would it be possible to add a circuit or opamp to amplify the signal so that it could modulate itself or other oscillators?
I ended up using the 2n2222 because I could run it at it's best range at 12v
330uf, 100uf, 47uf 22uf and 1uf are going in the spooky synth box :D I just got a vactrol... so I'm giving that go right now, I just got the first "vacpak" assembled :D (Really not expecting a VCO like the CEM3340s I ordered)
I've been waiting for this video for so long. This answers all the questions i've been asking myself. Keep coming up with awesome projects like this!
I used to get lost in drones and audio landscapes and then think I'd wasted a shit load of my time as I never really managed to create anything massive or of major use.
Now it's chaos that's back hahaha but I used to build a shit load of mine on Reason (the DAW) as you could patch stuff together reasonably well to give you a modular synth but in a B+ to C+ fashion which was still good and everything was still under control.
NEVER GIVE UP CONTROL, EVER... The audio will take you and kidnap your soul!
So I'm hear cus I'm helping my Son with his soldering project. Holy crap now i understand where my son is coming from. Your buddy with the box of tricks played some beats which made my hairs stand up.
Here's hoping my son gets shit hot at this so he to can create such wonderful sounds.
You could have got a job with Robert Moog in the late sixties. Simple is good. DIY electronics starting from first principles. I did electronics when I was a kid and understand exactly what you are doing (puts my Dick Smith handmade electronic organ to shame), love how you coupled the LDR to an LED, brilliant, your VCO sounds fantastic man.
I'm about to finish my introduction to DC circuits class and this video just blew my freaking database. Mad scientist genius right here
Just use a lm386 amplifier ic.
for all the people struggeling with the oscillator: the circuitbord schema has the LED included in the ring with the transistor and the capacitor. while the other representation(just some lines and text) shows the LED outside of the transistor-capacitor ring. having the LED outside fixed my problems
I tried this and it worked (following the schematics would only result in led lighting but no sound at all). Many thanks!
I think I ended up here by looking up things to do with a LM358. Had no interest in any of this until this video. What a guy, awesome. Thank you.
Thanks man, i was about to start my making my own modular synth and everything i need is here.
Nice drones Sam! Nice hat Greg!
Inspirational stuff man! Might build one of these with 3 little switchable LDRs on the top of the enclosure for one-handed jamming.
Holy shit I feel really stupid for not finding this channel before, my favorite channel ever!
All I can say is WOW DAMM Awesome. I had no idea how easy you guys make it look to make sick music. Keep it up so inspiring and informative. You Rock Thank you
20 minutes of look mum no computer.. What more could I ever want.
21 minutes?
Thanks to this Look Mum No Computer channel, I began to learn English for u. Thanks for the interesting and quality information. From Russia with love
Still love this channel. Now if only I knew how the more complicated oscillators worked!
I like your black Victorinox Swisschamp. And the rest of all your stuff too.
The synth equivalent of bagpipes. Awesome stuff.
my day gets better everytime i get a notification from you sam, great work!
21:15 ''and putting it through clouds, just to make it sound fantastic''
I'm definitely going to do this, to make it a keybord. I'm just going to make a bunch of sets of these, then tune them all differently, have one pushbutton switch to each one, that way when I power one one it'll make that note tuned to the individual set. Have a bunch of push button power in a row, bam i got a keybord
I really like the tune tune progress! It gone quite dark :D Love it to bits :) Kepp doing it matey!!
You are the bob ross of audio. Like somehow you make a complete cluster fuck make sense and sound great
i think another door in mind just opened up. this is very inspiring!
Build like 25 of those, activated by buttons, tune them up, and you've made a playable keyboard with very little technical skill required. Polyphonic too :-)
Can i ask each synth electric current require?
Great video!!! Can't wait to build one of these....
The SS9018 seems like it's very hard to come by and I don't want to wait months to get some in the mail from China. Are there any other comparable transistors that I could use that are easier to get and still only use 8-9volts?
Actually, there is a little circuit called a joule thief which lets you make the 3904 oscillate rather fast with 1.2V, perhaps you can combine that circuit to make a noisemaker.
Awesome! Would it be possible to take this Desing into a "Super simple LFO" ?
Making an eurorack VCO this summer! Thanks👍🏻 (I mean trying to...)
UJT oscillator: 1 UJT (Unijunction Transistor) , 2 Resistors, 1 Capacitor and it works also with a 9V Battery.
Brilliant Drone build up from a your stuff.
I've built 4 osc dronebox with S9018 thx to your schematics and advices, it works awesome. Just combined it with fuzz for five and it is massive as...:)) But when I tryed CV with superbright LED it does not work properly. The LED almost does not shine at all, it's light is really weak. All running on 9V powersuply... any advices please? Cheers from Czech Republic!
I did this by accident one time. I have a Proco rat pedal and I replaced the plastic Jacks with switchcraft Jacks and I guess I clocked it wrong so that the tip of the output was shorting out to ground and it oscillated pretty bad if I touched anywhere on ground and I could change the pitch by how hard I touched it.
just to clarify: uf is micro farad! - but mind you, uk is NOT micro kingdom, although, after brxt...;)
Look at Sam bringing everyone together! Nice work! Oscillating Furbys anyone???
Wow. So it seems the LDR's aren't entirely necessary but that they might give a little more analog warmth to the circuit because of the energy is going through ther circuit then buffered by the environment outside of the circuit. Like a modern tube circuit almost?
question: Do you need to connect to the main grnd/negative of power source to the negative leg of the cv socket made of ldr and led? No right? because their ground will be in the source that will modulate that led voltage... right?
As many others, I agree that we want to see more of the 100 OSC drone monster.
If only this video had come out two weeks earlier. Now I ordered all the parts...
Wow this video is awesome - the guide as well as the nice patch, awesome!!
Idea the led from 1 of the other oscillators. Can activate the ldr from the the previous oscillator. Would it not be tunable to its self?
Where do you get the metal boxes from? Do you make them yourself?
ZeluLibra eBay! Search project enclosures
Tayda Electronics usually has them reasonably priced and with decent shipping. They have lots of other stuff on the cheap as well, worth checking out. (No affiliation, just someone who’s ordered from them here and there for years, always happily.)
Great man simple and straight forward.
First time seeing this done in solid state I built some thing similar using all tubes
Wouldn't it be cleaner to use a VCR or another low power transistor at the Potentiometer legs? Just to reduce the noise and offset generated by the light to voltage "hack"
Ohhh, this is going to be good!
Edit. yeah it was good, always worth the wait. (◕‿◕)👍
:)
**does an in depth explanation of various electronic components and circuits**
**subsequently trashes mathematicians**
Hey, sam! I'm really wondering if its possible to do something like this with a zenner diode. A zener diode is essentially a diode that only allows current to flow in one way, unless a certian voltage is reached, in which case current *can* flow backwards. So, you could entirely ignore the forward current flow, and, just use the *zenner value*, which is the value at which it will "avalanche." A zenner diode won't start malfunctioning or breaking when you use this function. Is it possible to make this circuit with a zenner diode? Sorry if you did mention this in the video, I don't have time to watch all of it rn, I'm pretty buzy. :/
Good question. I would say yes, but lets hear the experts
It depends on the current characteristics of the diode when in avalanche it's essential that the current goes up as quickly as possible when that situation occurs but not enough to melt anything, which is why a pn diode cannot be used in this application it will just break!, A zenner or schotky diode ought to work, but from what I recall the reverse current is lower than a bjt like sam has used. which means it should work though one would have to use lower values on pretty much every component.
But it would work if you had, per say, 5v total to work with?
MazeOfEncryption it depends on the exact model of zener diode, similar to what Sam did in the video with the BJT you have to find the model of zener that matches a < 5v reverse avalanche voltage of which I imagine there are many options
I don’t think it would work with a Zener diode as a component with negative differential resistance is required to get this circuit to resonate, which seems to occur when operating BJTs in reverse avalanche region. But as long as I know, Zener diodes don’t have negative differential resistance, so the capacitor would just charge up to the breakdown voltage of the diode, where a constant current will begin to flow through the potentiometer and the diode instead of charging the cap.
What should work though would be to use a Zener diode to trigger a thyristor. Then all components are used as they are supposed and it can be used with many different supply voltages (probably even lower than 5 V) by swapping the diode.
I don't know what the cost difference is, but I know there are LED vactrol replacements for the Fender Trem circuits that used the cadmium lamps. I wonder how they would work?
But how do you connect it to a speaker? You NEVER show how to connect it to a speaker...
For the past two days I've been watching the video over and over and this coment is driving me crazy haha. For anyone with the same doubt, link in the description.
Aw, sweet! I want to make one! Also, have you listened to David Bowie's album Low, more particularly, Warzsawa or Weeping Wall or Always Crashing The Same Car or, finally, the best, A New Career In A New Town? I love all the sounds he and Eno put together. Also Eno is great, though, I never gave him to much of a listen.
Hey there, my dude! Love your stuff. Here's an idea: Figger you could devise a simple on/off keyboard with different voltages to control one or many of these fine oscillators? I guess the rest of the guys would really like to get into MIDI integration... which I think you've already delved in. Think it'd be nice to have a simple, finnicky analog set as an accompanyment for our more sophisticate consumer-grade tools :3
Cheerio and ta-ta!
WOW that thing sounds like if a bagpipe and a air rad siren had a baby! lol
You love those oven knobs
Thank you so much for the follow up video. I've been having lots of fun building these lil guys.
I've been eyeing the RAMPAGE for a while now. This video just convinced me to go for it. Also, the guest musician of yours is a fucking wizard. Keep him in your circle of friends.
Where does this slight portamento effect come from? Is it because capacitors need some time to discharge?
Igor Fedik it’s the led in the vactrol. As it charges and discharges from the voltage change
Oh yes that is because you prefer bright LEDs =) But can you use an optocoupler instead of sticking two parts together with a tape?
Igor Fedik not really. An opto is usually on/off. The LDR is analog.
@@igorfedik5730 the only commercial optoisolators I've come across use photodiodes as light sensors. An LDR can replace a resistor in any circuit because it's symmetrical. A photodiode isn't, it only passes current in one direction and will entirely foul up the signal if used as a replacement. It's not hard to design a circuit around a photodiode, but it would be more complex than this one.
@@raykent3211 you are right. Resistive optocouplers are considered an outdated technology. But they are still manufactured. Check out NSL 32 and VTL5C series
This is so awesome. Thank you for this tutorial.
Not chopping the leg turns the leg into an antenna. It MAY work without cutting the leg, it depends on how noisy the area you are in is. Noisy, as in, EMF. It picks up just enough floating voltage to completely ruin the oscillation on some transistors.