I'm looking for a fairly noob friendly DIY synth project.
Ideally for something unique and quirky. The Meeblip
And sinchy-1 (wrong spelling) are the kind of things I'm talking about.




P.S doesn't have to a synth if it's musically useful.

You mean Shruthi-1? They are very good. And well worth snapping up when kits are available.
Instruments | Mutable instruments

There is a new version of the WTPA 8 Bit sampler kit coming out soon too (although its been 'soon' for around a year now)
Where's the Party At: Nerdy Embedded Systems Design Wizardry

The x0xb0x (303 clone) is very cool. But I wouldn't say it was an entirely noob friendly project..
x0xb0x: Transistorize the World

Theres a few 'kickstarter' synth projects springing up here 'n there too. Although I have no experience of those myself.
Also look into arduino projects, as a some of them look very good. Like the Beat707 for example.
An Arduino MIDI Groove Box Shield

MFOS weird sound generator, which might be the best place to start.

From the basics, you might want to check the Atari Punk Console, fairly easy to build but not a whole lot of useful sounds. Have you thought of building effects? There are lots of guitar players who build their own stuff so there's a lot of info that can be found online, I think you will get a better time/usefulness factor. You can build a fuzz face very easily using a few components and it might find it's way into your recording.

This is a very basic electronic noise maker kit, good for beginners:

Loud Objects Noise Toy Kit

The kit has a custom-printed circuit board, a noise generating microchip, two buttons for modulating the sound, a 1/8" headphone jack and a battery.

I just built my way (and modded) a vibrati punk console: Lushprojects.com - A feast of electronic fun - Vibrati Punk Console cost me around 20 quid and was shipped to Germany rather fast. Nice little kit, I put it in a box added a few extras (extrenal jack, turn speaker on off, etc) and am annoying my neighbors with pure 8bit squeals.

Nice update un the Atari Punk Console.

nothing easy is going to be unique.

Some of the things already posted DO sound unique.

Not easy, but I always thought MIDIbox FM(same as SammichFM?) sounded really neat. Maybe once you have more experience under your belt?

BTW, Anyone selling one PM me!

Look at building a few pedals to get you build skills up.. envelope filters, Ring Mods, Phasers, Fuzz's, Octave dividers..

Then go to Midibox and find something you like and get bitten by the DIY bug.

Then go to Prodigy Pro and really get bitten by the DIY bug.. 1176 Clones, SSL Clones, NEVE 1084 Clones..

Thats my $0.02

(Pretty much sums up my DIY life story)

envelope filter?



How practical is it to make analog filter box, like a diy mooger?

Just ordered one of these, thanks!!

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It depends on if you want to make it on Vero / proto board, or buy a DIY kit?

filter440

It's based around a 13600, so it'll sound good, but not as nice as a moogerfooger.

If you want to go vero / protoboard, then the world is your oyster, but you may have to study & source components.

My advice... keep it simple at first.

Wow. That's a cool site FutureMan.

I learned a lot on a ruby amp Little Gems

Best of all you can build it with stuff you can get at Radio Shack... So you can postpone having to learn to order from the big boys for a minute.

Also the mini-space-rocker is awesome and easy.
eric archer . net

here's one

Actually, though (and it might have been here that I first heard this) the original Doctor Who bassline is rumored to have been done with a rubber band:

"As a footnote, there is still a difference of opinion on how the Doctor Who bass sound was created, 45 years ago. Dick Mills remembers Delia twanging a blanking panel in a rack, while Mark Ayres offered two versions — a plucked string and a rubber band (he heard both from Delia!). Peter Howell, meanwhile, told me: "The bass twang was a plucked bass string on a home-made electric pickup device (a piece of wood with a string on it). That sound appears on several early Workshop recordings."

The Story Of The BBC Radiophonic Workshop

piëzo microphones can be cool triggers for cv/gate gear

Check this wee beauty out!

MPS Theory

Here's an example of it in action. The kit doesn't come midi'd, just the standard 5volt trigger pulse, but there is a very cheap midi - trigger interface available at - [email protected]

Mega Percussive Synthesizer (MPS) demo on Vimeo

You get a PCB only and have to source the components and populate the board yourself.


Huge respect for Scott Stites and Thomas Henry!!!