Heterodyne Space Explorer

[jishnudg]

Beavis Audio design...haven't found a vero of this anywhere

[SonusFluxa]

Over two years later, I'd like to second a request for this. I've built the regular heterodyne but would like to try the peyote as well.

[tabbycat]

jishnudg wrote

Beavis Audio design...haven't found a vero of this anywhere

+1. it often strikes me as odd that there are so few drone or low-fi synthy things here.

SonusFluxa wrote

I've built the regular heterodyne but would like to try the peyote as well.

hey sonusfluxa, do you have a vero layout of decent board shots of your regular heterodyne? would like to try that to. am just surfing the fringes of a diy analog synth habit.

[SonusFluxa]

Tabbycat, pretty sure this is the layout I went off of:
http://humhack.org/downloads/heterodyne_instructions.pdf

I'm right there with you on the diy synth thing, just starting to get my feet wet, and always looking for more builds to try out.

[tabbycat]

thanks for the layout link, sonuxfluxa. this must be pretty recent. i remember searching far and wide at christmas for this one and not finding anything.

re builds, have you tried the 4017 baby 8 8-step sequencer or mfos weird sound generator?

can post vero links for those if you want them.

have made up the the boards for both and prepared the enclosures http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/What-are-your-weekend-projects-tp21708p23244.html am just struggling with working out the offboard wiring. bit of a mission. but will post finished pics and a build report here when done.

[SonusFluxa]

The baby 8 is next in line, I think I subconsciously alternate between guitar oriented builds and synth ones, and I'm in the middle of working on modding a chorus currently. Definitely excited to build it and liven up my other synth projects with CV.

The WSG has been in the back of my mind for a while, I have a few vero layouts for it, but probably going to wait on that for a minute.

I've also done the devil's triangle drone synth from paulinthelab, which can be pretty melodic compared to some of these.

By the way, those enclosures look great!

[Alex]

Added a layout in Contributions.

[Hozy31]

Hi tabbycat,

Could you post links to those veros you mentioned. Wouldn't mind giving them a go.

Ta

Hoz

[tabbycat]

Alex80 wrote

Added a layout in Contributions.

alex, you are



!

SonusFluxa wrote

The baby 8 is next in line, I think I subconsciously alternate between guitar oriented builds and synth ones, and I'm in the middle of working on modding a chorus currently. Definitely excited to build it and liven up my other synth projects with CV.

The WSG has been in the back of my mind for a while, I have a few vero layouts for it, but probably going to wait on that for a minute.

I've also done the devil's triangle drone synth from paulinthelab, which can be pretty melodic compared to some of these.

By the way, those enclosures look great!

hey sonus, am looking to slow my guitar effects building to just the essentials and get into proper ken stone yusynth etc modular synth builds next year. these little noise toys are first steps really. to see if i'm up to it. but the synth diy vero scene seems far more chaotic and all over the place than the guitar diy stompbox scene. the vero layouts available are often confusingly laid out and of dubious reliability. we have great quality control here for vero compared to what i have seen (so far) on synth forums. which is curious, as the abiding stereotype of guitar luddite and synth scientist would lead one to predict that the button-pushers would be ahead on this one. though vero is a crude medium to begin with, so maybe i’m revealing my inner-ludd (as if i ever kept it hidden) to go looking for synth projects on vero. they may well view vero building as stone age and have perfected a process by which they can build their own synths with just pure thought, carbon nanotubes and a dab of swedish angst.

i’ve half-built the devil’s triangle. when i’m waiting on the post for bits but have builder’s itch i tend to start things, which i then drop as soon the parts for the thing i really wanted to build turn up. so it’s in an unfinished heap somewhere. would like to see your build, especially the guts. might inspire me to pick up the threads. does it sound ok?

thanks for the comment re the enclosures. i quite get into that side of things. but joining board to box is going to be tricky i think, for the reasons i mentioned above. both fugly vero layouts (alex here spoils us badly, we live like diy stompbox kings on his amazing layouts) and potentially buggy. i get the feeling i will need to go back to the threads quite a bit to cross reference glitches etc. not build and go.
i know i’m whining like a spoiled bitch because i’m used to how together it is here. it’s good that there is vero synth stuff out there, but it’s different to here. diplomatic.

Hozy31 wrote

Hi tabbycat,

Could you post links to those veros you mentioned. Wouldn't mind giving them a go.

Ta

Hoz

hey hozy, these are the ones i used but (as mentioned above) i can’t verify they are ready-to-go as is. may need to cross reference the original threads to debug.

4017 Baby Sequencer Stripboard by minus @ http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-52774.html
if it doesn’t work i will try this as an alternative
baby 8 sequencer by proto-schlock @ http://proto-schlock.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/baby-8-sequencer.html

weird sound generator by mfos @ http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/analogsynth_new/THE_CAVE/Your%20First%20Synth/Your%20First%20Synth.htm
but note that the cut image is reversed, not as we have them here. i flipped it in photoshop then deleted the reversed one as i thought it would be a liability to have both hanging around

enjoy.

[tabbycat]

hey hozy and sonusfluxa,

can verify that the wsg vero on mfos i linked to is good. in fact it's better than good, it's a hardcore mental machine. like two fire alarms going off at a late 80's acid house gig with a bit of death star engine-room noise thrown in for good measure. didn't even try it through pedals, etc. too addictive as is.

so just updating that post to say it works good and is recommended. next stop baby 8.

[SonusFluxa]

Glad to hear this, I'll push it up in line! You had me at acid house.

As far as layouts go, minus from electro music has posted a few awesome things. You've already got his baby 8 layout. I recently built the cacophonator from this vero that he put up:

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-40593.html

He's also posted vero layouts for a few of the voices from the Roland 808, which is exciting, mind boggling, and intimidating:

Snare
http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-45134.html

Hats, cymbals, and cow bell
http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-54826-0.html&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=tr808+vero

Seeing this, it makes sense why some synth diy folks may be weary of vero.

If I find anymore of his or anyone else's synth layouts that seem interesting, I'll make sure to drop them here.

Reporting on the peyote, I've built it, and it makes magnificent  space drug sounds. I did end up toasting a resistor, but I'll check that when I get back from vacation in a few days. I'll also make sure to post gut shots and a clip of the devil's triangle. For now, here's a brief clip of the heterodyne (regular) and devil's:

https://www.soundcloud.com/renmyth/diy-synth-jam-1

The devil's triangle is the low drone, heterodyne is the rhythmic stuff.

[SonusFluxa]

Here are the gut shots for the devil's triangle. Please excuse the rat's nest, as this is one of the first things I put together.







Let me know if you'd like better angles. A demo is coming once I get a chance to upload it.

[tabbycat]

hey sonus, thanks for posting the gut shots. looks damn tidy for an early build. i think mine's 3/4 finished somewhere. not far off ready. will take inspiration from your success.

after the success with the wsg (surprised that worked first time) am going to hook up the baby 8 this weekend. tbh am not sure how verified the minus vero i built was, but went ahead anyway on the basis that there is an accompanying thread that nit-picks bugs etc. it's 25% circuit and 75% offboard web, so circuit pretty basic really.

thanks for the drum layouts links. ultimately am totally up for one of those classic 80s hexagonal simmons trigger pads and a diy drum synth clone box to fire it into, maybe with mix of switchable classic circuits. finances terrible atm so will satsify myself with a cheap volca beats for now. but future dreaming.

re the peyote demo, it's so modem isn't it. very 80s, very atari. time and place. by comparison the wsg sounds 50s or 60s shortwave radio. two different time tunnels.

[SonusFluxa]

I'm interested in your progress as you work on the baby 8. I think I'm going to start mine tomorrow, just got the parts in the mail today. Still haven't had a chance to post that devil's triangle demo, but will if you still want to hear it. I'm also going to box up my peyote tomorrow I believe, really really happy with the way it turned out.

Here's something interesting that I found in my searches over the past few days:

http://www.ciat-lonbarde.net/paper/index.html

Circuits for noise makers and the like, suggested that you print out the layouts and poke the components through, then connect everything. Definitely not vero, but got my attention enough to make me want to try one soon, maybe when I place my next components order.

[tabbycat]

SonusFluxa wrote

I'm interested in your progress as you work on the baby 8. I think I'm going to start mine tomorrow, just got the parts in the mail today.

hey sonus, i got my devils triangle going last night. weirdly it didn't seem to work (or it did work but at a uselessly low volume) until i bypassed the 1n4148 and 100k pair that links each of the oscillators to the mixer. when i bypassed them and just went direct from the output of each 4n7 cap to the mixer set up (am using switches and level pots) it worked great. so that's how i'm leaving it. if it blows up i'll consider putting them back. that's how i roll.
re the level pots, i think 30k would be ideal, but i didn't have any so went for 50k. also took spare lug to ground which seemed to quieten them down to effectively an off switch when off, rather than just always on at low.

re other tweaks, am just in the process of adding a fourth oscillator. as most of the bottom left of the board was empty i took the few resistors there on jumpers elsewhere, so i have a clear patch to just squeeze a fourth in. breadboarded it up last night and works fine with the rest of the circuit so will solder it in tonight.
am also going to steal the low-pass filter from the wsg schematic to use for this, and add an lpb1 for master volume, so i can pull the low-fi low-frequency hissy stuff up front if required.
will post some pics soon, board being revised, box ready. it looks messy as i've jumpered stuff around to pimp it out, but it's solid and sounds neat.

saving the baby 8 for last (board and box are done, but not got it running yet). my instincts are jangling re the troubleshooting to come. have you read through the thread that accompanies minus' vero layout? sounds tricky and buggy. let me know if you get anything out of it. i may attempt a trial tomorrow though will more likely be next weekend.

SonusFluxa wrote

Here's something interesting that I found in my searches over the past few days:

http://www.ciat-lonbarde.net/paper/index.html

that's insane. as if vero wasn't problematic enough. the man is a masochist, pure and simple.

[SonusFluxa]

Finally overcame my digital laziness and uploaded the drone demo:

https://soundcloud.com/renmyth/triangle-drone-demo

Definitely report back on the mods you've got going in in your devil's. I don't recall having that issue with the diodes, as you can see mine is just stock, as is from the blog.

Started the Baby 8 last night, got the easy part done, now working on the off board stuff. I've had a look through the thread now, and am hoping that I get lucky and it fires up.

One more that I might try in the near future:

http://www.commonsound.com/kits/doku.php?id=commonsound:triwave

slightly related, I'm really loving the sounds coming from the phaseur moire.

[tabbycat]

hey sonus, that's a neat little demo. thanks for the post. the frequencies interfering and fluttering are the bits i like best with these drone things. that becomes the dynamic in place of melody or modulating key. very cagey.
that's how mine sounded until i messed it up trying to be clever. now i have 4 oscillators, 3 of which now only work in isolation instead of in unison, and one dead oscillator 4 that only works if i jumper pin 2 from osc 2 to pin 2 of osc 4. am working on it, and can always back track to the original three (i think). but a fourth would have been nice since i decided on it and put in the work. they all work kinda. but not really.

baby 8 is next weekend at earliest for me. or one after. will need a break after the devil. i've made a monster. hope you are getting further with your 8.

re the phasers, have been crossing commonsound's path more and more recently. lots of nice stuff there and they seem open to diy stompboxers building their own one-offs of their designs, which is cool of them.

triwave mental sounding, and nice to have a guitar-in option/mod. actually resembles a more tricked out wsg as far as the demos tell. phaser moire very nice.
the phaser fleur (for which there is a schematic on the site http://www.commonsound.com/kits/doku.php?id=commonsound:phaseur ) seems to be the basis for the moire. mods suggested to fleur seem to make up a lot of the difference between the two. could be an interesting project to work through here if others were on for it.

i'm going to try not to post the schematic for the phaser fleur in the requests section here tonight.

[SonusFluxa]

Good on you re the phasers, hopefully someone picks that up.

Baby 8 is a no go currently. I used the original minus layout, which others seemed to have issues with. I'm going to maybe try the proto schlock layout, since I don't have to touch the off board stuff at least.

Best of luck to you on your devil's, it really does sound like a great addition to the circuit. I agree, those are definitely the most interesting uses for a drone box, the rhythmic moments as opposed to melodic. Playing around with my regular heterodyne, I got something that sounded similar to the acid line from enforcement by Basic Channel, which made my week.