DIY Synths; here’s a bit from part 1:

Music used to be done entirely with REAL instruments such as guitars and pianos but what about synthetic sounds? Well, a great band to look at for an example is Kraftwerk which in the early days (1970s) used synthesizers to create all their sounds from the aggressive sawtooths to the gentle beep and boop of a computer. These synthesizers (unlike most ones you will find today) where all analogue which means that instead of relying on software and processors the sound generation was done by manipulating electrical signals against time.

But how does an old fashion synthesizer work? In this project we will be building the heart of the synthesizer, the VCO which takes in analogue voltages and generates the raw sounds ready to be further processed by filters, modulators, ADRS modules and step sequences. For more information, as well as all the latest All About Circuits projects and articles, visit the official website at http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/

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