We interrupt this silence for some news!

We have a new store! :)

The Taurus 1 Contact Board is now available again! The first three people to use the coupon code t1rev2fs when buying one will receive free shipping anywhere in the world!

Check out the Synthfool's Custom Products section for other items, including a Minimoog MIDI to CV Cable, and a new Minimoog Board Restoration Service.

I also have a bunch of stuff up on eBay right now, too! I'm more than willing to combine shipping between the store and eBay.

Coming Soon...

The official Synthfool page on Facebook! :)

A couple videos...

I actually feel like posting more than one item today. :)

These two videos are from a very cool client, Scott Metzger.

Here's a great demo of the 4 Voice my husband recently did for him.

If you like that, check out his cool Memorymoog Demo video. (I got to peek inside this beast not too long ago. Rudi does excellent work! :)

Thoughts for the day...

In no particular order:

• We're almost out of CA3080's. I think I have one left to put up on eBay.


• When you are no longer able to provide people with what they want, you find out who your true friends are.


• That monster of an Oberheim 8 voice is finally out of my house. That was a nightmare which only served to make me more jaded about the synth world.


• Even though life is a bit rough right now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Getting Jiggy with Synthfool #9: Minimoog MIDI to CV Interface Cable

From the eBay auction listing:

This cable plugs into the keyboard connector of a Minimoog D.
It provides CV and Gate directly into the Minimoog.
It makes the Mini think your external signals actually are the keyboard.
That means you still get the original Moog glide and working orange Keyboard Tracking switches on the filter too.

Works great with many MIDI to CV converters because it requires a positive-going gate (V Trig) and not Moog's special S-Trig.
My husband used it with his Kenton Pro-Solo MKII to test Minimoogs.
Can also be used to interface a modular synth or sequencer with a Minimoog.

As seen on AH... ;)

We're bringing Synthfool back! :)

First step is the Docs section.
I'm working on better index pages and zipping up a lot of the files for ease of download. It's quite a task, so please be patient! :)

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts. :)

BUCHLA!!!!!

I get to play with this today... as well as the one in the background, hidden near where I put the "asb" mark.

Synthacon revisited

Some of you may recall that I posted a pic of a Synthacon that was here last March.

Here it is post-restoration:

Getting Jiggy With Synthfool #9: Match Game

This little setup enables me to match resistors, with the end goal of making Minimoog oscillator boards happier! :)

Getting Jiggy With Synthfool #8: Air Cooled Dummy Load

An oldie but a goodie:




This is used to run an amp at full power while monitoring it on a scope.
Produces 4 ohms or 8 ohms using 4 8ohm 100 watt resistors that have a fan attached to them.
Teflon wire was used to make this durable, and it's stood the test of time quite well!

Getting Jiggy with Synthfool #7: OTA/AMP Tester

Made from one of our buffer board clones, this little tester works with the Amerel power supply to test LM3080's and single opams.






It features a special socket for easier insertion and removal of opamps, and it is a very quick and simple way of testing opamps.

Another Buchla video...

The second part of the Buchla video my other half put up on YouTube.

Getting Jiggy with Synthfool #6: "Fluffy"

I decided to name this special power cord after the 3-headed dog in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.



This power plug has all 3 common power plugs found in synths: Roland/Korg, Oberheim SEM/Arp 2600/Steiner Parker, and IEC-Style (standard).
This was made out of the frustration of having to hunt around for the right power cord.

BUCHLA!!!!

Click here for a Buchla 100 modular video on YouTube, courtesy of my husband. :)

Getting Jiggy With Synthfool: #3: Resistor Substitution Box

This is a very sturdy and very accurate resistor substiution box that was made after Synthfool was sick of fixing his old, standard resistor substitution wheel.
It features a die cast aluminium chassis with all aluminium Alco knobs found on Emu modulars.
It features .1% Holco resistors
All the switches have doubled up contacts.

Inside the Portable VCO

A couple pics of the inside of the Portable VCO:

New Photo Series: Getting Jiggy With Synthfool: #1: VCO 2 GO

Hello!

I'm starting a new photo series on this blog, and the content won't be found anywhere else. :)

My husband's made a wide variety of his own test equipment and such over the years. We've finally decided to document them, and he's given me permission to post them on my blog. :)

This is one of my favorites: The Portable VCO






This is a battery operated, CEM-based VCO that could very easily fit in a pocket.

The VCO uses a 9 volt battery to power a circuit that uses a CEM3340.
It is very stable and tracks extremely well.
It features both 1/8" and 1/4" jacks for CV in and Audio out.

Digital Waveform Oscillator video

Something cool my husband's been working on: