In a perfect world my synthesizer would be an original Buchla 200. Those things are unfortunately rare and expensive, two things that would seem to keep me from living in my perfect world.

Thankfully there are clones!
281; Quad Function Generator
292; Quad Dynamics Manager

The originals:



I finally finished wiring up the 281 today, and I've had the 292 done for months. Original testing reveals flaws on both, so it's nice to know they weren't going to do something stupid like work right away.

http://justinchrismeyers.com

DONE!!









Absolutely everything is wired up, the power supply and all. The QFG makes no sound and that will require some work after I take a long mental break from the building side of this. The Random Gates never worked; Jason and I tried a dozen different things with it and nothing. We were not the only ones that had trouble with that specific circuit. Fortunately it wasn't a feature I was all that excited about using anyhow.

Look at that; two years and it's finished!! If I had it to do over again I'd do some things differently, but I'm extremely happy with it. I plan to use this for years to come.

...now the modular side. Hopefully that won't take two years.

Planned dual 3U Voltage Controlled Filter module.

Multimode Triple Tapped Filter; Threeler VCF from Ian Fritz, MS-20ish.
Switched Capacitor Filter; Bi-N-Tic VCF/VCO from Ken Stone.

Both of these are far from typical filters. I was hoping to fit both the CGS Serge and Synthacon VCF's on the panel instead of the Bi-N-Tic, but I'm very happy with this layout instead.

Click for high resolution.

An artists rendition (mine) of the modular side of the TF50. It will sit in an identical case (32"x24" of modular space), but will have wood rails to use individual modules instead. Most of this is built or almost built. Some of it is just plans. There is still 10U worth of space left for some filters and maybe 2 more VCO's.

From left to right / top to bottom:
Voltage Controlled Slopes; Dual Serge VCS Clone. One completely built, but the panel I'm not happy with. To maximize space I will build another for a Dual Unit.
Quad Function Generator; A Buchla 281 Clone, two boards built, two left.
Through Zero Oscillators; Dual Teezer, planned.
Low Frequency Oscillators; 4 CGS Utility LFO's, built but not wired to panel.
Chaos Generator / Quadrature Oscillator; Ian Fritz ChaQuo. Built!
Quad Dynamics Manager; Buchla Low Pass Gates Clone, built without resonance.
Voltage Controlled Amplifiers; 4 CGS VCA's, 1 Dual MFOS VCA. MFOS board built. No panel yet.
Wave Multiplier / Analog Shift Register; Built!
Input / Output Interface; Blacet I/O with Banana to 1/4" jacks and ground. Built!
Eight Stage Programmer / Sequencer; CGS Programmer, planned.
Matrix Mixer; CGS Matrix Mixer, needs wiring.
Passive Attenuators; planned.

That includes 10 VCA's, 4 VCO's, & 6 Envelope Generators!!

The case is shaping up. My father is a master woodworker so I knew he could do this.

We got the bottom part constructed, all I need to do is sand and stain it before everything can be mounted. I'm not looking forward to the sanding.





There will also be a top with 2 inches of clearance so I can keep patches. That should save money on cables since my cat Wolf Blitzer loves ruining those for me.

The drafting plans done by my father:


We will also make an exact copy for the truly modular synth that goes with this one!

With the gracious help of my friend Jason Power I've built my own Modular Synthesizer. Jason built most of the boards, did most of the wiring, and cut his hand drilling through this THICK panel. With his help I eventually learned how to do all of this myself. I am endlessly grateful. Please check out his music, Slapping Purses. If you ever wondered what an Afrika Bambaataa record would sound like run through some homemade distortion pedals, now you can find out.



Included on this panel is:
MFOS 16 Step Sequencer
MFOS Dual VCA
MFOS ADSR Envelope Geneartor
MFOS VCOS x 3
MFOS Noise Source
Magic Smoke Mankato Filter
Thomas Henry Quadrature Function Generator
CGS Real Ring Modulator

The panel was screen printed and designed by me. It's 32"x 21", A bottom panel with the power supply, CGS Pulse Divider, and dual Fonitronik Panner.



I'll be using this page to give updates on this synth, new builds, and panel designs.