Building a DIY Synth Kit | Tutorial

Regulars to the channel might have noticed that I haven't posted new content for a while. That's because I've been working on this 90-minute long behemoth for what seems like forever. But this is a video I've wanted to make for a long time, so I'm glad it is finally out there.

DIY is everywhere, and building DIY synth modules are a great way to expand your collection without breaking the bank. There is the joy of doing it yourself, and the satisfaction of recording or performing with a tool that you made.

But no one is born knowing how to solder or how the polarity works on an electrolytic capacitor. And building your own electronics requires that knowledge, and many other tidbits as well. And so I created a video showing how to put together a DIY synth module from the ground up. I chose the Craig Lee Euclidean Sequencer module in the 4U format, because I wanted a complex project that required both through hole analog work as well as digital circuitry. You even have to download source code, compile it, and upload it to the onboard Arduino for this module, and I go through every step.

This video is extremely long, and if you are a beginner, it might be good to watch once all the way through as an overview. But I consider this more of a reference video. As a result, there are chapters all the way through breaking the process down into many steps. I would be quite gratified if someone were working on a project, forgot what ferrite beads were for, then went to this video and looked up that topic (they actually act as low pass filters for power supplies, to try to keep noise out of sensitive circuits).

Of course I didn't hit every possible circumstance - for example, there is no surface mount soldering in this kit, but nevertheless there is a lot here. If I got something wrong, or you have a different take on a particular topic, please add to the conversation (nicely!) in the comments section.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:47 Tools of the trade
10:27 PCBs, panels and kits
10:59 Sourcing Components
11:43 Anatomy of a kit
12:51 Preparing your soldering iron
13:43 Soldering temperature
14:42 Schematics and BOMs
15:25 Silk Screening on the PCB
15:59 Order to stuff components
16:51 Stuffing & Soldering Resistors
17:31 Checking resistance on a multimeter
18:38 Stuffing components
20:39 Soldering the first components
22:03 Clipping the leads
22:51 Soldering more resistors
24:32 Fixing a component that is lifted from the PCB
25:11 Checking off the BOM
25:49 The lead bending tool
27:05 Finishing up the resistors
27:30 Diodes
29:04 Ferrite beads
30:19 Soldering IC sockets
34:43 Fitting the Arduino to the PCB
38:09 Capacitors
38:44 Bypass caps
39:23 Film caps
40:47 Small ceramic caps
41:00 Film caps
41:19 Electrolytic caps and polarization
43:21 Voltage regulators
44:26 Power connector
44:56 Confirming power orientation
45:50 MIDI port wires
47:30 Cleaning the flux off the PCB
51:38 Connecting the PCBs
56:28 The front panel and LED matrix
57:22 Gluing plexiglass to the front panel
59:12 Attaching components to the front panel
01:00:08 Banana Jacks
01:00:50 Attaching the MIDI port
01:01:08 Attaching the switch
01:02:09 Digital encoders
01:03:37 Test fitting the pieces
01:04:04 Soldering the Arduino
01:07:38 Putting the IC's in the sockets
01:10:42 IC with a bent pin
01:11:56 Attaching the heat sink
01:13:09 Pre-powerup voltage discussion
01:14:18 Initial powerup test
01:14:55 IC Voltage tests
01:16:25 The Arduino
01:17:20 Downloading and prepping the source code
01:18:04 Downloading the Arduino IDE
01:18:26 Adding libraries to the Arduino IDE
01:19:08 The fiddliness of the Arduino IDE
01:20:17 Compiling and uploading to the Arduino
01:21:04 Testing the board post upload
01:21:28 Final connection of the panels
01:22:11 Wiring the banana jacks
01:23:33 Wiring the switch
01:23:59 Holding the PCBs together
01:24:44 Wiring the MIDI port
01:25:27 Installing the knobs
01:26:00 Playing the Euclidean Sequencer
01:29:06 Outro

Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music.

http://www.underthebigtree.com