FatMan - wonderful, but costs money...

[David Halliday]

I would second this - even if you are able to scrounge basic parts like
resistors and capacitors, there are still specific things that must be used
and are hard to find.  Variable resistors, knobs, chassis boxes, jacks and
plugs - this sort of stuff adds up pretty quickly especially when you are
considering that a basic synth module may require ten of something.


When a company like Paia manufactures something, they buy their parts in
quantities of several thousand.  Because if this, they are able to go
directly to a wholesaler instead of being forced to go to a retailer.  Their
prices for these parts is significantly lower.

I think that if you price out what goes in a FatMan and compare it with what
it would cost for you to actually go out and buy the same parts, I think
that you would find the Paia kit to be cheaper.

Because of the precision of some of the circuitry, some parts simply cannot
be substituted.  You may have a great lead on some opamps but there is a
specific reason why there are so many models of opamp made and if you try to
use one when anther unit was called for, you will have nothing but problems.

Finally, it is quite possible to make a circuit that will make noise with
just a few components but if you are wanting to make music with this, you
will need to have some way of accurately controlling it, of making sure that
the control doesn't drift a few notes as the room temperature changes or as
the battery ages, all of this circuitry takes more than just a few
components and requires a fair degree of precision.


I am not trying to say: "No, don't do this", I am only trying to let you
know that you cannot get FatMan ( or MOOG 55 ) performance from a handful of
parts and that you should be prepared for this so you will not become
frustrated and discouraged.

Best of luck!





From: Andrew Schrock <aschrock at cs.brandeis.edu>
To: WahwaH <vip at takas.lt>
Cc: <synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl>
Sent: Friday, June 04, 1999 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: FatMan - wonderful, but costs money...


> On Fri, 4 Jun 1999, WahwaH wrote:
> >       Few days ago I asked a question about the simplest circuit to
> >       generate a sound. Thank you all who replied to me with your
> >       suggestions.
> >
> >       Rory Mc Donald offered me to check out PAiA and FatMan.
> >       Oh yea... It is great and a good thing to start at. But it costs
> >       too much for me. I know, I know how much "already built" synths
> >       cost. FatMan's price is really reasonable, but still for me, a
> >       student with almost no income, it's not the right thing. That's
> >       why I'm looking for a cheap alternative.
>
> If the fatman is too cheap for you, you might want to reconsider exactly
> how much you want to get into synth-DIY. On top of any kit price, the very
> basic tools for assembly such as a soldering iron, solder, solder wick,
> pliers, diagonal cutters, and a simple DMM cost $100+. (the '+' goes waaay
> up) Not to disillusion you, but the initial investment needs to be made if
> you're going to be constructing anything that won't frustrate the hell out
> of you.
>
> I used a shitty radio shack soldering iron for a few months when I started
> building my asm-1(s). On top of that I was a neophyte.. Anybody remember
> that? I really bitched my head off over that project, I guess it was my
> first after the fatman. I now think it had to have been my shorting out
> components that was giving me so much trouble... and the tips on that
> blasted iron would burn out every few days (pretty much literally).
>
> (but I did rewire my ASM-1 for a new housing 6 months ago, and it took me
> about an hour from memory with no mistakes :) )
>
> >       Isn't there a synth, schematics of which are available for free
> >       and which includes documentation on how to get started?
> >
> >       What would you offer me as a cheap alternative to build my own
> >       synth???
>
> I'll tell you what: I have a tomg mad mouse PC board. The PCB cost me $25
> I think, I'll sell it to you for exactly that. (shipping included, even)
> There's a parts list, wiring diagram, instructions, and circuit diagram
> included. Parts will cost you $50 or so, you can even call into mouser
> (www.mouser.com) and order one of the packages Tom has set up with them!
> No guesswork at all.
>
> This will _definitely_ make noises, and has a filter and everything you'd
> find in one of the big boys synths. (no midi, tho, but it'll make noises
> anyways!) Info is at http://www.mindspring.com/~vco/madm/title.html
>
> I'm only selling it because I'm much more into modular gear now, I already
> have 3 tomg VCO-4 boards to stuff and I don't think I'll ever get to
> construct it. Email me personally. (if Vytis decides he doesn't want it,
> I'll sell it to the next person who emails me..)
>
> Andrew
>
> -| Andrew Schrock | aschrock at cs.brandeis.edu |-
>
>
>
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