A few MM boards

[Nicholas Thompson]

Hi everyone,

tomg wrote:
> I had maybe 6 left over from the first run, I was just going to keep
> them but one by one they have all gone to new homes. I picked
> up the over-run and now have 12 more to sell. They are $20 ea.
> shipping included, no-sticker ,get your docs on line. First come
> get 'em. If you asked for one here is your chance.

Some people were asking about a way to get into this synth building thing.

The Mad Mouse is a great way in.

It was the first electronic thing I've ever made and it sounds really
wonderful, so if you've been thinking about getting into building, this is a
great chance.  My mouse cost just under $100, but you can build them for
less if you use a cheaper enclosure:

Parts (from mouser): $47
Board from tom:      $25
Box and knobs from
radio shack:         $25

I chose quite an expensive "console" type box from Radio Shack because it
had two aluminum panels (one on the sloping top surface to mount the pots
and knobs and switches, a smaller panel on the rear for the connectors.
Metal is a lot easier to work with than plastic, and it's easy to drill and
mark out, plastic seems to tear up and it looks a little grungy (of course
I'm probably using the wrong tools).

I really wanted the Mouse to look like something out of Dr Who (when I was a
kid this was my favorite show - in the UK this was on at about 5pm on
saturdays, I remember yawning my way though the interminable soccer scores
on Grandstand just so I could get frightened out of my wits by Daleks, giant
maggots, swamp things and weird men in silver suits.  Dr Who was the
complete antithesis of Star Trek - it just assumed that everything/one was
evil - and the Doctor and his cute assistant - was there to save us all.

The really cool thing about it - apart form the cheesy sets and cool gadgets
like the sonic screwdriver - was the music by the BBC radio phonic workshop.
I'm really convinced that the reason electronic music is so popular in the
UK is down to Dr Who.  But I digress :)  In any case I'm pleased to say that
my mouse would not look out of place in the Tardis.

It took me about 16 hours to build the board but this included me learning
how to solder properly, I started with the resistors, then the jumper wires,
then sockets for the ics, then the caps, transistors and everything else.
Another 10 hours to drill the panels, mount the pots and switches and jacks.
I wired up one of the pots wrong but that is fixed (thanks a million to Tom
for helping to fix this) and I am super pleased with the results.

In terms of uses: so far it's been great for bass stuff - you can get really
fat sounds by just detuning the second oscillator.  The only mod it had done
so far was the heater board and everything has been really stable and in
tune.  It's great for weird blips and other sounds, and with effects it
sound awesome for lead stuff too.  My other stuff includes a JP8000, and
SH09, a Juno 60, and a raveolution, and the mouse fits in because it sounds
different, and when you mess with the knobs on a sequence it just sounds
great!!!

This is a awesome little synth, and it's got me hooked on this synth
building thing, so pick these boards up while you can.

Regards

Nick

-------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Thompson,                      MacOs Release Engineering
Apple Computer Inc, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA