[sdiy] first synth?

[jhaible at t-online.de]

> --- l'es chupacabra <chupacba at tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> > Have you tried MOTM
> > (http://www.synthtech.com/motm/)?  Outstanding step
> > by
> > step instructions - and excellent products!
> 
> I did not mean to sound critical of anything else. In
> fact, I have not tried MOTM, so, if their manuals are
> like paia/heathkit, I stand corrected. 

The MOTM manuals are the best I've ever seen. 
I have recently built a MOTM-300 VCO (one of the designs
on which I had *no* influence, so I can praise it
without second thoughts), and it's increadible how much
thought Paul Schreiber has put into these kits to make
it easy for the newbie and still obtaining highest quality.
For instance, every piece of shielded cable is trimmed to
the right lenght, shield and inner wire separated and tinned,
ready to put into the pcb and solder them. And there are
cable ties included, and holes inside the pcb to fix
the cables with the ties. And many such little details
that make building easier.
There is a description for every tiny step in the manual,
with checkboxes and even suggestions to take a rest at
the right moment (;->). Seriously, it's great fun even
for an "old timer" like me to build a ready made kit like
this from time to time.
Normally, you would expect the "cheap" circuits / kits were
the easiest to build for beginners, but this is very untrue.
I highly recommend to go for the quality stuff (read: MOTM)
*especially* when you're a beginner. If you start something,
you want it to last, and to get some satisfaction.

It's true, when I started building electronic music circuits
22 years ago, I started *very* cheap. But while it was fun,
it didn't last. I mean, who wants to play with naked pcbs
or circuits wrapped in tupperware boxes (like I did) after
a few months ? So if you can afford a decently packaged
synthesizer system at all, invest in quality from the beginning.

JH.