[sdiy] "obsolete" 2N3906

[Paul Maddox]

JH,

> Remember, everything a musician likes about an instrument
> is based on technical features in the end.

oooo, no no no no....
Musicians want something that sounds good, not something that looks good on
paper!

> Bigger instrument - larger distance between circuit
> parts - less chance of VCOs to interlock because of
> electric or magnetic fields.

good one, though if properly designed this shouldn't be an issue.

> Bigger instrument - less problem with power consumption
> (heat!) - allows use of low noise and no-crossover-
> distortion class A circuits

You can still do this with surface mount, or did I miss something?
I mean, we're talking power amps here just VCAs, VCFs, etc.

> And while we're at it: PSU can be linear and oversized
> insteadof switched or linear&undersized. => less noise from
> PSU

agreed, but this doesn't say much about surface mount Vs Thru hole.
I've seen switch modes made from through hole..

> Also, high quality capacitors are rather big. This doesn't mean
> that a large instrument must automatically contain the best
> components, but it means that in the smaller instrument there
> isn't even _room_ for the better ones!

this is true, but Im sure these will come with time..
You can already get some good Non-polarized SMD caps upto around 22uF.

> And don't forget that one: If someone claims the small version
> "contains the same circuit as the big version", this isn't
> always true. For example, if the Alesis A6 with its highly
> integrated circuits doesn't sound like a big Moog module, it
> might not just be the same circuit downsized, but it might be
> an entirely different circuit

What is the sound of a moog module?
I mean, I've seen clones of moog VCFs (and heard many many of them) and they
all sound slightly different, the sound is very subjective..

> So, there are good reasons to "go big", if you can afford it!
> (And there are other good reasons for going small, too. (;->) )


space being one of the biggest, build a polysynth, oh and fit in a 3U rack
:-)
Its hardwork, if you stick by all your rules (big caps/space between
oscillators/etc) you simply wont do it..
A compromise is inevitable.

Paul