[sdiy] new guy - how did you start

[James Patchell]

Difficult to say why....bat as to when....

I built, or attempted to build, my first electronic musical instrument in 
1967, or there abouts, from a circuit in "The boys third book of radio 
electronics" by Alfred Morgan.  It had a one octave range, or would have, 
if it had worked.  I was in the 8th grade at the time, and barely knew 
which end of the soldering iron to hold.

Anyway, things progressed from there.  I built a little organ using a 
Unijunction transistor to do basically the same as above..., but it wasn't 
until 1973 when John Simonton published the article in Radio Electronics 
for building the Paia 2720 synthesizer that things really began to roll.  I 
was in my second year of college, I think, going for my EE, at the time.  I 
sure had a lot of fun with those circuits, but because I was a poor (as in 
not wealthy :-), they were pretty Klugey...I still have those modules, or, 
at least, most of them.  There are pictures of at least one of them 
somewhere on my website....

http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/pictures/seqfront.jpg

http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/pictures/seqside.jpg

Yeah, thats them.... :-) I built that in 1974 from scrap parts for the most 
part....(it is a digital sequencer, it had a 256 x 4 ram....)

as compared to my latest project:

http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/synthmodulesII/back.jpg

http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/synthmodulesII/frontpanel.jpg



At 09:54 PM 2/8/2004 -0600, wood wrote:
>hey everybody, i have been on the list for a several weeks now and have 
>enjoyed all the information so far. although alot of it is way over my 
>head, i think this forum is right up my alley, as they say. what i would 
>like to know from you all is... how did you get into this?  what made you 
>decide to start making your own music machines?  what was your fist diy 
>project? how did it work out for you ( did you bite off more than you 
>could chew, or was it a smooth operation)? what would you say, besides 
>sdiy, was the most important resource to you when you started (a book or 
>project or mentor) and what would you fine folks recomend as a good 
>beginner project. i know that is kind of alot, but i am curious.
>thanks for all the info thus far and for all you may provide in the future.
>
>Easy Data Music
><http://www.easydatamusic.com>www.easydatamusic.com

         -Jim
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I'm a man
But I can change
If I have to
I guess.

Man's Prayer
Red Green

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http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell

http://members.cox.net/patchell

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