[sdiy] hello, I'm back.

[Metrophage]

--- john mahoney <jmahoney at gate.net> wrote:
> A common answer to "What synth should I build?" is the PAiA FatMan,

I have a Paia FatMan synth... I don't really recommend it. I was
playing a few parties a couple of years ago and two kids there were
improvising with a Yamaha "groovebox", a portable CD player, and some
effects. Talking with one of the guys, he told me that what he wanted
to play was a small semi-modular synth. I told him that I noticed a
FatMan amongst their gear, and asked for opinions about it. The d00d
told me that he was a horrible solderer, made lots of mistakes, and
that the MIDI did not work- it could only drone.

A few parties later he offered the synth to me, I offered to fix it for
him, but he suggested I keep it, which I thought was quite nics. I
fixed the rats-nest wiring, resoldered a few cold joints, clipped off
extra wire, cleaned the PCB, redid and organized the panel wiring. Same
deal when I started the unit, no MIDI. Audio signals worked fine, the
digital chips all had voltage and appeared to be doing their thing. So
I focused on the MIDI section; I replaced the 6n138 opto-isolator and
then it worked just fine.

What I don't like about it is that for some reason I just really
disliked the VCO sound. Reminded me of a hideous-sounding VCO I tried
to make with a 566 function generator ic, no character. I don't
remember much else about it, as it is at my parents house now. If you
want to try a Paia kit I recommend the Theremax, which is a
well-thought out circuit, and sounds great.

Then again, with its simplicity, there might be things one can do to
make a FatMan more fun. Some of Scotts mods sound quite fascinating in
the abstract.


	
		
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