[sdiy] Great DIY polysynths
Rutger Vlek
rutgervlek at gmail.com
Sat Aug 8 10:58:22 CEST 2026
Oh that's a very good lesson. I was just wondering what to do with an old
monosynth I built years ago, and consider taking it apart. After hearing
your regrets I might not...
It' the one on the top picture (it was never a commercial product, only the
eurorack modules were):
https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2015/12/28/new-dutch-synthesizer-boutique-river-creative-technology/
I remember building it, not feeling very convinced about my own skills in
electronics, and deciding to stay safe by using Oakley sound modules for
the main audio path and building the supporting functions from PCBs etched
in my shared student-house kitchen. There's a gigantic ratsnest of wires
inside to connect all modules and the entire patch panel. The keyboard is
the cheapest I could find.
I still feel grateful to Tony from Oakley for all the support in learning
synth DIY. Over the last years I've been working on redesigning a new
'Ocean' with my own circuits from the ground up. Planning to share the
designs when they're sufficiently debugged and sounding good.
Best,
Rutger
Op vr 7 aug 2026, 20:33 schreef Chris McDowell via Synth-diy <
synth-diy at synth-diy.org>:
> Same here Roman, I took 'em all apart for no good reason.
>
> First and second polysynths though:
>
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
>
> > On Aug 7, 2026, at 11:50 AM, Roman Sowa via Synth-diy <
> synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
> > Too bad I can't show you my first synth. Or 2nd either.
> > I destroyed them, not thinking it's something an older me would love to
> have. :(
> >
> > Roman
> >
> > W dniu 2026-08-07 o 16:17, Benjamin Tremblay pisze:
> >> Ummm I’m not going to describe my first synths. I was 16.
> >> Benjamin Tremblay
> >>>> On Aug 7, 2026, at 10:06 AM, Jacob Watters via Synth-diy <
> synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> For my first synth, I literally just stuck an old EQ front panel into
> it and reused all the pots in my own circuits. It's not pretty, but it got
> the job done.
> >>> https://www.jacobwatters.com/images/synth/synth1.jpg <
> https://www.jacobwatters.com/images/synth/synth1.jpg>
> >>> *Jacob Watters*
> >>> JacobWatters.com <http://jacobwatters.com/>
> >>>> On Fri, Aug 7, 2026 at 7:37 AM Roman Sowa via Synth-diy <
> synth-diy at synth-diy.org <mailto:synth-diy at synth-diy.org>> wrote:
> >>> My first DIY modules had marking printed on paper, sprayed with
> >>> transparent acrylic paint and glued to (mostly) aluminium panels.
> >>> Still looks good today, reaching about 25 years.
> >>> http://sowa.synth.net/modular/index.html
> >>> <http://sowa.synth.net/modular/index.html>
> >>> And my polysynth made a decade earlier didn't have any markings at
> >>> all!
> >>> Just beautfull color spray painted all over the steel plate panel.
> It
> >>> didn't actually need any marking, because all controll was done by
> >>> up/down & left/right arrows with 1x40 LCD. Kind of like the synth
> >>> vibe
> >>> was in early 90's
> >>> Roman
> >>> W dniu 2026-08-06 o 22:33, Oren Leavitt via Synth-diy pisze:
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> > On 8/6/26 11:47 AM, Mike Bryant wrote:
> >>> >> Actually comparing a lot of modern DIY stuff with 1960s/70s
> >>> electronics,
> >>> >> I think I know which looks a lot more 'homemade' 😄
> >>> >
> >>> > When I built my first modular synth, I made front panels from
> >>> sheets of
> >>> > Masonite. I spray painted them white, applied labeling, dial
> >>> ticks, and
> >>> > other art with a fine ink pen with the aid of rulers or stencils.
> >>> > Applied a top coat of Krylon to seal it all in. Came out pretty
> >>> nice.
> >>> >
> >>> > One of several pictures of it on my Flickr:
> >>> > https://flic.kr/p/2stGyzF <https://flic.kr/p/2stGyzF>
> >>> >>
> >>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> >> *From:* Synth-diy <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org
> >>> <mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org>> on behalf of John
> >>> >> via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> >>> <mailto:synth-diy at synth-diy.org>>
> >>> >> *Sent:* 06 August 2026 17:07
> >>> >> *To:* SDIY List <synth-diy at synth-diy.org
> >>> <mailto:synth-diy at synth-diy.org>>
> >>> >> *Subject:* Re: [sdiy] Great DIY polysynths
> >>> >> On Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:20:09 +0000
> >>> >> "Chromatest J. Pantsmaker via Synth-diy"
> >>> <synth-diy at synth-diy.org <mailto:synth-diy at synth-diy.org>>
> >>> >> wrote:
> >>> >>
> >>> >>> Your complaint is that the labels are on printed material
> >>> instead of
> >>> >>> silk screen? Really?
> >>> >>
> >>> >> "This DIY synthesizer being discussed on the synth-DIY mailing
> list
> >>> >> looks distinctly DIY, what's up with that!?"
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