Thursday, 21 January 2016

ARP 2500 DIY cabinet

Some more pics from the mysterious Japanese ARP2500 DIY cabinet.
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/arp-2500-nlc.html


Andrew of  NLCs is working on some of the modules.
They will eventually be reunited. For the moment I thought it would be good to document the case in its current state.
Before this system arrived we had no idea what to expect.
Five of the DIY modules are just a panel with no PCB behind.

So far Andrew has identified (from right to left):
1.  Reverb (extreme right) - the one with the big black dial.
2. Matrix mixer ??
3. DIY module - dunno - so far a mystery (3rd from the right)
4. Fixed Bandpass Filter (4th from the right)
5.  Clock (5th from the right) - this one uses numitrons.
6. Empty module A - just a faceplate with 20 pots & 8 sockets
7. Empty Module B - faceplate with 22 pots & 10 sockets
8. Empty Module C - Current meter
9. Empty Module D -  faceplate with 26 pots & a simple meter.
10.  ??
11. Empty Double Module - 39 pots, 25 switches, 3 lamps.


6.  Empty module A
     Twenty pots & Eight 3.5mm sockets

     Wonder what it was intended to be?


7. Empty Module B - faceplate with 22 pots & 10 sockets.



8. Empty Module C - Current meter




9. Empty Module D -  faceplate with 26 pots & a simple meter.





10. Empty Double Module - 39 pots, 25 switches, 3 lamps. 
      This is a monster of a module.
      I wonder  what it was intended to be.
      The pots seem fine, though most of the switches are Kaput.



If you the viewers have any suggestions as to what to turn these empty modules into please let me know.
This is going to be a long term labor of love.

Saturday, 16 January 2016

Korg Volca Beats - A Modding, Circuit bending & Hackers Guide

The Korg Volca Beats is an awesome drum machine which can only be made better with the help
of some mods and a bit of hacking. There are quite a few mods out there already so we (Cobramatic & I)
decided to have a go at ours. I'd particularly like to thank Instructables & Darren Glen.
I've placed links to all theirs ideas at the bottom of this post.

Disclaimer

The actions described in this post will void your warranty and may damage your equipment. I take no responsibility for your soldering ability or actions.


This blog posting covers the obvious improvements like the snare, adding midi & getting individual outs for each voice.Plus there is a bit of circuit bending. If you have discovered any new mods please let me know.
I'd be happy to put a link to your page in this post.
First remove the battery compartment, then detach the two PCBs from one another.

This is the top PCB board.
Notice the rather tiny SMD components.
You will need a magnifier, a good light and as fine a point tip as you can find, as well as very thin solder. 
The mods are in the lower right corner.

Of course just opening this box will void your warranty. So only do this if you are confident you can solder onto SMD components.
This is a closeup of the first mod. It's replacing a missing capacitor.
This involves soldering a capacitor across these two points. I chose to solder leads first then attach the cap.
I used a 104 ceramic. ... 0.1 uF (5mm pitch)
Once you have done this it's a good idea to secure the leads with electrical tape or glue stick to the board. I found this out the hard way as after I was done I decided to try my hand at a bit of circuit bending and in doing so inadvertently undid all my work.

And a good bottle of Red will do wonders if you need extra help to steady your nerves.
Today I'm using a Taylors Red. This is a lovely 2001 drop from the Clare Valley of South Australia.
http://www.taylorswines.com.au/

Thus the second mod point was tried. This involves soldering a capacitor across a resistor.

I wanted to test if varying the capacitor size would affect the sound. Yes it does !!!
The interesting ones were 105 & 104s.
My idea was to use a SPDT switch to access both sounds.
From another angle.
At this point secure your leads with tape or glue.
Don't do as I did and leave them to float.
All these tests will put strain on your solder joints and lead to tears.
To make matters worse when the second mod failed the solder came off along with a resistor which now meant I have to replace both caps and at least one resistor.  :-(

This is what I should have done from the beginning. Glue stick rules !!
These accidents happen for a reason. In accidently removing the resistor we were forced to test replacements. I decided to replace the 1k SMD resistor with a 100k linear pot.
Now its time to drill holes into the front panel and install switches, pots and the midi out socket.

This is the ideal drill for that midi socket. It reminds me of the "Mole" from Thunderbirds.

The panel is quite strange. It's metal over plastic
.Nice!

Next the Midi out jack:
Just 3 connections are required. These are labeled VD, GND and TX.
 This gives a 16 step sequencer, which can trigger 10 sounds over MIDI, with adjustable tempo.
This pic is from Paul's drum which has a different mod - more circuit bending. However, the midi connections are no different from mine.

Next individual drum outs


Paul's mod is slightly different to mine and uses switches rather than pots to allow quicker swapping between sounds.
Useful Links.
+ Instructables
+ Darren Glen - Snare Mod hack
+ Circuit Surgeon
+ Utopian Labs - Midi Mod
+ Muffs - Cobramatic lament  - My Mod BLEW UP!!!! – Please give me some love (A Novel)
+ Muffs - Volca Skiff
+ Muffs - Volca beats PSU for Euro
+ Muffs - Volca BeatsE

Thursday, 14 January 2016

Buchla-Volca Bass

Published on Jan 14, 2016

This vid is a unedited take. The sounds are just from the hacked Volca.
I'ts not a TB303 but it's not too shabby either,,... esp considering its price.

The 208 is syncing the volca, and also provides its power.
I'm not finished modding this .. the box is too small so I will prob end up putting this into a bigger case.

Here is more information on the volca bass hack:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2016...

Buchla 100 at the Library of congress

Great post on the legendary Buchla 100.
It now resides at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
I reckon this should really be on display at the Smithsonian. 
It's music room in the American History section in shows classical European instruments for some reason.

http://blogs.loc.gov/music/2016/01/unboxing-the-buchla-model-100/?loclr=eapab

This is actually not the "original" commissioned system.
That system is at Mills college in Oakland, Ca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOV2v3xQm0
It was originally at the San Francisco Tape Music Centre).

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

The Hattersley Loom - NZ - a early sequencer

On a recent trip to New Zealand I came across a ancient loom that is still in use today.
It's job is to weave textiles for use in the burgeoning film industry of New Zealand.
The firm running this mill (Stansborough) is currently making textiles for the "Lord of the Rings" & "The Hobbit" films.
This loom dates from the 1800s and gives the textiles that magic for the movies.

What interested me was the method used to program patterns. Electronic music (and music in general) relies on pattern creation whether they are drum sequences, or melodies.
Weaving patterns into textiles really isn't any different.

These wooden bars with rings are a 19th century sequencer. I could probably put these patterns into a midi sequencer and "play" the garment.
I didn't have time on this visit but maybe in the future.


The Hattersley loom was developed by George Hattersley and Sons of Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. The company had been started by Richard Hattersley in 1784.
Originally, the company made nuts & bolts, but after 1834 when Richard's son, George joined the business, they started production of looms.


The very first loom was smashed by a group of "Luddites" - revolutionary hand loom weavers - fearful of loosing their jobs. (Nothing has changed today).
This didn't stop George. His company soon went into full scale production and continued to manufacture loops for the next 100 years.


Stansborough organise tours of the factory. You can book online:
www.stansborough.co.nz



This is an amazing piece of machinery.

More sequencers:





For more travel postcards click here: