The finished build. See the process below!
This is a fully analog, semi-modular synthesizer built from the Ray Wilson designs found at musicfromouterspace.com. The PCB and front panels were ordered from MFOS as well.
Before this project, I had never attempted anything involving analog circuitry, and studied for several months before making the decision to try and build this synthesizer. I had tons of help from a couple of friends with EE degrees, which was an absolute necessity for completing it. Enjoy!
- MFOS Ultimate documentation
- MFOS Ultimate Expander documentation
- Make: Analog Synthesizers by Ray Wilson
The Cabinet
The faceplates from musicfromouterspace.com.
I drew up a simple cabinet design on graphing paper, to get my head wrapped around the required dimensions to fit everything into one unit.
My dad and I got together one Saturday and built the cabinet.
The cabinet material is 3/4” birch plywood.
Finished cabinet construction; checking the panel area to confirm fit.
Front Panel Assembly
As I started to go through the parts for the front panel, I realized I had ordered the incorrect banana jacks (these stick out way too far). I put them on to see if I could live with it. I couldn’t…
The completed front panel with the correct banana jacks installed.
Cabinet staining finished.
PCB Build
Populating the MFOS Ultimate PCB.
Completed PCB (with the exception of two bi-polar caps that I was waiting on in the mail).
Matched pair of 2N3904 transistors and 2K Metal Film Tempco with thermal compound. This is one of the linear-to-exponential converters of the 3 VCOs, which allows the VCOs to be calibrated to 1 volt per octave.
Aluminum L-channel was used to mount the PCB to the front panel.
Wiring
Intra-panel wiring.
Wiring the front panel to the PCB.
Completed wiring (yet to be fully organized).
First Power-On & Testing
1st time powering the MFOS Ultimate up!
First tests.
Testing the sample & hold.
My work station. Prepping to calibrate the VCOs.
The MFOS Ultimate is complete. Now, on to the expander.
The Expander
Expander PCB populated.
Expander PCB mounted to the Expander’s front panel. Intra-panel wiring completed.
Panel wiring to PCB completed for the MFOS Expander.
Power Supply & Final Assembly
1.5 amp bi-polar adjustable 12V power supply. Kit from musicfromouterspace.com.
The MFOS Ultimate, Expander, and power supply all mounted inside the cabinet.
The finished product!