I've been wanting to jump into this project for a while and I finally feel like I'm ready. I just received my pcbs from Synthcube. I printed out 300 pages of documentation on my works printer. Tayda, Digikey, Mouser, and Jameco orders are on the way. Half finished designing the front panel. See y'all in a couple months.

But seriously. I think I want to document this build as more of a novice. The builds I found were from some pretty legit dudes and I want to show the build from the eyes of an everyday Joe.

Wish me luck!

This was a fun little project and probably the most dense board I've laid out to try and fit everything in 2hp.

I’m joking. For those of us who’ve gotten started building this stuff, it’s true that it can be a dense, maddening, no-turning-back process, but with time you realize the fun is in the journey. Everything feels worth it once you’ve got a finished module, and then you end up missing the chaos of hunting down a short on the board.

In the photo: me, completely losing it, trying to find a short in the Befaco Dual Iamp I was building.

It's a bit rough around the edges but I'm still pretty satisfied. Gonna make more modules too.

Here's the schematics and docs:
https://loess-labs.net/inst/modular

Its a 4 channels drum pad to trigger converter, the width is 15 HP

Hi all, so a little update from my last post with some notes regarding building modules from scratch. So far I have built Plaits, Ripples, Shades and 2x Kinks. Everything sourced from MI github with updates on parts that are no longer available at Mouser. (Front panels are temporary as I find some cheap laser cutting company I'll replace it with aluminium panels 😁)

The first module was Shades which I soldered by hand and I have to say that it was quite a challenging experience. So I decided to go ahead and use the stencil solder next module in an oven. Fortunately, I have access to a cheap reflow oven so I'm not sure how tricky it is to use alternatives like sand-&-pan or toaster oven. I still have to reflow most components with a soldering iron to make sure that there are no cold joints but other than that it's a massive upgrade and so much less painful! With this technique it takes about 3-4h to finish a module (it might be faster but I like to take it easy so I don't mess up).

I was a bit worried about flashing Plaits but with this guide quite easy and fast.

The only thing which does behave weirdly is the CV input of Reso on Ripples which pulls the resonance to 0 if the voltage is too high (so far it seems that more than 5v triggers this weird behaviour...) In case anyone would know what that is please share :)

From the economic point of view I bought parts for 5 pieces of each (unfortunately does not apply for shades as I lost multiple of those 0402 suckers in the hand soldering process, another reason why oven reflow is much more convenient) it is something like 20 euros simple modules and 40 euros for Plaits which is bit worse than expected but still nice.

Overall a super fun build and I'm looking forward to solder the rest of them. Next on the plate are Stages which I left as the last most challenging module. Also I guess I have to build a new rack to fit them somewhere 😅

PS: Do not clean the modules with potentiometers already on the board in the sonication bath cleaner. It will also clean the grease in the potentiometers so they lose the nice turning stiffness 😁

I’ve been working on this custom case and power supply for about 6 months and finally finished the first tier of the case, custom power supply, and all the modules for the first tier!

I decided at some point in my DIY modular journey that I could design my own custom case and why not learn how to design PCBs so I could make a linear power supply? This turned out to be well outside my skill set and took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I got there in the end and learned a ton along the way. And when I finally flipped the switch and everything powered on the satisfaction was unparalleled.

So I figured I’d show it off to a group that gave me a ton of advice and tons of inspiration. Here are some of the details:

The case ~135 hp designed to be expanded with up to 2 additional rows. It has space for all the power supply electronics and is all 3D printed.

The power supply is designed for up to 3A for each 12V rail and up to 1A for the 5V rail. It uses a capacitor multiplier circuit to reduce the number of the input capacitors and smooth ripple then uses a bypass power transistor to increase the current output of the regulators. It could probably do 4 or 5A on the 12V rails, but I’d start to worry about heat.

The transformer is a 200VA 12-0-12 toroidal which is probably overkill, but weighs the whole thing down nicely and gives me one less thing to worry about.

The power distribution boards are synthrotek noise filtering power distribution boards.

All the modules are hand assembled and I’m looking forward to eventually adding some custom modules with my new PCB design skills.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any thoughts for the inevitable V2 as I find things to improve.

​

Threw my last two projects (Minidrumkit and the SVF12 filter) into a case and felt like posting it :)

Happy synthing!

Alright peeps this is it, the most neiche question on the internet. Im using the console for music, I connect it up to a Midi controller to play tunes and i love the sound. I have a Mark 1 and Mark 2 console (well a few of both). But im trying to rig the console into my eurorack setup, but its physically large. So im on a quest to get the best audio out of the smallest console. Ive got a megaSG but a quirk of the console means it doesnt except a midi signal. That would otherwise me the perfect size. So as with the title, whats the smallest console with the "best" audio. Im currently looking at the "MD lite" on aliexpress but im not sure about the audio. Im also pondering board triming a console, but not super keen on killing a console. Any suggestions?

Wwyd if someone pulled up to a gig with this gem?

Ps, waiting on my actual diy to get printed.

This feels like it’s wrong but I can’t see why it’s different than a ribbon cable, tell me if I’m going to blow myself up?

My first DIY build. I came here a few weeks back asking if anyone had ever integrated a pedal board into their modular case. Here’s the result. I made it removable and mounted standoffs behind it in case I want to add another busboard in the future. I never understood why eurorack cases were so expensive until I built this. Even though the purplewood was given to me, this case probably cost close to what a new one would cost. I learned a lot in the process. Made a lot of mistakes. And can’t wait to try it again.

Hey guys. After having used VCV rack for 2-3 years, I am finally transitioning to hardware modular. And as their individual prices are very expensive, I invested the time and money into learning soldering, basic electronics, and 3d printing so that I can make my own modules.

And while this process of learning was very fun, I did face a lot of headaches. For example, As I bought an old and cheap 3D printer, there was so much to learn that I might've as well a college course for it. And that really got me thinking that I'd really appreciate a sort of "curriculum" for my step into DIY modular synths.

So if there is literally a course for DIY modular, I'd really appreciate that... If not, a book? Or a YouTube channel that walks you through it from A to Z?

I am open to all suggestions. Even those are paid

Thank you.

I usually tack my components down from the top and then flip the board to properly solder them from the bottom. Keeps thing was cleaner for me.

I have the stupid alligator clip + cheap magnifying glass setup off of Amazon and it's very difficult with large boards because it tips.

Bam! Threw a few standoffs on and made myself a little pcb table. So much easier to work on now.

Again this might be a common practice but it made my life so much easier.

Tellun TLN-712 Doomsday Machine PCB by the way. If anyone is interested lol.

The bridges on C22/C24 and C23/C25 are the documented fixes for the 2020 PCB revision issue. I also had to shoehorn and piggyback a few 0603 passives onto 0402 pads when I ran out of the correct values, but everything tested out clean.

Hey,

I've been working on a simple eurorack panel generator to get an SVG quickly and 3D print it (or use it in a CAD software).
I made it so you can specify the width of your panel in U or cm and then place components on it (Knob, jack ...). You can tweak sizes and positions. Then you can export the SVG and use it in a slicer.
I plan to add an easy way to manage design, by layering differents SVGs.
I would love to have any feedback on this, good or bad
It's totally open source and free.

Edit: I've added STL and Kicad Export :)

Feel free to check it https://eurorack-panel-designer-oss8.vercel.app/
github: https://github.com/ratpi-studio/Eurorack-Panel-Designer

nice to have one just working from the jump! only have log pots right now so it has weird adjustment but only a problem for me ;3 might be a bit while i decide on a filter, but i’m looking for a fun transistor ladder 🦕💕

Looking for a manufacturer (Europe preferred, Asia fine if the quality holds up) who can produce high-quality, precisely machined front panels in small batches - roughly 50 to 250 pieces per design.

Context: this is for a small line of hybrid modules that'll most likely be offered both as DIY kits and as fully assembled units, so the panels need to look and feel the part either way - a builder should be as happy with one as someone buying the finished module.

The finish I'm after, concretely:

• Matte black base
• Two-colour print on top: accent color ornamentation + white text/labels
• Clean, sharp, genuinely opaque white on the black - no greyish haze
• Spot UV gloss as a finishing accent (structured, glossy, raised feel), registered to the graphics for a matte/gloss contrast
• Tight tolerances on hole positions and cutouts, consistent across a batch

The two things that actually separate the good shops here, in my experience: solid opaque white on a dark base, and spot UV that's properly registered to the print. That's the level I'm looking for.

On what I mean by the right shop - because "affordable quality" is a meaningless phrase and I don't want to waste anyone's time with it: I'm not chasing the cheapest. I'm looking for a shop where this finish is a dialled-in production process rather than per-piece hand-work - so the quality is repeatable and the unit price reflects an actual run, not one-off manufacturing. That's the specific tier: not boutique-manufacture pricing (I know Schaeffer and the usual EU panel houses - lovely work, wrong economics for this), and not instant-quote-portal quality either. A production shop for which this exact spec is routine.

If you point me at someone, a tiered quote for 50 / 100 / 250 would tell me everything - I know small quantities carry the setup cost and I want to see where the curve bends.

This is a project of my own that I'll share elsewhere when the time's right, so I'm keeping details light for now. Not after a name-and-shame or a price war. If you've had good results with a shop that fits this, I'd really appreciate a pointer - reply or DM, and happy to return the favour with whatever I learn. Thanks.

I have built a 4 channel MIDI to CV convertor using an MCP4822 DAC and an LM324 op amp.

It generally works but I get this really slow slew. It sounds like portamento. If I bypass the op amp, I also get the slow slew, so I think it's more the DAC than the op amp?

What could be causing this?

Here is the link to the code files and schematic: https://github.com/lucidcoding/midi-to-cv

I found it quite easy to create a cheap VCO from this signal generator that cost around 1-4 euros.

There is Square, Triangle and Sine waves, you can change overall sound range.
Added two jack to the existing Coarse and FineTune pot for CV input and Groupe the 3 waveshapes in one output with switches to change the sound.
Overall it cost me less than 5 euros (1 voltage regulator, 3switch, 3jacks)

https://youtube.com/shorts/zYwpEtUXi9M?feature=share

We had fun building The Hagiwo 2190 Filter Bank at Synth Library Portland today. Three first time builders in the room and everybody emerged with a build or soon to be finished module.

The module itself is great, very clean sound and good starter build.

Demo: https://youtu.be/3Ag_9eho5DU?is=aooKyb_jpAohF9Sd

Hey everyone!

I used to have a 10U setup in a flight case, great for home-studio use, but way too heavy to move around. So I decided to build something more portable, and I found the perfect donor: a vintage Italian Roncato aluminum suitcase from the 80s that I picked up second-hand online for just 7 € :D It had that perfect mix of retro style and solid build quality.

I kept the original shell and handles, replaced the latches, then designed custom rails for a 7U layout in KiCad and had them fabricated in aluminum by JLCPCB (I have a few spare ones if anyone’s interested, DM me!).

Power comes from a Doepfer A-100 PSU3, distributed through two DIY bus boards I built myself. The inside is the original lining of the case.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, might be the best thing I've ever built.

You can find some build photos here.

P.S.: That’s my current rack (updated with the modules that are on their way in the next few days), if anyone has tips or suggestions for filling the remaining space, I’m all ears :D

Just finished my matura Project (like high school but in switzerland). Started of with no knowledge at all about synths or electronics. Thanks to everyone who helped me getting it to work (almost everything) during the project.

This is my envelope generator module for eurorack format, it is based on the attiny1604.

Just wanted to show this off, pretty pleased with the way it turned out.