Kits: Voice of Saturn
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Short Description:
Loosely based on the Atari Punk Console with
some custom tweaks and an LFO front end, this box makes a ridiculous amount of different sounds (mp3 coming soon), all from
three 555s. Watch the video or download the mp3 for some samples. Comes as a bare-bones kit, an everything-kit
with knobs and case, and a fully-assembled and tested version. It's open source and has small area on the pcb
for easy circuit bending.
Skill level: Beginner / Intermediate
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Post mods / hacks, pics, videos and support questions here. We'll be giving away a limited number of FSRs (Force Sensing Resistors) that let you control the noise with pressure to anyone that posts a video or hack.
new video from the workbench featuring a FSR (force sensing resistor):
Voice of Saturn Synth with FSR Input from CuriousInventor on Vimeo.
The first 2/3's of the video shows a bit of the nonlinearity of the analog circuitry... the 555 on the LFO section affects other parts even when it's cut off from the rest of the circuit. Small changes in some of the knobs lead to massive changes in the sound. The last part shows the use of a FSR as an input to CV1. It's basically a resistor that goes from several MOhms down to about 30k when pressed. We're selling these in our store for $10.99.
user video number 2 (from myagi):
From Andrew of www.myagimusic.com (touring electronic musician)
(website has lots of excellent music available for streaming)Our first video from a customer!
The Voice of Saturn - Synth & Sequencer from wiretotheear on Vimeo.
From Oliver Chesler of the wire to the ear blog...
"...Thanks for making this cool stuff so affordable!
p.s. the cart they are on is from Ikea, it's called Songa, normally for bathrooms... its only $13 new!... "
And a first mod...
Ross's Dictionary mod:
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Bare-bones-kit
in stock
- $44.99
Including just the essentials for installing in your own Ikea bowl or other custom case. Click the picture for a larger version.
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Everything-kit
in stock
- $84.99
Everything you need to make the full kit, including knobs and a pre-drilled and silk-screened case.
Click the picture for a larger version.
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Fully assembled and tested
in stock
- $169.00
Works out of the box, no assembly required.
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Related things from our store:
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- IC2: 556N dual timer (spec)
- IC1: 555N timer (spec)
- Capacitors:
- C1: 10uF
- C2: .1uF
- C3: 10uf
- C4: .1uF
- C5: 100uF
- SW1, SW2, SW3: spst switches
- (4) 1/4" audio jacks
- Potentiometers:
- R6: A100k (where A = audio or logarithmic, which is how we hear magnitude)
- R7: A10k
- R8: A100k
- R9: A100k
- R10: A100k
- R11: A500k
- R12: A500k
- Resistors:
R1: 4.7k(no longer included or needed, volume circuit is different than the first version and doesn't require this component)- R2: 1k
- R3: 100
- R4: 1k
- R5: 10k
- R10: 1k (one of the pots is labeled R10, too, small pcb mistake).
- LEDS: one red (D1), one green (D2), each diffuse and with an integrated resistor
- (2) LED holders
- (1) Custom PCB
- 9V Battery and holder
- (7) knobs
- A silk-screened and pre-drilled case, with hardware and rubber feet
- (2) 4-40 nuts
- (4) 4-40 screws
- (2) standoffs for the PCB
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Detailed assembly instructions are here => Instructions
Note: if your circuit board says v1.02, use this connection diagram. The following diagram is for v1.03 boards and up (a few components were moved to the pcb).
We're still trying to figure this out... In outline, it's an LFO --> Square Wave Generator --> Monostable Pulse, with some twists. We'll be adding bits of explanation over time, but for now, have a schematic:
An explanation of how the LFO adjustment section works:
Imagine that the output of the LFO section is at the bottom of C5 (it's really R6.3, but R6.2 is about the same behavior-wise). Q of U1 jumps back and forth between 0V and 9V. When it jumps from 0-> 9V, the capacitor starts charging through R7 (the shape knob). If R7 is large, it takes a long time to charge, so the slope is more triangular. If R7 is small, it's more of a square shape. When Q jumps from 9V -> 0V, the same thing happens in reverse: the cap discharges back through R7 as the U1 555 becomes a current sink.
Now, some of the discharging happens over R6, but the larger effect R6 has is on the peak amplitude (height) of the voltage. Think of a R6 as a voltage divider... a high voltage before R7 is split between (R7+R3) and R6. The closer R6.2 is to ground, the smaller the wave form coming out. Let us know if this is wrong!
if i put the pot, there…
somebody tell us how this thing actually works :)
thanks a lot for this! i happen to have all the components laying around here. nice! made a couple of apc’s and wsg’s, but these VC-in’s are super. It would be unbelievable cool when you would put up the same thing for the sequencer which makes a great pair with this VOS. You probably would use the core of the baby ten scheme? I am looking forward to that and maybe even put them in one box together. Thanks again :)
And great layout and graphics, allso you knobs and boxes are very sexy! Hope you put next project on Matrixsynth too!
Good luck with the business!
Nathan/Amsterdam
Good to see I’m not alone.. VOS has a cousin
http://www.somaticcircuits.com/instructions%20malv1/mv1_instructions.htm.htm
http://www.mediafire.com/?1lb2lmmofez
its a 40106 based device
Keep up the good work !
M D
How so for the sequencer? Any price point at this time?
M D, looks awesome. Its awesome to see this sort of DIY scene thriving. My design of the VOS is absolutely a direct result of poking around other ppl’s schematics and doing some circuit-bending. There’s so much free info out there, its great that people build on each other’s ideas.
As to the questions about the sequencer, it will be available shortly, the pcb design is just being finished, and will be sent out for fabrication shortly. The kit price for this will be a bit higher than the VOS (more knobs/switches/jacks) but shouldn’t be too bad. The fully assembled version will be a fair amount higher, as there’s a lot of repetitive work in hooking up all the panel elements. Its super fun, and i’ve found it really useful with my korg MS10 and Paia 4700 modular. Its core is indeed a baby 10, with some extra fun bits added in (gate – strig conversion, internal clock).
-recompas
http://www.recompas.com
how about someone designs a modulation wheel as well as a pitch wheel for this bad boy
That would actually be pretty easy to do (if you can get a nice pitch/mod wheel assembly). Just replace the 1&2 pitch pot with a wheel, or have some sort of plug in bypass. I hope to see people’s case designs and mods for the VOS.
looks fantastic – i see in the sequencer video you’ve used it to drive a korg ms-10.. have you tried this in reverse, using the MS-10 to send CV to the VOS? I know Korg’s Hz/Volt method of doing CV wreaks havoc w/ some designs..
hi, thanks for the circuits.
i have some cuestions for you:
can be connected the synth out to a speakers or to the line in of the pc sound card? i dont have a korg synth to connect my voice of saturn !!
the lfo out generates sound??
what is the diference between cv1 and cv2 to connec the sequencer??
sorry for my english, i hope you can help me ! !
from someone else: ... looks fantastic – i see in the sequencer video you’ve used it to drive a korg ms-10.. have you tried this in reverse, using the MS-10 to send CV to the VOS? I know Korg’s Hz/Volt method of doing CV wreaks havoc w/ some designs..
I can verify when i get home, but the ms-10 should be able to have some effect on the cv of the VoS. It won’t scale like a normal synth (the scaling circuitry is not present, and the 555/556 timers are designed to rexpond to liner CV. It should break anything, will post results here.
As far as the line out question, the synth output is the audio output. In the video it is not being sent into the MS10. The LFO output is a voltage output. you can connect it to the cv ins on the VoS or to other modular synthesizers that will accept a voltage input. I would not connect this to your computer or to a mixer, as it is voltage, not audio.
by ‘wont scale’, do you mean that it only recognizes the CV ‘note on/off’ pulse, but not the voltage, or that it needs to use a specific scale or curve of voltage to be in tune? or something else? i haven’t really heard that term before in reference to the control voltage..
Basically, what i mean by saying it won’t scale, is that it won’t play notes in a scale. The hz/octave control voltage ends up being a log curve from 0v to about 10v i think. I tried it with my MS10, and only the top octave had an effect, which makes sense, since the bottom octave would be at the slow end of the log curve. You can get it to play different pitches, just that you can get it to play in nice half steps like other keyboard instruments.
-Travis
I still dont understand the switch s2. are you sure that the schematic is correct?
in the video, you move up and down the switch s2 and in these 2 cases the lfo signal generated by the 555 is sent to the 556, I say this because in the 2 cases you move the pots of the lfo (r8, r7, r6) and they modify the sound.
according with the schematic and using a 2-pin spst switch, the lfo signal should only pass to the 556 when the s2 is up, and when the s2 is down, the signal not pass to the 556
Is this what i say is true ??
help me whit the s2, please ! ! !
can i connect the synth out to my pc, to add effects (via soft) and to record it, with no risk to cause damages on the sound card???
chikilicuatre, I’m responding in the forum
Where is R1 (4,7K) in the circuit ???
R1 is no longer needed since we changed how the volume pot worked. It’s not included in the kits anymore, either.
the volume pot dont works for me !!, what is wrong??
if i put the pot, there is no sound, only when i turn it to the end
i think that the 1 M pot eat all the signal out
what can i do? to control the volume?
can i use another value for the pot?
what is the fuction of C1 in the out??
C1 filters out any DC components to the signal. What happens if you disconnect the pot and just wire the output of the capacitor straight to the output jack? It sounds like something else might be wrong with the circuit… the forum is probably a better place for debugging help. www.CuriousInventor.com/forums/7
Just to be clear is R3 100 ohms or 100k?
100, also, R9 can be just about anything, 100k – 1M
(complete instructions)