Synare 3

[Kipper4]

Here's a schematic I found on tinternet. Lord knows how good or accurate it is.

http://clacktronics.co.uk/research/drumlab/star-synare-3/Clacktronics-Star-Synare-Schematic.pdf

Anyone built one or something similar?
Mark Hammer inspired me.

I'm thinking of giving it a go.
Maybe I'll have a skenk around said tinternet and see if n I can' find a 13700 version.
Thanks stompers.

Keep rocking.........

[Mark Hammer]

Are you sure you want to sacrifice five CA3080 chips for something that will take you 2 weeks to become bored with?

This one - http://www.synthdiy.com/show/?id=2245 - is a tried and true design, but unfortunately requires some unobtanium, in the form of a BA662 OTA.  I imagine that can be substituted for,but you probably want something that is a ready-to-go design.

PAiA has some simple "drum tone" circuits for drum sounds meant to play with your hand on finger pads.  Best of all, they only use op-amps, and not even fancy ones at that.
https://paia.com/syndrum/
http://www.sdiy.org/richardc64/new_drums/paia/paia_top.html

[Rodgre]

I have been interested in building a drum synth forever as well.

I have a dead Coron DS-8 that I bought at a yard sale. I have tried to breathe life back into it but had no luck yet. I have since purchased a modern EHX Crash Pad, which is pretty much exactly what I was looking to build as well as a neat In-Line Effects DrumFire DF-500, 5-channel drum synth with individual trigger inputs and direct outputs. The latter is pretty neat, but like Mark said, I got bored pretty quickly with it, mostly because it doesn't have a filter to sweep. It's basically just an oscillator, noise source and an envelope generator to adjust decay time of noise and oscillator separately, and the ability to change pitch up or down with the decay as well. A one trick pony, but 5 channels of that trick. 

At one time, I was trying to design something like what you're thinking of, akin to a Synare 3, with the noise source, 2 oscillators, ring modulator, lfo and an envelope-triggered filter. Basically a monophonic analog synth that was triggered from a drum pad. The triggering was the part that I never quite wrapped my head around. The other stuff, I figured there were so many schematics out there for each individual piece of the puzzle that I could string them together like synth modules.

Like so many other projects, that fell on the back burner and never got past the block diagram phase.

Roger

[Nasse]

I did build "Elektor Disco Drum" few decades ago. I think maybe it could recreated partly on cheap aliexpress or was it banggood 2206 function generator kit. Trigger interface uses two 3130 opamps which are getting rare

[Strategy]

I've built Synare 3 from a PCB sold by this outfit: https://www.helensson.com/
I don't recall off the top of my head if it is a 13700 version.

They also do a Synare Sensor (same circuit as Coron Ds-8 mentioned above). which I have also built.
I ultimately sold my Synare 3 clone. It sounded amazing but -- I played the Sensor much more often! Instead of doing their build I ordered just the PCB, then selected my own parts and built the kit inside of a small, low profile hand drum, with the pots mounted through the wooden frame of the drum. I have an original Synare Sensor that I bought in the early 1990s, great fun.

Strategy

[Mark Hammer]

I have been interested in building a drum synth forever as well.

I have a dead Coron DS-8 that I bought at a yard sale. I have tried to breathe life back into it but had no luck yet. I have since purchased a modern EHX Crash Pad, which is pretty much exactly what I was looking to build as well as a neat In-Line Effects DrumFire DF-500, 5-channel drum synth with individual trigger inputs and direct outputs. The latter is pretty neat, but like Mark said, I got bored pretty quickly with it, mostly because it doesn't have a filter to sweep. It's basically just an oscillator, noise source and an envelope generator to adjust decay time of noise and oscillator separately, and the ability to change pitch up or down with the decay as well. A one trick pony, but 5 channels of that trick. 

At one time, I was trying to design something like what you're thinking of, akin to a Synare 3, with the noise source, 2 oscillators, ring modulator, lfo and an envelope-triggered filter. Basically a monophonic analog synth that was triggered from a drum pad. The triggering was the part that I never quite wrapped my head around. The other stuff, I figured there were so many schematics out there for each individual piece of the puzzle that I could string them together like synth modules.

Like so many other projects, that fell on the back burner and never got past the block diagram phase.

Roger

Wife's out of town for 8 days, starting tomorrow night, so I'm gonna get drunk on solder fumes. 
I'd whipped up a bunch of electronic percussion boards over the years, intending to compile them into a kit of sorts.  This includes:
- 4 Syntoms
- 2 Craig Anderton Hip Bass Drums
- a Tom Henry Adv-Snare
- an EHX Sonic Boomer
- a pair, or maybe three, of Robert Penfold's Cymbal Synthesizers, that appeared in 1985 Electronics Today

I'll see if I can get most of them working.

Someone posted a PCB layout for the bass drum on Electro-Music, and it works real nice.  The Adv-Snare is almost fully wired up, but I have not powered it yet.  I have not managed to get the Sonic Boomer to work.  As noted in an earlier thread, I had assembled some pads with large piezo discs sandwiched between cork sheets, but I now find that the cork damps it so much that the discs barely put out much.  One can always adapt them with a comparator to generate a trigger - absolutely no shortage of interface circuits posted around for that sort of thing - but you lose the dynamics of the stick-strike that way, and I'd kind of like to retain the dynamic aspect.

[Strategy]

Mark, in your other thread I'd mentioned modding those cheap Remo practice pads with a piezo insert, as low-cost drum-like playing surfaces, but I just remembered another trick I've tried that worked well - circular neoprene pad sandwiches with the piezo in between. I did this on a Synare Sensor build for a musical collaborator. It's more for finger drumming becuase they are usually kind of a small diameter but fine with sticks if you don't mind aiming at a small target. Like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173968365163?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&var=472747898888&srsltid=AfAwrE5eGeTecg2iEO04RD66xuVvmeEbrBBP1VHxw4VMsciiDh6gcYPsRZo
If they are a thin kind you can stack several to protect the piezo and still not lose dynamics.
- STrategy

[Rob Strand]

Here's a schematic I found on tinternet. Lord knows how good or accurate it is.

http://clacktronics.co.uk/research/drumlab/star-synare-3/Clacktronics-Star-Synare-Schematic.pdf

Anyone built one or something similar?
Mark Hammer inspired me.

I'm thinking of giving it a go.
Maybe I'll have a skenk around said tinternet and see if n I can' find a 13700 version.
Thanks stompers.

Keep rocking.........

There's some PCB pics here if you want to check part values,
http://studiorepair.de/pics/misc/Synare_S3X/slides/Star_Synare_S3X_PCB.html

The schematic is missing caps values around the OTA's.  From the pics it looks like they are 10nF.

I'm with Mark, maybe a good opportunity to save some OTAs.    What about replacing that whole part of the circuit with a CD4069 MOSFET based filter, or maybe something crude like BJTs.

[ElectricDruid]

Maybe I'll have a skenk around said tinternet and see if n I can' find a 13700 version.

I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work with 13700 dropped straight in. It's all pretty straightforward stuff.

[amz-fx]

My ADV-Snare pcb:

http://www.muzique.com/news/adv-snare-pcb/

or https://www.instagram.com/p/B8mOUxands4/

I don't see it on the Nut-and-Volts site anymore. There were several (now) hard-to-get chips in the design, including the CA3080 and an LM566. Also, it requires a bipolar power supply.

I searched my computer for the article but did not find it, though I did not spend a lot of time looking for it. I probably have the info on an archive disk somewhere.

Best regards, Jack

[Mark Hammer]

My ADV-Snare pcb:

http://www.muzique.com/news/adv-snare-pcb/

or https://www.instagram.com/p/B8mOUxands4/

I don't see it on the Nut-and-Volts site anymore. There were several (now) hard-to-get chips in the design, including the CA3080 and an LM566. Also, it requires a bipolar power supply.

I searched my computer for the article but did not find it, though I did not spend a lot of time looking for it. I probably have the info on an archive disk somewhere.

Best regards, Jack

That's the board I have, purchased from the estate of the late forum member Peter Snow.  I have a big PDF with the documentation if you've lost yours.  Fortunately, it doesn't rely on an SN76477, as so many project from that era did!  I managed to score one, but they are about as common as SAD-1024 chips these days, and as costly, too.

[garcho]

There's the Electronic Drum Cookbook by Thomas Henry. The main project in that book is a snare. Unfortunately, it requires a 566, but perhaps you can find one, or replace it with another VCO, since it was chosen for its simplicity and ease of use.

[amz-fx]

There's the Electronic Drum Cookbook by Thomas Henry. The main project in that book is a snare. Unfortunately, it requires a 566, but perhaps you can find one, or replace it with another VCO, since it was chosen for its simplicity and ease of use.

I have a project in my "Things To Do" folder that is a work-alike for the LM566 but in a SIP package. I would have to get the pcb modules made at a factory as the parts are too tiny and fiddly for most of us to solder together. I wonder if there is enough interest in the project to make it worth producing 100 or 200 modules?

Best regards, Jack

[ElectricDruid]

I have a project in my "Things To Do" folder that is a work-alike for the LM566 but in a SIP package. I would have to get the pcb modules made at a factory as the parts are too tiny and fiddly for most of us to solder together. I wonder if there is enough interest in the project to make it worth producing 100 or 200 modules?

Sounds like a PIC firmware project to me (*everything* sounds like a PIC firmware project to me...well, ok, nearly everything).

Triangle waves are very simple to produce digitally and because of the low harmonic content, they don't suffer from horrible aliasing like squares or ramps. So you could produce a triangle at a high sample rate (and given how easy that is, it could be really quite high) and then you'd feed it to an on-chip comparator to get a Square/Pulse out. As a bonus, you'd get a Pulse Width CV into the other comparator input.

That's not a pin-for-pin clone by any means (which it sounds like you were after) but it'd be a work-alike in many situations that we care about: Linear CV input, Squares and Triangles out, easy to set up, not many parts.

Whether 100 people care enough about the original to make a pin-for-pin clone realistic I don't know. It seems unlikely, honestly.

[Kipper4]

Well There's me thinking this won't be interesting and wow what a response.

Yup I get it would be a waste of good 3080s, I found something that will do enough for me without so many OTA.
The Coron DS7 would be a much better bet and uses chips that I'm familiar with and might be able to work around the ota part with another structure.

Here's the drawing I saw.

http://m.bareille.free.fr/ds7clone/ds7.htm

Top one.

Feels like a cool project.
Also educating myself or trying to about triggers like fsr and piezo, velostat.
Opinions are welcome on this too,

Bless you all. I appreciate the input guys.
Thanks for the reading posts, I'll go take a skenk.
Rich

[Kipper4]

Thanks for the pictures Jack. I wondered how they secured the speaker.
If it works don't fix it.


Btw anyone know how long it'd take to cut the handle off of a frying pan with a dremel ?

 

[amz-fx]

Sounds like a PIC firmware project to me (*everything* sounds like a PIC firmware project to me...well, ok, nearly everything).

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. lol

I also doubt there would be sufficient interest, which is why I never went forward with the idea.

Best regards, Jack

[Kipper4]

Jack there's been a huge upturn in synths in popular chart music.
Trap. Don't ask me what that is, but I see plenty of sample and loop packs with synth drum samples.
With the advent of euro rack as well. Kids love beeps and bloops.
Analogue is back, who knew folk would start buying vinyl records again.
My revox A77 sold for 3x what I paid 10yr ago.

I have a hammer too.
If it goes Poink, pew or Boing I'm in.

Nailed it.

[ElectricDruid]

Sounds like a PIC firmware project to me (*everything* sounds like a PIC firmware project to me...well, ok, nearly everything).

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. lol

Lol, exactly! 

[Mark Hammer]

To a man that IS a Hammer, every nail is something you catch your sweater on.