Building a DIY Synth Kit | Tutorial

Regulars to the channel might have noticed that I haven't posted new content for a while. That's because I've been working on this 90-minute long behemoth for what seems like forever. But this is a video I've wanted to make for a long time, so I'm glad it is finally out there. DIY is everywhere, and building DIY synth modules are a great way to expand your collection without breaking the bank. There is the joy of doing it yourself, and the satisfaction of recording or performing with a tool that you made. But no one is born knowing how to solder or how the polarity works on an electrolytic capacitor. And building your own electronics requires that knowledge, and many other tidbits as well. And so I created a video showing how to put together a DIY synth module from the ground up. I chose the Craig Lee Euclidean Sequencer module in the 4U format, because I wanted a complex project that required both through hole analog work as well as digital circuitry. You even have to download source code, compile it, and upload it to the onboard Arduino for this module, and I go through every step. This video is extremely long, and if you are a beginner, it might be good to watch once all the way through as an overview. But I consider this more of a reference video. As a result, there are chapters all the way through breaking the process down into many steps. I would be quite gratified if someone were working on a project, forgot what ferrite beads were for, then went to this video and looked up that topic (they actually act as low pass filters for power supplies, to try to keep noise out of sensitive circuits). Of course I didn't hit every possible circumstance - for example, there is no surface mount soldering in this kit, but nevertheless there is a lot here. If I got something wrong, or you have a different take on a particular topic, please add to the conversation (nicely!) in the comments section. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:47 Tools of the trade 10:27 PCBs, panels and kits 10:59 Sourcing Components 11:43 Anatomy of a kit 12:51 Preparing your soldering iron 13:43 Soldering temperature 14:42 Schematics and BOMs 15:25 Silk Screening on the PCB 15:59 Order to stuff components 16:51 Stuffing & Soldering Resistors 17:31 Checking resistance on a multimeter 18:38 Stuffing components 20:39 Soldering the first components 22:03 Clipping the leads 22:51 Soldering more resistors 24:32 Fixing a component that is lifted from the PCB 25:11 Checking off the BOM 25:49 The lead bending tool 27:05 Finishing up the resistors 27:30 Diodes 29:04 Ferrite beads 30:19 Soldering IC sockets 34:43 Fitting the Arduino to the PCB 38:09 Capacitors 38:44 Bypass caps 39:23 Film caps 40:47 Small ceramic caps 41:00 Film caps 41:19 Electrolytic caps and polarization 43:21 Voltage regulators 44:26 Power connector 44:56 Confirming power orientation 45:50 MIDI port wires 47:30 Cleaning the flux off the PCB 51:38 Connecting the PCBs 56:28 The front panel and LED matrix 57:22 Gluing plexiglass to the front panel 59:12 Attaching components to the front panel 01:00:08 Banana Jacks 01:00:50 Attaching the MIDI port 01:01:08 Attaching the switch 01:02:09 Digital encoders 01:03:37 Test fitting the pieces 01:04:04 Soldering the Arduino 01:07:38 Putting the IC's in the sockets 01:10:42 IC with a bent pin 01:11:56 Attaching the heat sink 01:13:09 Pre-powerup voltage discussion 01:14:18 Initial powerup test 01:14:55 IC Voltage tests 01:16:25 The Arduino 01:17:20 Downloading and prepping the source code 01:18:04 Downloading the Arduino IDE 01:18:26 Adding libraries to the Arduino IDE 01:19:08 The fiddliness of the Arduino IDE 01:20:17 Compiling and uploading to the Arduino 01:21:04 Testing the board post upload 01:21:28 Final connection of the panels 01:22:11 Wiring the banana jacks 01:23:33 Wiring the switch 01:23:59 Holding the PCBs together 01:24:44 Wiring the MIDI port 01:25:27 Installing the knobs 01:26:00 Playing the Euclidean Sequencer 01:29:06 Outro Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music. http://www.underthebigtree.com