SynareClone Percussive Synthesizer

Thank you for your purchase of the SynareClone Percussive Synthesizer kit. This vintage style synth board will give you all the great sonic possibilities of a true analog system. Although this circuit is vintage technology compared to the digital synth world, it is still preferred by seasoned professionals for tone versatility, ease of use, and responsiveness to "on the fly" patch changes. Direct control parameters are completely step-less giving you infinite control combinations. Whether its melodic tones, or the sounds of sweeps, pops, blips, you name it...... the Percussive Synthesizer kit will provide you with an endless variety of sounds. The unit is dynamic and level dependent. There are two oscillators. Oscillator one can produce noise or an adjustable pitch. Oscillator two can generate an LFO (called SLO on the unit) or an adjustable pitch. Either oscillator can be turned off if single oscillator operation is desired. There is a filter on the unit as well, with the following controls: Tune (filter frequency), Oscillator 2 level, Sweep, Resonance, and Decay. The final amplifier section has Volume and Decay time controls. The resonance in the filter section can be turned up to get self-oscillation.

Construction notes: All parts should be mounted on the side of the PCB indicated by the silk screen. Some components must be mounted in a particular orientation on the PCB. Follow the mounting instructions carefully and read each step completely before mounting the component.

Name Description Value QtyU1-U5 OTA CA3080N 5

U6 Quad 2 Input Schmitt NAND CD4096BE 1

Q1-Q4, Q7 Darlington pair Transistor MPSA14 5

Q5, Q6, Q8-Q13, Q17 Small Signal Transistor PNP 2N3904 9

Q15 12 Volt Regulator 74LS12 1

Q16 6 Volt Regulator 74LS06 1

C1-C3, C5, C6 Electrolytic Capacitor 1.uf 50V 5

C4 Electrolytic Capacitor 2.2uf 50V 1

C7, C8 Electrolytic Capacitor 3.3uf 50V 2

C9-C12 Capacitor 0.001uf 4

C13-C15 Capacitor .047uf 3

C16 Capacitor .1uf 1

C17-C19 Capacitor .01uf 3

R1, R2, R7, R8 Potentiometer 1 Meg 4

R3, R4, R5, R6, R9 Potentiometer 50K 5

R10, R14, R15, R17, R20, R21, R23, R26, R27, R29, R33, R34, R37, R38, R62, R73 Resistor 220 16

R11, R18, R24, R30, R32, R46, R47, R51, R74, R75, R76, R77, R78 Resistor 10K 13

R12, R16, R19, R22, R25, R28, R39, R41, R42, R80 Resistor 100K 10

R13, R52, R54 Resistor 470K 3

R31, R58 Resistor 2.2K 2

R35, R43 Resistor 1 Meg 2

R44 Resistor 22 1

R45, R53 Resistor 6.8K 2

R48, R65 Resistor 100 2

R49, R69 Resistor 22K 2

R55, R59, R71 Resistor 220K 3

R56, R66 Resistor 330K 2

R57 Resistor 2.7 Meg 1

R60, R63 Resistor 68K 2

R64 Resistor 820K 1

R67 Resistor 47K 1

R72 Resistor 1K 1

R79 Trim Pot or Potentiometer 50K or 100K 1

Resistors NOT on this board: R36, R40, R50, R68, R70

1

When soldering to the PCB, it is only necessary to apply solder to the side of the board opposite to the component being soldered. The holes on the PCB are plated through so the connection will be made on both sides. Much time and frustration can be avoided by installing the component families on the circuit board in the order shown in the following photographs. To avoid misplacement of a part, pay close attention the silkscreen part designators and any polarity indication. Once the part has been soldered, it is very difficult to remove without damage to the board and/or component.

Tools Needed

Solder Soldering iron with fine tip Wire cutters Wire strippers Volt-Ohm meter

Resistor color code chart for reference.

2

Assembly Steps:

1. Insert and solder all board 220 ohm resistors (red, red, brown). R10, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 29, 33, 34, 37, 38, 62, 73

3

1. Insert and solder all board 10K ohm resistors (brown, black, orange or brown, black, black, red)

R11, 18, 24, 30, 32, 46, 47, 51, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78.

4

2. Insert and solder all board 100K ohm resistors (brown, black, yellow or brown, black, black,

orange). R12, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 39, 41, 42, 80.

5

3. Insert and solder all remaining resistors.

R13, R52, R54 - 470K (yellow, violet, yellow)

R31, R58 - 2.2K (red, red, red)

R35, R43 1M (brown, black, green)

R44 22 ohm (red, red, black)

R45, R53 - 6.8K (blue, gray, red)

R48, R65 100 ohm (brown, black, brown)

R49, R69 22K (red, red, orange)

6

R55, R59, R71 - 220K (red, red, yellow - or - red, red, black, orange)

R56, R66 330K (orange, orange, yellow)

R57 2.7Meg (red, violet, green)

R60, R63 68K (blue, gray, orange)

R64 820K (gray, red, yellow)

R67- 47K (yellow, violet, orange)

R72 1K (brown, black, red)

7

4. Insert and solder all DIP IC SOCKETS. Note: Do Not install the ICs yet, only the sockets. Some

initial testing will be done before the board is populated fully with active components.

Sockets

8

5. Insert and solder 78L12 and the 78L06 voltage regulators and the all 2N3904, and MPSA14

transistors. Mount as indicated on the silkscreen of the circuit board.

78L12 78L06

MPSA14 MPSA14 MPSA14 MPSA14

MPSA14

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

2N3904

9

7. Insert and solder the variable resistor (trim-pot) unless you plan on mounting an external sensitivity pot.

8. Insert and solder all of the capacitors. Be aware of the polarity markings on the electrolytic capacitors.

9. Wire the 1/4" audio output jack. Make sure the positive lead from the jack is soldered to the pad marked + and solder the ground lead to the right most pad.

10. Install an input jack to the board or wire your pad or trigger to the trigger location marked on the board.

10

11. Install the potentiometers and the switches. There should be a one to one pin-out relationship with the

pot and switch terminals to the board pads. Make sure to use enough wire length so that you can easily mount your finished board into the enclosure that you plan to use.

12. Using ribbon cable, solder the potentiometers away from the circuit board. The ribbon cable should be separated into groups of three wires each. Each three wire bundle should be 5 to 6 inches in length. It is easier to first solder the wires to all pots first, and then make the connections to the circuit board.

Rear view of potentiometers

1M 1M 50K 50K

11

Rear view of potentiometers

1M 1M 50K 50K 50K

12

13. Using ribbon cable, solder the slide switches away from the circuit board. The ribbon cable should be separated into groups of eight wires each. Each eight wire bundle should be 5 to 6 inches in length. It is easier to first solder the wires to all switch terminals first, and then make the connections to the circuit board.

Rear view of switches

13

14. Solder the output jack and the piezo trigger to the board. If using a drum pad or other source for the trigger, install an additional jack for this input (not included). 15. Connect power to the board and verify that +12 volts and +6 volts are being supplied to the

circuitry. This is accomplished by first supplying 15 to 18 volts DC to the power connection on the board. This can be obtained from a low noise, well regulated power supply, or by using two 9 Volt batteries. If using batteries, use the two battery clips provided and wire them in series to provide 18 volts. With a VOM measure the outputs of both the +12 volt regulator (Q15 pin 1) and the +6 volt regulator (Q16 pin 1) referenced to ground.

14

Measure +6 Volts here

+ 15 to 18 Volts DC

Ground

Measure +12 Volts here

15

16. After the assembly and power test are complete, remove the power. You may now insert the ICs into their sockets. Please pay close attention the correct pin placement of these parts. Turn R79 (sensitivity) to the mid position. Make sure R9 (Volume) is turned up so that the output is at an audible level. Turn the remaining pots to their mid-levels. You may now experiment with all of the front panel controls to hear the various effects on the output of the synthesizer. Listed below are the front panel controls and the parameters that they adjust on the synth.

Suggestion: Until your completed board has been put into a proper enclosure, it is best to test the board and controls by securing everything down. Tape the board down on all four corners on a flat table surface, then tape down all of the pots and label their functions. This will make any testing and adjustments much easier and will give you a free hand to tap the trigger with one hand while adjusting pots with the other.

ICs. Pin 1

16

Controls:

Oscillator 1 - Pitch Source

TUNE: controls pitch of Oscillator in OSC 1 position

OFF: no function

NOISE: white noise source

OSC 1: turns on Oscillator pitch

Oscillator 2 - Pitch source and controller

TUNE: controls pitch of oscillator in OSC 2 position or speed of LFO in SLO position

OFF: no function

SLO: makes oscillator an LFO controller

OSC 2: turns on oscillator pitch (or higher speed LFO)

Filter - Sound modifier or source

TUNE: controls sound quality of an oscillator or tune (pitch) of the filter

OSC 2: controls how much LFO (Oscillator 2) affects the filter

SWEEP: determines how much pitch drop the Tune of the Filter will have

RES: controls sound quality of an oscillator or turns the Filter into a sound source

DECAY: determines how long it takes for the Sweep to effect the Tune of the Filter

Amplifier - Controls how the output will sound

DECAY: determines how long the sound will take to die out

VOL: controls the volume of the output

HAVE FUN !

17