The Best Homemade Synth Ever?

US Almost entirely analogue unit made from scratch 11/12/21

The idea of a homemade synth normally evokes images of dinky kits to make bleeps and bloops with (in my mind anyway) - but this is something more akin to the real deal! Albert Nyström has shared a video of an unbelievable synth he's made with all-analog circuitry, aside from some of the effects. It has an exceptionally wide range of sounds - with gnarly Prodigy-esque leads, weird sci-fi effects and rich 80's-inspired bass.

Details on the unit are scarce but what we do know is:

The VCOs are based around the AS3340 VCO chip, which is a clone of the Curtis Electromusic Specialties' CEM3340 chip
The VCF is based on Moritz Klein's VACTROL based circuits
The envelopes are based on Thomas Henry's 555 envelope circuits
The keyboard is from an Arturia Keystep.

Judging by the photos at the end, it's all been hand soldered, and will be difficult to replicate without any schematics or diagrams. Hopefully he has these, or a unit to buy soon, as it sounds fantastic. Hats off Albert! We shared more DIY synths a few weeks back, if you want to see what others have made.

Albert's youtube channel is here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCjyyQ0xbPADGrpelZOsdlMg

About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.