Gakken analog synth kit

Gakken Synth
Gakken Synth Unbox
(photos by CookieM)

Japanese kit-maker Gakken has just released a special special edition of the Otona No Kagaku publication focussing on music synthesizers. The issue includes an SX-150 stylus-input analog synth kit which appears to require relatively little effort in the way of assembly (a feature which may be a demerit in the eyes of some avid solderers). Have a look/listen of the device in action -

The external control source seems to hold a lot of potential - and from what can be discerned from the compressed audio, the unit seems to sound rather nice. (want want)

- SX-150 on Matrixsynth

- SX-150 on Flickr


More:
Gakken kits in the Maker Shed

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Jul 30, 2008 02:30 PM
Kits, Music | Permalink | Comments (8) | Email This | Bookmark and Share | Digg this!

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Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: BigD145 on July 30, 2008 at 2:56 PM

That last half reminds me of old SciFi like Lost Planet.


Posted by: Shadyman on July 30, 2008 at 3:23 PM

HEY!

That's not fair! The soldering is almost done!


Posted by: Collin Cunningham on July 30, 2008 at 9:52 PM

@Shady - agreed :(
it would seem not everyone enjoys circuit assembly as much as we do.


Posted by: docpop.myopenid.com on July 30, 2008 at 11:49 PM

reminds me of a Stylophone

Man, this thing looks awesome! Awesome I tell ya!

I'm still trying to get my hands on their theremin kit, and now I find this little beauty...

The basic design reminds me of a Stylophone, the vintage synth that uses a stylus to connect a circuit. Although stylophones didn't have knobs to fiddle with, their keyboard interface was actually in scale (like piano keys).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubreq_Stylophone


Posted by: CookieM on July 31, 2008 at 7:09 AM

Thank you

Thank you for using my photos. This kit is easy, simple and cheap! The detailed explanatory is also attached. Then, this is the core of a first step for "MAKE". Many people already enjoy modification.


Posted by: smcg on August 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM

Gakken Analog Synth : EXT SOURCE no work??

I have just received my Gakken Synth today, coincidentally at the same time as the man across the hall got one. Both of us built them in 5 minutes, they both sound great, however neither of the external source functions work. Any ideas??


Posted by: Collin Cunningham on August 5, 2008 at 1:02 PM

@smcg - I'll have one on hand for testing soon. I'll let you know if i can lend any insight.


Posted by: Collin Cunningham on August 20, 2008 at 11:35 PM

ok - I could see how the external source jack would seem unresponsive - it's designed to respond to frequency, but requires a pretty hot signal to do so. It worked well with me benchtop function generator.

the frequency/pitch input seems an odd choice, i was expecting a control voltage input - but that can be had by wiring to the stylus


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