DIY Synthesizer Projects:
DIY synthesizer builds, some may be for sale. Most of these include extensive videos on my YouTube channel R.O.T. Studios.
If you want to donate funds to help support these projects head over to the shop for PayPal and Ko-Fi.
Click the images to go to the dedicated project pages.
HS EXPANDER V1
This exposes all 113 FM synth parameters in the Electone HS series of organs, through MIDI.
HS EXPANDER V2
Re-purposing an Popcorn Hour C-200 front panel, with some encoders and buttons for version 2!
DRADIQUE V2.0 CASIO CZ CLONE
Sweet, sweet phase distortion heavily based on the Casio CZ series of synthesizers.
YAMAHA PS-3 MODDING
This Yamaha keyboard is very moddable and I've gone absolutely bonkers on it!
SYMPHONIQUE 1 STRING SYNTH
Quite cheap but effective solution to a digitally-controlled but otherwise analog strings synth.
SQK-01 PROTOTYPE
Rather crazy digital 2-operator FM synthesizer prototype, running on an Arduino Mega, with an analog resonant filter, analog envelope and distortion.
SQK-01 FM SYNTH
Repurposing a MIDI controller which surprisingly uses an Atmega48 MCU for the front panel, to create a gnarly FM synth with an Arduino Due.
ANALOG FM DRONE SYNTH
A 2-voice with 3-operator per voice, fully analog, FM synthesizer. Using the 40106 hex inverter!
Is great for wide noisy drones, industrial stuff and hard kicks.
REZZODRONE SYNTH
Very simple, but very effective and flexible resonant synthesizer with 3 voices. Great for changing soundscapes and percussion sounds.
DRUMIQUE DRUM SYNTH
Four fully analog drum sounds of my own design and flavour. Has a digital Arduino-powered 16-step sequencer and MIDI.
THE BLUE CLONE BACKING SYNTH
Analog drum machine (Boss DR-55 clone) and bass synthesizer in a pretty blue package.
THE SCIENCEORGAN
A combination of multiple DIY synths into a surprisingly amazing ambient drone and noise beast.
HACKING THE YM7137 OPJ FM IC
Experimenting with this "all-in-one" CPU + 2-op FM + PCM drums chip, to see if I can access its internal registers and turn it into more than what the Yamaha PSR-2 did with it :)
Software Projects
Various programming projects I've done. Some are experiments that went nowhere, some almost turned into fully fleshed out software.
If you want to donate funds to help support these projects head over to the shop for PayPal and Ko-Fi.
QBASIC Ray Tracer
Fun little project on a very old Texas Instruments Travelmate laptop.
HS Expander
Unlock all 113 FM synth parameters in your Electone HS organ, turning it into a monster of a digital synthesizer.
Check the shop for downloads.
HX Expander
Special software to fully access the 8-op or 16-op FM glory inside the Electone HX organs. Based around the custom algorithms system in the HX.
Check the shop for downloads.
Organ and Synth repairs and deep-dives
This section details restorations, repairs and deep-dives into various synthesizers and organs. Most of these include extensive videos on my YouTube channel R.O.T. Studios.
If you want to donate funds to help support these projects head over to the shop for PayPal and Ko-Fi.
Elka Concorde 802 restoration
Oh boy, this one took an entire year!
This poor monster of an... accordion organ... thing had seen a lot of abuse and had been decaying in a damp shed for the 10 years... But I got her back into working condition regardless.
Yamaha Electone HX-1 deep-dive
Yamaha's most extreme FM synthesizer was hidden inside an organ all along.
So lets take a deeper look...
Korg Poly800 "MKIII"
A modern clone of the Poly800 mainboard to fix my corroded and broken one. Also includes some upgrades to the oscillators and sequencer.