Norgatronics

This post originally appeared on the SS-30M blog on 08/08/21   As I continue to ponder  the wisdom of making my own 808 snare drum module, the ticklish matter of white noise requires my attention. Oh, and today is 808 day! Transistors' Histories The tickling mostly comes from the unobtanium transistor that Roland used. As explained by Roland's founder Ikutaro Kakehashi in 808: The Movie there was a rejected part that they specifically used to get the exact right kind of white noise. No longer available because the transistor manufacturing was improved, there is a no way to rebuild 808s like the did back in the day. Or is there? I see there's someone in Spain selling genuine spares, but with a price with shipping getting on on for £50 something else is needed.   Matsushita 2SC828R from https://secretlifeofsynthesizers.com - Note the white dot on top indicating it was selecetd for the specific quaility of its noise. Some work has been done on testing this  story's...

This post originally appeared on the SS-30M blog on 21/10/21    tl:dr  I tried to set my Hexinverter Electronique Mutant Snare (MS) module to match the TR-808, on which it is based. I found that the tuning of the MS 'shells' is quite high and not like most 808s. The original 808 schematic values give a frequency for the high snare oscillator of 499 Hz and later component change brought it right down to about 335Hz. My research, which included checking more examples' frequencies, shows that most 808s and its modern clones use the revised component values and thus a lower pitched snare 'shell'. That's including the Roland ACB digital products. The MS is using the original component values, hence is higher in pitch. Noting the variation in tuning ratio between the two oscillators and also bearing in mind that the Q value changes decay time, it should be possible to modify the MS to match the sound of most 808 snares and clones. Ensnared The Roland TR-808's...

This post was originally published on the SS-30M blog on 18th July 2020   Updates are coming out of order now, but not to worry. This is the most recent thing I've been working on and it has some relevance to the odessey that is the SS-30M. The tl:dr here is that I did another Schaeffer panel and I have embraced crimped connectors at long last. One of my other side projects to the SS-30M has been Eurorack modular drums. Last year it was the Pharmasonic SY-1, a clone of the Pearl Syncussion. And the year before that I completed a DIY build with my own panel design. That Hexinverter Eletronique TR-909 Rim Shot and Hand Clap clone was documented in this post about the Nein Oh Nein. I got the PCBs for the NeinOhNein in 2017 and at the same time grabbed another set of Hexinverter boards for the AteOhAte Toms. I started this in 2018 in parallel with the NeinOhNein but the mechanical design was intense. Knobs Like the NeinOhNein, I wanted to go with an authentic Roland TR look. For that m...