You would think that a synthesizer that makes as much noise and as many knobs would have more than a dozen transistors on board. Surely the circuit behind the panel is complex, and there must be at least 555 timers, right?
But no, that’s the “box of bases.” [lonesoulsurfer] Significantly easier to come up with. Take inspiration [Look Mum No Computer] The circuit is called the “Circle Drone of Doom”, which uses six variable relaxation oscillators to make some nice sounds. Beezz’s box has raised it slightly higher in the final version with four oscillators in three convertible banks. Each oscillator consists of a transistor with a floating base connection and a common RC network over the collector. The soundout outputs of these relaxation oscillators can be adjusted and added together, resulting in some surprisingly complex sounds. Watch the video below for some information on Synth – we swear there are some points where we can hear the elements of the THX Deep Note there.
We turned around a bit to understand these oscillators and it looks like they qualify as snow snow relaxation oscillators. [lonesolesurfer]Its notes indicate that the SS9018 transistor should be used, but in the photos they appear to be 2N4401s. We’re not sure how long the transistors will work in snow mode, but if they do, some neon tubes will work instead.