gakken sx-150

[jamiewoody]

i would LOVE to have one of these! they seem very rare to find in the states though. shipping is outrageous on feebay for them.

not that building one would be any less expensive, but, if one were to buy all of the components in the kit, would they be hard to build? are the manuals out there for download pdf?

when i get through these last expensive cold months, i may have to break down and get one of these and try to build it.

has anyone here built one? how did it go?

[Matt the Modulator]

I had a go and could not get the main oscillator to work or The Envelope gen and finding a resistive strip was impossible i used this translation of the schematic http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FMBJEkaC8Lw/SLrL4GIAcJI/AAAAAAAAYNE/W8Mc8VW6GfY/s1600-h/SX150_SchemV2.PNG
The filter section does work at 6V (but not at 9v) which is great for use in cheap keyboards which are 6V

[jamiewoody]

that seems to make me thing this is pretty steep for something which may or may not work. i dont think i will mess with it. it would cost around $40 usd just to get it to me from japan, then by chance it would not function properly.

as the manual illustrates, it is modular, already pre-bult board. you put the board in the case, connect the knobs to the pots, etc.not very educational from an electronics stand point.

the demos of the WORKING versions look and sound very cool and warmer than most homemade synths i have seen this far.

i wish they would export this to the united states, so shipping would not be outrageous!

[Gordonjcp]

There's not a lot to get wrong in them.  Take it a stage at a time and get it working.  You'll figure it out ;-)

[Matt the Modulator]

i may have miss read the question i had a go at making one from scratch just to confirm the kit one's are easy to put together and my bought kit  works fine. ive sacked simply making a sx150 circuit and taken some idea's from the schematic to create a circuit which is across between the sx150,  atari punk console and a dub siren

it looks like it will have a
square/triangle lfo
A/R generator
VCA
VCO with pich modulation and  voltage controlled atari punk stepped tone gen

iam just putting a working cased model together and pricing up some kits ile hopefully post on here if i get some kits together to sell

[jamiewoody]

oh, my bad, i guess i read that wrong. so you got the parts and actually built one from scratch! sweet! 

i would love to try one of these. i know the demos of them, they have an incredible thick tone! i like how they are modular in that there is an input and output on them too!

i am not crazy about gakken theramins, then again, maybe if one were to bypass the tiny speaker, and install a 1/4" out instead, it would actually sound normal? (whatever normal means!).

i think i'd rather build a more traditional theramin.

[jamiewoody]

i notice on feebay, these are going for around $60 usd,round figure with shipping.

maybe if a dealer in japan did a discount for buying in quantity, it would be worth it? i think i am going to have to try one of these though.

has anybody done any bends to them? mind sharing? (i'll do a search too...).

[Matt the Modulator]

ive put some bends up here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_the_modulator/3375768994/#
you can buy them from makers shed
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKGK8

[jamiewoody]

i could not find a shipping price on that maker's shed site.