Building the Mutable Instruments Shruthi-1 was the first step for me to access a whole new world of truly capable musical tools that you can build yourself, with the possibility to modify it to your own personal needs and also to have the satisfaction to build it yourself !

After strolling on the Music Tech SDIY of the MuffWiggler forum during last week, i was hocked by several very interesting SDIY projects and I’ve jumped on several of them. The first one I will build is a dual analog step sequencer called SympleSEQ. This is a community funded project conceived by Hexinverter.net and who is selling different kits for this nice project. The Eurorack panel is available here.

Small demo of one of my recently built Shruthi-1 synth in an unusual ambient Pad. As usual, the ValhallaShimmer reverb add a lot of lush to the sound.

Shruthi-1 Pad demo by hpsounds

I’ve discovered the Shruthi-1 synthesizer project by reading a thread on the Anafrog forum. I’ve then checked the audio samples on Mutable Instruments and I was so impressed by the quality and personality of this little synthesizer that I’ve decided to take the plunge. But there was a unknown part on this decision : this synthesizer is only available as a SDIY (Solder Do It Yourself) kit … and I’ve never built such an electronic kit before !

But here is what I’ve built during three long evening …

The Shruthi-1 is a hybrid digital/analog monosynth. Its hardware design is deceptively simple, but the sonic range is wide: sometimes grungily digital like a PPG-Wave, fat and funky like a SH-101, videogame-y like a Commodore 64, weird and warm like an ESQ-1 ; but more often than not, truly original.

Contrary to the hardware you can purchase at the music shop next door, a Shruthi-1 isn’t designed to be industrially manufactured. Indeed, its assembly doesn’t require any specialized equipment, besides a screwdriver, cutters, a soldering iron and two hands.

Full informations about Mutable Instruments and the Shruthi-1 here.
Many thanks to Olivier Gillet for his amazing work on the Mutable Instruments projects !

Please check below all my building process!

Organisation

Selecting and organizing all the parts (resistors, capacitors, diodes, LEDs, connectors, sockets, ICs, …).

Shruthi-1 digital/control board

Soldering the first resistors and capacitors

The digital/control board has components on both side of the PCB

LEDs on the digital/control board

The LCD screen will be soldered on the top of the board

First test without the LCD screen : everything was still fine

The ATMega644p : the brain of the Shruthi-1 synth

Connector soldered to the LCD

Soldering the LCD PCB to the digital/control board

Front view of the digital/control board

Shruthi-1 SMR-4 filter board

Working on the SMR-4 filter board

Checking the power supply circuit with a multimeter

Step after step, the PCBs are getting filled

Audio and inter-boards connectors

Flying over the Shruthi-1

Nice work for a beginner !

Connecting the two boards

The 2 boards of the Shruthi-1 are connected first with wires

A second Shruthi-1 is born ! Welcome !

Tuning the filter’s boards

My musical studio mess in Reykjavík

Tuning is now finished …

Assembling the two boards

Screwing spacers

Still lacking some proper enclosures

Shruthi-1 by hpsounds

More pictures here.

The legendary JazzMutant Lemur touchscreen modular solution has been ported to the iOS (iPhones and iPads) by the berlin based company Liine.

I’ve just bought it some days ago. That’s not just an other one iOS controller app for your iPhone or iPad : the scripting and modular possibilities, and the numerous physical properties of most of objects in the toolbox make it quite different, quite more “playable” and enjoyable than the other ones that I have tried (TouchAble, TouchOSC, Midi Touch, …).

For me, this tool does not replace my other hardware controllers, but it offers new interactive possibilities that only a touchscreen can have.

Here is a screenshot of the modular controller environment I’m working on at the moment for a coming music piece.

Strange Tribe (v15-extract) by hpsounds

This is the first track made in Iceland, since I moved to Reykjavík a couple of months ago.

Technical notes

Mixant et mélangeant les traces du passé, les échelles, la lumière, les conditions atmosphériques, et le paysage, explorant et interprétant les vibrations et les pulsations du territoire, Ljós|Light vous fera voyager au travers de perceptions et d’expressions personnelles de la nature et des temps anciens de l’Islande.

Blending and dissolving old memories, scales, light, weather and landscape, exploring and interpreting the vibrations and pulsations of the territory, Ljós|Light will take you in a personal perception and expression of Iceland’s older days and nature.

Sýningin byggir á blöndun og úrvinnslu gamalla minninga, kvarða, ljóss, veðurs og landslags. Með því að upplifa titring og takfestu viðfangsefnisins mun Ljós/Light opna fyrir þér persónulega skynjun og tjáningu af náttúru Íslands og fyrri tíð.

We will have a projection of our Ljós|Light project during the Days of Darkness festival (03 nov. 2011 – 10 nov. 2011) in East Iceland at the Snaefellsstofa Visitor Centre (Vatnajökull National Park – Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður). This event will be followed by a lecture about our photographic and sound works on and in Iceland.

05 nov. 2011 – 15:00
free entrance

" Days of Darkness festival – Ljós|Light project [955.57 kB]

" Dagar myrkurs 2011 - dagskra.pdf [683.6 kB]

Ljós | Light by hpsounds

Links
Snaefellsstofa Visitor Centre
Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður – Vatnajökull National Park

Enjoying two sunny days last week, we took the chance to drive up to Kaldidalur and Thorisdalur, which are the closest places in highland from Reykjavík. It had snowed a lot the days before and the temperature was still cold, around -1˚ C, which was safe to drive (most of the muddy spots of the track were still frozen).

I was quite unreal to walk alone in these arctic like landscapes !

We have finally moved downtown Reykjavík (Iceland) yesterday. After 13 travels in this country, we did it ! … but from decision-making to being in Reykjavík, it ran nearly six months.