Back again with the x0xb0x! SuperNick (Nick) has been making some more progress on this rather interesting little synthesiser, so I thought I’d put together another quick video showing how things are coming along.

We’ve been experimenting with the analogue circuitry, particularly the sawtooth waveform. There’s a temporary test arrangement with a small power supply, a potentiometer and a capacitor connected to part of the board. It’s not exactly the finished product just yet, but it gives us something to work with while the remaining components are installed.

We haven’t tested the square wave yet, but the sawtooth results are encouraging. Hopefully we’ll eventually have some proper synthesiser sounds coming out of the thing rather than just staring at waveforms!

Looking over the board, quite a few more components have been fitted since the last video. There are resistors, capacitors and transistors all over the place, although there’s still a large section waiting to be populated. Not exactly a five-minute assembly job, this one.

There are also plenty of sockets waiting for switches and other components. Eventually we’ll have the knobs, LEDs and controls fitted so that the whole thing can be operated like a proper synthesiser. Then we can start making some tunes!

SuperNick (Nick) has been doing the assembly work, and the soldering is looking rather impressive. I’ve been helping out with the resistors, although I’m not sure whether passing components across the bench counts as actually building anything!

This recording is mostly a collection of leftover footage from the previous video, along with a little bonus material at the end. It gives us a nice idea of how far the project has progressed and just how much work is still ahead.

I’ve always wanted to be a DJ, so perhaps once this thing is finished I can start mixing some beats together. LEDs flashing, knobs turning, synthesiser noises everywhere. What could possibly go wrong?

Hopefully we’ll have some proper audio output to demonstrate in the near future. For now, SuperNick (Nick) is making good progress, even if the x0xb0x hasn’t quite found its voice yet!