ProtoSynth, The Prototyping Synthesizer

This project isn’t really a prototype, but a tool for prototyping. [Tymkrs] came up with a unique way to build this synthesizer prototyping tool. They actually patched into the underside of the breadboards in order to keep all of the permanent bits nice and tidy.

In the clip after the break you’ll see all of the build photos that lead up to this point. After cutting out and assembling the wooden pieces for the case they grab a soldering iron and get to work. Two octaves worth of keys were pulled out of an electric keyboard. Ribbon cable is soldered onto each key’s electrical connection, with an SIL pin header as a connector. This mates with another ribbon cable with a SIL socket on one end, and an IDC connector on the other. The real trick is getting that IDC connected to the breadboard. They cut back the adhesive tape on the underside of the board and soldered a surface mount pin header onto it. This way the inputs from the keys, as well as a few 1/4″ jacks from the back of the case are always available in a tidy way on the breadboards. The video goes on to show preliminary synthesizer work on the device.

7 thoughts on “ProtoSynth, The Prototyping Synthesizer

  1. really cool project. the thing that bothers me is the notoriety of breadboards crapping out and not knowing it. and once you finally determine that your code and circuitry is flawless, changing out these breadboards does not look like fun. but great idea for a prototype for prototyping ;). im sure they have some better platforms for implementing modularity planned in the next build

    1. Heya Nafix!

      For now, we’re leaving the breadboards loose. It would be pretty easy to swap just a single board or power strip board out for a new one if the need arose.

      We will see how it holds up to regular use!

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