For better or worse, there are a few instruments that have been pigeonholed into specific genres of popular music. For example, banjos are often heard in bluegrass or folk, harmonicas in blues, and a sick horn section will take many of us immediately to third wave ska. Similarly, there are certain styles of synthesizers tied to various genres and if you’re a fan a certain sub-genre of reggae you’ll be familiar with the dub siren. This unique analog synth has a few tricks up its sleeve and [Jakub] shows us how he built his.
He’s calling this build the Sirenotron, and its based on the venerable 555 timer It also features an LFO built on an LM358, with triangle and square wave modes, plus an additional “acid mode” for the square wave which adds a single capacitor to the circuit but makes a big difference in the sound. Like any siren synth, there are potentiometers to control pitch and the pulse rate of the siren as well and another switch controls whether it is outputting sound or not. He’s also included the ability to control it with a foot pedal so he can use it while playing the bass guitar during live shows.
[Jakub] has gone through several prototypes before getting to this stage, and not only uses it when playing dub but also creates psychedelic soundscapes in a side project of his where it also fits right in. He’s also made the schematics available for anyone who wants to reproduce it or build on his design.
We’re always interested in a unique synthesizer build around here, and some of our favorites include this synth built from Sega Genesis parts and this one controlled more like a woodwind instrument.
