For inquiries regarding emSynth, please contact us via email: emSynth@gmail.com
emSynth: the electro-music synthesizer is a compact miniature modular synthesizer system designed for anyone with an interest in low cost modular synthesizers. Here you will find affordable modules that plug into a breadboard or custom wiring harness in an enclosure. You can build entire musical systems using emSynth modules alone, or you can mix them with your own custom designs on the breadboard itself. With emSynth the sounds you can create are unlimited!
Traditional modular synthesizers are large, wall-sized investments in sound.
They are composed of racks containing modules that cost $300 or more each.
emSynth replaces these racks with breadboards holding tiny modules that cost about
$15 each.
This is made possible by several choices including open electronics and breadboard
connectorization, plus the advancements in electronics miniaturization in the past
40 years.
Of course, the circuits are simplified - and many are digital as well, adding to
the unique quality of emSynth's sounds.
You can build an emSynthesizer and reconfigure it at will for under 1/20th the
cost of traditional big iron synthesizers.
With that you get portability and flexibility also.
emSynth essentially creates a new form factor in the world of modular synthesizers: the breadboard! The history of emSynth goes back to the 1970's when a man named Stanley Lunetta pioneered the use of tiny digital chips called CMOS (pronounced sea-moss) in creating music. Stan made beautiful copper art sculptures out of CMOS chips that blinked and buzzed and whirred with elegant complexity. Fast forward to today and a crowd of modern enthusiasts are carrying on Stan's work and adding to it on a daily basis. Much of the activity is discussed on the electro-music forum named after Stan, the Lunetta forum. The emSynth circuits are derived from this ongoing category of music system exploration. We are just beginning to scrape the surface of what is sure to be a wealth of discovery as time unfolds before us. For now, some of us Lunetta designers have gotten together to bring you a small yet rapidly growing collection of miniature music modules that are collectively known as emSynth.
Here is a list of modules that are planned for development. The modules on the left will be available in our store soon. The modules on the right are just for planning purposes.
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The modules listed here are ones for which we have current designs that are ready to go out to our board house. There are many more modules planned, this is just the working list for now.
Here is a page of the latest emSynth news. Check in for the latest info about this growing development effort...
If you are a synth designer and you have an interest in designing emSynth modules, we welcome your participation. You can submit designs to any degree of development, submit completed designs, or even retail your own line of emSynth modules if you like. Please read the standards page so we can all make compatible modules.
Let's take a look at the popular spacializer module. Here we see the design view of the printed circuit board (PCB) as seen in the computer aided design (CAD) program. In this image there are several functional elements identified, most notably the breadboard connector at the left. This special connector is what enables the emSynth system to be so versatile. All you have to do is plug a few of these modules into a breadboard, wire them together on the breadboard itself, and plug in your headphones - you've got sound!
emSynth takes breadboards into the third dimension, going vertical with modules that rise above the surface of the breadboard, saving horizontal space. That's a key element also - emSynth saves you breadboard space which is always at a premium. And it saves a lot of space, 50% to 75% depending on the module.
You'll also save time with emSynth - no longer must you painstakingly form hundreds of tiny jumper wires to connect a circuit design together - now you'll do the same job in a fraction of the time and effort.
The fact that you're wiring up modules now essentially forms an abstraction layer, taking you to a higher level of thought process. It's very similar to programming a high level language instead of writing assembly code - you think at a higher level than you did before, and that's a good thing!
Of course emSynth does not limit you to working only with these modules - you can still insert chips into the breadboard and wire them into accessory circuits. Or you can even do all of your traditional breadboarding at ground level and just use a few emSynth modules wherever you prefer. The power and Stereo In/Out modules are excellent choices for getting started. Another popular choice is this spacializer module. Just drive it with a pair of PseudoRandom boards and your audio signal to hear a dancing spacialized version of your sound (and send it out to your headphones with a Stereo Out board).
That's just one idea in a huge design space of ideas that you can create within using the emSynth system. So what are you waiting for - pick out some modules and get started today!
See the Synth1 Block Diagram for an example emSynth synthesizer with block diagram and description.
Rather than build a single limited boolean sequencer module, the emSynth approach is to offer a collection of boards that you as the designer can piece together into your own imagineered boolean sequencer. This is a much more flexible approach and enbles you to make circuit topology adjustments as you go down the development path, optimizing and customizing your musical results. Read all about it here.
See this page for a growing list of articles. Some of them are design related, some are just me spouting off my opinions - you can feel free to laugh and point at those, haha, and other just meandering rambles of general interest. Enjoy!