Mutable Instruments Shruthi synth

[Beer of the Bass]

Has anyone got experience with these? [url="http://mutable-instruments.net/shruthi1"]http://mutable-instr...ts.net/shruthi1[/url]
They seem to offer a lot for the money, and I miss my old analogue monosynths that I sold when skint a few years ago (I had a Teisco S110-F and an original Novation Bass Station). These are an analogue/digital hybrid with digital oscillators and modulation sources into an analogue filter and VCA, with different filters available.
I've enough experience with DIY electronics that I'd be confident in building one, and the fact that you can get a moog-style ladder filter for it is attractive, as that covers exactly the type of noises I'd like to make. The lack of knobs for individual functions could take some getting used to, but otherwise they look sort of appealing.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Beer of the Bass

[HowieBass]

KiOgon put one together for Zenitram recently so ask either/both of them about the kit.

[KiOgon]

Yes Zenitram got the kit + case then got me to build it for him. Easy build if you know what you're doing, good kit with all the right bits - could have been better bagged but not a problem. Straightforward to build - assembling the case requires some patience looks good when it's all together & I gather Martin is rather pleased with Beyond testing it - I couldn't comment on the usefulness

I'd be quite happy to build another

[Zenitram]

I'm noodling around on it right now!

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413470790' post='2578580']
I'm noodling around on it right now!
[/quote]

How do you find the four knob interface for tweaking sounds? Is it reasonably intuitive to get around? I want something I can play around with the different parameters on without having my head stuck in the manual all the time.

[Zenitram]

Yes, it's very intuitive. The LEDs below the knobs let you know where you are. And if you have a midi controller thing, like a Behringer BCR2000 or a Novation Remote SL, you can control the 24 most common parameters by CC, so you have all those controls at your fingertips at the same time. Apparently. I haven't tried it yet, but I read it somewhere.

[Zenitram]

This is a good deal:

http://mutable-instruments.net/forum/discussion/5901/fs-shruthi-smr4-mkii

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413475926' post='2578658']
Yes, it's very intuitive. The LEDs below the knobs let you know where you are. And if you have a midi controller thing, like a Behringer BCR2000 or a Novation Remote SL, you can control the 24 most common parameters by CC, so you have all those controls at your fingertips at the same time. Apparently. I haven't tried it yet, but I read it somewhere.
[/quote]

I'd be playing it from my Roland SK-500 keyboard which doesn't have any knobs, so hopefully I'll get by OK with the Shruthi as it is. If I don't I could always pick up a knob-based controller later.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1413476711' post='2578674']
This is a good deal:

[url="http://mutable-instruments.net/forum/discussion/5901/fs-shruthi-smr4-mkii"]http://mutable-instr...ruthi-smr4-mkii[/url]
[/quote]

Hmm, it does look like a good deal, but I'm viewing assembling the thing and coming up with my own case as part of the fun! I have access to a laser cutter for the front panel and I like the idea of making a case with hardwood sides.

[BigRedX]

There's a version with more knobs, [url=http://mutable-instruments.net/shruthi_xt/]the XT[/url], for about twice the price and still a good deal IMO.

[molan]

There are some good used synths around for this sort of money. Obviously very different but you can pick up an almost new Novation Mininova for £150 on eBay these days.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1413580356' post='2579930']
There are some good used synths around for this sort of money. Obviously very different but you can pick up an almost new Novation Mininova for £150 on eBay these days.
[/quote]

True, but I'm as much into the DIY project aspect of the Shruthi as finding something ready made to do the job. I'd also prefer a module to a keyboard as I don't get on with mini keys.

[Beer of the Bass]

I've gone ahead and ordered the bare PCB and microcontrollers for the Shruthi. I'm going to source parts myself and use the ladder filter board from these guys; [url="http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/Shruthi-Filter.html"]http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/Shruthi-Filter.html[/url]
Listening to the demos, the ladder filter just does the thing I like better than any other filter design, and I like the way the Filter FM settings resemble some of Tim Blake's droney noises on the old Gong records!
Parts will be ordered as and when I have the money spare and I have a couple of other projects on the go, so it may be a few weeks before I have any further progress to report...

[Beer of the Bass]

I've got hold of my boards and all the necessary parts, and this morning I assembled the filter board. I'm going to have a break and do the digital/control board another day, but it seems to be going together easily enough. With the silk-screened PCBs, no off-board wiring and good instructions, it seems a surprisingly straightforward build even though the filter has a high parts count.

[Zenitram]

That's fab. Where does one go about sourcing all the parts for this sort of stuff?

And what are you going to do for a case?

I'm ever so impressed with the Shruthi, it really can do some wild things. I'd love to get more of them, or the Ambika. I also wish I had the knowledge and skill to do all the soldering and understand what does what, and why, and how, and all that stuff. I suppose it's just knowledge you accumulate over time, once you get started on these things.

[Beer of the Bass]

I picked up most of the parts from [url="http://www.bitsbox.co.uk"]http://www.bitsbox.co.uk[/url], a couple of bits from [url="http://www.technobotsonline.com"]http://www.technobotsonline.com[/url] and the last few parts I couldn't find elsewhere from eBay sellers. Some of the large industrial suppliers like Farnell can be slightly cheaper but they have minimum orders, more expensive shipping and are not really geared towards supplying small orders to DIYers. I found that the cost saving from self-sourcing compared to buying the kit is not huge, but the filter I wanted doesn't come with the Shruthi kit. Otherwise, it's probably worth paying the small amount extra for the kit for the sake of simplicity. The design of the Shruthi is quite elegant as most of the clever stuff is done by the microcontroller which I bought pre-programmed with the PCB, allowing the hardware to be fairly simple.
For the case I'm going to make the sides and base from 6mm thick walnut which I got from a hobby supplier. The front panel is going to be in black perspex, cut and etched with a laser cutter which belongs to a local hackerspace. My plan is to get the boards assembled and tested, then move on to the case.

[Zenitram]

You, er, you wouldn't fancy making two of those cases, would you?

[Beer of the Bass]

I've got it working, though unboxed as yet. I'll take a quick photo tomorrow when there's some light. I was pleasantly surprised when everything worked first time without having to do any troubleshooting! I'm going to attribute that to the excellent documentation and instructions, as most of my projects require a little tweaking. Compared to working on amps or pedals it's nice not to have to do any off-board wiring.
I guess the next thing will be to sort out the case, as it's naked at the moment.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1416065797' post='2606550']
You, er, you wouldn't fancy making two of those cases, would you?
[/quote]

I'm not sure how transferable it would be since I'm adding a volume knob, round buttons and my LEDs are installed with spacers to bring them level with the front panel.