The RoHS "big three" metals I talked about last time occupy a lot of attention of synthesizer manufacturers because we have specific legal obligations we must meet regarding those metals; but many other metals are also used in building synths, a…
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In this second part of the series on modular and the environment, I'm going to look at metals. Modular synthesizers are made of many different materials including wood, plastic, and glass, but a significant part of the mass of a synth (or any ele…
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I'm sometimes asked about the environmental consequences of modular synthesizers. It's an interesting question with a lot of ramifications, and there's a lot of misinformation circulated. That may be inevitable given the nature of this busine…
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I've been talking for a while about my development process for the MSK 009 Coiler VCF, and now at last it's available for purchase in the North Coast Synthesis online storefront. It's a limited, preliminary manufacturing run, using up a f…
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This posting gathers together a bunch of small news items: new features on the Web site, notably including homegrown videos, the current state of the business, and some ideas I'm working on for future modules. Web site stuff I've been mak…
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Exponential converters are basic building blocks used in many synth circuits, but for many of us, they are incomprehensible black boxes. The basic concept of how an exponential converter works is very simple; but the simplest possible circui…
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In my last entry I talked about the rules for simplifying series and parallel circuits. Two resistors in series can be replaced by one with a value equivalent to the pair of them; two in parallel can similarly be replaced; there are other rules…
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When I started breadboarding the Coiler VCF (see my new videos about it...), I ran into a problem: the design called for a couple of 6800pF (also known as 6.8nF) capacitors, and I didn't have any of those on hand. I didn't want to rush out and…
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One of the most common beginner SDIY questions is which parts are frequently used and worth buying in large quantities to use on multiple projects. The people who ask this question think they're going to save serious amounts of money by buyi…
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As the title says, North Coast's RSS feed works again. The URL is in the footer of every page:https://files.northcoastsynthesis.com/rss/That's a change from the old URL, but the old URL still works if you're already subscribed to it. Sinc…
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It is often said that the secret of Taco Bell's success is that they only use six ingredients: refried beans, seasoned ground beef mixture, cheddar cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and corn tortillas. Everything on their menu is just some…
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UPDATE: This item has been sold and is no longer available. I'm leaving the Web log posting online for historical interest. Hey, kids, I have an assembled Leapfrog Filter here that failed the initial quality control (because of what tur…
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