Build your own synth for $20

Well, it's probably not going to win any design awards.
Well, it's probably not going to win any design awards.

If you're of the virtual instrument generation, the concept of synths that are made from actual electronic parts may be completely alien to you.

However, if you fancy learning a little bit more about how oscillators and LFOs actually work, you can check out a new 'how to' guide that shows you how to build a basic synth for less than $20.

Posted on the Hack A Day website, the guide - written by Logan Williams - lists the parts you need and explains how to fit them together. This isn't an advanced electronic instrument by any means, but as the supplied audio clips prove, it does sound like a synthesizer of sorts.

So, if you're at a loose end this weekend, dig out you soldering iron and wire strippers and get building.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.