INTRO |

Hey there, thanks for buying this DIY kit! We – Erica Synths and Moritz Klein – have
developed it with one speci c goal in mind: teaching people with little to no prior
experience how to design analog synthesizer circuits from scratch. So what you’ll nd in
the box is not simply meant to be soldered together and then disappear in your rack.
Instead, we want to take you through the circuit design process step by step, explaining
every choice we’ve made and how it impacts the nished module. For that, we strongly
suggest you follow along on a breadboard1, which is a non-permanent circuit prototyping
tool that allows you to experiment and play around with your components. To help you
with this, we’ve included suggested breadboard layouts in select chapters.
In addition to this, you can also play around with most of the chapter’s circuits in a circuit
simulator called CircuitJS. CircuitJS runs in your browser. You’ll nd weblinks in the
footnotes which will direct you to an instance that already has example circuits set up for
you. We strongly encourage you to ddle with the component values and general
structure of those circuits to get a better understanding of the concepts we’re laying out.
Generally, this manual is intended to be read and worked through front to back, but there
were a few things we felt should go into a dedicated appendix. These are general
vignettes on electronic components & concepts, tools, and the process of putting the
module together once you’re done experimenting. Don’t hesitate to check in there
whenever you think you’re missing an important piece of information. Most importantly
though: have fun!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC ……………………..…………………………………………………. 2
BILL OF MATERIALS ……….……………………………………………………….…..…… 3
POWERING YOUR BREADBOARD …………….…………………………………………… 6
CIRCUIT DESIGN CLOSE-UP …………………………………………………………..…… 7
COMPONENTS & CONCEPTS APPENDIX ………………………………………………. 32
TOOLS APPENDIX …………………………………………………………………………… 45
MODULE ASSEMBLY APPENDIX …………………………………………………………. 47
SOLDERING APPENDIX …………………………………………………………………….. 61

1Note that there is no breadboard included in this kit! You will also need a pack of jumper wires
and two 9 V batteries with clips. These things are cheap & easy to nd in your local electronics
shop.

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THE HI-HAT
Synthesized, analog hi-hats are pretty fascinating. That’s because emulating any kind of
cymbal using an analog circuit is tough, since the sound a real cymbal produces is not
quite pure noise – but also not really harmonic.
Still, a couple classic drum machines like the Roland TR-606 and 808 took their best shot
at it, with quite strange sounding results that I personally really like. So I decided to follow
suit and came up with this simple, but very versatile and crunchy sounding hi-hat circuit.

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BILL OF MATERIALS
Before we start, please check if your kit contains all of the necessary components. In
addition to a PCB, panel and power cable, your box should also contain:

An array of resistors. The speci c values (in ohms,

which you should check for with a multimeter) are

1M x1
820k x1
470k x1
120k x1
100k x18
82k x1
68k x1
56k x1
51k x1
47k x3
39k x2
33k x2
22k x1
10k x1
4k7 x1
1k x3
680Ω x1
100Ω x1
10Ω x2

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 A bunch of capacitors. The speci c values (which are
printed onto their bodies) are

47µF (electrolytic) x2
1µF (foil) x1
470n (ceramic) x1
100nF (ceramic) x13
10nF (ceramic) x1
2n2 (ceramic) x1
1n (ceramic) x2
330pF (ceramic) x2
100pF (ceramic) x1

Some diodes. The speci c model names (which are

printed onto their bodies) are

1N4148 (signal) x6
1N5819 (schottky) x2

A couple of transistors. The speci c model names

(which are printed onto their bodies) are

BC558 (PNP) x2
BC548/547 (NPN) x4

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 A handful of potentiometers. Their speci c values
(which may be encoded & printed onto their bodies) are

250k (B254) x1
100k (B104) x1
10k (B103) x2

A few jack sockets. The speci c models (which you

can identify by their color) are

Switched mono (black) x5

A couple chips. Their speci c models (which are

printed onto their bodies) are

TL072 (dual op amp) x2

40106 (hex schmitt trigger inverter) x1

You will also nd a few sockets that are only relevant when assembling the module in the
end.

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POWERING YOUR BREADBOARD
Before we can start building, you’ll need to nd a way of providing your breadboard with
power. Ideally, you’d use a dual 12 V power supply for this. Dual power supplies are great
– and if you want to get serious about synth design, you should invest in one at some
point. But what if you’re just starting out, and you’d like to use batteries instead?
Thankfully, that’s totally doable. You just need to connect two 9 V batteries to your
breadboard like shown here.2 For this, you should use 9 V battery clips, which are
cheap & widely available in every electronics shop.

By connecting the batteries like this, the row on the left side labeled + becomes your
positive rail, the row on the right side labeled + becomes your negative rail, and both rows
labeled – become your ground rails.3
Please make sure you disconnect the batteries from your breadboard when you
make changes to the circuit! Otherwise you run the risk of damaging components.

2 Since the circuits in this manual were designed for a 12 V power supply, we assume that to be
the default. Everything will still work roughly the same with 9 V, though.
3This is a bit awkward because breadboards weren’t really made with dual supply voltages in
mind.

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 HI-HAT BASICS
To understand how it works, we’ll start by identifying the di erent functional blocks that
make up a classic analog hi-hat. First up: some sort of noise source. There are designs
that go for simple white noise here, but I think this sounds a little basic and overly
arti cial.
That’s because, as I said before, real cymbals produce a sound that’s sort of half-way
between pure noise and something faintly harmonic. To get there, I took inspiration
from Roland’s implementation, which uses a very dissonant swarm of square wave
oscillators to produce vaguely metallic sounding noise.

Next, we’ll have to set up a lter to get rid of frequencies that real cymbal noise doesn’t
contain. Also, we’ll want to emphasize some of the remaining frequencies to make the
sound more sharp and biting. So the lter will need to be resonant.

Since the harmonic content added by a resonant lter is usually not very complex, we’ll
then want to route our signal through some sort of distortion to add more crunch and
metallic sheen.

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 After that, we’ll have to shape the result into a quick burst – or a somewhat longer one,
depending on whether the hi-hat should currently be open or closed. For that, we’ll use
an ampli er which we’ll control using an envelope generator.

Finally, we’ll apply another round of highpass ltering to get rid of any remaining low end
in the signal.

Next, we’ll try to implement it in an actual circuit. We’ll start by creating our noise source.
For that, we’ll need a quick and e cient way to set up a swarm of square wave
oscillators.

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INVERTER OSCILLATOR
Our best bet here is probably a schmitt trigger inverter-based solution, since it consists of
just three parts per oscillator: the inverter, a capacitor, and a resistor.

If you’ve built my DIY VCO, you’ll mostly understand how this works. Still, here’s a quick
recap.4 When we rst ip the power switch, the capacitor will be empty and the voltage
above it will be 0. The schmitt trigger inverter will interpret this as a low input state,
causing it to put its output into the high state. Now, current ows from the chip’s
output through the resistor and into the capacitor, lling it up. As it lls up, the voltage
above it rises.

At some point, it’ll cross the schmitt trigger inverter’s upper input threshold, causing
it to latch into the high input state. In response, it’ll put its output into the low state.
Because the capacitor voltage is now much higher than the inverter’s output voltage,
current will ow out of the cap and back into the output.

4You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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Until we hit the lower input threshold, the inverter latches into the low input state, and the
whole process repeats. At the inverter’s output, this gives us a square wave whose
frequency depends on the size of both resistor and capacitor: increasing either will
decrease the frequency, cause it takes longer to charge and drain the cap.
Knowing this, we can use a 40106 chip, which houses six individual schmitt trigger
inverters, to set up six oscillators tuned to six di erent, dissonant pitches. Okay, but what
pitches are we going to use, exactly? Well, to make our lives a little easier, we can simply
adapt the values that Roland used in their TR-606 hi-hat. In ascending order, they tuned
their six oscillators to (approximately) 245, 306, 365, 415, 437, and 619 Hz respectively.
Since I wanted to get something more chunky than the very high pitched 606 hats, I
decided to shift all of those frequencies down by around 50%. Next, we’ll need to
pick capacitor and resistor values that give us these resulting frequencies. (Circuit
simulators come in really handy here.)
With those values settled, all that’s left is mashing the six oscillators together. For this,
we can go the lazy route and simply use six 100k resistors to create a passive mixer.

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 To try this out, here’s how you could set it up on the breadboard.

If you listen to the output through headphones, you should hear a dissonant, atonal
swarm of bees. Just as expected! But it doesn’t really sound like a cymbal yet. One
problem is the low end, but the high end is also a little too intense. To deal with it, we’ll
set up a lter that removes both low and high end frequencies at once.

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BANDPASS FILTER
For that, we’ll chain a simple passive highpass and a simple passive low pass together. If
you need a refresher on how these work, I recommend reading the manual for my DIY
VCF kit. By selecting the right capacitor and resistor values, we can carve out the
rough frequency band that is suitable for hi-hats. Using a smaller resistor or capacitor
in the highpass (on the left) will eliminate more of the low end, while using a bigger
resistor or capacitor in the low pass (on the right) will kill more of the high end.
When playing around with this, I settled on a 100 pF cap combined with a 100k resistor
for the highpass, and a .22n cap plus an 820k resistor for the low pass. Which gives us a
frequency spectrum at the output that looks something like this: a cut at around 400 Hz
and a gentle drop starting at around 10 kHz.

That’s pretty close to what Roland used for their 808 and 606 hi-hats – I just decided to
cut out a little bit more of the low end, since our mixed oscillators are more bottom-heavy
overall.
Now, there is a small issue with this approach. Since the lter is passive, we’d lose a lot of
volume at the output. To x this, we’ll turn our passive bandpass into an active
bandpass using an op amp. To save a couple extra components (and more crucially, to
be able to add resonance later), we’ll go for an inverting con guration here. It works like
this.

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First, we ground the op amp’s non-inverting input. Then, we take our highpass and we
connect it to the inverting input. This might look a bit confusing, because we previously
picked up the lter’s output from after the capacitor, not the resistor. But in an inverting op
amp setup like this, the inverting input acts as something we call a virtual ground node.
Meaning that it stays at (or very close to) 0 V during operation while also reading the
input that will be ampli ed. So for our lter, it doubles as the connection to ground for
the resistor – and the output node for the ltered signal.
Next, we take our low pass and put it into the op amp’s feedback path. Again, this setup
might look a little confusing, because in the passive version, we applied the input signal
to the resistor, while we connected the capacitor to ground and picked up the output from
above it. Here, since the inverting input doubles as a ground node and the lter’s
input, both the capacitor and resistor are connected to it.
Finally, we’ve got to link the low pass output to the op amp’s output, which completes the
feedback path and allows the op amp to push and pull current through both ltering
stages.
Okay, but how does this increase the output volume of our bandpass? That’s the tricky
part about this setup. Since the op amp does everything it can to keep its inverting input
very close to 0 V, the impedances of both lter stages (that is, how hard it is to move
current through them) matter. If the impedance before the inverting input is low, but
the impedance between that input and the op amp’s output is high, a small change
in the input signal requires a big change in voltage at the op amp’s output to keep
the inverting input close to 0 V.
So the gain we apply to the ltered signal depends on the relation between the input
impedance and the feedback impedance. Conveniently, with our chosen component
values, that input impedance is about 3 times lower than the feedback impedance.
Meaning that we should get an output signal that’s about 3 times louder than the
one we’d have gotten from the passive version.5

5You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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If you listen to this through headphones, the signal should be pretty loud.6 Great!

6 Note that since your kit does not contain a .22 nF capacitor, I swapped it for a .33 nF capacitor.

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 RESONANT BANDPASS
Next, we’ll want to add some resonance to make the sound more sharp and biting. To get
there, we only need to add two components: a capacitor and a resistor. If we insert them
into the feedback path like this, then our lter will strongly emphasize the low pass
stage’s cuto frequency.

If you’ve built my DIY Kick Drum module, you’ll recognize this structure as a bridged-t
topology. In that kit’s manual, I explain the mechanics behind this in detail, but here’s the
basic gist. Whenever the voltage at the inverting input changes, the op amp will try to
neutralize that change by adjusting its output voltage. Previously, that process was very
straightforward, because all the op amp had to do was charge (or discharge) the single
capacitor in the feedback path.
Now, with the added cap and the resistance to ground between the two, things get
pretty complicated, since both caps need to be charged and discharged – but they
do so at very di erent speeds and they’re interacting with one another in the
process. As a result, the op amp over- and undershoots its target repeatedly as it
struggles to stabilize the voltage at its inverting input. And the resulting oscillation that is
added on top of the input signal is a perfect sine wave swinging at the low pass stages’s
cuto frequency.
Which, to make things even more complicated, also depends on the resistance going to
ground between the two caps. The relation, at least, is simple: the lower the resistance,
the higher the cuto frequency. If we replace the single 2n2 cap we used previously
with two 3n3 capacitors, and combine them with a 470 ohm resistor to ground, we
should get a resonant peak at around 7 kHz. And since it’d be nice to add some

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manual control for the tone here, we’ll insert a 1k potentiometer between the resistor and
ground. This should allow us to move the cuto from 7 kHz all the way down to 4 kHz.7

If you listen to this, it should sound much more sharp and aggressive. Cool!

7You can try this chapter’s circuit in a simulator. I’ve already set it up for you right here. You can
change all values by double clicking on components.

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 DISTORTION/VOLUME MODULATION
With the ltering and resonance sorted, I’d now like to add some crunch to our processed
signal. And while we could use a dedicated distortion stage for this, there’s a way more
e cient solution. In Roland’s 808 and 606 cymbal and hi-hat sections, they used
something they dubbed the „swing type VCA“ to modulate the signal’s volume. That VCA
is so crude and bare bones that it adds a ton of distortion as a byproduct.
Which would be horrible for any other application – but in this case, it’s essentially killing
two birds with one stone: volume modulation and distortion in a single, e cient little
block.

So let’s take this block apart. The central piece is a simple NPN transistor, set up as a
high gain ampli er. For that, we combine a big 33k collector resistor with a very small 100
ohms emitter resistor. (We’ll ignore the diode for now.) Then, we bias our input using a
capacitor followed by a big 1M resistor connecting the transistor’s base to the positive
rail. This ensures that current is owing through the transistor even if the signal is
idling at ground level.
That current can then be manipulated by the signal pushing against and or pulling at the
capacitor. The transistor in turn replicates those changes in voltage at its collector –
though with a huge gain. That huge gain is the key to the distortion added by the VCA.
Basically, any tiny change in voltage at the input results in a big change in voltage at the
collector. So any signal that’s not extremely low in volume will be transformed into a
harsh, distorted pulse wave.
That pulse wave’s amplitude, and that’s the kicker, is then determined by the control
voltage we apply to the 33k resistor. Simply because it sets the maximum voltage that we
can get below that resistor when the transistor is fully closed. So by lowering the control
voltage, we lower the volume of our output signal.

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 Alright, but what about the diode between the 33k resistor and the collector? Well, there’s
one small issue with this setup. If the control voltage is 0 and there is no diode there,
current will ow into the base, out of the collector and towards that low voltage node. And
as the input signal oscillates, so will that current ow. Resulting in an audible signal at the
VCA’s output. By putting the diode here, we stop that from happening – and our VCA
will be perfectly silent at 0 V control voltage.
Heads up before you build and try this: with our ltered signal, we’ll just get some very
thin crackling at the VCA’s output. What’s up with that? Well, the issue is that our signal is
just too loud going into the VCA. This means that our transistor would mostly be stuck
in its fully-on or fully-o state (also called saturation and cuto ), with the
occasional, super quick transition. Resulting in the thin crackle I just mentioned.
To x it, we’ll simply lower the volume of our oscillator mix. Right now, that mix is an
almost 12 V peak-to-peak signal – which is very loud. So we’ll insert a small 680 ohms
resistor to ground after the passive mixer to scale that down to just about 400 mV peak-
to-peak.

There’s one small thing that bothers me about the raw sound coming out of the swing
type VCA, though: you get some super high-pitched zz that is introduced by the
distortion. To x it, we’ll simply add a small 2n2 capacitor going to ground from the
transistor’s collector. In combination with the 33k collector resistor, this will act like a
very gentle low pass lter, taming the high end a little bit.

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To properly test this, you’ll need to send some form of control voltage into the VCA’s CV
input (on the left).8 Once you do, you should hear the VCA open up and push out a pretty
distorted version of the ltered signal. Great!

8You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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ENVELOPE/GATE-TO-TRIGGER
So that’s the VCA/distortion block down. Next up, we’ll want to add a snappy envelope
generator to drive our VCA and give us a quick, percussive hi-hat hit. For that, we can re-
use the design I came up with for my kick drum circuit.

The basic version of that design consists of just ve components: a diode, a capacitor, a
potentiometer, a resistor and an NPN transistor. It works like this: if we apply a short
voltage pulse (also called a trigger) to the diode, the capacitor is lled up instantly
and then slowly drained through the resistance to ground. This creates a gradually
falling voltage curve whose steepness only depends on the resistance we dial in using the
potentiometer – since we’re isolating the controlled discharging process from the rest of
the circuit by setting the transistor up as a voltage bu er.
If we then connect the transistor to our VCA, we should get the percussive hit we were
looking for. There’s just one thing missing to be able to test this: a trigger. For that, we can
again re-use something from my kick drum design: the gate-to-trigger converter.

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This little circuit takes in a gate signal (from a sequencer or an LFO) and transforms it into
a super short voltage pulse. For that, it combines a highpass lter with an op amp-based
comparator. That highpass transforms the gate into a quickly falling voltage curve –
and the comparator then heavily distorts that curve into a pulse.
To be able to adjust the trigger’s size, we then route it through a little PNP transistor-
based limiting circuit. It works like this: if we don’t apply a voltage to the transistor’s base,
no current can ow through it, and the 12 V pulse is divided down to around 5 V by the
100k and 120k resistors.
Conversely, if we do apply a voltage to the base, then that transistor will pass
exactly enough current to cap the trigger’s size at that voltage. Giving us voltage
control over the hi-hat’s accent level. Great!9

When testing this, start out without any accent CV applied. By playing around with the
envelope’s decay potentiometer, you should be able to in uence the length of each hi-hat
hit. Then, if you combine this with a CV sequence applied to the accent CV input, you
should already get some interesting results.

9You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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 HIGHPASS FILTER
Still, our hi-hat is sounding a little too chunky for my taste. That’s because our VCA didn’t
just add a little zzy distortion – but also plenty of low end. So let’s add another highpass
lter to complete our signal chain.

We’ll start o with a simple active highpass lter, which we get by bu ering a passive
highpass using an op amp. If we combine a 1 nF cap with a 47k resistor, we get a
cuto frequency of about 3.4 kHz, which should get rid of most of the chunkiness.
The bu er then ensures that the output voltage stays the same by keeping the output
impedance low.
If you tried this with our signal, the result would be a little less chunky. But not
signi cantly so. That’s because our lter is what we call a single stage highpass, which
means that it has a 6 dB per octave roll-o . This is pretty mellow, so a lot of frequency
content below the cuto point makes it into the output. To make this slope more steep,
we can simply add another highpass stage with the same component values.

This way, we get a second order highpass lter, which should have a steeper 12 dB per
octave roll-o (while keeping the cuto frequency the same).10

10You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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And while this does get rid of the low-end more e ectively, I think it could honestly use a
bit more bite.

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 RESONANT HIGHPASS
To x this, we’ll simply make our highpass lter resonant. That way, we emphasize the
frequencies around the cuto point, which should hopefully give us a little more of that
metallic ringing. Alright, but how do we make our setup resonant? Easy: we just have to
connect the rst 47k resistor to the op amp’s output. This way, we introduce positive
feedback to the system, because the lter’s output is routed back into the rst lter
stage.

This destabilizes the lter’s operation, leading to the same over- and undershooting
behavior we saw previously in our resonant bandpass. We call this setup a Sallen-Key
lter, by the way. One caveat, though. Since our op amp previously had a gain of 1 (since
we set it up as a straight bu er), the amount of resonance added would’ve been pretty
minimal.
To push it a little, we just have to increase the gain by putting a voltage divider into
the op amp’s feedback path. With a 100k/100k divider, we bump that gain to a factor of
2, which should be plenty.

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If you test this, it should sound pretty nice and metallic.11 Great! Next, I’d suggest that
you try to control the accent level with a sequencer and tweak the tone & decay levels a
bit. I’d say that we now have a perfectly ne hi-hat circuit. But there are two extra features
that I’d like to add: a way to open the hi-hat – and a way to control its pitch.

11You can try this chapter’s circuits in a simulator. I’ve already set them up for you right here. You
can change all values by double clicking on components.

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OPEN HI-HAT
Let’s start with the former. In Roland’s 606 and 808 designs, they basically set up the
open hi-hat as an additional voice – meaning that they introduced another trigger input
and another envelope generator to get the job done. For our circuit, I don’t think we need
to go through all that, to be honest. Instead, I’d like to make our hi-hat’s decay voltage
controllable, so we can open the hi-hat by applying a voltage. Here’s how that would
work.

If we add a PNP transistor between the envelope’s resistance and ground, and then apply
a voltage to its base, the capacitor cannot fully discharge – and so the hi-hat stays open.
And the higher the base voltage, the louder the persistent sound. Since a real open hi-
hat still decays in volume over time, though, we’ll want to introduce an alternate,
high-resistance path for our capacitor to discharge through.
In my experiments, a 470k resistor worked well here, since it gave me a gentle drop in
volume at the tail end of the open hi-hat sound.

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To trigger the open hat, connect the new CV input to your sequencer’s velocity or pitch
output.12 If you’re interested, try removing the 470k resistor and listen for the di erence in
the sound’s tail end.

12You can try this chapter’s circuit in a simulator. I’ve already set it up for you right here. You can
change all values by double clicking on components.

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 TUNE CONTROL
Alright, so this leaves only the tune control – which is a little tricky, because ideally, we
want to shift the frequencies of all six oscillators up or down by the same amount at the
same time. Unfortunately, those frequencies are determined by the capacitor and
resistor values in each individual oscillator core. So we’d have to nd a way to
manipulate all resistor (or capacitor) values at the same time – right? Lucky for us, there is
an alternate, hidden option: reducing the 40106 chip’s supply voltage.
That’s because the upper and lower voltage thresholds that the chip sets internally to
process the input depend on the supply voltage. If it drops, the thresholds move closer
together.

And if the thresholds move closer together, then we have to move less current
through the resistor and into/out of the capacitor during each wavecycle to reach
them. Which should speed up the oscillation. Okay, but don’t the inverters’ output
voltages also drop if the supply voltage drops? And wouldn’t that cancel out the e ect of
moving those thresholds closer together?
In theory: yes. If you look at the chip’s datasheet, it claims that the relation between
supply voltage, output voltage, and thresholds is always the same. But in practice,
curiously, the thresholds move closer together faster than the output voltages drop.
So let’s try to exploit this! For that, we’ll rst set up a variable voltage divider. Because its
output impedance varies wildly as we turn the potentiometer’s knob, we’ll then want to
bu er it with an NPN transistor set up as an emitter follower.

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Next, we take the result and apply it to the 40106’s positive supply pin. This way, the
transistor will give the chip just enough current so that the supply voltage stays locked to
the variable voltage divider’s output.

If you now turn the tune knob, you should be able to increase the pitches for all six
oscillators. Now, if you tweak this control in combination with the tone knob, you can get
a bunch of di erent feeling hi-hat sounds out of our little circuit.

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TUNE CV
But why stop at manual tune control? Since we’re already using a voltage to set the
oscillators’ frequencies, why not go the extra mile and also add a tune CV input? All we
have to do to make that happen is somehow combine an external voltage with the
one coming from our variable voltage divider – before we bu er the result with our
emitter follower.
One slight issue, though. Traditionally, you’d expect a tune CV input to increase the pitch
as the input voltage goes up. But with our idea, it would actually work the opposite way –
since a higher supply voltage for the chip means lower pitch. To x it, we’ll simply
subtract the control voltage from our manually set one – instead of adding it. This way, if
the CV increases, the resulting voltage decreases, and the pitch rises.
For that, we’ll use a simple op amp-based voltage subtractor. It does exactly what
we’re after: subtract one voltage from the other and set its output to the resulting
voltage.

Before we send that voltage into the transistor’s base, we need to take a pretty crucial
protective measure, though. Since we supply our op amps with +/-12 V, the output can go
negative if the CV is higher than the manually set voltage. And if the output goes too far
below the 0 V-line, the transistor will break down and allow current to be pulled into
the emitter. Which could damage our 40106 chip.
To prevent this, we simply insert a diode between the op amp’s output and the transistor’s
base, which will block any current from owing in the reverse direction. Then, we add a
100k resistor to ground at the base to keep the node from oating when the diode is
blocking.
And while this would work in principle, we’d get some unexpected behavior towards the
top end of the tuning range: the hi-hat would go almost completely silent. What’s up with
that? Simple: as soon as the 40106’s supply voltage drops to 0 V, the chip stops
operating at all. In fact, the minimum supply voltage speci ed in the datasheet is 3 V!

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 So we need to make sure that we never drop it lower than that. How do we pull this o ?
Simple: by raising the pull-down voltage we set after the diode. Right now, it’s xed at 0 V.
But if we replace this 100k to ground with a voltage divider that produces roundabout 3 V
and connect the NPN’s base to it, then the voltage at that node can never drop below
those 3 V.

That’s because if the op amp’s output voltage tries to pull it lower, the diode will block.
Great! There’s one more adjustment I decided to make, though. With the previous setup,
the hi-hat’s pitch would change quite dramatically in response to a small change in
CV. In some situations, this might be what you want, but in others, you’d like to modulate
the pitch in more subtle ways.
To account for this, we add a simple attenuator to the tune CV input, allowing us to adjust
the e ect’s intensity on the y.13

And with this, our hi-hat is complete. Once you’re done experimenting, dig out the panel
and PCB from the kit, heat up your soldering iron and get to building. You can nd more
information on how to populate the board & how to solder in the enclosed appendix.

13You can try this chapter’s circuit in a simulator. I’ve already set it up for you right here. You can
change all values by double clicking on components.

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COMPONENTS & CONCEPTS
APPENDIX
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the components and elemental circuit design
concepts we’re using to build our module. Check these whenever the main manual
moves a bit too fast for you!

THE BASICS:
RESISTANCE, VOLTAGE, CURRENT
There are three main properties we’re interested in when talking about electronic
circuits: resistance, voltage and current. To make these less abstract, we can use a
common beginner’s metaphor and compare the ow of electrons to the ow of water
through a pipe.

In that metaphor, resistance would be the width of a pipe. The wider it is, the more water
can travel through it at once, and the easier it is to push a set amount from one end to the
other. Current would then describe the ow, while voltage would describe the pressure
pushing the water through the pipe. You can probably see how all three properties are
interlinked: more voltage increases the current, while more resistance to that voltage
in turn decreases the current.

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USING TWO 9 V BATTERIES AS A
DUAL POWER SUPPLY
Dual power supplies are great – and if you want to get serious about synth design, you
should invest in one at some point. But what if you’re just starting out, and you’d like to
use batteries instead? Thankfully that’s totally doable. You just need to connect two 9 V
batteries like shown here. For this, you should use 9 V battery clips, which are cheap &
widely available in every electronics shop.

By connecting the batteries like this, the positive terminal of the left battery becomes your
+9 V, while the negative terminal of the right is now your –9 V, and the other two combine
to become your new ground.14 Please make sure you disconnect the batteries from
your breadboard when you make changes to the circuit! Otherwise you run the risk of
damaging components.

14 If you’re struggling with setting this up, you can watch me do it here.

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RESISTORS
While a conductive wire is like a very big pipe where lots of water can pass through, a
resistor is like a narrow pipe that restricts the amount of water that can ow. The
narrowness of that pipe is equivalent to the resistance value, measured in ohms (Ω). The
higher that value, the tighter the pipe.
Resistors have two distinctive properties: linearity
and symmetry. Linearity, in this context, means that for
a doubling in voltage, the current owing will double as
well. Symmetry means that the direction of ow doesn’t
matter – resistors work the same either way.
On a real-life resistor, you’ll notice that its value is not
printed on the outside – like it is with other components.
Instead, it is indicated by colored stripes15 – along with
the resistor’s tolerance rating. In addition to that, the
resistor itself is also colored. Sometimes, depending on
who made the resistor, this will be an additional
tolerance indicator.
For the resistors in this kit, a yellow body tells you that
the actual resistance value might be ±5 % o . A dark
blue body indicates ±1 % tolerance. Some kits will also
contain light blue ± 0.1% resistors to avoid the need for
manual resistor matching.
While in the long run, learning all these color codes will
be quite helpful, you can also simply use a multimeter to
determine a resistor’s value.

15For a detailed breakdown, look up resistor color coding. There are also calculation tools
available.

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CAPACITORS
A capacitor is a bit like a balloon that you can attach to the open end of a pipe. If
there’s some pressure in the pipe, the balloon will ll up with water until the pressure
equalizes. (Since the balloon needs some space to expand into, both of the capacitor’s
legs need to be connected to points in your circuit.)
Then, should the pressure in the pipe drop, the balloon
releases the water it stored into the pipe. The maximum
size of the balloon is determined by the capacitor’s
capacitance, which we measure in farad (F). There are
quite a few di erent types of capacitors: electrolytic,
foil, ceramic, tantalum etc. They all have their unique
properties and ideal usage scenarios – but the most
important distinction is if they are polarized or not.
You shouldn’t use polarized capacitors against their polarization (applying a negative
voltage to their positive terminal and vice versa) – so they’re out for most audio-related
uses like AC coupling, high- & low-pass lters etc.
Unlike resistors, capacitors have their capacitance value printed onto their casing,
sometimes together with a maximum operating voltage. Be extra careful here! That
voltage rating is important. Your capacitors can actually explode if you exceed it! So they
should be able to withstand the maximum voltage used in your circuit. If they’re rated
higher – even better, since it will increase their lifespan. No worries though: the capacitors
in this kit are carefully chosen to work properly in this circuit.
Ceramic capacitors usually come in disk- or pillow-like
cases, are non-polarized and typically encode their
capacitance value.16 Annoyingly, they rarely indicate
their voltage rating – so you’ll have to note it down
when buying them.
Film capacitors come in rectangular, boxy cases, are
non-polarized and sometimes, but not always, directly
indicate their capacitance value and their voltage rating
without any form of encoding.17
Electrolytic capacitors can be identi ed by their cylinder
shape and silver top, and they usually directly indicate
their capacitance value and their voltage rating. They
are polarized – so make sure you put them into your
circuit in the correct orientation.

16For a detailed breakdown, look up ceramic capacitor value code. There are also calculation
tools available.
17 If yours do encode their values, same idea applies here – look up lm capacitor value code.

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 DIODES
Diodes are basically like one-way valves. Current
can only pass through in one direction – from anode
to cathode. That direction is indicated by the arrow in
the diode symbol and by a black stripe on the diode’s
casing. So any current trying to move in the opposite
direction is blocked from owing.
There are a few quirks here, though. For one, the diode
will only open up if the pushing force is strong enough.
Generally, people say that’s 0.7 V, but in reality, it’s
usually a bit lower. Also, diodes don’t open up abruptly
– they start conducting even at much lower voltages,
although just slightly.
There are a lot of di erent diode types: Zener, Schottky,
recti er, small signal etc. They all have their unique
properties and ideal usage scenarios – but usually, a
generic 1N4148 small signal diode will get the job done.

SCHMITT TRIGGER INVERTERS

You can think of a Schmitt trigger inverter as two
separate things. On the left, there’s a sensor that
measures the pressure inside an attached pipe. On
the right, there is a water pump. This pump’s
operation is controlled by the sensor. Whenever the
pressure probed by this sensor is below a certain
threshold, the pump will be working. If the pressure is
above a second threshold, the pump won’t be working.
Here’s a quick graph to visualize that. The squiggly line
represents the voltage at the input, while the dotted line
shows the voltage at the output. So every time we cross
the upper threshold on our way up, and the lower one
on our way down, the output changes its state. One
thing that’s very important to keep in mind: no current
ows into the sensor! It’s really just sensing the voltage
without a ecting it.

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 VOLTAGE DIVIDERS
A voltage divider is really just two resistors set up
like this: input on the left, output on the right. If R1
and R2 are of the same value, the output voltage will be
half of what the input voltage is. How does it work?
Let’s use our analogy again: so we have a pipe on the
left, where water is being pushed to the right with a
speci c amount of force. Attached to it is a narrow pipe,
representing R1, followed by another wide pipe. Then at
the bottom, there’s another narrow pipe, representing
R2, where water can exit the pipe system. Finally,
imagine we’ve set up a sensor measuring the voltage in
the right hand pipe.
First, think about what would happen if R2 was
completely sealed o . Our sensor would tell us that the
pressure on the right side is exactly the same as the
pressure on the left. Because the pushing force has
nowhere else to go.
On the other hand, imagine R2 would just be a wide
opening. Then the pressure on the right would be 0,
because it’d all escape through that opening. But what
happens if R2 is neither completely closed o nor wide
open? Then the pressure would be retained to varying
degrees, depending on the narrowness of the two
resistor paths.
If pipe R1 is wide and pipe R2 is narrow, most of the
pressure will be retained. But if it’s the reverse, the
pressure level will be only a tiny fraction. And if R1 and
R2 are identical, the pressure will be exactly half of
what we send in.

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POTENTIOMETERS
Potentiometers can be used as variable resistors that you control by turning a knob.
But, and that’s the handy part, they can also be set up as variable voltage dividers.
To see how that works, let’s imagine we open one up.
Inside, we would nd two things: a round track of
resistive material with connectors on both ends plus
what’s called a wiper. This wiper makes contact with the
track and also has a connector. It can be moved to any
position on the track. Now, the resistance value
between the two track connectors is always going to
stay exactly the same. That’s why it’s used to identify a
potentiometer: as a 10k, 20k, 100k etc. But if you look
at the resistance between either of those connectors
and the wiper connector, you’ll nd that this is
completely dependent on the wiper’s position.
The logic here is really simple: the closer the wiper is
to a track connector, the lower the resistance is
going to be between the two. So if the wiper is dead
in the middle, you’ll have 50 % of the total resistance
between each track connector and the wiper.
From here, you can move it in either direction and thereby shift the ratio between the two
resistances to be whatever you want it to be. By now, you might be able to see how that
relates to our voltage divider. If we send our input signal to connector 1 while grounding
connector 3, we can pick up our output signal from the wiper. Then by turning the
potentiometer’s knob, we can adjust the voltage level from 0 to the input voltage – and
anything in between.
In these kits, you will encounter di erent types of
potentiometers. First, there’s the regular, full-size variant
with a long shaft on top. These are used to implement
user-facing controls on the module’s panel and they
usually – but not always – indicate their value directly on
their casing. Sometimes, they’ll use a similar encoding
strategy as capacitors, though.18
Second, we’ve got the trimmer potentiometer, which is
usually much smaller and doesn’t sport a shaft on top.
Instead, these have a small screw head which is
supposed to be used for one-time set-and-forget
calibrations. Trimmers usually encode their value.

18 Look up potentiometer value code for a detailed breakdown.

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AC COUPLING
What is AC coupling – and how does it work? Imagine two adjacent pipes with a balloon
between them. Now, no water can get from one pipe into the other, since it’s blocked by
the balloon. But, and that’s the kicker, water from one side can still push into the other
by bending and stretching the balloon, causing a ow by displacement.

Next, we’ll bring in a resistor after the coupling point, going straight to ground. This acts
like a kind of equalizing valve. Now imagine we apply a steady 5 V from one side. Then
on the other side, we’ll read 0 V after a short amount of time. Why? Because we’re
pushing water into the balloon with a constant force, causing it to stretch into the other
side, displacing some water. If we didn’t have the equalizing valve there, we’d simply raise
the pressure. But since we do have it, the excess water can drain out of the system. Until
the pressure is neutralized, and no water is actively owing anymore.
Okay, so now imagine that the voltage on the left hand side starts oscillating, let’s say
between 4 V and 6 V. When we start to go below 5 V, the balloon will begin contracting,
basically pulling the water to the left. This will create a negative voltage level in the right
hand pipe – like as if you’re sucking on a straw, making the voltage there drop below 0 V.
Then, once the pressure on the other side rises above 5 V, the balloon will in ate and
stretch out again, pushing water to the right. And the pressure in the right hand pipe will
go positive, making the voltage rise above 0 V. We’ve re-centered our oscillation
around the 0 V line. Okay, but what about the resistor? If current can escape through it,
doesn’t that mess with our oscillation? Well, technically yes, but practically, we’re
choosing a narrow enough pipe to make the e ect on quick pressure changes negligible!

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 OP AMPS
Op amps might seem intimidating at rst, but they’re actually quite easy to understand
and use. The basic concept is this: every op amp has two inputs and one output. Think of
those inputs like voltage sensors. You can attach them to any point in your circuit and
they will detect the voltage there without interfering. No current ows into the op amps
inputs – that’s why we say their input impedance is very high. Near in nite, actually.
Okay, but why are there two of them?
The key here is that op amps are essentially di erential
ampli ers. This means that they only amplify the
di erence between their two inputs – not each of them
individually. If that sounds confusing, let’s check out a
quick example. So we’ll imagine that one sensor –
called the non-inverting input – is reading 8 V from
somewhere. The other sensor – called the inverting
input – reads 5 V. Then, as a rst step, the op amp will
subtract the inverting input’s value from the non-
inverting input’s value. Leaving us with a result of 3.
(Because 8 minus 5 is 3.) This result then gets
multiplied by a very large number – called the op
amp’s gain. Finally, the op amp will try to push out a
voltage that corresponds to that multiplication’s result.
But of course, the op amp is limited here by the voltages that we supply it with. If we give
it –12 V as a minimum and +12 V as a maximum, the highest it can go will be +12 V. So in
our example, even though the result of that multiplication would be huge, the op amp will
simply push out 12 V here and call it a day.
The handy thing though about op amp outputs is that they draw their power directly from
the power source. This means that they can supply lots of current while keeping the
voltage stable. That’s why we say an op amp has a very low output impedance.

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 OP AMP BUFFERS/AMPLIFIERS
Bu ering, in the world of electronics, means that we provide a perfect copy of a voltage
without interfering with that voltage in the process. With an op amp-based bu er, the
bu ering process itself works like this. We use the non-inverting input to probe a voltage,
while the inverting input connects straight to the op amp’s output. This creates what we
call a negative feedback loop. Think of it this way. We apply a speci c voltage level to
the non-inverting input – let’s say 5 V.
Before the op amp starts processing the voltages at its
inputs, the output will be switched o . This means that
output and inverting input sit at 0 V at rst. So then,
the op amp will subtract 0 from 5 and multiply the result
by its gain. Finally, it will try and increase its output
voltage to match the calculation’s outcome.
But as it’s pushing up that output voltage, the voltage
at the inverting input will be raised simultaneously.
So the di erence between the two inputs is shrinking
down. Initially, this doesn’t matter much because the
gain is so large. As the voltage at the inverting input
gets closer to 5 V though, the di erence will shrink so
much that in relation, the gain suddenly isn’t so large
anymore.
Then, the output will stabilize at a voltage level that is
a tiny bit below 5 V, so that the di erence between the
two inputs multiplied by the huge gain gives us exactly
that voltage slightly below 5 V. And this process simply
loops forever, keeping everything stable through
negative feedback. Now if the voltage at the non-
inverting input changes, that feedback loop would
ensure that the output voltage is always following. So
that’s why this con guration works as a bu er: the
output is simply following the input.
How about amplifying a signal though? To do that, we’ll
have to turn our bu er into a proper non-inverting
ampli er. We can do that by replacing the straight
connection between inverting input and output with a
voltage divider, forcing the op amp to work harder.
Here’s how that works. Say we feed our non-inverting
input a voltage of 5 V. Now, the output needs to push
out 10 V in order to get the voltage at the inverting
input up to 5 V. We call this setup a non-inverting

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 ampli er because the output signal is in phase with the
input.
For an inverting bu er/ampli er, the input signal is no
longer applied to the non-inverting input. Instead, that
input is tied directly to ground. So it’ll just sit at 0 V the
entire time. The real action, then, is happening at the
inverting input. Here, we rst send in our waveform
through a resistor. Then, the inverting input is connected
to the op amp’s output through another resistor of the
same value.
How does this work? Well, let’s assume that we’re applying a steady voltage of 5 V on the
left. Then, as we already know, the op amp will subtract the inverting input’s voltage from
the non-inverting input’s voltage, leaving us with a result of –5 V. Multiply that by the huge
internal gain, and the op amp will try to massively decrease the voltage at its output.
But as it’s doing that, an increasingly larger current will ow through both resistors and
into the output. Now, as long as the pushing voltage on the left is stronger than the pulling
voltage on the right, some potential (e.g. a non-zero voltage) will remain at the inverting
input. Once the output reaches about –5 V though, we’ll enter a state of balance. Since
both resistors are of the same value, the pushing force on the left is ghting the exact
same resistance as the pulling force on the right. So all of the current being pushed
through one resistor is instantly being pulled through the other.
And that means that the voltage at the inverting input will be lowered to about 0 V,
allowing our op-amp to settle on the current output voltage level. So while we read 5 V on
the left, we’ll now read a stable –5 V at the op amp’s output. Congrats – we’ve built an
inverting bu er! If we want to turn it into a proper ampli er, we’ll simply have to
change the relation between the two resistances. By doing this, we can either increase
(if you increase the right-hand resistor’s value) or reduce (if you increase the left-hand
resistor’s value) the gain to our heart’s content.

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 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTORS
Bipolar junction transistors (or BJTs for short) come in two avors: NPN and PNP. This
refers to how the device is built internally and how it’ll behave in a circuit. Apart from that,
they look pretty much identical: a small black half-cylinder with three legs.
Let’s take a look at the more commonly used NPN
variant rst. Here’s how we distinguish between its three
legs. There’s a collector, a base and an emitter.19 All
three serve a speci c purpose, and the basic idea is
that you control the current ow between collector and
emitter by applying a small voltage20 to the base. The
relation is simple: more base voltage equals more
collector current. Drop it down to 0 V and the
transistor will be completely closed o . Sounds simple –
but there are four important quirks to this.

First, the relation between base voltage and collector current is exponential. Second,
unlike a resistor, a BJT is not symmetrical – so we can’t really reverse the direction of the

19Please note that the pinout shown here only applies for the BC series of transistors. Others, like
the 2N series, allocate their pins di erently.
20The voltage is measured between base and emitter. So „a small voltage“ e ectively means a
small voltage di erence between base and emitter!

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 collector current. (At least not without some unwanted side e ects.) Third, also unlike a
resistor, a BJT is not a linear device. Meaning that a change in collector voltage will not
a ect the collector current. And fourth, the collector current is a ected by the transistor’s
temperature! The more it heats up, the more current will ow.
Now, for the PNP transistor, all of the above applies, too – except for two little details.
Unlike with the NPN, the PNP transistor decreases its collector current when the
voltage at its base increases21. So you have to bring the base voltage below the emitter
to open the transistor up. Also, that collector current ows out of, not into the collector!

21 Again, the voltage is measured between base and emitter.

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TOOLS APPENDIX
There are two types of tools that will help you tremendously while designing a circuit:
multimeters and oscilloscopes. In this appendix, we’ll take a quick look at each of these
and explore how to use them.

MULTIMETERS
Multimeters come in di erent shapes and sizes, but the
most common type is probably the hand-held, battery
powered variant. It can measure a bunch of di erent
things: voltage, current, resistance, continuity. Some
have additional capabilities, allowing you to check
capacitance, oscillation frequency or the forward
voltage drop of a diode.
When shopping for one, you’ll probably notice that there
are really expensive models boasting about being TRUE
RMS multimeters. For our purposes, this is really kind of
irrelevant, so don’t feel bad about going for a cheap
model!
Using a multimeter is actually really straightforward. Simply attach two probes to your
device – the one with a black cable traditionally plugs into the middle, while the red one
goes into the right connector. Next, nd whatever you want to measure and select the
corresponding mode setting.
In some cases, it doesn’t matter which probe you
connect to which component leg or point in your circuit.
This is true for testing resistors, non-polarized
capacitors (foil/ lm, ceramic, te on, glass etc.),
continuity22 or AC voltage.
In others, you’ll have to be careful about which probe
you connect where. For testing the forward voltage drop
of a diode, for example, the multimeter tries to push a
current from the red to the black probe. Here, you’ll
have to make sure the diode is oriented correctly, so
that it doesn’t block that current from owing. For
testing a DC voltage, you want to make sure the black
probe is connected to ground, while you use the red
one to actually take your measurement.

22 Just a fancy word for saying that two points are electrically connected.

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 OSCILLOSCOPES
While multimeters are fairly cheap and compact,
oscilloscopes are usually somewhat pricey and bulky. If
you’re willing to make the investment, they are a
huge help with the troubleshooting process, though.
Using one is, again, surprisingly straightforward – if you
manage to work your way through the sometimes quite
convoluted UI, especially on digital models.
To start using your scope, simply attach a probe to one
of the channel inputs. These probes usually have two
connectors on the other end: a big one that you operate
by pulling the top part back – and a smaller one, which
is usually a standard alligator clip. The latter needs to be
connected to your circuit’s ground rail, while you probe
your oscillation with the former. Now what the
oscilloscope will do is monitor the voltage between
the two connectors over time and draw it onto the
screen as a graph. Here, the x-axis is showing time,
while the y-axis is showing voltage. You can use the
device’s scaling controls to zoom in on a speci c part of
your waveform.
Usually, digital oscilloscopes will also tell you a couple useful things about the signal
you’re currently viewing: minimum/maximum voltage level, oscillation frequency, signal
o set. Some even o er a spectrum analyzer, which can be useful to check the
frequencies contained in your signal.

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BUILD GUIDE

47
MODULE ASSEMBLY APPENDIX
Before we start building, let’s take a look at the complete mki x es.edu Hi-Hats
schematics (see next page) that were used for the final module’s design and PCB fabrication.
Most components on the production schematics have denominations (a name – like R1, C1,
VT1, VD1, etc.) and values next to them. Denominations help identify each component on the
PCB, which is particularly useful during calibration, modification or troubleshooting.

XS4 is the Trigger input jack socket, XS1 is the Accent input jack sockets; it requires +5V
gate signal to initiate the accent. XS2 is the Tune CV input, XS3 is the Decay CV input (you
can use CV to emulate open Hi-Hats) and XS5 is the Audio output jack socket – these are
the very same we’ve already been using on the breadboard for interfacing with other devices.
In our designs, we use eurorack standard 3,5mm jack sockets (part number
WQP-PJ301M-12).

XP1 is a standard eurorack power connector. It’s a 2x5 male pin header with a key (the
black plastic shroud around the pins) to prevent accidental reverse polarity power supply
connection. This is necessary because connecting the power incorrectly will permanently
damage the module.

VD2 and VD3 are schottky diodes that double-secure the reverse polarity power supply pro-
tection. Diodes pass current only in one direction. Because the anode of VD1 is connected to
+12 V on our power header, it’ll only conduct if the connector is plugged in correctly. If a neg-
ative voltage is accidentally applied to the anode of VD2, it closes, and no current passes
through. The same goes for VD2, which is connected to -12 V. Because schottky diodes have
a low forward voltage drop, they are the most efficient choice for applications like this.

Next, we have two 10 Ohm resistors (R27 and R28) on the + and – 12 V rails, with decou-
pling (or bypass-) capacitors C14, C15. These capacitors serve as energy reservoirs that
keep the module’s internal supply voltages stable in case there are any fluctuations in the
power supply of the entire modular system. In combination with R5 and R6, the large 47
microfarad pair (C12 and C13) compensates for low frequency fluctuations, while C4 and C5
filter out radio frequencies, high frequency spikes from switching power supplies and quick
spikes created by other modules. Often another component – a ferrite bead – is used instead
of a 10 Ohm resistor and there’s no clear consensus among electronic designers which
works best, but generally for analogue modules that work mostly in the audio frequency
range (as opposed to digital ones that use microcontrollers running at 8 MHz frequencies and
above), resistors are considered to be superior.

Another advantage of 10 Ohm resistors is that they will act like slow “fuses” in case there’s
an accidental short circuit somewhere on the PCB, or an integrated circuit (IC) is inserted
backwards into a DIP socket. The resistor will get hot, begin smoking and finally break the
connection. Even though they aren't really fuses, just having them there as fuse substitutes
is pretty useful - you’d rather lose a cent on a destroyed resistor than a few euros on
destroyed ICs.

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Capacitors C17-C20 are additional decoupling capacitors. If you inspect the PCB, you’ll see
that these are placed as close to the power supply pins of the ICs as possible. For well-de-
signed, larger PCBs you will find decoupling capacitors next to each IC. Like the others, their
job is to simply compensate for any unwanted noise in the supply rails. If the input voltage
drops, then these capacitors will be able to bridge the gap to keep the voltage at the IC
stable. And vice-versa - if the voltage increases, then they’ll be able to absorb the excess
energy trying to flow through to the IC, which again keeps the voltage stable. Typically,
0.1 uF capacitors are used for this purpose.

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50
Before you start soldering, we highly recommend printing out the part placement diagrams
with designators and values and follow step-by step instructions below. Hi-Hats PCB is one
of most densely populated PCB in our DIY.EDU line, so, this will help you to avoid mistakes
in the build process.

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Place the Hi-Hats PCB in a PCB holder for
soldering or simply on top of some spacers
(I use two empty solder wire coils here).

I usually start populating PCBs with lower,

horizontally placed components. In this case,
these are 10 Ohm resistors, switching
diodes and the power protection diodes.
Bend the resistor leads and insert them in the
relevant places according to the part place-
ment diagram above. Next, insert the diodes.
Remember – when inserting the diodes,
orientation is critical! A thick white stripe on
the PCB indicates the cathode of a diode –
match it with the stripe on the component.
Flip the PCB over and solder all components.
Then, use pliers to cut off the excess leads.

Also, insert the first DIP socket, hold it in

place and solder one of the pins. Continue
with the next DIP socket. Make sure the
DIP sockets are oriented correctly – the
notch on the socket should match the notch
on the PCB’s silkscreen. Now, turn the PCB
around and solder all remaining pins of the
DIP sockets.

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Then proceed with the ceramic capacitors. Because ceramic capacitors look very simi-
lar, I recommend sorting them by values before you proceed with installing and solder-
ing them. Yellow capacitors in the picture to the left are 470nF, 0,1uF, 10nF and 330pF,
blue capacitors are 100pF, 1nF and 2,2nF.

Start with soldering 0,1uF capacitors -

place the PCB in your PCB holder or on
spacers, insert the capacitors and solder
them like you did with the resistors &
diodes before. Now your PCB should
look like this:

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 Then proceed with other capacitors.
When completed, your PCB should look
like this:

Now, let’s proceed with resistors! All components on the PCB have both their value and
denomination printed onto the silkscreen. Resistors are particularly tricky because they
are color coded, and sometimes colors are difficult to distinguish. If you are not sure
about a resistor’s value, use a multimeter to double-check. In order to save space on
the PCB most of resistors on the Hi-Hats module are vertically placed. The next step is
to place & solder those. Bend a resistor’s legs so that its body is aligned with both legs
and insert it in its designated spot. Then solder the longer lead from the top side of the
PCB to secure it in place, turn the PCB around and solder the other lead from the
bottom. You can insert several resistors at once. Once done with soldering, use pliers
to cut off excess leads.

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Let’s start with 100 k resistors, because
we have plenty of those. Once you have
soldered all 100 k resistors, your PCB
should look like this:

Then proceed with other resistors. Remem-

ber – if you are not sure about resistor values,
use the multimeter to check! When al resis-
tors are installed, your Hi-Hats PCB should
look like this:

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Next, insert and solder transistors. There
are PNP and NPN transistors in the kit,
therefore before soldering them, I highly
recommend to sort them. Make sure you
install them in correct places and pay
attention on the orientation of the transis-
tors – notch on the silkscreen has to
match the flat part of the transistor.

Now insert & solder the electrolytic

capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors are bipo-
lar, and you need to mind their orientation.
The positive lead of each electrolytic capaci-
tor is longer, and there is a minus stripe on
the side of the capacitor’s body to indicate
the negative lead. On our PCBs, the positive
pad for the capacitor has a square shape,
and the negative lead should go into the pad
next to the notch on the silkscreen.

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Also, populate the 1 uF film capacitor and
2x5 PSU socket. Make sure the orienta-
tion of the socket is as shown in the
picture below – the arrow pointing to the
first pin is aligned with a notch on the silk-
screen. The key on the socket will be
facing down the PCB. Now your PCB
should look like this:

Now, turn the PCB around and inspect your

solder joints. Make sure all components
are soldered properly and there are no
cold solder joints or accidental shorts.
I noticed, I forgot to solder most of the pins
of the PSU socket. Clean the PCB to remove
extra flux, if necessary.

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Insert the top potentiometer and jack sockets, then fit the panel to align components,
you just installed, and solder them.

Insert other potentiometers, but don’t solder

them yet! NB! There’s a replacement in
the kit - Tune CV potentiometer should
be 10k, while the BOM and silkscreen on
the PCB says 100k. Fit the front panel,
screw the nuts on the top potentiometer and
jack sockets and make sure that the
potentiometer shafts are aligned with the
holes in the panel – and that they’re able to
rotate freely. Now, go ahead and solder the
potentiometers.

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Now, insert the ICs into their respective
DIP sockets. Mind the orientation of the
ICs – match the notch on each IC with the
one on its socket.

Finally fit the Decay potentiometer knob

and we are done!

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Congratulations! You have completed the assembly of the mki x es.edu Hi-Hats module!
Connect it to your eurorack power supply and switch it on. If there’s no "magic smoke”, it’s a
good sign that your build was successful. The module doesn’t need any calibration. Patch
trigger signal (the gate output of your DIY.EDU Sequencer will work fine, but the Erica Synths
Drum Sequencer is the best choice) to the input of the module and connect the output of the
module to a mixer. You should hear the Hi-Hats sound. Turn gates on the sequencer on and off
in order to achieve a desired Hi-Hats pattern and tweak some knobs on the module to observe
change of the sound.

Enjoy!

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SOLDERING APPENDIX
If you’ve never soldered before – or if your skills have become rusty – it’s probably wise
to check out some THT (through-hole technology) soldering tutorials on YouTube.
The main thing you have to remember while soldering is that melted solder will flow
towards higher temperature areas. So you need to make sure you apply equal heat to
the component you are soldering and the solder pad on the PCB. The pad will typically
absorb more heat (especially ground-connected pads which have more thermal mass),
so keep your soldering iron closer to the pad on the PCB. It’s critically important to dial
in the right temperature on your soldering station. I found that about 320 °C is the opti-
mal temperature for most of parts, while for larger elements like potentiometers and
sockets, you may want to increase that temperature to 370 °C.

Here’s the recommended soldering sequence:

1 2 3 4

Heat part and Add Continue Let cool

pad 2 - 3 sec solder heating 1 -2 sec.

After you have completed soldering, inspect the solder joint:

Perfect Too much Not enough Cold Too much Short

solder solder joint heat

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DIY electronics is a great (and quite addictive) hobby, therefore we highly recommend you
invest in good tools. In order to really enjoy soldering, you’ll need:

A decent soldering station. Top-of-the-line

soldering stations (brands like Weller) will cost
200€ and above, but cheaper alternatives
around 50€ are often good enough. Make
sure your soldering station of choice comes
with multiple differently-sized soldering iron
tips. The most useful ones for DIY electronics
are flat, 2mm wide tips.

When heated up, the tips of soldering irons

tend to oxidize. As a result, solder won’t
stick to them, so you’ll need to clean your
tip frequently. Most soldering stations
come with a damp sponge for cleaning the
iron tips – but there are also professional
solder tip cleaners with golden curls (not
really gold, so not as expensive as it
sounds). These work much better because
they do not cool down the iron.

Solder wire with flux. I find 0,7mm solder

wire works best for DIY projects.

Some soldering flux paste or pen will be

useful as well.

Cutting pliers. Use them to cut off excess

component leads after soldering.

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 A solder suction pump. No matter how
refined your soldering skills are, you will
make mistakes. So when you’ll inevitably
need to de-solder components, you will
also need to remove any remaining solder
from the solder pads in order to insert new
components.

Once you have finished soldering your

PCB, it’s recommended to remove
excess flux from the solder joints. A PCB
cleaner is the best way to go.

All of these tools can be found on major electronic components retailer websites, like
Mouser, Farnell and at your local electronics shops. As you work your way towards
more and more advanced projects, you’ll need to expand your skillset and your tool belt
– but the gratification will be much greater.

“No acting, no production, could take the place of that moment when you come out in
the dark on to the stage and the drummer plays four beats on the hi-hat and then lights
and music. It just takes your breath away. No words can do what music can.”

– Ken Stott

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