The Beginner’s Guide to AE Modular Synth DIY
Jul 14, 2019 19:46:51 GMT
admin, thetechnobear, and 17 more like this
Post by NightMachines on Jul 14, 2019 19:46:51 GMT
Welcome to the absolute beginner’s guide to AE Modular Synth DIY! 
In this thread (and actually in this whole sub forum) I want to teach you all the basic knowledge required to start your own awesome DIY adventures in the AE Modular format. Please read the posts carefully. I’ll try to keep them very simple and to the point, with ELI5 levels of description. Hyperlinks will then provide resources with more detailed information, in case you want to do more research. For a quick entry into DIY, those resources are not absolutely necessary to read right away, but eventually you will become so excited about the topic that you’ll be hungry for more knowledge
If you have any corrections, suggestions, questions or comments, please feel free to post them in this or the other threads.
!!! WARNING / DISCLAIMER !!!
Of course I have to tell you that everything you do as a result from reading the following posts, you do so at your own risk. While synth DIY is generally safe, we are working with electricity, hot soldering irons, etc. and those things can be dangerous to your music equipment, house and to your health. Please always concentrate when working on your DIY projects and be calm and careful.
The AE Modular Format and its Components
Before we learn anything about building stuff, let’s look at the AE Modular format and familiarize ourselves with what we’ll be working with.
The Front Panel
Here is the tangible waves SEQ16 module front panel as an example:
On the top left and right, we have female pin header sockets, little rows of plastic with holes in them, acting as patch sockets. Inside the holes, there are metal shafts which touch the patch cable tips and on the back, those shafts connect to pins for soldering the headers onto a circuit board.
To the right of the input sockets, there is a momentary push button switch. This closes a connection when held down, letting electricity flow, and automatically breaks the connection once released.
Further to the right, below the module’s name print, there is a toggle switch. The switch has three legs and by pushing the switch into one of its two positions, we connect one of the outer legs to the inner leg. If one of the outer legs is not connected to anything, we have a simple on/off switch.
Looking below, we see a bunch of potentiometers, or “pots”, or “knobs”. Pots are used to reduce the "strength" of electric signals (attenuation), usually by diverting part of the electricity to a destination in the synth and the rest, which we don’t need, out of the system to ground. This is called voltage division. The pot’s position describes the level of attenuation, or how much the signal is reduced in strength. A pot has three legs which are usually used in the following way: the clockwise one (right, in the picture below) receives an input signal, the middle one outputs the attenuated signal and the counterclockwise (left) one sends the rest of the electricity we don’t need to the ground. In this standard configuration, the output signal is decreased by turning the pot counterclockwise.
Right above each potentiometer, there are LEDs, light emitting diodes. When fed with electricity they burn bright in various colors. Yay! With LEDs you need to watch out for their polarity, meaning that they have to be connected the right way around, for example with their long leg (“anode”, +) to power and with the short leg (“cathode”, -) to ground through a resistor.
What’s a resistor? Well, let’s go over some electricity basics and then find out about the components hiding under the front panels.
AE Modular Electricity Basics
Everything inside your AE Modular rack runs on a +5V power supply bus. Audio and control voltages also don’t go above 5V or below 0V. So the internal power bus and the signal ranges are the same and thus very easy to handle.
In comparison, Eurorack runs on a -12V and +12V power supply, while audio and CV signal ranges are usually from -10V to +10V, with V/Oct pitch signals often just from 0 to +5V.
Why is that more difficult to work with as a beginner? In my opinion, the most important reason is because many useful electrical components are actually made to work with signal ranges from 0 to +5V. So in order to not damage them, a Eurorack module might have to introduce special power regulation, to make sure that these components are not exposed to negative voltages or voltages above +5V. Otherwise they might break. This risk is substantially lower when working with an AE Modular system as a DIY beginner. In fact, it’s something you almost do not need to worry about at all with the AE Modular, which results in fewer bad accidents and a lot less time wasted on boring power and signal level management.
But what’s that voltage thing anyway? Electricity running through cables and components can be compared to water running through pipes and through contraptions like watermills. In this analogy, voltage would be water pressure. The higher the pressure, the faster you can spin a watermill’s wheel. But with higher water pressure also comes higher friction or heat build-up and sturdier build requirements for that watermill. The same principle basically applies to electronic components and voltage.
One key thing to understand is that voltage, same as water pressure, requires a difference (so-called “potential”) to actually exist. Voltage is electric potential. So one end of our imaginary pipe needs to have high pressure, while the other end needs to have low pressure, otherwise the water wouldn’t flow.
So where does electricity flow to? Anywhere where the pressure is lower, which at the end of the day is often the ground. There are many different ways this “low pressure” area is marked on components and devices. Sometimes it’s called ground (GND) like on the AE Modular bus sockets, other times it’s denoted as a minus symbol (-), for example on a battery and at other times it is called 0V. While those are not necessarily the same, they do tend to act as a low-voltage destination, creating a voltage difference to the +5V supply.
So in order for electricity to flow and do its thing, there needs to be a voltage difference in the circuit, which is why we have a +5V socket and a GND socket on the AE Modular bus. A module will take the electricity from the +5V socket, run it through its circuit, do whatever it does and make the remaining electricity flow into the GND socket, which serves as a stable current sink.
Easy!
But what would happen if we would patch +5V to GND directly, without anything but the wire in between? A “short circuit” would happen and (hopefully) a fuse would blow somewhere, preventing your house from burning down. Well, the effects probably wouldn’t be that dramatic in this specific example, but you do want to avoid shorting a circuit at all cost. The GND generally has a very large “pull” to it and “sucks” the electricity from the +5V socket at such speeds, that the power supply will heat up and - without a fuse - burn at some point.
Another example: when you short a normal, off-the-shelf battery, by connecting its plus and minus sides, it might actually explode because it discharges itself so quickly and heatedly.
So in order to not get dangerous, we need to consume or somehow manage the electricity flowing from +5V to GND. Luckily though, this usually automatically happens as soon as we make the module “do” something and thus we only require few safety precautions in our circuits.
How can we safely manage electricity then? At the very least, we could add some resistance along the line, to limit the “pressure” of the flow going to GND.
So let’s quickly go over some basic electronic components we’ll encounter frequently.
Behind the AE Modular Front Panel
When looking behind the front panel of an AE Modular module, we see a printed circuit board (PCB) on which components are installed.
Nowadays many of those components are tiny surface mount technology (SMT), which means they are soldered by machines onto the surface of the PCB. This is practical for commercial products because it saves a lot of space on the PCB and it can be automated, but it is not ideal for us because, well … everything’s so tiny. Instead, we want to work with through-hole technology (THT) components, which are bigger and come with long metal legs that are pushed through holes on the PCB. The legs are then soldered to the holes and cut off with wire clippers.
Big through-hole resistor vs. tiny SMT resistor:
Image Source
Alright, so here are some important components we need to know about.
Wires/Cables/Cords:
Yawn, okay … you know those. But they actually come in various types and thicknesses. There are totally flexible wires, like the AE Modular patch cables, or ones that can be bent into a fixed position, wires with multiple thin strands inside or with just one thick one. Generally, wires have rubber isolation around them for protection, which has to be removed (or “stripped”) on both ends before soldering.
Fixed Resistors:
Resistors reduce the electrical current flow. They are often used to reduce or divide voltage levels. Resistors are rated in Ω (Ohm). The higher the Ω value, the higher the resistance and their current limiting effect. The Ohm rating is noted on the resistors via a color code. Resistors usually do not have a polarity, so their legs can be inserted into a circuit in any orientation.
Variable Resistors:
We already know one type of variable resistor, the potentiometer. Other variable resistors that might be of use to us are light dependent resistors (LDRs) which vary their resistance according to the amount of light shining on them and force sensing resistors (FSRs) which change their resistance according to finger pressure.
Diodes:
Diodes allow electric currents to flow only in one direction and not back, which is useful for example for protection against reverse currents. Diodes do not limit electrical currents significantly however, so they do not act like resistors. Diodes have a polarity, so it’s important to solder them into the circuit the right way around. Usually a stripe on the diode denotes the leg that blocks electricity, which could be considered the diode's "output" side.
Capacitors:
Those are basically tiny (or not so tiny) batteries that can load up and hold a charge, which can then be discharged when we need it, for example to even out power supply fluctuations. For simple power supply smoothing, we can use common “104” ceramic capacitors, with a rating of 100nF (nano Farad). Those small “104” caps don’t have a polarity and can be inserted into the circuit any way around. Bigger electrolytic caps however, that often look like black cylinders do, so watch out and put them in facing the right way. If you put them in the wrong way, they will heat up and might pop, releasing the fabled “magic smoke”. As with diodes, a stripe usually denotes the "minus" leg of the capacitor.
Integrated Circuits (ICs):
Aaah! Finally, the fun part! Those black boxes contain microscopic circuits that do specific things when properly used in our projects. For example there are clock divider ICs, analog-to-digital (ADC) converter ICs, square wave oscillator ICs, and many many maaaany more. Those are really fun to work with, as they make building modules from scratch easy and cheap, because the hard work of creating these circuits has already been done by smart people, who are now willing to sell them to us for a few cents (or bucks). ICs often have a lot of legs, or inputs and outputs, and you need to check their data sheets thoroughly for what they do and how they need to be treated. This will become easier with practice and we’ll look at data sheets together for our first projects.
Of course there are many more types of components, but for now those should be enough. In fact, those components are already enough to create a wide variety of very useful modules.
Where to get components?
Shopping for components can be a pain sometimes, as websites made for this purpose usually cater to an electronically savvy clientele, who places bulk orders. Mouser and AliExpress are popular online stores. You can also buy small quantities well on eBay.
For your convenience, I also created a shopping list thread with links to specific products.
Before you submit your order, double-check that you got the right components in your virtual basket. For example, make sure that you ordered through-hole components for easy soldering and not the tiny Surface Mount Technology (SMT) stuff for robots. Also, don’t just buy one item (if that’s even possible), but order more. Breaking a component can easily happen at the beginning, so it’s always good to have spares.
Possible causes of components breaking
Resting the soldering iron on them for too long, accidentally supplying them with too high or negative Voltages like from electrostatic discharge from your body after rubbing your cat’s belly on that one weird rug on the floor, applying too much solder and bridging contacts, breaking the component or parts of it from physical force when trying to bend its legs into position, etc.
So always DIY calmly, carefully and concentrate
But wait … in order to DIY you still need a few more things.
Basic Synth DIY Tools
Soldering Iron and stand with cleaning sponge:
The tip of the iron gets very hot and is used to liquify the solder and heat up components to form a bond between them after cool down. The soldering iron is the most dangerous tool we’re working with in my opinion, so please be careful and don’t burn yourself or the things around you. Only touch its handle, don’t yank its cable, don’t keep it plugged in when not supervised, etc.
Solder
Solder wire becomes liquid when heated and is then applied to components to connect them permanently after cool down.
Desoldering pump
This can remove liquid solder in case you made a mistake.
“Third Hand” / “Helping Hand” solder stand
Helps you temporarily fix components into position for easier soldering.
Small Pliers
Useful to bend component legs and to grab or position things on cramped PCBs.
Wire clippers
They cut wires and can be used to remove the rubber isolation from wires too.
Wire Strippers
While not absolutely necessary, they do help a lot with stripping the isolation from wires.
Multimeter
Measures all kinds of electrical stuff and helps you troubleshoot connections and components.
One or more medium to large sized breadboards
Those let you put together circuits temporarily for testing, without the need to solder anything.
Breadboard wires / jumper cables
Ha! You already got a bunch these with your AE Modular! But they’re also cheap on eBay and there are special angled ones for breadboard use too.
Crocodile / Alligator Wires and Clips
Handy to bridge connections between different kinds of connectors. E.g. between 3.5mm TRS jacks and breadboard wires.
Various sockets:
E.g. barrel plug sockets, 3.5mm TRS jack sockets, 1/4in TRS jack sockets, etc. Those will help you interface your breadboard with outside devices, like power supplies and music gear. Simply solder some breadboard wires to the sockets’ pins to make yourself adapters.
Do these items have to be expensive?
No! While you mostly get what you pay for, starting cheap is fine too. Just don’t get a USB-powered soldering iron. In fact, I bought a super cheap, under 10€ soldering iron in 2013 and it lasted me until 2018, at which point I just bought it again. Of course, your mileage may vary and working with a more professional soldering station is certainly better, but for the occasional soldering job my cheap iron has always been good enough.
!!! IMPORTANT !!!
Tutorial videos you need to watch before you start:
General soldering:
Using a de-soldering pump:
Using wire clippers or pliers to strip isolation from wires:
Also important:
Solder in a well ventilated space and on a stable, heat resistant surface, like a workbench or sturdy table with a thick board of wood or a soldering mat on top.
Schematics
Electric circuits are usually written as circuit diagrams or "schematics", with each component having their own symbol. Check out this guide on reading schematics to learn more.
Getting started!
With all of this information read and digested and with your tools ordered, that’s really all you need to get started building DIY kits! You know, those devices that come in the form of a bag of loose components, with instructions on how to put them together.
Currently there are no kits for AE Modular modules, but there are plenty of fun noise maker kits, guitar pedal kits, etc. An easy and very popular kit to start with, is the Atari Punk Console, a little square-wave noise maker with only few components.
Actually, you could take a break here, order a kit like the APC and build that before reading on. I once built a little noise and drone box from a few of those kits and had a lot of fun:
Building kits is great to practise soldering, but it usually doesn’t really teach you much about electronics though, since you mostly just follow a step-by-step, “this goes there” guide.
What I much prefer nowadays is creating something from scratch and the AE Modular synth format lets you do this easily and safely. Check the other threads in this sub-forum for some suitable first projects
Where to buy all that stuff?
Check the shopping list thread.
In this thread (and actually in this whole sub forum) I want to teach you all the basic knowledge required to start your own awesome DIY adventures in the AE Modular format. Please read the posts carefully. I’ll try to keep them very simple and to the point, with ELI5 levels of description. Hyperlinks will then provide resources with more detailed information, in case you want to do more research. For a quick entry into DIY, those resources are not absolutely necessary to read right away, but eventually you will become so excited about the topic that you’ll be hungry for more knowledge
If you have any corrections, suggestions, questions or comments, please feel free to post them in this or the other threads.
!!! WARNING / DISCLAIMER !!!
Of course I have to tell you that everything you do as a result from reading the following posts, you do so at your own risk. While synth DIY is generally safe, we are working with electricity, hot soldering irons, etc. and those things can be dangerous to your music equipment, house and to your health. Please always concentrate when working on your DIY projects and be calm and careful.
The AE Modular Format and its Components
Before we learn anything about building stuff, let’s look at the AE Modular format and familiarize ourselves with what we’ll be working with.
The Front Panel
Here is the tangible waves SEQ16 module front panel as an example:
On the top left and right, we have female pin header sockets, little rows of plastic with holes in them, acting as patch sockets. Inside the holes, there are metal shafts which touch the patch cable tips and on the back, those shafts connect to pins for soldering the headers onto a circuit board.
To the right of the input sockets, there is a momentary push button switch. This closes a connection when held down, letting electricity flow, and automatically breaks the connection once released.
Further to the right, below the module’s name print, there is a toggle switch. The switch has three legs and by pushing the switch into one of its two positions, we connect one of the outer legs to the inner leg. If one of the outer legs is not connected to anything, we have a simple on/off switch.
Looking below, we see a bunch of potentiometers, or “pots”, or “knobs”. Pots are used to reduce the "strength" of electric signals (attenuation), usually by diverting part of the electricity to a destination in the synth and the rest, which we don’t need, out of the system to ground. This is called voltage division. The pot’s position describes the level of attenuation, or how much the signal is reduced in strength. A pot has three legs which are usually used in the following way: the clockwise one (right, in the picture below) receives an input signal, the middle one outputs the attenuated signal and the counterclockwise (left) one sends the rest of the electricity we don’t need to the ground. In this standard configuration, the output signal is decreased by turning the pot counterclockwise.
Right above each potentiometer, there are LEDs, light emitting diodes. When fed with electricity they burn bright in various colors. Yay! With LEDs you need to watch out for their polarity, meaning that they have to be connected the right way around, for example with their long leg (“anode”, +) to power and with the short leg (“cathode”, -) to ground through a resistor.
What’s a resistor? Well, let’s go over some electricity basics and then find out about the components hiding under the front panels.
AE Modular Electricity Basics
Everything inside your AE Modular rack runs on a +5V power supply bus. Audio and control voltages also don’t go above 5V or below 0V. So the internal power bus and the signal ranges are the same and thus very easy to handle.
In comparison, Eurorack runs on a -12V and +12V power supply, while audio and CV signal ranges are usually from -10V to +10V, with V/Oct pitch signals often just from 0 to +5V.
Why is that more difficult to work with as a beginner? In my opinion, the most important reason is because many useful electrical components are actually made to work with signal ranges from 0 to +5V. So in order to not damage them, a Eurorack module might have to introduce special power regulation, to make sure that these components are not exposed to negative voltages or voltages above +5V. Otherwise they might break. This risk is substantially lower when working with an AE Modular system as a DIY beginner. In fact, it’s something you almost do not need to worry about at all with the AE Modular, which results in fewer bad accidents and a lot less time wasted on boring power and signal level management.
But what’s that voltage thing anyway? Electricity running through cables and components can be compared to water running through pipes and through contraptions like watermills. In this analogy, voltage would be water pressure. The higher the pressure, the faster you can spin a watermill’s wheel. But with higher water pressure also comes higher friction or heat build-up and sturdier build requirements for that watermill. The same principle basically applies to electronic components and voltage.
One key thing to understand is that voltage, same as water pressure, requires a difference (so-called “potential”) to actually exist. Voltage is electric potential. So one end of our imaginary pipe needs to have high pressure, while the other end needs to have low pressure, otherwise the water wouldn’t flow.
So where does electricity flow to? Anywhere where the pressure is lower, which at the end of the day is often the ground. There are many different ways this “low pressure” area is marked on components and devices. Sometimes it’s called ground (GND) like on the AE Modular bus sockets, other times it’s denoted as a minus symbol (-), for example on a battery and at other times it is called 0V. While those are not necessarily the same, they do tend to act as a low-voltage destination, creating a voltage difference to the +5V supply.
So in order for electricity to flow and do its thing, there needs to be a voltage difference in the circuit, which is why we have a +5V socket and a GND socket on the AE Modular bus. A module will take the electricity from the +5V socket, run it through its circuit, do whatever it does and make the remaining electricity flow into the GND socket, which serves as a stable current sink.
Easy!
But what would happen if we would patch +5V to GND directly, without anything but the wire in between? A “short circuit” would happen and (hopefully) a fuse would blow somewhere, preventing your house from burning down. Well, the effects probably wouldn’t be that dramatic in this specific example, but you do want to avoid shorting a circuit at all cost. The GND generally has a very large “pull” to it and “sucks” the electricity from the +5V socket at such speeds, that the power supply will heat up and - without a fuse - burn at some point.
Another example: when you short a normal, off-the-shelf battery, by connecting its plus and minus sides, it might actually explode because it discharges itself so quickly and heatedly.
So in order to not get dangerous, we need to consume or somehow manage the electricity flowing from +5V to GND. Luckily though, this usually automatically happens as soon as we make the module “do” something and thus we only require few safety precautions in our circuits.
How can we safely manage electricity then? At the very least, we could add some resistance along the line, to limit the “pressure” of the flow going to GND.
So let’s quickly go over some basic electronic components we’ll encounter frequently.
Behind the AE Modular Front Panel
When looking behind the front panel of an AE Modular module, we see a printed circuit board (PCB) on which components are installed.
Nowadays many of those components are tiny surface mount technology (SMT), which means they are soldered by machines onto the surface of the PCB. This is practical for commercial products because it saves a lot of space on the PCB and it can be automated, but it is not ideal for us because, well … everything’s so tiny. Instead, we want to work with through-hole technology (THT) components, which are bigger and come with long metal legs that are pushed through holes on the PCB. The legs are then soldered to the holes and cut off with wire clippers.
Big through-hole resistor vs. tiny SMT resistor:
Image Source
Alright, so here are some important components we need to know about.
Wires/Cables/Cords:
Yawn, okay … you know those. But they actually come in various types and thicknesses. There are totally flexible wires, like the AE Modular patch cables, or ones that can be bent into a fixed position, wires with multiple thin strands inside or with just one thick one. Generally, wires have rubber isolation around them for protection, which has to be removed (or “stripped”) on both ends before soldering.
Fixed Resistors:
Resistors reduce the electrical current flow. They are often used to reduce or divide voltage levels. Resistors are rated in Ω (Ohm). The higher the Ω value, the higher the resistance and their current limiting effect. The Ohm rating is noted on the resistors via a color code. Resistors usually do not have a polarity, so their legs can be inserted into a circuit in any orientation.
Variable Resistors:
We already know one type of variable resistor, the potentiometer. Other variable resistors that might be of use to us are light dependent resistors (LDRs) which vary their resistance according to the amount of light shining on them and force sensing resistors (FSRs) which change their resistance according to finger pressure.
Diodes:
Diodes allow electric currents to flow only in one direction and not back, which is useful for example for protection against reverse currents. Diodes do not limit electrical currents significantly however, so they do not act like resistors. Diodes have a polarity, so it’s important to solder them into the circuit the right way around. Usually a stripe on the diode denotes the leg that blocks electricity, which could be considered the diode's "output" side.
Capacitors:
Those are basically tiny (or not so tiny) batteries that can load up and hold a charge, which can then be discharged when we need it, for example to even out power supply fluctuations. For simple power supply smoothing, we can use common “104” ceramic capacitors, with a rating of 100nF (nano Farad). Those small “104” caps don’t have a polarity and can be inserted into the circuit any way around. Bigger electrolytic caps however, that often look like black cylinders do, so watch out and put them in facing the right way. If you put them in the wrong way, they will heat up and might pop, releasing the fabled “magic smoke”. As with diodes, a stripe usually denotes the "minus" leg of the capacitor.
Integrated Circuits (ICs):
Aaah! Finally, the fun part! Those black boxes contain microscopic circuits that do specific things when properly used in our projects. For example there are clock divider ICs, analog-to-digital (ADC) converter ICs, square wave oscillator ICs, and many many maaaany more. Those are really fun to work with, as they make building modules from scratch easy and cheap, because the hard work of creating these circuits has already been done by smart people, who are now willing to sell them to us for a few cents (or bucks). ICs often have a lot of legs, or inputs and outputs, and you need to check their data sheets thoroughly for what they do and how they need to be treated. This will become easier with practice and we’ll look at data sheets together for our first projects.
Of course there are many more types of components, but for now those should be enough. In fact, those components are already enough to create a wide variety of very useful modules.
Where to get components?
Shopping for components can be a pain sometimes, as websites made for this purpose usually cater to an electronically savvy clientele, who places bulk orders. Mouser and AliExpress are popular online stores. You can also buy small quantities well on eBay.
For your convenience, I also created a shopping list thread with links to specific products.
Before you submit your order, double-check that you got the right components in your virtual basket. For example, make sure that you ordered through-hole components for easy soldering and not the tiny Surface Mount Technology (SMT) stuff for robots. Also, don’t just buy one item (if that’s even possible), but order more. Breaking a component can easily happen at the beginning, so it’s always good to have spares.
Possible causes of components breaking
Resting the soldering iron on them for too long, accidentally supplying them with too high or negative Voltages like from electrostatic discharge from your body after rubbing your cat’s belly on that one weird rug on the floor, applying too much solder and bridging contacts, breaking the component or parts of it from physical force when trying to bend its legs into position, etc.
So always DIY calmly, carefully and concentrate
But wait … in order to DIY you still need a few more things.
Basic Synth DIY Tools
Soldering Iron and stand with cleaning sponge:
The tip of the iron gets very hot and is used to liquify the solder and heat up components to form a bond between them after cool down. The soldering iron is the most dangerous tool we’re working with in my opinion, so please be careful and don’t burn yourself or the things around you. Only touch its handle, don’t yank its cable, don’t keep it plugged in when not supervised, etc.
Solder
Solder wire becomes liquid when heated and is then applied to components to connect them permanently after cool down.
Desoldering pump
This can remove liquid solder in case you made a mistake.
“Third Hand” / “Helping Hand” solder stand
Helps you temporarily fix components into position for easier soldering.
Small Pliers
Useful to bend component legs and to grab or position things on cramped PCBs.
Wire clippers
They cut wires and can be used to remove the rubber isolation from wires too.
Wire Strippers
While not absolutely necessary, they do help a lot with stripping the isolation from wires.
Multimeter
Measures all kinds of electrical stuff and helps you troubleshoot connections and components.
One or more medium to large sized breadboards
Those let you put together circuits temporarily for testing, without the need to solder anything.
Breadboard wires / jumper cables
Ha! You already got a bunch these with your AE Modular! But they’re also cheap on eBay and there are special angled ones for breadboard use too.
Crocodile / Alligator Wires and Clips
Handy to bridge connections between different kinds of connectors. E.g. between 3.5mm TRS jacks and breadboard wires.
Various sockets:
E.g. barrel plug sockets, 3.5mm TRS jack sockets, 1/4in TRS jack sockets, etc. Those will help you interface your breadboard with outside devices, like power supplies and music gear. Simply solder some breadboard wires to the sockets’ pins to make yourself adapters.
Do these items have to be expensive?
No! While you mostly get what you pay for, starting cheap is fine too. Just don’t get a USB-powered soldering iron. In fact, I bought a super cheap, under 10€ soldering iron in 2013 and it lasted me until 2018, at which point I just bought it again. Of course, your mileage may vary and working with a more professional soldering station is certainly better, but for the occasional soldering job my cheap iron has always been good enough.
!!! IMPORTANT !!!
Tutorial videos you need to watch before you start:
General soldering:
Using a de-soldering pump:
Using wire clippers or pliers to strip isolation from wires:
Also important:
Solder in a well ventilated space and on a stable, heat resistant surface, like a workbench or sturdy table with a thick board of wood or a soldering mat on top.
Schematics
Electric circuits are usually written as circuit diagrams or "schematics", with each component having their own symbol. Check out this guide on reading schematics to learn more.
Getting started!
With all of this information read and digested and with your tools ordered, that’s really all you need to get started building DIY kits! You know, those devices that come in the form of a bag of loose components, with instructions on how to put them together.
Currently there are no kits for AE Modular modules, but there are plenty of fun noise maker kits, guitar pedal kits, etc. An easy and very popular kit to start with, is the Atari Punk Console, a little square-wave noise maker with only few components.
Actually, you could take a break here, order a kit like the APC and build that before reading on. I once built a little noise and drone box from a few of those kits and had a lot of fun:
Building kits is great to practise soldering, but it usually doesn’t really teach you much about electronics though, since you mostly just follow a step-by-step, “this goes there” guide.
What I much prefer nowadays is creating something from scratch and the AE Modular synth format lets you do this easily and safely. Check the other threads in this sub-forum for some suitable first projects
Where to buy all that stuff?
Check the shopping list thread.
