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 Forum index » DIY Hardware and Software » Thomas Henry designs
mankato builds?
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peng



Joined: Feb 23, 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:15 am    Post subject: Mankato Builds Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I built my Mankato months ago but have just started using it more. My feel for it so far is it is very ROUND. Maybe smooth is a better describer? I've been building other filters such as Synthacon variations, MS20, and starting on a rough Oscar clone. These all have a lot of character, and by that I mean interesting distortion characteristics. I haven't found the Mankato to be much like those. It seems ... tamer. I mean that in a good way. It's quite refreshing to create patches were the VCF is not THE main flavor ingredient!

Like I said, I'm just beginning to use the Mankato in more patches so I haven't sampled the full range of it yet. VERY happy with it so far. Thanks TH and Magic Smoke.


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Sound



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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Beatiful! ellegant! Very Happy

what format is it? what size!
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peng



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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
what format is it? what size!


Thanks. It's MOTM size - 3.5" 8.75".
I suppose it's my own format or layout.
I've been using it for other VCF modules, too.
For me, it feels more intuitive as far as signal flows go.

p.
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Tim Servo



Joined: Jul 16, 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:26 am    Post subject: mankato builds? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Neato Burrito! I'm digging the blue metalflake paint. One tip: crank up the resonance and try the 6dB out. Seems to have a very different character from the 24dB outputs. In any case, glad you like it! Now all we need are some sound samples (despite selling hundreds of Mankato PCBs, I've only heard samples from three other people, one of those being Scott Stites using his original prototype). Smile


Tim (a very different character) Servo
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numbernone



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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Most important Peng, where the hell did the big knobs come from??????

They look huge and great.
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peng



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PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Quote:
Now all we need are some sound samples (despite selling hundreds of Mankato PCBs, I've only heard samples from three other people,


That is surprising. I'll record some this weekend and post them.



Quote:
where the hell did the big knobs come from??????


Mixed knob lot Ebay auction from years ago. I wish I had more!

p.
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Peake



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PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

This is a fine filter. I especially enjoy the wet resonance character. Thanks to Tim and Henry for the excellent project!

(I had some issues building mine- never ever buy inexpensive jacks. Ever. I set this up with one out and one in to test, and both jacks are bad. Something shorts when the plug is inserted, on each of them. Of course, testing the jacks without a plug reveals no failure...Bubblechamber mentioned this problem to me a week ago; wonder if he knew I'd bought some of these from that one place Laughing )

No photos as front panels are a long way off. Kudos to all who have built and posted, thanks for the soundbites as well!

Edit: I would like more range on the Fine control, will look into that.
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:20 pm    Post subject: Mankato Builds Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Peake wrote:
This is a fine filter. I especially enjoy the wet resonance character. Thanks to Tim and Henry for the excellent project!

(I had some issues building mine- never ever buy inexpensive jacks. Ever. I set this up with one out and one in to test, and both jacks are bad. Something shorts when the plug is inserted, on each of them. Of course, testing the jacks without a plug reveals no failure...Bubblechamber mentioned this problem to me a week ago; wonder if he knew I'd bought some of these from that one place Laughing )

No photos as front panels are a long way off. Kudos to all who have built and posted, thanks for the soundbites as well!

Edit: I would like more range on the Fine control, will look into that.


Glad you like it!

Yeah, don't buy the cheap jacks. Well, lesson learned (been there, done that).

R39 sets the Fine Tune range. It is currently 3.3M, and you can experiment by clipping another resistor in parallel with R39. A lower value will increase the range. Once you have a range you like, then you can make a permanent change.

Tim (lower value) Servo
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Peake



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PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Thank you!

And I should have said Thomas, not "Henry". Long day, you know.
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Luka



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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

where were they from peake?
hopefully not futurlec, as i just bought about 200 from there

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Peake



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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

An otherwise excellent Los Angeles surplus store- no worries!
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Luka



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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

phew,.. wipes forehead.
i get so worried when i buy stuff bulk from hong kong or china

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rjd2



Joined: Sep 02, 2007
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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2008 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

hi guys, so i've got a question. parts list show all linear control pots at being 100k value, yet, on the STG front panels i just got, it says 50k. im assuming i should stick with the actual magic smoke parts list value, right? excited to get these puppies up and running, pcb's all done.
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:40 pm    Post subject: mankato builds? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hey Rj,

If you used 50k pots, that would hardly be the end of the world, but you should stick with the 100k parts. If you talk to STG about this, he'll mention that the '50k' legend is a misprint. You should have a parts list, build notes and schematic from us at Magic Smoke, but please yell at me if you didn't get it for some reason.

Cheers!

Tim (sticking with the 100k parts) Servo
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rjd2



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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

killer, thanks tim. i assumed as much.

ps-give me a shout if you ever get anywhere on that arp VCO thing. every time i play my little axxe i drool over the idea of an 8(or more) OSC arp modular.

oh, and to even FURTHER the off-topic-ness of this post, i am now pretty confident that the EG and key tracking contributes to the very arp-ness of the early arps. i dont know if i can put it in words yet, but there is something there that they do that's unique to the synth.
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2008 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

rjd2 wrote:
killer, thanks tim. i assumed as much.

ps-give me a shout if you ever get anywhere on that arp VCO thing. every time i play my little axxe i drool over the idea of an 8(or more) OSC arp modular.

oh, and to even FURTHER the off-topic-ness of this post, i am now pretty confident that the EG and key tracking contributes to the very arp-ness of the early arps. i dont know if i can put it in words yet, but there is something there that they do that's unique to the synth.


Yer Welcome Rj,

Working on the VCO thing... got a Mouser parts order on the way. And yes, there is something about those machines that is very unique. Just like the sound of a Minimoog isn't JUST the VCF, the sound of an Ody or an Axxe can't be reduced to just the individual circuits: the way the whole thing interacts is part of the magic mojo. That doesn't mean that there is no value in the individual circuits (look at how many people have Minimoog clone VCFs in there modulars - and love them), it's just that I think you have to consider the entire machine if you're really setting out to duplicate a certain "sound." I guess it would be described as a "Holistic" approach... (from Wikipedia):

"Holism (from holos, a Greek word meaning all, entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave."

And pardon me for going way OT also, but I just thought that the definition above was a great one, and something to be kept in mind when designing / building / playing a synth. Smile


Tim (and that's your philosophy lesson for today) Servo
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rjd2



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

hi folks, i've got a build question regarding the STG faceplates....

1-the manual slope control pot; where does this wire to on the pcb?

2-i can assume that "frequency vernier" should probably be coarse filter tune pot, and "regeneration" would be resonance pot, right?

thanks much-rj
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:51 pm    Post subject: mankato builds
Subject description: STG faceplate
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Hi RJ,

The lastest version of the Mankato documentation package includes a connector wiring diagram for the STG face panel. Double check the doc package we sent you, and I'll resend it if you don't have it. I've just moved, and so I'm still setting up my main computer and Magic Smoke West Coast shipping Wink so it may be a day or so before I can get it to you. Let me know.

Tim (sooooo much stuff in boxes) Servo
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Oh, and the control in the center of all the output jacks isn't a 'manual slope control,' rather, it's Course freq control. The 'vernier' is the Fine control, and the 'regen' is the Resonance control.

Tim (typing in the dark - gotta find that lamp) Servo
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rjd2



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

thanks alot, tim. yes, i do have the connector wiring pdf. a few more questions, mostly related to usage with the STG faceplate.(sorry, but this is my first module build, so of course i didnt expect to nail it the first time!).

1-when using as a filter(running a VCO into the audio input) i dont get anything at the outputs. right now, since im using the STG faceplate, i dont have anything wired into the attenuator and ac/dc coupling jack inputs on the pcb. what should i be doing here? this also applies to the control inputs-i just used the one control input pot at the first control input, leaving the other 2 open. this wrong?

2-i had trouble scaling the v/oct for using as a VCO. it seemed like i was just getting a voltage offset effect(no change in actual scaling). am i doing something wrong?

thanks alot for your patience-im getting there slowly!
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Tim Servo



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:14 pm    Post subject: Mankato Builds? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hey Rj,

1) I'd say you need to wire the connector differently: Looking at the board, there are connectors on the left marked "Audio Inputs." There are three groups of connectors, each group with seven pins (pin 1 at the top, 7 on the bottom).

If you want AC coupling, hook the audio in jack to pins 1 and 2 (2 is ground), and connect a jumper between pins 5 and 6 (since the STG panel doesn't have input attenuators).

If you want DC coupling (okay for most audio signals, and for processing control voltages, allowing the Mankato can also act as a voltage controlled lag generator), then simply hook the audio input to pins 6 and 7 (7 is ground).

2) Not sure about this one. Make sure that you have the part values correct, and you should be able to tweak the v/oct response. You will hear the freq shift some as you adjust the trimmer, this is normal, but you should be able to hear a difference in the range if you "play" the Mankato with a sequencer or keyboard.

Let me know if that stuff doesn't work. Hopefully you'll get your Mankato singing nicely!

Tim (sings, but not so nicely) Servo
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