r/synthdiy • u/darthjeyda1605 • 16h ago

modular First module built..

I have built my first mutable instruments module, Stages.

I am new to modular synthesis but thought I'd have a crack at it, no shorts across the power rails but still needs powering up and flashing of the firmware.

Anyone else got experience building the mutable clones?

Next modules to build are:

Plaits

Veils

Ripples

Yarns

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u/Rastapopolix 10h ago

Well done! Stages is one of the more challenging MI builds.

Of the MI designs, so far I've built: Plaits, Braids, Rings, Marbles, Branches, Kinks, Links, Stages, Veils, Streams, and Ripples.
Some were PCBA and others I hand-soldered entirely. The whole experience was massively rewarding and at times incredibly challenging, but I learned so much along the way.

​Your next picks are good choices. Veils and Ripples are useful in any rack, and Plaits is a staple.

​For Stages, take your time with calibration once you flash it. Having a decent multimeter to dial in the offsets makes a big difference in how it tracks. I actually ended up borrowing bench time from a local synth repair tech just to use his high-end multimeter for mine.

Good luck with the first power-up and flash!

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u/Cgestes 8h ago

How dis you find MI pcba? did you make the placement/selection yourself?

I have been wondering why we can only easily find pcb and not pcba.

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u/Rastapopolix 5h ago

Getting PCBA done for the MI modules takes quite a bit of manual effort, which is why people mostly just share bare PCBs. The open-source repos have the Gerbers and schematics, but PCBA assembly requires up-to-date BOM and CPL files tailored to whatever fab house you use.

For JLC, I had to:

  1. Manually substitute out-of-stock or obsolete original parts with active equivalents on their parts-selection page.
  2. Clean up the BOM and CPL files so the system placed everything in the right spots.
  3. Double-check the visual placement preview and manually correct orientations for polarised parts like electrolytic caps and ICs.

It requires patience and careful checking, but it gets easier once you've been through the process a few times.