The Sequentix Cirklon Sequencer

Colin Frasers' incredible Cirklon sequencer - a machine that integrates beautifully with all gear, old and new... midi, usb and analogue cv/gate connectivity. The range of functionality with this thing is truly amazing...



Colins' efforts in designing this machine and his attention to detail really deserves huge credit... just take a look at this...



full details at www.sequentix.com

TR-808 start/stop switch - pt.1

So, another TR-808 with a worn out start/stop switch. These original alps switches are almost impossible to find - Technology Transplant may have a few... then again they may not. Options... repair original or find a workable replacement :-) Repairing the original switch is tricky but possible and has been documented elsewhere on the web...
Ok, if you can't find a new one...
Roland used a lot of generic parts in all their late 70s early 80s gear and many switches, pots, sliders etc are common to many machines... but these 808 switches are a bastard for an exact replacement. Nearest are switches used in the MC-4 microcomposer, the 'cross' where the cap fits needs slight alteration but it's mechanically compatible otherwise - but using an MC-4 as a parts donor is a capital offence...

Donor CSQ?
ah, the CSQ-100/600 sequencers, made at the same time as the 808, right? same plastic ends, right? same Start/Stop switches, right? Wrong... but can they be made to work?
It just so happens I have a damaged CSQ-100 pcb here... lots of useful switches on it...

...to be continued

The Assembly - Mute Short Circuit

great to hear this after so many years...

two and a half Transcendent 2000's

This week I'm working on some Transcendent 2000s. It's an interesting synthesizer designed here in the U.K by Tim Orr in the 1970's and published as a self-build project in the magazine Electronics Today International in July/August of 1978. They were quite popular in the U.K and a kit of parts was available through Powertran electronics until around 1984. In fact, the Transcendent 2000 was a 'first synth' for a lot of British musicians (myself included)... reason? ... it was pretty cheap... if you couldn't afford a Micromoog or an ARP Axxe or even a MiniKorg 700 the Transcendent was really the only option. It was also fairly simple to build - if you knew the hot end of a soldering iron from the cold and could follow some basic instructions... famously, Bernard Sumner filled his sleepness nights by building one back in his Joy Division days.
I like the Transcendent 2000, it's full of cheap 1970's technology so, yes, it's a bit noisy and weird but it sounds dark and raw, the filter is unpredictable and really needs taming when it self-oscillates (more on this at a later stage...). The waveshaping in the VCO is unusual for a basic monosynth - but then again a lot of things about the Transcendent are unusual.

I have two complete machines here for service plus another main PCB - all with various problems. Both keyboard assemblies need re-alignment of the contact wires, all three have iffy pots and switches and various other age-related conditions...




Original magazine article and build notes




Transcendent 2000 main PCB



arrival...

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