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***** Difficulty rating: MODERATE TO HARD

Available as a kit or a fully made unit, the Rakit Drum Synth is based on the (now rare) Boss PC-2/AMDEK PCK-100 percussion synthesizer. The sounds produced by the synth are not limited to what you would expect to associate with drum sounds and can vary from big bass drums to tapping on glass to UFO space drum-wobbly things! Not only does this Drum Synth do sonic justice to the original but we have also put our own spin on it with extra modifications including:
* Attack on/off
* VCO & LFO wave shape selection
* Pitch CV input

To find out more please read the full description below…

Drum Synthesizer

The Rakit Drum Synth kit requires skill and precision to complete, but trust us when we say it is well worth the effort!!

ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?

Kit Assembly

Only two basic soldering tools are required to complete this kit: a soldering iron and a pair of flush cutters. Lead free solder is included! We are unable to provide individual customer support with kit building so please see our detailed assembly guide here to gauge difficulty. Once started, kits cannot be refunded.

The kit is made entirely of interlocking PCBs and unlike most kits the only wires that have to be soldered are the ones going to the piezo disc.

How It Works

The synth is triggered by a piezo disc which is sensitive to how hard you tap the top panel giving subtle differences in the envelope. The sounds are generated by a VCO optionally modulated by a frequency sweep, LFO, Pitch CV or all three.

There is a simple envelope generator with a fixed fast attack for punchy percussive envelopes and variable decay for super short to really long decays (5 seconds+).

Buy It Made

Don’t want to make the kit? No problem! The Drum Synth is also available to buy completely assembled and ready to go.

Extra Fun

An example sheet is available to download from our website showing you how to recreate 8 settings from the original Boss PC-2/AMDEK PCK-100 percussion synthesizer and a blank settings sheet for recording your own favourite settings.

2X TRIGGER OPTIONS

External Trigger

Use the 3.5mm mono socket to connect to the Rakit Baby8 Sequencer, external drum pads or anything with a gate out.

Applying an external rising edge between 500mV to supply activates the drum.

Touch Pad Trigger

Activate the piezo fixed to the underside of the top panel using a finger or weapon of your choice! We rather like the suggestion from Csaba Nagy (our helpful guinea pig) to use a pencil with a rubber on the end.

Powering The Unit

The Drum Synth comes with a 9V pp3 battery to barrel jack connector as standard. We recommend using an alkaline battery, one of which can be added to your order using the drop down menu above.

Should you wish to use your own power supply, please ensure it meets the following specifications:

+8V to +12V, Centre positive 2.1mm (centre) x 5.5mm (outside)

WHAT DO THESE TWIDDLY KNOBS DO?

VCO/LFO SHAPE

Select triangle or square wave.

ATTACK

Mimics the sound of a drumstick hitting a skin. The degree to which it is noticeable is dependent on the other settings.

SENS

Sets the sensitivity of the trigger/piezo input.

RATE

Controls the frequency of the LFO. Approx 2Hz to 400Hz

PITCH

Controls the pitch (frequency) of the VCO. Approx 30Hz to 3.5kHz

DEPTH

Controls the amount of LFO applied to the VCO.

DECAY

Sets the decay time from short and punchy (50ms) to lingering (5 seconds+)

SWEEP

Controls the amount of frequency sweep applied to the VCO.

Select the direction of the frequency sweep.

DETAILED ASSEMBLY

GUIDES

Rakit have a handy soldering tutorial and easy to follow assembly guides which can be followed online on our website. They contain plenty of photos, hints and tips to help you along the way!

BUT WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE???

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE DRUM SYNTH KIT

3x 3.5mm Mono Socket
4x A100k Log Potentiometer
1x B504 500k Linear Potentiometer
1x B102 1k0 Linear Potentiometer
2x 50k Trim potentiometer
1x 2.1mm/5.5mm Barrel Power Socket
2x Right Angle SPST Slide Switch
3x Horizontal DPDT Slide Switch
4x 1n0 Box Capacitor
1x 3n3 Box Capacitor
1x 22n Box Capacitor
3x 47n Box Capacitor
11x 100k 0.6W 1% Resistor

2x 33k 0.6W 1% Resistor
11x 47k 0.6W 1% Resistor
5x 22k 0.6W 1% Resistor
5x 10k 0.6W 1% Resistor
4x 4k7 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x 390R 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x 4M7 0.6W 1% Resistor
5x 1k0 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x 56k 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x 1M0 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x 220k 0.6W 1% Resistor
1x OTA IC BA6110
1x Op Amp 4558 IC

3x Op Amp 358/2904 IC
2x 3mm Blue LED
3x Signal Diode 1N4148
1x Schottky diode IN5819
2x 2N3904 NPN Transistor
2x 2N3906 PNP Transistor
2x 2SC945P NPN Transistor
3x 1u0 Electrolytic Capacitor
2x 10u Electrolytic Capacitor
1x 100u Electrolytic Capacitor
4x PCB – Top, Inside, Left and Right
1x Battery Snap to Barrel
4x Rubber Tube

COMBINED SHIPPING

Shipping within the UK is £2, no matter how many kits you buy. We also ship worldwide for £10 plus £2 per additional item

RETURNS POLICY (The boring bit)

If you are not 100% satisfied with your kit you may return it unopened within 30 days of purchase for a full refund. In the case of returns due to a change of mind you will need to pay the return postage. We cannot refund kits which have been started.

See our other items

Rakimix 5 Channel Mixer Kit

Kit rating: Intermediate

The Rakimix is a simple but proficient mixer with 4 controllable channels and one auxiliary channel. The auxiliary channel can be used to daisy chain with another Rakimix or any typical mono audio source. This is an intermediate level DIY kit, the perfect project for anyone with a spare hour on their hands!

To find out more please read the full description below…

BUILD SUPPORT

We are unable to provide individual customer support with kit building so please see the detailed assembly guide at Rakit to gauge difficulty before purchasing. Once started, kits cannot be refunded.

EASY TO USE LEVEL CONTROLS

Level: Channels 1-4

Each channel has a level control which ranges from off (fully anti-clockwise) to +10dB gain (fully clockwise).

Mute: Channels 1-4

Each channel has a mute switch which can be
useful to keep a level setting but still mute the sound on an individual channel.

Master Level

The master level control is used to adjust the level of channels 1-4 but does not affect the auxiliary input.

DAISY CHAINING

The Rakimix can be daisy chained with other Rakimixers to create a larger channel count mixer.

USING THE AUXILIARY INPUT

This input can be used with any mono audio signal up to approx 4Vpp, the signal will be buffered and mixed with channels 1-4.

Any level adjustment of the auxiliary input signal should be done on the source device.

ACCEPTS MONO & STEREO INPUTS

4 x Mono, perfect!

2 x Stereo, great!

Channel 1 > Tip/Left

Channel 2 > Ring/Right

Channel 3 > Tip/Left

Channel 4 > Ring/Right

1 x Stereo, 2 x Mono, outstanding!

Channel 1 > Tip/Left

Channel 2 > Ring/Right

The mixer output signal is a mix of the 5 input channels transmitted to the tip and ring of a stereo output. A mono or stereo cable can be used on the output.
When using a stereo jack both left and right signals will be identical.

MIXER OUTPUT

POWERING THE RAKIMIX

Option A: Get yourself a pp3 9V battery to use with the battery-barrel jack connector supplied in your kit for a mobile device. You can add a battery to your kit using the drop down menu options.

Option B: Should you wish to use your own power supply, please ensure it meets the following specifications:

+8V to +12V, Centre positive 2.1mm (centre) x 5.5mm (outside)

DETAILED ASSEMBLY

GUIDES

Rakit have a handy soldering tutorial and easy to follow assembly guides which can be followed online on our website. They contain lots of photos, hints and tips to help you along the way!

KIT CONTENTS

Also included is 2/3g of our favourite lead free solder!

PCB 1
100k Potentiometers 4
10k Potentiometer 1
2x5mm LED 1

SPDT Slide Switches 5
NE5532 Op Amp 2

3.5mm Stereo Jacks 6

100k Resistors 4

10k Resistors 8

100R Resistors 2

33k Resistors 1

3.3k Resistors 1

Stand-offs 4

Nuts 4

100uF Electrolytic Capacitor 5
10uF Electrolytic Capacitor 1

9V (pp3) Battery To Barrel Jack 1
100nF Ceramic Capacitor 2
100p Ceramic Capacitor 2
Power Jack 1
Schottky Diode 1

Shipping within the UK is £2, no matter how many kits you buy. We also ship worldwide for £10 + £2 per additional item

COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNT

RETURNS POLICY (The boring bit)

If you are not 100% satisfied with your kit you may return it unopened within 30 days of purchase for a refund. In the case of returns due to a change of mind you will need to pay the return postage. We cannot refund kits which have been started.

See our other items

Kit rating: EASY

This Atari Punk Console kit is based on the original Stepped Tone Generator by Forest M. Mimms III. It creates great lo-fi sounds resembling those from the old style Atari games using an astable square wave oscillator.

The main features of the kit are a 9v battery connector snap, an on/off power switch, a 3.5mm jack so that it can be hooked up to other devices such as an amp, speaker or headphones, and two knobs to control the pitch and depth of the quirky raspy tones produced. To find out more please read the full description below…

Mini Atari Punk Console

The kit that proves that great things really can come in small packages!

(33mmx50mm packages to be precise)

SMALL IS

THE NEW BIG

Kit Assembly

This kit is rated as easy, takes around 20-45 mins to make and is suitable for all ages. The only equipment needed to complete this kit is a soldering iron and a pair of flush cutters. 1m of our favourite lead free solder is included with this kit.

How It Works

Grab yourself a 9v pp3 battery (not included) and connect it up to the battery snap. Turn the mini APC on using the on/off power switch, and adjust the two knobs to control the pitch and depth of the quirky raspy tones produced.

Build Support

We are unable to provide individual customer support with kit building so please see the detailed assembly guide at Rakit to gauge difficulty before purchasing. Once started, kits cannot be refunded.

CONNECT TO OUR BABY8 SEQUENCER

The kit includes a set of connectors to bring the Baby8 and mini APC together for all sorts of fun! The set consists of two strips of pin headers and 5 multi-coloured jumper cables for connecting power sharing, 2x CVs, Gate and Ground.

3X AUDIO OUT OPTIONS

3.5mm Jack : Option 1

Plug your own headphones into the 3.5mm stereo socket.

3.5mm Jack: Option 2

Plug into your own speaker/amp into the 3.5mm stereo socket.

Option 3

Use the 25mm speaker included with your kit and solder it into place.

DETAILED ASSEMBLY

GUIDES

Rakit have a handy soldering tutorial and easy to follow assembly guides which can be followed online on our website.

They contain plenty of photos, hints and tips to help you along the way!

KIT CONTENTS

PCB
500K Ohm Linear Potentiometer (x2)
NE556 Dual 555 Timer IC
100K Resistor
15K Resistor
10K Resistor
1K Resistor (x2)

1m Lead Free Solder

4.7K Ohm Resistor
10uF Electrolytic Capacitor
9V (pp3) Battery Snap
10nF Ceramic Capacitor
100nF Ceramic Capacitor
On/Off Sliding Switch
3.5mm Stereo Jack

1 x APC-Baby8 Connector Set

COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNT

Shipping within the UK is £2, no matter how many kits you buy. We also ship worldwide for £10 + £2 per additional item.

RETURNS POLICY (The boring bit)

See our other items