The
Monowave was the brainchild of UK electronics designer, Paul
Maddox.
Paul has been designing and building synths for years as well
as releasing his own
unique music realised on his impressive modular creations.
Paul wanted to build
a synth the roots of which lay in the PPG.
Originally intended as a monophonic bass synth, the Monowave
has uses beyond that.
The Monowave is
a wavetable synthesiser with 256 waves available for each of
the two oscillators.
Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy
of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for
the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very
'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and
a simple display. Internally,
the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry
used in the oscillators)... no wimpy DSP thank you very much
- this is a 'real' synth!!
Paul has now released
the MonoWave as GPL and has given me permission to release the
PCB and a Component Kit for those that unfortunately missed
the first, limited run. I have upgraded the main microcontroller
to the newer ATMEGA16.
The MonoWave (X) is a rebuild
of Paul's popular MonoWave I and has been re-released
with his permission. The new design reduces the original
multi-pcb design down to 2 PCBs:-
- The
Main board, which incorporates all of the original
main board circuits, now also includes an onboard regulated
power supply, PCB-mounted MIDI sockets (optional breakout
connectors provided for those wishing panel-mounted
sockets) and has had the multitude of ribbon-cable connectors
reduced to 3 off 40-way cables. This board also now
supports the ATMEGA16/ATMEGA32 in place of the original
AT90S8515 and the ATtiny2313 in place of the AT90S1200.
- The
Front Panel board.
This has been designed to virtually eliminate the wiring
process of the MonoWave by utilising PCB-mounted pots,
switches, LED's and LCD Module. Using this panel
only requires 3x 40-way ribbon cables to connect
it to the Main board. This board can be completey omitted
by those wishing to use their own panel and/or case
design. Please note that this board uses a specific
model of switch and pot similar to those shown here and that if using this board you will need to get these
(as supplied in my Panel Component Kit) or a direct
equivalent.
In addition, the front panel
design incorporates a 2x16 LCD Module (the original MonoWave
only had a 1x16 Module) allowing software developers to
extend the user-interface. PCB and Component
Kits are now available. In the case of the MonoWave
Panel Component Kit this will include all pots, switches,
LEDs and the LCD Module. Constructing both kits will leave
the user only needing to provide a 15VDC regulated supply and
a case.
We also offer an enclosure kit for the MonoWave (X) which comprises a 2U 84HP rack (rack depth is just under 340mm deep ) complete with ears suitable for mounting in to a 19" rack, or it can be simply left as a free-standing unit. This kit also includes a Front and Rear panel.
|