How to Make a Light-up Patch Cable (simple DIY project)

video upload by Musical Miscellany (Poorness Studios)

"I recently discovered these flexible filament LEDs and decided to see if I could make a light-up patch cable with them. It's actually a very simple project that just requires some basic soldering skills.

Parts Needed:
2 x 1/8" Mono Plugs
2 x 300mm Filament LEDs
1 x 1k Ω Resistor
1 x Piece of Wire (about 12")
1 x Piece of 1/4" Heat Shrink Tubing (about 12")

See more of my Musical DIY Projects here:"

BitByBit Synths Skiffy 42 DIY Eurorack Case (unboxing, assembly, & finishing) | Bioelectric Skiff Project

video upload by Musical Miscellany (Poorness Studios)

"I found this cool Eurorack case from BitByBit Synths. They're a small company in Texas making these DIY cases. I plan to use this one for a portable bioelectric skiff, but this video focuses on the assembly and finishing.

You can buy these cases here: https://www.bitbybitsynths.com/shop/s..."

Fidget Spinner Box Meets Modular Synth (DIY Instrument/CV source)

video upload by Musical Miscellany (Poorness Studios)

"I recently built this funky fidget spinner instrument and decided to see if it would work as a CV source for the modular synthesizer. To my surprise, it worked really well.

Check out the build video here:"

I Made a DIY Fidget Spinner Instrument Thingy (Fun Musical Project)


This is a very simple project. It's just 2 spinners mounted to a cigar box using 5/16" carriage bolts. I used a bass pickup and 1/4" mono jack to amplify the sound.

Build Process - 0:00
Sound Demos - 5:01"

Sinister Strumming (2X4 Lap Steel Meets Modular Synth)

video upload by poorness studios

"I've been wanting to pair one of my 2X4 lap steels with my modular synthesizer for quite some time. I decided it was time and the result is pretty crazy. It sounds like a Halloween soundscape.

See the 2X4 lap steel build video here:"

DIY Project #41: Red 2X4 Lap Steel

Electric Toy Piano Meets Modular Synthesizer

video by poorness studios

"Ever since I modified this toy piano back in December, I've been waiting to try this. I figured plugging into my Eurorack modular synthesizer would probably create some cool sound textures. The piano's signal goes into the Xaoc Sewastopol II, then into the Make Noise Phonogene, and then into the Calsynth Typhoon before it joins the mix. I used the ADDAC 301 and a damper pedal to start/stop the loop in the Phonogene. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

You can find the toy piano video here:"

DIY Project #51: The Electric Toy Piano

"I took the Best toy piano which I unboxed recently and converted it to an electric toy piano. I used 5 contacts mics (piezo elements) and the wiring components from the Muslady guitar kit I built earlier this year. It worked pretty well and most importantly, it did not affect the acoustic tone at all.

Check out the unboxing video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQgdS...

And see a playlist of my DIY Project here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list..."

Electric Lyre + Modular Synth

poorness studios 

 "I decided to do a jam with my modular synthesizer and the electric lyre I recently built. The Korg Volca Beats and Volca Bass get in on the action as well. I'm pretty happy with how they sound together. You can see the lyre build video here:" 

 DIY Project #45: Kmise Lyre DIY Kit

"For my next project, I decided to build one of the Kmise Lyre kits you can buy off Amazon. To make things more interesting, I removed the back and converted it to an electric lyre. I also tried a sunburst finish for the first time and I'm pretty pleased with the result. Fun project! The kits are available here: https://www.amazon.com/Kmise-Lyre-Har..."

DIY Project #42: Bastl Instruments Propust

Published on May 30, 2020 poorness studios

"For my next DIY project, I built one of the Bastl Propust kits. I wasn't really looking for a fixed filter but but its cheap and they're weren't any demos on YouTube, so I decided to build one. It's actually a pretty useful little module. For being 2HP and passive, it's a good addition to any rack."

poorness studios DIY Projects

The Spoon Soundscape (TX Wiggles 58)

Published on Apr 18, 2020 poorness studios

"I took my latest DIY Project, the Diddley Spoon, and plugged it into the modular synthesizer. This video features the Make Noise Phonogene. The soundscape was made from a single note played on a spoon."

poorness studios TX Wiggles

Additional Mod to Project 28

Published on Aug 8, 2019 poorness studios

"I did another mod to DIY project #28. I added a glitch button by finding a circuit inside that would make electronic noise."

Follow-up to this post. Also see Cassette Soundscape (TX Wiggles 47).

DIY Project #28: Circuit Bent Cassette Player

Published on Jul 24, 2019 poorness studios

"I purchased a GE 3-5027 cassette player off eBay and cracked it open to add a variable pitch control. I used circuit bending techniques to find the points and installed a switch and a pot. It was a tight fit but everything works pretty well.

Check out all my DIY projects in this playlist:"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Ukulele Meets Modular Synth (TX Wiggles 45)

Published on Jun 16, 2019 poorness studios

"I combined the ukulele I just built with my modular synthesizer and tried to make some sci-fi music. This was the result.

See a video of the ukulele build here:"

DIY Project #24: Cigar Box Ukulele

Published on Jun 15, 2019 poorness studios

"I decided to build a Ukulele from a cigar box using one of the neck blanks from CB Gitty. I'm very pleased with the way it came out. I also added a cover of Bananas & Blow by Ween."

poorness studios TX Wiggles

Sunday Drone Part II (TX Wiggles 43) & an Electric Whisk

Published on Apr 21, 2019 poorness studios

"I just sat down this morning and came up with this moody drone patch. Its basically a morphing digital oscillator with an arpeggiated pattern on top. I used the modular, a Volca Beats, and the Microbrute.

you can see the first Sunday Drone video here:" [posted here]

poorness studios TX Wiggles

And the electric whisk:

DIY Project #21: Electric Whisk

Published on Apr 20, 2019 poorness studios

"Kind of a random project... I made an electric whisk. In the demo, I use a couple of my previous DIY projects.

Here is the Jarmaggeddon video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLjf...

Here is the 3PDT Fuzz video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7DC3...

Check out all my DIY projects here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list..."

DIY Project 13: Synthrotek Mix

Published on Oct 13, 2018 poorness studios

"I went to Knobcon this year and Synthrotek was handing out free Mix modules. Of course, you only got the panel and PCB for free. After getting the rest of the components, here is the build.

You can buy the complete kit here: http://store.synthrotek.com/MIX_p_807..."

DIY Project 12: Synthrotek Quadrangle

Published on Sep 22, 2018 poorness studios

"This is my next DIY Eurorack module, a Quadrangle from Synthrotek. It is a dense circuit but it's pretty easy to build. It's a very powerful function generator and it's only $150.

You can buy one here: http://store.synthrotek.com/Quadrangl..."

3 Eurorack Filter Clones Compared

Published on Feb 18, 2018 poorness studios

"I have 3 Eurorack filters and they all happen to be clones of vintage synths. I did a side-by-side comparison of the Doepfer A-124 (EDP Wasp clone), STG Soundlabs Sea Devils (EMS Synthi clone), and Harvestman Polivoks VCF (Polivoks clone).

Check out this video for more details on the A-124 self-oscilaltion mod:"

DIY Project 11: Doepfer A-124 WASP self oscillation mod

Published on Jan 29, 2018 poorness studios

"I really wanted to do the WASP self-oscilaltion mod. However, I didn't want to lose the filter's original character. Here's a way to do it cheap and easy. Of course, you lose one of the CV jacks, but I think it's worth it for the flexibility.

Patch Pierre article with the original mod: http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/2011/0..."

DIY Project #8: Minty Synth 2.0

Published on Nov 4, 2017 poorness studios

"The Minty Synth is a tiny Arduino-bases synthesizer built inside of a mint tin. It's very powerful for how simple it is to build. You can buy one here: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2648"

"The MintySynth kit - 2.0 is a great way to make your next musical creation while experimenting with electronics and programming. Open source and hackable, the MintySynth is an Arduino-compatible synth kit that fits in an Altoids tin.

This comes as an unassembled kit so some soldering is required - but the assembly itself is fairly straightforward and the software comes preloaded so creating your next project should be a breeze! The included software is a 4 voice, 16 step wavetable sequencer that let's you play around with different intruments while controlling the tempo, swing, keys and scale. You can save up to four 16 note songs, relooping them over and over or reload each individually. If you do want to program the Synth yourself, you'll need an FTDI Cable since there's no onboard USB."

And via MintySynth.com:

"MintySynth is an Arduino-compatible synthesizer/sequencer/audio experiment kit that fits neatly in an Altoids® tin. It is intended to be an educational tool as well as a fun toy, and is a great way to learn about electronics, programming, and music. It’s open source and hackable! Soldering is required, but assembly is straightforward and generally takes one to two hours. You supply the Altoids® tin. You can either assemble the kit and use it with the preloaded synth software, or you can program it yourself as you would an Arduino...

CLICK FOR MORE »

DIY Project #6: MFOS Alien Screamer

Published on Oct 23, 2017 poorness studios

"For my latest DIY project, I built the Music From Outer Space Alien Screamer kit. I made a couple mods to it as well. This is by far the most complicated thing I've built so far.

The kit can be purchased from SynthCube: http://synthcube.com/cart/mfos-alien-..."