The TITAN Synth Built From A Magazine Subscription In 1973 - Wireless World

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

For everyone saying about joystick shrouds and panels over the cover for the joystick. Thanks but I have ran through a lot of ideas and decided none are right, none of the images of wireless world synths have covers, they show the mechanism as is in the stnth. Adding a cover would go against the design. And also cover the mechanism. I think the method I took to removing the mains voltage was the truest to the synth I could have done. The DIY magazine synth playlist. :- kzbin.info/aero/PLluPQLh1xzlLNEJ2on3e9xZuSMdmo9kFh Checkout Johns Video on the synth when he had it running last year kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYK3aaCtaMmehpI also trevor pinch made one, you can see another wireless world sound synthesizer build here :- kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXubmXyfncSqhJI

[@BlAcKpHrAcK]

Afterhours collection stored during the war, is being carried forward and released... UNRELEASED DJ 13: Green Onions ( Remix ) 2006 142BPM kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHKWqZWJj7-nY6c

[@BlAcKpHrAcK]

Max Graham VS YES - Owner of a lonely Heart kzbin.info/www/bejne/maiwp557a9dqitk Who sat first at musical chairs in life, during a war? ..not me. Twenty years later, I survive those who did. The dishonourable are still full of Muslim and North American victims they ate (thank you for the synchronicity Max Graham, resident DJ at Illusion after-hours club in Ottawa). Wait till Muslim-eaters notice their penis is caught in a Canadian bear trap ..kids ate Muslim flesh during those two decades. ****** ****** is caught spending an ENTIRE career, working for the American infiltration ..remember all the poutines paid for with "Government of Canada" salaries? ..Muslim flesh. I told them every morning, day and year since 2001 ..to not "support the troops" (how they ate the Muslim flesh). Traitors cannot spell the word troup. Published one or two days prior to the death of Her Rottenness, that died hiding Nazi men under her dress. ... Lookin' Like A Queen (Gordon Lightfoot and The Hu) kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6Kkd5iMnM1gfLs What are you smuggling under there officer? ..a significant amount of victims. Currently finding, sorting and listening to Wartime after-hours music, some mixes were prepared, others recorded while the floor was being mashed by enthusiastic dancers. Coming home from the after-hours scene, took several years of me listening to instruments and playing harmonica instead ..sober, strong and glad to have the experience. I am enjoying listening to all those .."that was awesome" mix moments.

[@beowulf1417]

If the need for one does arise, maybe a sleeve like some cars use for the gear stick shaft? Could be a 3d printed sleeve made of TPU if there's none available off the shelf small enough? (If you hadn't considered it already that that is)

[@weazeldark3983]

Put a container on back of It and don't cover sos it's open but limited space

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@weazeldark3983 but no need, its not mains voltage anymore. its fine as is :D

[@FreejackVesa]

Helping old folks across the road and saving old synths? You're a gem.

[@k-mc94]

Also confusing old people into thinking they've just been to the news agent in 1973 😆

[@jason3898]

And introducing Americans to the term "zimmer frame" which sounds way cooler than "walker"

[@Potts1966]

@@k-mc94 I feel for the old guy with the Zimmer and Sam was a hero to help him... But, your comment made me laugh so much! Thank you Sir.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@k-mc94 haha that did cross my mind. However chatting to the guy he used to repair hawker hunters and dehavilland vampires on aircraft carriers. Might not be out of realms of possibility he might have appreciated the wireless world mags as nostalgia haha

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@jason3898 what's a walker? Never heard that one!

[@doctorvox]

THANKS Sam ! Its great to see my old girl again, nice work, it's certainly gone to the right home ❤

[@LaScienceMusicale]

The TITAN Synth is incredible! It shows how determined people were to build their own musical instruments even with limited resources. It's amazing how this synth was created from a simple magazine subscription and using components salvaged from old electronic equipment. This is a great example of creativity and ingenuity and how the passion for music can inspire people to do extraordinary things

[@kensharman]

This is absolutely superb stuff. I recall those electronics magazine articles so well. I was 15 in 1973 and I read and re-read them so many times until I could understand. In 1976 I had saved up enough money to build a combination of the PE & WW synths. It actually worked. Since then I’ve spent a long time career in music technology in both academia and industry. live in Spain, but one day, man I am coming to see your museum and hopefully have a chat with you.

[@simonm2092]

Thanks for saving these great old synths. It would be tragic to think of them otherwise on their way to landfill. They are part of our electronics history.

[@AndyGadget]

It always makes me smile when you're talking about these mags from the 70's which was wayyyyyy before you were born. 1973 was the year I started buying these mags and getting into hobby electronics, later to become a career.

[@richardneale246]

I live in Norwich and I use to get my electronic bits from "Mick Helps" in the 70's(think it was on the new cattle market site??) Great synth, remember the magazines that use to tell you how to build synths. I also remember seeing Tim Orr at the "Norwich Art Centre" at one of his concerts, many, many, many years ago. I have one of his vinyl albums some where in my collection. Thanks for sharing this amazing video.

[@batterymakermarkii2654]

I swear, you don't find these synths...they find YOU...great score!

[@sebastianelytron8450]

How this guy doesn't have over a million subscribers yet is beyond me

[@wideyxyz2271]

Its in the bag and on its way!

[@tysonbrinacombe]

I blame Charlie 😔

[@chrisd4987]

I know right, and if you've been to the museum it's just incredible the the effort Sam and the other volunteers have put in to make it such a magical place. Managed to get there very late last year and it was everything I expected and so much more and got to say hi to Sam, awesome day!

[@bkd69ster]

I love that you're preserving the stories from the original makers of these synths.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I love that sine generation circuit, it reminds me of the ones in HP test equipment (though I believe they used a resistor ladder? But just like with VCFs, the same topology often works for both diodes and resistors) Some of those timbres from the sequencer “misuse” weren’t available in commercial synths until digital additive synthesis! Pretty cool. Props to John for etching his own boards, I’ve only done that a couple times because it’s so tedious. And that was in school with all the equipment already set-up!

[@teknopony]

Love how it goes into the "rude" zone so aptly. It can get to clinical, but it brings a ton of character. What an inspirational piece

[@Greatyarmouth123]

i was actually looking at this synth when it was up on facebook market place back then haha, was gonna grab it myself living in norfolk, but you beat me too it, you deserve it , great video!

[@chrisd4987]

You have a really great way of explaining concepts like PWM in a style that makes it easy to visual and understand, that's a communication skill not often found these days. Also, next time I get down for an open day, I have a couple of small donations for the you and the museum.

[@MisterRorschach90]

Buy two old vcr broadcast editing units and modify them to become a crazy synth and effects unit. They already have line audio so they can run direct into a console or mixer, and they can be switched to mic input so you could use it as a vocoder. It would be really weird to see this in action. Two of them working together could make so many types of echo, delay, reverb, phaser, flanger, and sampling/sequencing effects.

[@CRUCIFi777]

You could always just treat the joystick like a mini gearshift by slapping a bit of leather around it and adding some kinda cool knob like a skull or 8ball.

[@wideyxyz2271]

An illuminated Ball tip would be extra cool, but completely unnecessary lol!

[@illustriouschin]

Maybe 3D print a corrugated shroud around the base otherwise people are going to put things in there like fingers, trash, car keys.

[@CRUCIFi777]

@@wideyxyz2271 eyeball

[@Shilorius]

@@CRUCIFi777 or eightball

[@wideyxyz2271]

@@CRUCIFi777 that glows....yes!

[@dryadmusic]

Wow - Mick Helps gets a mention! I used to go to his shop in Norwich in the late 70s - it was like an Aladdin's Cave of electronics.

[@b-north]

our of all the videos i’ve seen on synthesizers , you demonstrating the wave length that you use as a sequencer and speed it up so much that it can generate a sound , that blew me away and that don’t ever happen

[@donerskine7935]

'Mark/Space ratio' is still used as a technical term, and the term ''duty cycle' was sometimes used in the same context too, although they can also have other meanings. The music industry seems to have settled on 'pulse width' now.

[@lauram5905]

That dry transfer lettering looks absolutely gorgeous. It's a shame they don't make 'em like that anymore

[@lauram5905]

It also makes me wonder how the blocking lines were done, especially with those curved corners

[@andybrice2711]

​@@lauram5905 You could buy dry-rub transfer sheets with various lines and other shapes. I remember my Dad had some back in the 90s, (probably still does). And I think some companies still make them.

[@lauram5905]

@@andybrice2711 I saw some listings online, they're all either NOS of quality brands that don't exist anymore, or low quality reproductions (at least according to the reviews)

[@g4lmn-ron]

I was at Uni in Norwich and I remember Mick Help's shop, wonderful emporium for the electronic geek.

[@curtishoffmann6956]

"Power supply goes 'boo-boo'" is probably the most technical the jargon on this channel ever gets."

[@princepaul5557]

I love these DIY synths that you have bought!

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

I come across your channel a cupple years ago and decided to not watch your videos as you seemed a bit nuts however after watching your videos recently I now get your personality and your expertise on synthesizer is top quality.

[@morbidmanmusic]

"Couple"

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

@@morbidmanmusic Dyslexic.

[@toddspeck9415]

It would be so cool to see you visit Tim Hunkins museum trying some of his cool mechanical creations. Can only imagine hearing you have a conversation with Tim. Big smiles Sam.

[@CommunityGuidelines]

That is so cool, like a do-it-yourself EMS VCS3. Would love to hear you craft an entire track using nothing but the TITAN!

[@brianwilson49]

Using the step sequencer as a wave generator is pretty damn cool!

[@chriscordingley4686]

I built this back in the day. Wireless World wasn't really a hobbyest magazine and so didn't give any build details. It assumed a greater technical knowledge.

[@hurricane6014]

Wow! Did not know of this thing back in the early seventies. Sounds and looks great. Thanks

[@djfaber]

Loads of rubber boots available for that joy stick, just find one that fits the hole and rod =) If you're looking for more vintage, you could look into metal sliders like what you'd find on a milling machine to keep chips out. It's just a series of metal plates stacked up and slide on top of each other to keep the hole closed and still allow for articulation.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Check my pinned comment 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@cravensean]

I really admire what you do. You've got style and you've got heart.

[@AndrewAHayes]

It would be great to hear a track made with just the DIY synths!

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

I mean minus the poly synth most of mine are :D

[@AndrewAHayes]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER I meant the 70's DIY ones, Sorry for the ambiguity!

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@AndrewAHayes aaah iseeeee coolioo

[@brunovalente2077]

The music in the background when youre reading the magazine looks amazing... its excelent man love it WOW

[@tonetweakers]

Another great video! Here in the US, DIYers generally built Paia, Aries, Serge or Emu module based Kits. These British DIY synths sound great!

[@Human_Organic]

the channel is giving me a new level of life

[@DogdaySunrise]

Audio rate sequencing. Fascinating :)

[@LFOVCF]

What a fantastic bonkers synth! When you tested the reverb tank, I thought that was going to be the Dr Who theme! haha!

[@genemorgan9742]

Oh man, that things insane!!! I love the joystick and the crazy looking knobs . Trying to cover the joystick hole is a dilemma though. Maybe fabric and a hose clamp to attach to the joystick.

[@Booszhius]

When you reconnected the spring reverb bit, it had a tone quality that reminded me of the Forbidden Planet soundtrack.

[@darrenmackay2536]

I remember neighbour that was heavily into ham radio neighbour back when i was in primary school (first half of the 80s) had shelves of Wireless World and what he called a partially built "organ" (as he called it), assume this the same as in your video!

[@McTroyd]

I like how that synth seemed to keep with standard logic and op-amps. That should make this synth pretty repairable virtually indefinitely -- just might need to produce some surface mount adapters later on. I understand many op-amps share pinouts. It might be fun to replace those 741s in different positions with more modern equivalents to see what (if anything) happens.

[@Colin_Ames]

Excellent video, as always. It’s fascinating to see these DIY synths.

[@steveh8658]

Wonderful project and restoration!

[@TheDistur]

Another fun one! Thanks for the video!

[@paulallen8777]

Fantastic job. Love spring reverb.

[@digitaIgorilla]

Click play, click like, watch. 🥰 There aren't many channels get that treatment.

[@Agoraphobia2day333]

I'd love for you to make a red and blue noise module because it seems like you never see those colors of noise with synths just mainly pink and/or white

[@Soundbrigade]

I just today had a look thru the schematics whilst looking for something totally diffrunt. What I noticed was how, not just analog but also how discrete the design is. Where a simple opamp could to the job, there are a handful of transistors. But I was curious if there were any of this synth out on YT and of course LMNC had one.😊

[@wideyxyz2271]

Way out west, Mr Hewes and Look Mum no Computer videos. My Sunday is now complete! Oh and I am a reverb Junky. You can never have too much Reverb!

[@loopinnerthe]

A titanic project. Well done for getting back to it, guts and determination level a million. I can't quite understand John's motivation for parting with it since he was still building some of the bits of it, maybe it had become like a gutsy teenager and really needed to go off to youth club to find its full potential...

[@catandtheostrich]

Love your videos, always a highlight of my day.

[@LFOVCF]

Welcome to Norfolk again. :)

[@EdEditz]

Interesting concept. I never thought of using a baby 8 sequencer as a waveform generator. I'm going to try that out rightaway :)

[@chupathingy5862]

For some truly crazy shenanigans, try triggering a Turing Machine module at audio rates

[@merlin5476]

This is a classic example of what one used to do do back in the day, mainly, I'm assuming, because there was not a lot of cash around & people weren't glued to social media & smart phones. You had a lot more time to do things , learn and explore and focused on a hobby such as electronics. Its a shame all the electronic shops closed down ( Maplins being the last). I still have a pile of eti magazines & practical electronics & all my babani press books which were the best things ever.👍 Now to go & build myself another Theremin i think .

[@luke144]

I really love the sound of this one!! Bad ass video!

[@AyyyGabagool]

Holy cow! A 1973 DIY wave shaper! Pretty awesome

[@jeffyharwood]

hey idk if its you or not but im taking music tech at chatham house and a lot of ur videos are very similar to what my teachers been telling me about the place next to the micro museum, would love to come see some of the cool synth stuff you have there x

[@duncan-rmi]

reverb trays often have a resonant frequency- stands to reason really. there's one in my HH guitar amp that gets set off by the highest G on my basses. also- you'll like this- I had my EMS synthi sitting on the amp one day, but not plugged in. I could hear the synthi patch through the amp... the two reverb trays were electromagnetically coupling! nice clanger action there, btw.

[@jussiriissanen]

How about like a sock or loose velvet around the stick? And a marble on top! :)

[@theverseshed]

And thus, a new national treasure is born . . . . not too many news ones out there these days.

[@shawnchartrandva3gfy720]

18:18 File name : Plump DJs - A Plump Night Out - 09 - Here We Go (Freestylers .mp3

[@illustriouschin]

I'm really digging that Baby 6 sequencer!

[@macronencer]

This thing had a surprising array of interesting features for a kit synth of that time. Most impressive! I'd never heard of it before. If you can get hold of a Maplin 5600S or an ES&CM(?) Spectrum I'd also be really interested!

[@padders1068]

Sam! Brilliant video as ever and Mad Genius at work! 🙂🙂

[@bhhenry]

Holy crap awesome jams in this episode

[@ozbaldbiscuits7230]

The jam at the end: Clangers on acid. Love it.😂👍😉

[@nobodynoone2500]

One of my fav synths i've seen ya mess with.

[@simonkormendy849]

Had a quick look at the power supply circuit and most of the circuitry after the bridge rectifier can be replaced by an LM7815 for the +15V supply, and an LM7915 for the -15V supply.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

It can indeed

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

I haven't watched that vid in a while I've forgot but I think that is what I did?

[@MrKeys57]

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!

[@larseikind666]

Damn cool synth! I'm not a massive fan of spring reverbs, but this one sounds cool for some reason. And the sequencer/oscillator is brilliant. You don't get instruments like these anymore.

[@SimoWill75]

22:00 sound around here reminds me heaps of the last few seconds of Chemical Bros' Private Psychodelic Reel

[@quarteratom]

The footage with the original owner was great.

[@BronzedTube]

for the analog joystick you could probably do something similar to that of a shift stick on an old car to cover the hole.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Yep problem is it covers the mechanism. Which is bare in the plans

[@anthonydenn4345]

Actually that probably wouldn't work. Because it's sitting too low for that. Maybe something like the old atari 2600 joystick covers, dunno. I'm sure you'll figure something out. Anyway, nice job getting it running again, it sounds awesome with that joystick control 😄

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

@@anthonydenn4345 thought about having a dual plate cover and joystick rubber joint, ive decided to not bother as it goes against the synths plans

[@SuperChaoticus]

Near the end, I felt like I was listening to an old Doctor Who episode. Great stuff!

[@davidmarshall5665]

Love this synth, sounds crazy.

[@colonelbarker]

I can't help but thinking that a tiny scope mounted on top would be awesome for seeing what's going on!

[@dcallan812]

fantastic synth great video2x 👍

[@IdShift]

i know nothing. what are the copyright, IP implications one would need to consider to reissue these old synths as new clone kits? I would be stoked if LMNC took a page from the behringer playbook...

[@silvertrashrecords5596]

Don't forget to change your playback speed to 0.25X at 13:12. ;)

[@beardington3rd]

New type of synth music clanger-core! lol The joystick does add a cool dynamic to it.

[@KeritechElectronics]

A nice and well built synth :)

[@ModulerDrone]

You're an absolute unit of a human

[@zoundsic]

That DIY synth orchestra going to be awesome accompanied by wind organ.

[@By_Rant_Or_Ruin]

Nice work.

[@Kae6502]

I had no idea what a "Zimmer Frame" was (I live in the US), so I Googled it. Now I have to re-listen to the Rimmer Song!

[@peterbthomas4227]

As always, a very interesting vid. Could you or have you walk us through linear to exponential circuits which have a voltage output that can be measured and used for whatever I want later, such as a sine wave generator?

[@rimbaud0000]

Wow that actually sounds great 👍

[@alainbibi0047]

Hey, It still took a genius like you to showcase this fantastic electronic machine.(make the correction for my deepl translate, thanks).

[@TailSpinRCSpain]

A great sounding machine.

[@dranorter]

Love the transition at 13:20.

[@AudioTechnicSwitzerland]

Hi there! Im a big fan of you and wanted to ask you something. I own a PPG 340/380 computer synthesizer with VDU and i cant bring it to work. Only 5 were ever made and mine belonged to tangerine dream edgar frose. Wouldnt it be nice to make a project on this to bring it back to life? Cheers Luka

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Hey Luke sounds interesting! Where is it based? Maybe we could figure something oht

[@AudioTechnicSwitzerland]

@@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER damn still here in seitzerland :-/ im the guy with the big synth collection... I once wrote to you for a video of my fairlight, DX1,ppg etc... Collection :-)

[@fyo_music]

very interesting sequencing method

[@Wagoo]

I love the joystick with just a giant square gash in the front panel 😂 almost looks like it was designed for a nice bit of leather to cover the hole like on a car gearstick

[@CrucialFlowResearch]

Had same thoughts too

[@asn413]

think a CV joint boot would be good for the joystick? or perhaps one from an industrial remote control in a parts catalogue?

[@marksieczko7766]

That joystick, sequencer and spring reverb! Being a mad old git the smoke caused by PSU breakdown looked cool. Ever considered putting a mini smoke machine into a DIY synth?Be good for a laugh..... No, didn't think so.

[@lordlemmingman]

For the joystick, could you do something like a stick shift on a car? A more flexible material that can move with it but still covers the hole?

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

It wasn't intended to have it

[@janetwinslow2039]

Great to see such enthusiasm, but a bit shouty! Nevertheless a very interesting video. Were there any updates/corrections? I'm in Norfolk too and restore old electronics.

[@aussiegarbo752]

Nice Dude sooo happy im here early.

[@NBC_7]

Some stretchy black fabric or perhaps some rubber with a hole in the center for the joystick would be a decent solution to the big hole in the panel to mains

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Covers the mechanism though. No shroud in the plan