Make Your Own Cassettone Mk1- A DIY Modified Cassette Player Synth
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- Are you stuck at any part? The is now a discord server where you can ask questions, get advise, or share your build!
/ discord
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Here is a step-by-step guide for building this fun little synth that uses a cassette player as the main audio source. Check out my Instagram feed for more of my DIY projects: / thesoundofmachines
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Download the templates, parts list, and wiring schematics here:
drive.google.com/file/d/1TtZt...
Here is the interactive parts-list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
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0:00 Intro
00:36 What is The Cassettone?
1:48 Disclaimer
2:59 Cut the Pieces
5:06 Assemble the Case
9:05 Modify the Cassette Player
16:04 Wire up Your Project
I have no musical talent and I haven't built an electronics project since sixth grade, but your tutorial really made me want to try making one of these devices. That's the sign of a well done tutorial :D
Right on! Thank you :)
Did you manage to do it ?
If not ;) revisit the video because it's a good tutorial
45 years of working with electronics and I never thought of using copper tape as a buss bar. That is a fantastic method.
Thank you for such a detailed and super cool project! Building a one octave version as we speak! I've found that removing the walkman's built in pitch adjustment is essential if you want the player to start/stop when a key is pressed, and using a B100K pot instead of a B5K yields an incredible amount of pitch control variation What a cool design and circuit, Rich. Thanks again for being so generous on this channel!
Right on!
I love that you have this thing plugged into a UA 6176. Lofi meets beautifully not lofi at all.
It's great to see people doing things like this. I did this with a whole keyboard. It took a long time to solder and tune all the pots. Since I wanted polyphony, I added buttons for enabling side A or side B of the tape (the deck has a tape head that spans the whole width). That way I can put a major chord on one side, and a minor on the other, and trigger them at will.
Technically you could use 4 track system A left A right B left B right volume control for each Ch different sound/wave on each Ch would be just like a 4 Oss synth, plus the possibilitys of what could be added along each Ch is massive, volume, eq, effects etc etc
Can I contact you anywhere for some chatting around your expanded project ?
Kinda like a monophonic mellotron 🤔
Can we just appreciate the artwork and technical love put into the entire video and thumbnail?
I've ALSO been waiting for this video ever since I saw the pre-first prototype! You're a legend. Def will stick around if you upload more like this!
Much love for doing this! Can’t wait to start mine.
I've been waiting for this video ever since I saw the pre-first prototype, this is just pure lush lo-fi perfection! Aweome guide, this is gonna be my winter break project!
Right on!
you figure out what makes the motor cut off when the keys arent pressed yet? im having the same problem with the tape always playing at idle between note presses
This is amazing!! Such a fun, informative and extremely entertaining video! Great editing and excellent attention to detail. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!! 🙏
During these rough times is nice to get busy learning stuff and good to have people like you to get inspired by! I'll start mine today! Thank you so much!
This is such a cool concept.
Ive been watching tape loop videos since a couple of days ago. And this one gets me really excited.
Thanks for inspiring!
This is the most awesomest instrument I´ve seen in a long time, especially because you make me truly believe that I can build one!
super awesome video, def. gonna share this around! sparked my interest in making my own synth for sure. Subbed and liked!
Awesome project. Just ordered a player. Can’t wait to build it
Awesome, man! I'll be building this weekend, actually have most of the parts on hand already.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for making this awesome content. I built your last diy and currently working on this one. Your tutorials are easy to follow and much appreciated. Looking forward to possibly seeing more 🤞 I've been curious about hand controlled tape reading
Fantastic! This thing demostrates the world is still real. Thank you so much. I've just joined your channel.
excited for my new winter break project!
Man, I was gonna have a friend build this for me, but this tutorial is so easy that I'm gonna go it alone.... then maybe have him fix some of my mistakes. Thanks for this!
This is amazing! Thank you so much for your time. I will be attempting one of these
neat build! fwiw, the reason the motor runs continuously on your first version vs not running until a button is pressed on your 2nd is due to how you have the pots wired. in the 2nd version, the voltage to the motor is being cut by the buttons until pressed. i wired my version up both ways to see what made more sense and it for sure makes more sense to have the player stopped unless a button is pressed
Great find! It was driving me crazy. I'm by no means an expert in this stuff :)
Do you mind expanding on this a little bit for someone who’s new to circuitry? I’ve got the same players in the video, as well as a few other ones I’ve played around with, and my motor runs continuously on all of them. I can’t seem to figure out how to cut the voltage and open it back up via button. I’ve followed the schematics, as well as poked all around the board randomly, and can’t seem to find a solution!
@@connorappleby i can't verify which wire it is that should be on the button as the one i made was for a friend and is in the mail at the moment, but i have more of these tape decks on the way and can let you know when i build the next one. if you'd rather not wait, you can check by starting up the player and removing the wires from your wiring one at a time until the motor stops. that's the wire that should be on the button.
@@connorappleby just built a couple more, the top lead to the pot (the one closest to the motor) is the one that you want to go to the buttons to stop the motor when you're not pressing a key
I had the same issue where the motor would continuously run. All I did was swap the red and black connections on the adhesive tape coming from the cassette player, and left the grey intact. That did the trick.
Great project and very well presented! It gives me ideas... I just have too many other things in progress right now, but this is going on the list.
Rich, just wanted to say you're a *beast* ! I made a "mostly hidden in a free jewelry box" style contraption using your parts/wiring. Worked out great. Thank you so much.
Well I see this video taking off. Never been interested much in music making but this was pretty cool to see what you can make out of just a few components.
This is excellent Rich! Really enjoyed the video and the results look fantastic. Genuinely interested in building one in the future for a weekend project. Again, fantastic job dude! (alos...those animated graphics you made to match are equally badass!)
Right on! Thank you kindly :)
This thing is awesome!!! Great work!!!
This is awesome. Very cool and unique build.
This is something i always wanted to do with a slide potentiometer and optionally a synth
I love everything about this and now I must make one!
Woo, another winter project for me :) Thanks man! This is super cool. I'll be sure to tag you on Instagram when I make it!
Add 7 more cassette players, give them each a note in a scale, and whammo, a something-a-tron!
Yep I think this is the way to go! lol
cassetron
You should check out Mike Walter's Melloman
you can have scale with a single cassette. Multiple cassette for diffeerent timbre
Had to sub to this! 👍
Sweet, Thanks for the plans!
This channel looks AWESOME!! So glad YT recommended this video.. :))
I LOVE the aesthetic of the build, such gorgeous colours and patterns. I just found my old Walkman this mornin… coincidence?
HAHAHAHAHA!!! I’m pretty stoked just now, as I have been mulling over the possibilities of what could be done with this excellent new old stock Panasonic dictaphone cassette recorder. THIS seems to be a pretty possible mod to make without destroying the cassette recorder. SO OBVIOUS, especially with ‘drone synths’ and tape delays and loop cassettes being all the rage at the moment! Dude, your chassis model is so exquisite as well!! I love this whole design, with the keys and all!! You are GREAT, for figuring this thing out, and then so willingly sharing about it and not just that but making a nice science lesson and crafts project. These are just the lessons that younger folks need in order to captivate their attention, give them that bit if assurance and confidence, and keep them willing to learn and remain engaged in study. ACCOLADES my man!!
Wow thanks for the great comment! Wait till the MK2 tutorial in a few months. I think that one's gunna be quite a bit more involved :)
I wish i saw this a few months ago to incorporate it into my uni project :(..Awesome stuff
It's awesome!!! thanks so much for sharing
Hey, thanks for this, I might try it sometime! I can really imagine making one using more than one cassette player, I bet it could sound really cool
Genius. Thx for sharing! I want to try.
Nice build! Thanks for sharing!!
delightful project! I'm inspired. Thanks!
Thank you Mr Bernett .. nice work likely ✅ , liked production,,
this is thoroughly amazing
Great video. Very creative and inspiring 💕
man this is amazing !!
Aye just a heads up. If you push on the battery compartment you can bypass “prying the plastic case over the volume knob”
Thank you very mutch for cool and interesting ideas!
This is super cool!
We've been blessed. 🙏
Slowly but surely I'm working on this. Almost done with the case. Wood workings not my forte. Cant wait to play with this thing! Will probably use this keyboard template for other non-cassette related synths
Very nice idea and well done tutorial! :-)
So cool! Love it
This is incredible!
you're a king bro
It's a very interesting instrument!
Wow !!! thanks for putting the schematics for free.
This dude's accent is an exact mix of Leo Dicaprio and Matthew Broderick. Very comfortable and relaxing.
That's a cool project 😎
this is so awesome
That is radical!
You are amazing!
You make music fun again ty
That's so cool man. I hope the UA-cam Algorithm will help you to better places.
Super schön gemacht
vielen Dank
I dig it. I might advise a small decoupling cap and maybe also a tiny resistor to mimic the speaker's impedance like we did back in Circuit Bending days. Helps with noise/levels/protection.
Yeah- there is so much I don't know about basic electronics. I need to hire a consultant for the next build!
great job man! With record function if you have some space for a second head, i might be anble to add delay but you'll have to do a little more circuit bending
Thats dope!
Amazing!
Fantastic!
very exciting! [heads to home depot]
I am currently making something similar whist wearing a 16th Century suit of armour! The PAST playing with the past in the present! 🤔😂
I just wanted to share that with you. Best wishes from an Englishman in a French forest. 🏆⚒️
You are doing the devil's work Sir... BRAVO... Lovely console... Lifts visor, winks and Subscribes.
(Analogue engineer, Ashlex Music, Rugby Warwickshire 1985-87... Been a synth guy ever since) 🇬🇧
Love it! (I'm typing this from my log cabin in Colonial Virginia)
@@TheSoundofMachines That's is a beautiful image... Life couldn't be more analogue than that! 🏆
Bless you Rich, may all your crazy ideas continue to sprout wings! 🏆🕊️🇬🇧
This is really incredible stuff, it is plausible to use an old synth board, strip the wiring and use the the keys and shell of synth as a box, that way you could store a few cassette players in shell, id love your help with it
So cool!
very cool!!
Looks like I’ve got a new project. Thanks for the instructions. Have you considered a tape loop cassette? And being able to switch between left channel and right channel and both together. Then your stereo tape could have two different sounds (three if you count them both together). Basically turning balance all the way to one side or the other. I’ll probably add some electronics to the out jack to switch to just left or just right. Truely excellent! looking forward to trying it myself.
Super awesome
One thing I might suggest is to have the link to the UA-cam video in the documents you share. I've been eyeing the parts for a few days now and almost forgot what I was intending on building! 😅
dude, this is so sick. do you think this might have circuit bending applications?
there are cheap 80s keyboards w/ built in cassette recorders, I wonder if those could be modified to do something similar. thatd be incredible imo
Sick!!
Brilliant.
Awesome build! I've just subscribed! I've had a thought. As the speed control gives the different notes, you could have 12 keys and have them all set to the correct pitch with say a micro potentiometer. A second pot could be used to modulate said set notes. It of course isn't polyphonic as such. But then 12 tape loops... you've just built yourself a Mellotron!
I wanna go all out w/ one and add an lfo, an analog filter and 12 keys
I've done this with a 4-octave keyboard. It took so long to tune all the keys.
I printed out the template although I don't think we can get Basewood in the UK. I really like your imagination in the invention of this wonderful project. Once I done it, I'd love to send you the picture, Rich! thank you for your wonderful idea, plans and instruction. You're an absolute genius! (o:
Hobbycraft has basswood my friend!
@@Z3R0TH3V01D thank you Hiirolruka. I will check out Hobbycraft. I did however, manage to make the Richard synth using thin ply. I also sorted out the motor speed issue: I ran the cassette motor directly from 1K potentiometers, taking out the original cassette motor speed control. Thank you for your helpful advice. 🙂
There was this keyboard (forgot what it was called) the Moody Blues "Two Nights in White Satin" used that would be the first sampling audio device that used strips of magnetic tape with recordings like an orchestra. This is cassette driven keyboard is the coolest idea. It's really has more dirty analog sound then my Roland Juno 60 and I want that.
You are talking about the magnificent mellotron
Very very good
Cassette Dream approves this video!!⚡⚡⚡🎛️
Very cool
I'm making one of these right now!
But I'm making some changes. I'm also going to wire in a jack for the mic to be able to record. As well, I'm going with trim pots, which I will tune to 12TET, and have a full octave keybed +1. I realise I may need to chuck some resistors in line with the pots to give some of them more more range. I will also be putting in a "master tune" to be able to change keys.
It's ambitious... But I think it'll work.
I just watched this video and thought of the same thing, about going full octave. You get it working? Or is it like they say : "You never go full octave."
Very cool!
That's exactly what I need, but I'm too untalented. I would buy it immediately! 🙂
Greetings from Germany
I really want to make one of these. I don’t have great soldering skills though.
Next step: could be controlled via Arduino & Midi as sequencer or for cord progressions. If you prefer to stay mechanical, you could add a hand cranked music roller :) Kudos for the job and the clip!
Throbbing gristle had a multiple cassette player keyed instrument Chris Carter built with Peter
When I built mine, I removed cassette machine speed PCB and used 1K potentiometers connected directly to the motor terminal lugs, via the key switches and motor stops upon key release, every time. Also, found an endless answer machine tape. It works extremely well and I am intending to upload a demo movie soon. I 💕 love the one I made! Rich is a genius!
I'm not much good at electronics. I assume this means you can only slow the tape down, not speed it up? I assume the pot just starves the motor of power, so it slows down?
@@foxtonstreet it's a bit more complicated than that, as always(!) The motor in cassette machines has chips and has ability to monitor current load, using back EMF from the motor. However, the motor will run directly from a 3 volt supply and will rotate faster. You could run motor from 4.5 volts, any higher will burn it out. We are not too worried about sound quality, as the Walkman uses complex speed control for better sound. Also, if you're in UK, the Walkman Rich specifies is really pricey. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
This one looks reeeeeally fun to make.
I will try to find out if all the stuff you bought are available in my shit-hole-third-world country Im living.
Grettings
nice man ! great project !! what would I need to attach a glide like 'ring' touch controller like on a ondes martenot instead of fixed voltages from keys ?
This is an amazing build bro!
So any ideas on how to run a guitar/bass through it as well??
You’d need a recording tape machine and a fairly different and expensive design.. as is it just plays tape. You’d need a tape machine with a record and play head like vintage tape delays use
Amazing project! I wonder if there is a way to have the interval of the keys tuned so you only have to tune the whole machine. I would like to make a one or two octave version of it.
First of all, amazing!! I'm so glad I found your project! Secondly, what are the advantages of adding your own output jack vs. using the headphone jack built in to the player? Thanks!