Drone synth/noise generator for under 100

[Seten]

Just ordered the gakken.

[BLOOD EAGLE]

You'd run what ever you want in the loop - a pedal, multiple pedals, your entire board - as long as it has positive (or at least unity) gain.

It may/should work w/o an input. Will depend on the pedals in the loop. If you have something in the loop that will oscillate on it's own, then yeah, you shouldn't need an additional input source.

I know a lot of pedals wont turn on unless theres something plugged into the input, are feedback loopers usually not like that? I mean, worse comes to worse I plug a quarter inch cable in there with nothing on the other side, I'm just curious.

I don't know of any feedback looper that does this, as most of them are just passive devices requiring no power...
Maybe the Devi Ever TBD has one? But that one already has a fuzz circuit attached to it. Another option for a feedback loop is a realistic reverb unit. That has ultimately been my goto device for feedback loops...

[Iommic Pope]

RED GAKKEN KVLT.

Also, I fucked up. Anyone wanting to buy from that ebay seller should note that they have monotribe delays for $44US, not $56. 56 was the AU price after conversion.
GO GET EM!

[sonidero]

someone rename this thread "ILF Gakken Group Buy"

I know, yall get into the crayist stuff like 10 years later... The company that put that out puts out other projects with their magazine...

[Iommic Pope]

I saw those other ones listed but could not decide if the rabbit hole of japanese DIY kits was worth learning the language over.

[BLOOD EAGLE]

I saw those other ones listed but could not decide if the rabbit hole of japanese DIY kits was worth learning the language over.

http://www.makershed.com/
carries all the gakken kits (pricier), and they come with english instructions.

there's also a few other "mini synth" kits available

[Iommic Pope]

Ooooh, tiny theramin.
CUTE!
I was wondeirng what that little red desk looking thing was.

[tabbycat]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chugan-Corporat ... 66-9190650

they're £16.50 on uk amazon (from japanese market place sellers) and about the same dollar equivalent from us amazon. i wouldn't spend $55 for one from make. they are neat toys with lots of modding potential for £16.50 but still essentially toys. for $55 you can get a monotron duo with two oscillators. or two gakkens from amazon. feed them into a stereo mixer and get one in each ear. diy audio lobotomy.

btw did you see the edison phonograph kit? record your 2015 drone entry on a freaking candle. you have to.

http://www.makershed.com/products/ediso ... ograph-kit

[sonidero]

Monotrons are 10 steps up and fully modable, they labeled the pcbs...

I anticipate a rain of Gekkens in bst so prove me wrong with awesome Drones please...

[Iommic Pope]

Dude, for $22 shipped (if the ebay bought ones even show up), I wouldn't bother ditching it even if I didn't use it often.
What would I get for it when everyone else here bought one anyway?
It'd be like the Ukraine in BST for those things.

[sonidero]

You can Drone all day on an iphone for less then $10 with Giant Isopod and Drom and Bloom...

Knobs are fun though...

Little Bits are awesome and if a Radio Shack near you is closing you should go buy them all...

[goroth]

Knobs are fun

TWJWARS

[D.o.S.]

It's also worth pointing out that the SX-150 is, like most Gakken stuff, built in order to be educational. I know some of you have kids and stuff.

[Hypnodrone]

If you can solder and read basic instructions these guys also makes amazing kits for a fair price: http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/
I have messed with the Weird Sound Generator and Alien Screamer and both have shitloads of sounds in them. Both kits are around $100 +/-

[tabbycat]

Monotrons are 10 steps up and fully modable, they labeled the pcbs...

I anticipate a rain of Gekkens in bst so prove me wrong with awesome Drones please...

the gakkens are low-fi synth toys at half the price of the monotron. they are cheap low-fi fun. but they are also very moddable. do a search for gakken mods. people have gone weird over them, buying three at a time and making mini-modular systems etc. it was the modding fever for the first gakkens that inspired korg to put the monotron out at all. korg wanted some of that gakken action so they stole and refined gakken's game.

also the basic wave shaping controls on the gakken let you tweak more than on the stock monotron. while the basic monotron may well sound more musical stock, you are pretty limited in what you have control over. at the fundamental level, the gakken has more variables up for grabs. so while they are not much more than flashy stylophones stock, and the controls' ranges are limited stock, if you start modding each of those variables to extremes you can get some interesting low-fi synth noises for drones. for the price of a cheap bar meal.

re the drone contest, i think there should be a separate gakken album. like the guy who did the $100 guitar album (or something like that). he lent a cheap $100 thrift shop guitar to various musicians and they each contributed a song they wrote and recorded with it to the album. limitations like that can be really inspiring and liberating things. can get you thinking in ways you usually wouldn't if all options were open. so maybe one cd of the 5 CD set could be gakken-led?