Graduate student Taylan Cihan, along with Professors Kevin Ernste and Trevor Pinch and in conjunction with the Tompkins County History Center’s celebration of Ithaca’s rich history with the Moog Synthesizer (Switched-On: The Birth of the Moog Synthesizer) presented a series of hands-on synthesizer building workshops.
The most recent workshop, given on on Saturday, April 12th, 2014, from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m, was open to all ages and skills. Participants left with a working synthesizer. The events were sponsored by Ithaca Underground and with support of Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center and Department of Science and Technology Studies.
Step-by-step instructions for breadboarding a polyphonic 4093 NAND synth with built-in amplifier and several modifications. This is a simple and fun project for those who would want to get their hands dirty with analog electronics for the first time or have very little experience. Having said that, it is possible to get highly interesting sonic results with the suggested modifications that appear mid-way through. This is a set of instructions that I have used in a public workshop that took place at the Tompkins History Centeron April 12 as a part of their ongoing exhibition, Switched-On: The Birth of the Moog Synthesizer