Welcome to Things Made Simple, where I document my never ending journey of enlightenment as a total electronics novice and enthusiast.
Here is my first project: the Smooth Operator
How this all started:
In January of 2019, I was reading HackSpace magazine and stumbled across an article on how to build a synthesizer. I’ve always been a tinkerer and love to go deep into the way things work. This project tickled several fancies of mine from technology to music to electronics and even a new kind of “User Experience.”
I’m a UX designer by day, and have been for the last 20 years. In software design, nothing seems to last more than a year or two before it gets thrown out and redesigned. So there is something beautiful about the permanence of building a thing. Electronics, of course, date themselves just as fast as apps and websites. But an instrument that happens to be electronic is still unique and as such, retains its beauty, purpose, and value.
Going back to the HackSpace article, it referenced this Look Mum No Computer guy. And, after watching Sam walk through his massive DIY synth, I knew I had to figure this stuff out.
Of course there is a BIG learning curve. So my goal is to take the time to thoroughly document everything about each project in articles on this site. Hopefully even novice enthusiasts like myself will understand and enjoy them!
If you have a question about how something works, or when I inevitably get something wrong, please feel free to comment! We can all learn together.
