Analog Bass Drum Voice

The analog bass drum voice presented here makes a great beginner's project. For not only does it play well (giving the novice's ego a bit of a boost), but it is very easy to build from scratch. There are no exotic components in it, and there's nothing critical about its implementation—apart from the usual warning to be neat. (And don't forget that we continue to stock the versatile NE566 VCO chip which figures in the design).

Back when this was a commercial item of ours, it appeared in the November 1996 issue of Nuts & Volts Magazine. There was a very detailed write-up, along with construction tips there. In fact, if you'd really like to see how this critter performs, it's recommended you scrounge up that issue. Go to the mag's Web site to learn how to order back issues if it's missing from your collection.

As a freebie bonus to DIY-ers, we've decided to release the analog bass drum project schematic below. You're more than welcome to print out a copy for your own work, but please respect the copyright and do not reproduce it otherwise. Instead, we'd ask that you point interested friends and colleagues to our Web site from where they can download their own copy—with any luck, maybe they'll find something of value to purchase, thus helping to keep the new projects a-coming!

Yes, the analog bass drum voice was a great product, but it's time to move on to other things here at Midwest Analog Products. So, we turn it over to you now as a fantastic DIY project. We hope you enjoy building and using it!