Building a DIY Minimoog

Come and see how I built my DIY Minimoog clone! I had a blast working on this project. It was certainly my most intensive project to date. I hope that this video can provide inspiration, education, and entertainment to all who watch it.

Sources:

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:38 Oscillator Trade-Off
2:35 Ordering Parts
3:54 Component Matching
5:57 Board Assembly
7:14 Enclosure
8:16 Mounting & Wiring
10:54 First Test
12:07 Fixing Bugs
13:10 MIDI Controller
15:04 Tuning
15:37 Final Demonstration
18:22 Outro

[oldowl]

Bruh. Amazing. You've basically made a $7, 000 synth for $700. And you explained everything so well in just 20 minutes. This is YouTube at it's finest. Well done. Very, very, very well done.

[Beebo]

Yo dude this is sick! The analogue sounds are awesome. I admire your intelligence and perseverance to take on a project like this. Well done!

[RedMeansRecording]

This is a really cool video. Thanks for sharing.

[countzero]

Speaking as an electronics engineer who used to design and build analogue synths and other music tech back in the 80s, I congratulate you on a first-class recreation of one of the all-time classic synths - it really DOES sound just like a real Minimoog, with that distinctive deep multi-oscillator bass (the so-called "Moog sound"). Kudos sir - you've earned my subscription to your channel and I look forward to seeing what else you come up with in the future.

[oddcircuit]

You have an incredible future designing synthesizers, if you choose… Immense respect for you

[keetharris]

When people ask why I pay so much for gear I will refer them to this video. The work you did is amazing!!!

[ians]

14:46 is like a 2001: Space Odyssey moment. Can't imagine your goosebumps when you hear these tones coming from something you built with your bare hands

[mikesimmonds]

I love a ‘because I wanted to’ project. So much fun just making noises and what noises they are!

[rachelashlie]

When the love for electronics and music collide, magic happens. Congrats! Very inspiring.

[ReginatorNet]

There is a certain satisfaction with doing it yourself. We can buy new and we can buy used, but when you craft something with your own hands and use your sheer determination - you'll have something you can be proud of and it may inspire you in different ways! Well done Ryan!

[davidbantle]

Wow you are the man! Bob Moog and Keith Emerson would have been totally proud of you for carrying out such an endeavor. Best Wishes

[yelyab]

You turned your theoretical into practical. Bravo. Not as typical as one would think.

[HOLLASOUNDS]

12:45 The satisfaction you must have felt hearing the machine making the sounds a synth should, Great work.

[quentinfaulkner]

You literally have done what I always dreamed of doing. I’m an EE major hoping to learn more about electronics and make instruments from there. This video gives me hope that it is very possible given a lot of work and persistence! You have greatly inspired me brother! Absolutely brilliant!

[umbertoyltp]

Having built the Elektor Formant modular analog myself in the seventies, I can relate to the dual transistor bottleneck for exponential frequency control in the VCO.
Kudos for finding a more avaiable replacement! Key component, period.
Very thorough project planning and well documented and explained, no corners cut!
Now pop a can and enjoy the fruits of your labour ;-)

[rbrooks]

For the temperature drift problem what other companies used to do was to use a matched pair of standard transistors in the long tailed circuit and have their flat sides back to back with thermal paste between them and a brass formed ring tightly pressed around the bodies to encapsulate their environment. I've also had another setup which was that a third transistor was put inbetween the matched pair in the long tail circuit and would be designed to run at a higher optimum temperature (a temperature oven) than the surrounding environment, thermal paste then used in the same way to give a good contact to all three transistors and once again a brass formed sleeve added.

[veence]

This is nuts. A side-by-side to an actual Minimoog would be amazing.

[misruler]

This is by no means a small feat in the realm of the building process: patience and seeing it through. I own a 1972 Minimoog and feel your synthesizer is definitely in the same range. Great job and thank you for video.

[hischuzzness]

I do dabble in small electronic projects but this was a Mountain to climb and you did it Well Done Ryan Well Done 👌

[jcarnouil]

Congratulations Ryan ! As a former electronic hobbyist I could imagine the hard work you had making it works. Your video took me back .. 42 years before today, when I built a small synthesizer in my student room. What a souvenir ! So I could really appreciate your hard work !