A simple module.
It's an 808 snare drum, with a few tweaks to make it simpler, reduce component count, adjust things here and there... but this adds two things:
Thing it adds 1:
You can plug in an alternative noise source. Any signal. It'll still get enveloped and filtered just like the white noise that makes up the "Snappy" sound. Good to make your snare drum sound like a laser or whatever?
Also, the white noise generator in the 808 has a trim adjustment to get the noise the Correct Amplitude, but I just designed it to be PLENTY LOUD and you can turn down the "Snappy" pot to get it quieter.
Other Thing Added To This Circuit (the "plus" part)
This has a PT2399 delay circuit built in. The "wet/dry" control is managed by an LDR/LED pair (a DIY Vactrol), so you can use a control voltage to inject snare sound into the delay chip circuitry. You know King Tubby? I spent several hours the last time I had The Influenza listening to many of King Tubby's albums. He is a reggae/dub artist, and one of his standout sounds is a reverb/delay on some of the snare drum hits, while most of the snare hits are dry. Dub does this a lot... whatsizname Martin Garrix did a bunch of reverb/effects on occasional snare hits (worked great, love some of his tracks) so I wanted that sound in my modular.
Oh... side-note... it was entertaining to listen to this effect through King Tubby's discography. His earlier stuff used a spring reverb (twangy thin sound, but definitely reverb vs. delay) and his later stuff used PT2399-based "reverb", so either a single PT2399 or a famous Belkin Brick, which is actually three PT2399 chips on a small PCB encased in epoxy. The Belkin Brick is a lot smaller, more reliable, less delicate, "higher fidelity" reverb, but it lacks the reverberation qualities of a physical thing that allows sound to literally reverberate around. It's just three PT2399s :D
ANYWAY, King Tubby specifically, and dub generally, are great to listen to and I love that sound so I wanted it in my modular! So here we have the PlusSnare.
I printed up five of them, which needed rework.
I printed five more with the problems fixed, and they work great, and other people have them.
I've laid out the PCB better, and am about ready to get a release candidate printed. So here's the article teasing them, to which I will link with a QR code on the PCB
