Zeppelin Design Labs MACCHIATO User manual
MINI DIGITAL SYNTHESIZER
Assembly Manual
MACCHIATo
2
MACCHIATO
MINI-SYNTH DIGITAL SYNTHESIZER
Assembly Manual
© 2017 ZEPPELIN DESIGN LABS. NO PART OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR. ZEPPELIN DESIGN LABS TAKES
NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE OR HARM THAT MAY COME TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING THROUGH THEIR PRODUCTS. THE MACCHIATO SOFTWARE IS COVERED
BY THE CREATIVE COMMONS SHARE-ALIKE LICENSE, WHICH MEANS YOU ARE FREE TO ADD OR BUILD UPON THE CIRCUIT IDEA AND THE SOFTWARE IN ANY WAY YOUR
CREATIVITY ALLOWS, BUT ANY DERIVATIVES MUST BE SHARED USING THE SAME LICENSE.
022017
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 3
HISTORY ............................................................................................................ 3
DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................... 3
HOW IT WORKS ................................................................................................ 4
WHAT YOU WILL NEED ............................................................................................ 5
WHAT’S IN THE BOX................................................................................................ 6
POPULATING THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD............................................................... 9
MAKING A CABINET.............................................................................................. 26
CARDSTOCK CABINET ...................................................................................... 26
BUILDING THE PLASTIC CABINET KIT .................................................................. 36
SCHEMATIC........................................................................................................... 46
3
INTRODUCTION
The Macchiato Mini-Synth is an 8-bit digital synthesizer you can build yourself from scratch, or order
complete and ready-to-play. Fun and easy enough for children; versatile enough for use in performance
or in the studio.
HISTORY
Synthesizers have been around since the 1960’s when they started as an experiment in exploring
the musicality of electronic circuits. The first of these instruments were all analog synthesizers. While
they sound great, synthesizers built with analog components are large, heavy and expensive. In the
early days they were only available to the very wealthy or the very nerdy – nerds capable of hacking
together their own do-it-yourself electronics.
The late 1970’s and early 1980’s saw the development of several different digital music technologies.
As digital technologies developed they became more affordable with further reaching feature sets.
Prices for digital synths have steadily fallen, but analog synthesizers remain bulky, heavy and expensive
by comparison.
Today, the Macchiato Mini-Synth combines the best of low-cost microcontroller technology, the Arduino
development environment, and the Mozzi Synthesis Library (developed and curated by Tim Barass).
The Macchiato emulates many of the best features and sounds of the original beloved analog synths in
a tiny, low-cost, lightweight package.
What started out as a bulky and brainy musical experiment in electronics is now available to everyone
as a one-evening project with years of musical enjoyment to follow -- and you don’t even have to be
a nerd!
DESCRIPTION
The Macchiato Mini-Synth is a versatile 8-bit digital synthesizer capable of creating a vast array of
unique sounds. The Macchiato is great at creating rich and complex soundscapes, yet it is easy enough
to use that kids can start creating music instantly! Capable of 2-note polyphony, the Macchiato is great
for textured pads or beautiful flowing dyadic harmonies. It is perfect for bass synth lines, rhythmic and
glitchy pulses, or smooth lead synth parts. The Macchiato has a built-in one-octave capacitive touch
keyboard (with 4-octave shift), but also has a MIDI IN port for expanded controllability. The 1/8”
(3.5mm) line-out jack is suitable for headphones, powered speakers, or recording directly to your
computer’s line-in jack. There are 9 knobs on top of the instrument which give the user a wide spectrum
of control.
The Macchiato Mini-Synth is perfect for:
• electronicmusiciansandenthusiasts•lo-figeeks•recordingstudioproducers
• circuitbendingfanatics•electronicDIYnerds•musiceducators•chipmusic/8-bitartists
• computermusicfans•basssynthlovers•kids...
…Basically anyone wanting to have fun making music! Offered as a DIY kit or fully assembled and
ready to play, it’s the perfect gift for any music fan!
4
HOW IT WORKS
The Macchiato uses “wave table” technology to produce an audio signal. The synth was designed
using the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Arduino is an open-source platform that
uses easy computer software to program a tiny computer chip, or microcontroller. The microcontroller
is usually connected to the computer through a USB port. A microcontroller is a tiny computer that can
be programmed to do almost anything you can imagine: run the air conditioner, swindle banks, rule
the world. The Arduino environment is pretty amazing at simplifying this process. Even a few years
ago, only nerdy engineers could do this; now anyone willing to read a few articles and follow a few
tutorials can make their own electronic devices!
Although very versatile, microcontrollers are not very good at handling audio. Typically, Arduino is only
capable of making simple beeps like you hear from your microwave oven; but recently, Tim Barass,
through very clever programming, developed an open-source software add-on he calls “Mozzi” that
gives Arduino the ability to create all kinds of unique and interesting sounds. Mozzi is available here
as an Arduino library add-in. You can also download the Macchiato source code here from Zeppelin
Design Labs. Feel free to edit and tweak the code any way you’d like, and then re-program your synth
using the ISP header on the main board. The Macchiato is the perfect platform for exploring the sounds
that Mozzi offers. You will find detailed instructions for doing this in the Macchiato Mini-Synth Quick
Start Guide and Reference Manual.
5
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Here’s everything you will need to build The Macchiato Mini-Synth kit as shown below. Tools and
supplies needed for various cabinet options are discussed in the section “MAKING A CABINET” on
page 26.
TOOLS
1. Digital multimeter
2. #2 Phillips screw driver
3. Soldering iron (not a soldering gun, or a “cold heat” iron), good quality, 15-50 watt, with a
good medium or small-sized tip, conical or chisel shape. One with a temperature control and a
stand is best.
4. Wet sponge or dry solder-cleaning pad
5. Wire strippers
6. Flush cutters or small diagonal cutters
7. Clamp or vise to hold the printed circuit board while soldering (optional, but handy)
8. Solder sucker or solder braid (optional, but very handy if you have to remove or repair any
components!)
SUPPLIES
1. Solder, 60/40 rosin core, the smaller diameter the better (we prefer .032” diameter). Make sure it’s good
quality; we prefer Kester brand, but most brands will work fine.
6
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Table 1: The Macchiato Mini-Synth Bill Of Materials (BOM) is a complete parts list of everything that
should be present in your kit, followed by photos of each part. Print the BOM and carefully go through
the kit, identifying every part. Please read about the proper handling
of integrated circuits (ICs) in paragraph 7 on page 18 before
removing anything from the silver static-protective bag. Note that
some of the components are difficult to tell apart. Compare them
carefully with the photos. Besides verifying that nothing is
missing, this will acquaint you with the parts and their names. If
ANYTHING is missing, first double-check; we double-checked
before sealing the box at our lab! If it’s still missing, EMAIL US
shorted your kit, we will get replacement parts in the mail to you as soon as possible. If you lose or
damage anything, we will be glad to sell you replacements. The unusual or custom components can be
capacitors, or screws, you may prefer to go to a local electronics or hardware store.
TIP: Empty the parts
of the kit into a bowl, NOT
onto the cluttered workbench, or
onto the living room carpet! This
will protect you from losing tiny
parts.
Figure 2: What’s In The Box
7
Table 1: The Macchiato Mini-Synth Bill Of Materials
Part # Description Notes Qty
CB-90-11 Heat Shrink Tubing 1/8” x 5/8” (2mm x 15mm) 1
CP-10-03 Capacitor Electrolytic 50V 1uF C10 1
CP-10-08 Capacitor Electrolytic 16V 220uF C11, C12 2
CP-20-07 Capacitor Film 100V 22nF C8 1
CP-20-11 Capacitor Film 100V 4.7nF C13 1
CP-20-12 Capacitor Film 100V 47nF C9 1
CP-30-18 Capacitor Ceramic 50V 100nF C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C14 6
DI-20-03 Diode General Purpose 1N4007 1000V 1A D1, D2 2
DI-30-56 LED 5mm Red LED 1
FA-60-37 Screw Machine Pan Phil M3x6 13
FA-90-25 Washer Flat M3 Nylon 5
HD-05-03 Battery Holder, 9V 1
HD-40-10 DC Power Jack P1 1
HD-40-40 Headphone Jack 3.5mm Female Stereo J1 1
HD-40-50 MIDI Jack, Female P3 1
HE-20-01 Single Row Header. 1x6 P2 1
IC-26-38 Integrated Circuit Amplifier LM386 DIP 8 U3 1
IC-40-13 Optocoupler 6N138 DIP 8 U4 1
IC-80-50 Voltage Regulator 5V 100mA U2 1
LS-10-10 Loudspeaker 1" 8 Ohm 1 W SP1 1
PC-70-02 Macchiato PCB 1
PL-10-70 Macchiato Label Sticker 1
PL-10-90 Serial Number Sticker 0
PT-10-10 Potentiometer Linear 100K VR1 - VR9 9
RS-80-21 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 10R R20 1
RS-80-32 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 220R R17 1
RS-80-40 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 1K R18, R21 2
RS-80-44 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 3.9K R14 1
RS-80-53 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 33K R22 1
RS-80-62 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 150K R19 1
RS-80-64 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 470K R1,R13 2
RS-80-65 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 560K R3,R5,R6,R7,R8,R9,R10,R12 8
RS-80-67 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 750K R2, R4, R11 3
RS-80-71 Resistor Metal Film 0.25W 1% 1M R15, R16 2
ST-10-23 Standoff Nylon Hex M3 5.6x12 5
SW-50-30 Pushbutton Switch DPDT S1 1
SW-60-22 Switch Cap Red 1
8
CB-90-11 C10 C11, C12 C8 C13
C9 C1 - C5, C14 D1, D2 LED FA-60-37
FA-90-25 HD-05-03 P1 J1 P3
P2 U3 U4 U2 SP1
PC-70-02 PL-10-70 PL-10-90 VR1 - VR9 R20
R17 R18, R21 R14 R22 R19
R1, R13 R3, R5 - R10, R12 R2, R4, R11 R15, R16 ST-10-23
9
S1 SW-60-22
POPULATING THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD
Your work space should be well-lit, well-ventilated, and disposable; that is, don’t work on the nice dining
room table! Work on a utility surface that you can burn, drill and scratch. A piece of ¼” tempered
masonite, or a chunk of MDF, makes an excellent surface if you don’t have a utility work bench.
CAUTION: Solder fumes are not healthy for you. The fumes consist of vaporized flux, which can
irritate your nose, lungs, and even your skin. You MUST work in a space where the air drifts away from
you as you work, so fumes do not rise straight into your face.
CAUTION: Solder residue usually contains lead, which is poisonous if you ingest it. Do not breathe
the fumes, do not eat the supplies, wash your hands after you handle solder, and sweep and wipe up
your work space after EVERY USE.
Your Macchiato Mini-Synth is built entirely onto one printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB even includes
a built-in capacitive touch keyboard! All of the components will be installed on the “component side”
of the board, which is the side that has the part labels on it. The other side of the board is called
the “solder side,” which, as the name implies, is the side on which the legs of the components are
soldered. Proper technique for installing and soldering components to a circuit board is demonstrated
through several great resources on Instructables and Youtube under the search “PCB soldering tutorial.”
The general procedure consists of the following:
1. Install the part on the “component side” of the board, by threading the wire leads through
the appropriate holes in the board. For your convenience, the board has silk screen outlines
indicating where the components should be placed, along with text indicating the part number
and the component value.
2. Hold the component in place with your finger and turn the board over.
3. Gently bend the leads out at about 45 degrees to keep the component from falling out of its
holes.
4. Install all of one type of component, bending each of the leads as they are installed.
5. Flip the board over solder-side-up, and solder all of the components in one pass.
6. Clip the leads off with small diagonal cutters, right at the solder joint.
10
You will notice that we have installed a few components on the PCB already. These components are
(mostly) surface mounted, which are a little more difficult to solder. The square chip in the middle of the
board has been pre-programed with the software your Macchiato needs to run. If you are interested in
changing the way your Macchiato operates then you may want to look into modifying this software and
re-programing the chip. Instructions for this process can be found in the Macchiato Reference Manual.
Let’s begin!
1. Standoffs: Use five of the M3 screws (part #FA-60-37) to attach the five standoffs (part #ST-10-
23) to the circuit board (1,2). Pass the screws through the component side of the board (the side
with the white graphics), and place the standoffs on the solder-side (the blank side) of the board.
1 2
Figure 3: Component Values And Locations
11
2. Resistors: The values of resistors are given by a series of colored stripes. There are several
tutorials online describing how to decode these stripes, but we will identify each resistor for
you by simply naming the stripe colors, and giving you the value and the part number. “Figure
3: Component Values And Locations” is a good reference. If you are color blind or can’t see
the stripes clearly, then you must use your digital multimeter to measure the resistance of each
resistor.
The white graphics on the component side of the board give reference to the part number and
value. A few revisions were made to the circuit after we had the circuit boards made, so some of
the component values printed on the circuit board have changed. Figure 3 does show the correct
component values, so please use it to cross check your work.
Resistors are not polarized, meaning they can be installed into their holes in either direction. It
doesn’t matter which lead goes into which hole.
The hole spacing of the resistors on the circuit board allows the leads to be (gently) bent 90
degrees at the body of the resistor (3). This allows the resistors to slip into their holes very easily.
a. Start with the 1M resistors (R15, R16), labeled BROWN, BLACK, BLACK, YELLOW,
BROWN. Compare to its picture in the BOM. Find their locations on the circuit board;
install and bend the leads as described above (4,5,6). Don’t solder any of them until all 22
resistors are installed; just bend the leads to keep them in place.
3 4
56
12
b. Install the 1K resistors (R18,R21). These resistors are labeled BROWN, BLACK, BLACK,
BROWN, BROWN. Don’t be dismayed that R18 and R21 are not labeled “1K” on the PCB.
These values were changed after the PCB’s were made. Figure 3 has the correct values listed
for reference. Bend the leads on the back so they won’t fall out.
c. Install the 220 ohm (220R) resistor (R17), labeled RED, RED, BLACK, BLACK, BROWN.
Bend the leads on the back.
d. Next do the 33K resistor (R22), labeled ORANGE, ORANGE, BLACK, RED, BROWN. Bend
the leads on the back.
e. Install the 150K resistor (R19), labeled BROWN, GREEN, BLACK, ORANGE, BROWN.
Bend the leads on the back.
f. Install the 3.9K ohm (3K9) resistor (R14), labeled ORANGE, WHITE, BLACK, BROWN,
BROWN. Bend the leads.
g. Install the 10 ohm (10R) resistor (R20), labeled BROWN, BLACK, BLACK, GOLD, BROWN.
Bend the leads.
h. Install the 560K resistors (R3,R5,R6,R7,R8,R9,R10,R12), labeled GREEN, BLUE, BLACK,
ORANGE, BROWN. Bend the leads on the back.
i. Install the 470K resistors (R1,R13), labeled YELLOW, PURPLE, BLACK, ORANGE, BROWN.
Bend the leads.
j. Lastly, install the 750K resistors (R2,R4,R11), labeled PURPLE, GREEN, BLACK, ORANGE,
BROWN. Don’t be dismayed that R4 and R11 are not labeled “750K” on the PCB. These
values were changed after the PCB’s were made. Figure 3 has the correct values listed for
reference. Bend the leads.
You should have a whole forest of bent leads coming out the solder side of the board. Now you
can turn the board solder-side-up and solder each lead to the board. Use a clamp or vise if you
have one; it makes soldering much easier (7, 8).
7 8
13
Now clip each lead with your flush cutters at the solder joint (9).
910
Before installing any more components on the circuit board, double-check the resistance values
of each of the installed resistors (10). Set your digital multimeter to the “ohms” or “resistance”
setting, and measure across all of the resistors. Compare the measured value to the listed value
in Table 1 and in Figure 3. Make sure they are all correct (within 1%) before moving on! Note
that the two 1M resistors will measure about 500K because they are in parallel with each other.
3. Power Light (LED): Make a mark on the shorter LED lead 18mm below the LED (11). Locate
the 2mm heat shrink (Part #CB-90-11) and place it over the longer lead of the LED (12); if you
wish, you may shrink it with your soldering iron or a heat gun, but it is not necessary. Install the
LED on the PCB in the spot marked LED. The long lead with the heat shrink goes into the hole
with the square pad. The LED, being a diode, is polarized and must be installed in the correct
orientation. If you get it backwards, the light won’t work. Make sure it is standing straight up.
Insert the LED to the mark you made, so the bottom of the LED is 18mm above the PCB. Solder
the short lead from the component side of the board (13). Flip the board over and solder the
longer lead (the square pad) (14).
11 12
13 14
14
4. Capacitors: There are three different types of capacitors in the kit: ceramic (15), film (16) and
electrolytic (17). We will place them in the PCB one type at a time, and then solder them all in at
once.
15 16
17
a. Ceramic Caps: There are six 100nF yellow ceramic caps (C1,C2,C3,C4,C5,C14). We
will install five of them now and one of them toward the end of the assembly process.
Place capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5 in their respective places on the PCB and bend
the leads out on the back so they don’t fall out. Like the resistors, these capacitors are not
polarized. It doesn’t matter which lead goes into which hole.
18 19
20
15
b. Film Capacitors: There are 3 green film caps and all of them have different values. The
4.7nF cap (C13) is smaller than the other two and is marked “2A 472 J” (21). The 22nF cap
(C8) is marked “2A 223 J” (22).The 47nF cap (C9) is marked “2A 473 J” (23). These caps
are not polarized; the leads can go into either hole.
21 22
23
i. Place the 4.7nF cap (C13) in its place and bend out the leads.
ii. Place the 47nF cap (C9) in its place and bend out its leads.
iii. Place the 22nF cap (C8) in its place and bend out its leads. C8 is not labeled “22nF” on
the circuit board, but Figure 3 is correct.
24
16
c. Electrolytic Capacitors: There is one 1uF cap (C10) and two 220uF caps (C11,C12). You
can read their values on their casings. Electrolytic capacitors ARE POLARIZED: there is a
right way and a wrong way to install them. If you get it wrong, your synth will not work and
the cap might burst. The white stripe on the case indicates the negative lead of the cap (24).
STRIPE = NEGATIVE = SHORT LEAD = ROUND PAD
NO STRIPE = POSITIVE = LONG LEAD = SQUARE PAD
Make sure you orient the caps properly! For reference, Figure 3 has little red plus signs (+)
on the positive pads.
i. Install C10 in its place and bend the leads out (24).
ii. Install C11 & C12 in their places and bend the leads out (25).
iii. Flip the board over, solder and snip all the leads (26).
25 26
27
17
5. Diodes (D1,D2): Diodes are polarized: it matters which lead goes in which hole. You will notice
one end of the diode body has a white stripe around it (27). It goes like this:
WHITE STRIPE = SQUARE PAD
NO STRIPE = ROUND PAD
Gently bend the leads like you did for the resistors (27). Place both diodes in their locations on
the board (28,29). Make sure they are installed in the correct orientation; otherwise your synth
won’t work. Bend, solder and clip the leads.
27 28
29
18
6. Header (P2): By installing a 2x3 header array, you create an ISP (in-system programming)
port. This is a little socket that enables you to plug a cable into your synthesizer and upload (or
“flash”) new software onto the control chip. This is covered in detail in the Macchiato Reference
Manual.
Carefully break the header into two pieces with three pins each. You can use your fingers to do
this (31,32).
The short pins go through the board; the long pins point up. Make sure the bottom of the
headers are flush to the circuit board. Tack one pin down with solder while you hold the header
in from the top (33). Once each row has been tacked on, you can solder the other pins in place
(34).
31 32
33 34
7. Integrated Circuits (IC’s): This kit contains three integrated circuit components for you to install,
plus the microcontroller which comes already installed on the PCB. In general, IC’s are quite
sensitive to static electricity and could easily be damaged if they are exposed to moderately
high voltages. Unfortunately, humans are not sensitive to static electricity at these levels; in
fact, most people can’t even feel a static discharge less than around 1000 volts! So it is easy
to damage these components without even knowing it. The particular IC’s in this kit are only
moderately sensitive to static discharge but it is still import to be mindful of these principles in
handling them. When you do have to handle them, make sure you are grounded, preferably by
touching something grounded to the mains like the metal chassis of a plugged-in amplifier, or a
refrigerator. At the very least you should touch a large conductive object like a metal desk or a
filing cabinet. With this information in mind please proceed carefully.
When soldering IC’s, try to keep the IC from getting too hot. Most chips have a temperature
threshold that shouldn’t be exceeded. As a rule of thumb don’t keep your iron on any leg longer
than two seconds, and make sure the chip stays cool enough to touch. If you find you have a
hard time keeping the IC from getting too hot, just solder one leg at time and let the chip cool off
before proceeding to the next leg.
19
IC’s have a specific orientation. If you install them wrong, your synth will not work and you could
damage or destroy the IC. Each IC has a dot, divot, or a flat side at one corner or end. These
features have a corresponding graphic on Figure 3 to show you how to orient the IC.
a. LM386 (U3): This chip is the audio amplifier and drives the speaker and line out jack. Install
it in the cluster of eight holes at U3. Notice the divot at one end of the chip. There is a
matching shape on the PCB graphic. Also, the dot on
the IC (near pin 1) should line up with the square
pad on the board (35). Press the amp down snugly
with your fingertip. Mount the PCB in your clamp
and tack one leg down with solder from the
component side (36). Now flip the board over
and finish soldering the rest of the leads (37).
35 36
37
b. 6N138 Optocoupler (U4): Install the optocoupler at U4. The corner lead marked with a tiny
dot goes into the hole with the square pad (38). Solder this chip in the same manner as the
last one (39).
38 39
TIP: You can use some
painter’s tape to hold down the IC
to the top of the PCB while you solder
it in from the back.
20
c. Voltage Regulator (U2): This component is shaped like a three-quarter moon. Notice the
PCB graphic at U2 has a similar shape to show you the correct orientation. Thread the three
leads through the PCB and press this component into place (40). Bend the leads out on the
other side of the board. Solder and clip the leads (41,42).
40 41
42
8. Headphone Jack (J1): Install the headphone jack at J1. Press the jack snug to the board with
your finger and flip the board over and tack one pin down (43). Once the jack is held in place,
finish soldering the rest of the pins. (44).
43 44
Other manuals for MACCHIATO
1
Table of contents
Other Zeppelin Design Labs Synthesizer manuals
