For technical support on all Oakley projects please now refer to the knowledgeable and helpful Oakley Sound Forum which is hosted at Muffwiggler.com. Tony Allgood and Paul Darlow do not provide building support for Oakley projects, but both are usually available for help via the forum.
What is the difference between Oakley Sound Systems and Krisp1?
Oakley Sound Systems is a small company specialising in the design and modification of analogue music synthesisers.
Krisp1 is a separate company selling products designed by Oakley Sound. If you would like to purchase any products designed by Oakley Sound then you should contact Paul Darlow at Krisp1 via the ordering page.
We hope that during 2010 the two companies will present a more integrated web presence with a new all in one website with webshop.
Do you do ready made units?
Yes. Official ready built modules are available from Paul Darlow. See here for contact details or visit the ordering page.
Do you sell whole kits?
Neither Oakley Sound or Krisp1 are planning to sell full DIY kits at the moment. However, many component kits are now on offer at Bridechamber in the US and Elby Designs in Australia. Also other more esoteric parts are available at Vintage Planet in the Netherlands.
Do you supply ready made cases?
Neither Oakley Sound nor Krisp1 can provide cases at the moment.
Flightcase Warehouse in the UK can supply rack width (19"/10U) flightcases for a very good price. We recommend their custom service where you can order any size case. You can then use Synthtech's MOTM rack rails to mount your modules into the side rails.
Jeff Toman at Custom Synth can make bespoke wooden and covered cases and front panels.
What modules do I need to buy to make a modular synthesiser?
Everyone will have their own preferences so its difficult to recommend specific modules for a complete system. However, visit the Which Modules page for my quick 'getting you started' advice.
Can I buy the Schaeffer front panels direct from Oakley Sound or Krisp1?
No. These need to be ordered from Schaeffer in Germany or Front Panel Express in the US. Both companies offer an excellent service. The sales representative at Schaeffer speaks very good English if you do need to contact them direct. The new version of the excellent Frontplatten Designer software is a free download and features secure online ordering too. See the Schaeffer website for more information.
Can I buy schematics/PCB artwork for the modules?
Schematics for all Oakley projects are now available as individual downloadable pdf files for a small fee. The Oakley modular schematics are available for 2GBP each. The larger and more complex rack projects are available for 4GBP each. Please note that any payments made for schematics is not refundable should you then decide to buy the boards at a later date from us.
PCB artwork is no longer available for any of our products.
Are your projects hard to make?
This one is tricky to answer. It all depends on your ability. If you can solder reasonably well, and have the patience to read through all the user documentation, you should be able to manage. However, if you rush and find your project doesn't work, that's when you are going to need more electronic knowledge. Being able to read a circuit diagram is an obvious advantage. If you want to get started, perhaps, a good way is to start on something simple. The smaller modules like the Little-Lag and MultiMix are very simple, and easy to test.
My Oakley DIY project doesn't work, what then?
Join the Oakley Sound Forum which is hosted at Muffwiggler.com. Then after checking that your question hasn't been answered you can post to the list for advice. Both Paul and Tony, and many other builders of Oakley equipment, are present on the forum and should be able to help.
Please do not contact either Paul Darlow or Tony Allgood directly regarding building problems or generalised parts enquiries. Neither of us are able to help on an individual basis due to lack of time. All enquiries for help should come through the Oakley Sound Forum.
If you still can't get the completed and undamaged module going, you can send it back to Oakley Sound to fix. You will have to pay for postage both ways, any parts required and Tony's time at 25GBP per hour. This service is taken up only occasionally, so it just goes to show how easy it is to get an Oakley project to work first time.
Are all your boards lead-free?
All boards are RoHS compliant, which means they do not contain lead. All boards can be soldered with either lead free solder or lead based solder.
What sort of solder should I use?
This is entirely up to you on the newer boards. The newer boards can be soldered with either lead free or old fashioned leaded solder.
The older Pb-HASL boards, pre 2007, must be soldered with lead solder, as mixing the two types can supposedly cause long term reliability problems.
Who are Oakley Sound Systems?
This is a small company set up by Tony Allgood and you can found out about me here.
Who are Krisp1?
This is a small company set up by Paul Darlow. Originally established in 2007 to supply ready made 5U Oakley modules, Paul now handles all the retail side of Oakley modules and projects.
What equipment do I need?
The usual electronic hobbyist stuff. The TM3030 and VCO project, will be the hardest to make, as they require precise setting up. A scope or a chromatic tuner will be very useful, but they are not essential.
Can I build these modules to sell to friends?
Of course, you can.
How much will the whole project cost me?
This depends on the case you have chosen to house your project. The case, knobs, pots and sockets are the most expensive items. Why do you think we rarely see synths with knobs on these days? The quality of these things will set the price of the project.
For Oakley modules, I generally reckon around 40 to 120GBP per module including the Schaeffer front panel. The 5U VCO is probably the most expensive module and the Little-Lag being the cheapest.
What is a GBP?
It is the currency of the United Kingdom.
GBP is a short hand way of writing 'Great Britain Pound'. This is the accepted way of writing our currency by the International Standards Organisation when you can't use the ordinary 'curly L' pound sign. Paypal and the webpages on this site use GBP. It should be noted that UKP, although more correct in terms of the countries that it represents, should not be used.
GBP is called 'pounds sterling' on the money markets. It is not affiliated to the Euro in any way.
100 pence make 1GBP. So 6-50GBP is six pounds and fifty pence.
Where on Earth is the United Kingdom?
Not quite a FAQ, but I have had it asked a few times now. The UK is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is just England, Scotland and Wales. The UK lies north of France in Europe, but is not connected to mainland Europe. The English Channel separates us from France.
Tony Allgood lives in rural Cumbria, England, 20 miles from the Scottish border, and close to the Lake District. The Lake District was home to many famous people such as Coleridge, Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and Ruskin.
Paul Darlow lives in Yorkshire, England. Yorkshire is a huge county and covers the original industrial heartland of England as well as the rolling moors of the Bronte sisters and the James Herriot stories.
What standards do you use for controlling your modules?
VCOs are 1V/octave. Gates are positive voltages above 2.5V. The midiDAC is, of course, MIDI.
What power supplies do I need?
For more information about buying or building a suitable power supply for a modular system, please see the Powering Your Modular webpage on this site.
The TM3030 needs a 15V AC or 24V DC wall wart. The Filtrex needs a 15V AC wall wart. Be sure to check the user documentation before buying a power supply.
Can I make my TM3030 or Filtrex internally mains powered?
If you have the skills to do this, you probably wouldn't be asking the question. Only fit an internal mains supply if you know what you doing. We cannot endorse this method of powering any Oakley product.
Where do I get all the other parts for the project?
In the UK: Rapid Electronics, CPC, RS-Components and Farnell. All have web sites, and you can order on-line or by telephone. In the US: Mouser, Newark and Digikey. Again these companies have websites.
Parts codes for most of the common parts used in Oakley projects can be found in our lengthy parts guide which is found here. This is a PDF document which also contains Rapid and Farnell order codes that you may find useful.
What's the Mouser / Farnell / Maplin (etc) part code for ....
Due to limited time we are not able to answer this question for every part you need to buy. Our Builder's Guides and Parts Guide should give you sufficient information for you to purchase all the parts from your own suppliers without too much difficulty. You will also find that the Oakley Sound Forum will be very helpful too if you do get stuck.
For UK buyers, Rapid and Farnell part codes for most of the common devices used in Oakley projects can be found in the Parts Guide.
What is the form factor of those Alpha or ALPS pots you use?
These are the very common 16mm format that is preferred by many modular and synthesiser manufacturers. There is 0.2" between pins in one gang and gangs are separated by 0.2". There are two gangs in a stereo pot and one gang in a normal mono pot. Shaft length varies with supplier but it may be cut down with a hacksaw or Dremel. Shaft diameter is typically 6mm and you can buy them in either slotted knurled shafts for push fit knobs, or smooth round shafts for screw fit knobs. The picture shown below shows a short knurled shaft.
The pots that Krisp1 sells in the pot kits are those with 6mm short knurled shafts.
What is the form factor of those Spectrol or TT pots you use?
0.1" between pins in one gang. Gangs are separated by 0.3". Shaft length is about 12.5mm so does not need to be cut down to fit the MOTM or Maplin knobs. Shaft diameter is 6.25mm (1/4") and is round. Spectrol 248 pots were used on all the Oakley Modular projects in the past but more recently we have been using BI TT P260 pots as they offer better value for money.
Spectrol or Vishay 248 - high quality long lasting plastic resistive element, body made from fibre reinforced plastic. Now sadly very expensive.
TT P260 - high quality long lasting plastic resistive element, body made from plastic but with a solidly made metal bush and shaft.
Do I get a paper receipt with my order?
No, all order documentation is sent by plain text e-mail only. These contain all the details of the order and you can print these off for your own records. All customers are given their own individual customer order number, and we keep a full record of all transactions.