The Yowler: Kickstarter community noise synth
The Yowler · Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218568730/the-yowler-a-community-built-diy-noise-synth
The Yowler plugged into a modular synth · Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218568730/the-yowler-a-community-built-diy-noise-synth
The Yowler is a 3 oscillator noise synth built on pocket-sized, naked PCB. It’s intended to be a DIY project that you can build yourself and for a pledge of AU$65. They have already met their modest AU$4000 goal but this is where it gets interesting. Roberto D Jordan, creator of The Yowler, says that for every AU$1000 they get over the top of the goal they will add a community voted feature.
The Yowler
The noise synth has three square wave oscillators. The pitch is controlled by knobs with switchable light dependent resistors. The oscillators are mixed through two XOR gates which add harmonics and give it a bit of welly. It can be triggered externally and the VCA can be controlled with CV for some simple volume control. A switchable decay capacitor can be employed to create percussion sounds. It can be battery powered and has a mini speaker and is all ready to go. Check out the video below for examples of what this thing can sound like. It’s pretty fruity in my professional opinion.
Community
The idea is that for every AU$1000 over goal they will invite the backers to vote on various additions to the synth. This could be something as obvious as a case, or adding an oscillator, upgrading the knobs, or making it Eurorack compatible. Currently, they are AU$2000 over goal so The Yowler is on course for at least two significant improvements. With 12 days left there’s plenty of room for more people to get on board and get involved.
At the moment AU$65 is around £38 which is a pretty good deal for a cool little synth. Obviously, you might need to add some shipping to that. For more information head over to The Yowler Kickstarter page.
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