Search Results for: plinky

Plinky Synth – Full DIY Kit

Plinky is an 8 voice expressive polyphonic touch synthesizer that specializes in fragile, melancholic sounds, designed by mmalex. Think of it as an 8 stringed instrument, arranged in 8 vertical monophonic strips. You can play Plinky straight away with those 64 main pads. Plinky can be used either as a standalone desktop instrument or can be mounted inside a Eurorack case as a 24HP module.

The kit comes with the software already programmed and all the small SMD parts already presoldered. All other parts you need are included in the box, you just need to provide tools and the solder. Papernoise design made a special edition back panel illustration for Plinky that comes with every new kit. Papernoise designed the Mutable Instruments, Hexinverter Edition Noire, ChronoBlob & Rabid Elephant panels. Free sticker too!

Each of the 8 strings on Plinky has:

  • 4 oscillators or sampler grains, detuned by the movements of your fingers
  • A white noise generator
  • Two ADSR envelopes
  • A resonant 2-pole low-pass gate
  • Distortion

Plinky also has global delay, reverb, high pass filter and saturation units along with a simple mixer, arpeggiator, sequencer and sampler. The row of 8 shift keys (blue LEDs) along the bottom are used in conjunction with the main pads to select parameters, presets, sequencer patterns, and samples. Plinky also supports 4 external CV modulation sources, each with their own LFO.

Plinky was designed and released in 2021, but was then forced out of production due to the global chip crisis. In cooperation with Plinky’s creator mmalex, in 2024 Thonk and Making Sound Machines are bringing back the new and improved Plinky v3 Kit.

Plinky v3 integrates a TRS MIDI input and output directly on-board, so it’s now possible to sequence polyphonic chords externally and expressively play a melodic line on top. This new revision also improves the DIY build experience, making Plinky an even more easy-to-assemble DIY build. The USB connections have been updated to USB-C and the v3 circuit also improves the noise level on the inputs.

Best of all, Plinky is now open-source, with improvements and contributions from the Plinky community and PCB contributions from Making Sound Machines, TiNRS, Okyeron and LPZW. 

You can power Plinky by either connecting it to your Eurorack power (it requires a 5V connection) or USB (although it is best not to power through both at the same time). For connecting USB you can use either one of the connectors on the front or the back (but again, don’t use both at the same time!).

Plinky Standalone Dimensions: Width 12cm, Length 13cm, Height 2cm

Plinky Rev3 – Build Guide | Play Guide | User Manual

Plinky & Crey – Bib, Buzzrito & Blueberry – 3U DIY Kit

Meet Bib, Buzzrito and Blueberry!  These little buddies provide a plinky style stereo reverb, delay, and drive (Bib), a rich swarm oscillator (Buzzrito), and a generative touch sequencer (Blueberry). This module takes the touch-enabled sensitivity of Plinky, and breaks it out into 3 complementary creatures.

Bib

Bib is a shy spider with a big heart. First she overdrives the signal (red page), then feeds it through a stereo delay (green page), next is a lush reverb (blue page), and then finally a wet/dry mix and final output volume control (white page).

Tap on the spider to set the delay tempo, long press (pressure sensitive!) to set the reverb shimmer amount, and drag across the touch strip at the bottom of the panel to influence the delay, like touching the tape of a tape delay. Simply select a page to edit by touching one of the four sections on the touch strip, then twist the knobs to change the two parameters associated with each page.

You can clock the delay by feeding a regular trigger into the CV input, or assign the CV input as a modulation source by tapping the strip 3 times (led will flash rainbow) then turning any knob(s) you want it to control.

Bib has a rear-panel 6 pin audio header compatible with Intellijel and other makers’ case jacks and jack modules,  the rear connection supports one TRS stereo input and one TRS stereo output which can drive line or headphones with ease.

Buzzrito

Buzzrito pairs really well with Bib and Blueberry but also easily integrates into any eurorack setup that can provide gate and pitch (V/Oct).

Buzzy is a very simple to use: Pitch and Gate go into the left-most jacks, and glorious, wide stereo, plinky-like buzzing comes out of the right-most jacks. The main surface is a large 2D (XY) touch plate, with 7 presets scattered across its surface. Touching at a particular point changes the sound immediately, while dragging your finger records a looping automation following your finger movement, animating the sound. The remaining two jacks, X and Y, allow voltage control over this 2D morphing between presets. From simple triangle-tones in the bottom left, to rasping comb filtered super-saws at top right, Buzzy is a characterful oscillator in a small package.

Blueberry

Blueberry also pairs really well with Bib and Buzzrito but easily integrates into any eurorack setup by providing a gate and pitch (V/Oct) output in response to touch.

Blueberry is very simple module to use: Just hook up her Pitch and Gate outputs to an oscillator (such as Buzzrito), then jam on the 5 pads with your fingers. The pitch of each pad can be adjusted to taste, up to 5 long patterns can be recorded (and played back), and CV control is provided to transpose, clock, scrub and select which pattern is played. When clocked, blueberry becomes an unconventional step sequencer, where each note retains its original pressure articulation, but the melody only progresses at each clock trigger. By feeding voltages into the ‘scrub’ input, the play head can be directly manipulated – playing the melody backwards, forwards, even scrambled… but not fried. Each of the 5 memories saves its own tuning alongside the notes, and can be selected by the memory CV input – allowing chord selection, for example.

Bib, Buzzrito and Blueberry are a collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The Crey Emporium.

Build Manual: 3U Combo Build Guide

Build Videos: Bib | Buzzrito | Blueberry

User Manuals: Bib | Buzzrito | Blueberry

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP (3U Eurorack format)
  • Depth: 38mm (including power)
  • Power:
    • Bib: +12v: 107mA, -12v: 4mA
    • Buzzrito: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA
    • Blueberry: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA

Plinky & Crey – Blueberry – Full DIY Kit

Meet Blueberry, a small octopus who loves to sequence. Her 5 pressure sensitive touch pads can be tuned to any scale, then played to your hearts content. Blueberry pairs really well with Bib (fx) and Buzzrito (oscillator) but easily integrates into any eurorack setup by providing a gate and pitch (V/Oct) output in response to touch.

Blueberry is a very simple module to use: Just hook up her Pitch and Gate outputs to an oscillator, then jam on the 5 pads with your fingers. The pitch of each pad can be adjusted to taste, up to 5 long patterns can be recorded (and played back), and CV control is provided to transpose, clock, scrub and select which pattern is played. When clocked, blueberry becomes an unconventional step sequencer, where each note retains its original pressure articulation, but the melody only progresses at each clock trigger. By feeding voltages into the ‘scrub’ input, the play head can be directly manipulated – playing the melody backwards, forwards, even scrambled… but not fried. Each of the 5 memories saves its own tuning alongside the notes, and can be selected by the memory CV input – allowing chord selection, for example.

Blueberry is a collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The crey emporium.

Blueberry – Build Manual | User Guide

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP 1U (Intellijel format)
  • Depth: 27mm (including power)
  • Power: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA

 

Plinky & Crey – Buzzrito – Full DIY Kit

Meet Buzzrito, a large bee presiding over 16 sawtooth oscillators, a sub oscillator, and a peaky comb-filter. Buzzy pairs really well with Bib (fx) and Blueberry (sequencer) but easily integrates into any eurorack setup that can provide gate and pitch (V/Oct).

Buzzy is a very simple module to use: Pitch and Gate go into the left-most jacks, and glorious, wide stereo, plinky-like buzzing comes out of the right-most jacks. The main surface is a large 2D (XY) touch plate, with 7 presets scattered across its surface. Touching at a particular point changes the sound immediately, while dragging your finger records a looping automation following your finger movement, animating the sound. The remaining two jacks, X and Y, allow voltage control over this 2D morphing between presets. From simple triangle-tones in the bottom left, to rasping comb filtered super-saws at top right, Buzzy is a characterful oscillator in a small package.

Buzzrito is the second collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The crey emporium.

Buzzrito – Build Manual | Build Video | User Guide

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP 1U (Intellijel format)
  • Depth: 27mm (including power)
  • Power: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA

 

 

Plinky & Crey – Bib – Full DIY Kit

Bib is a shy spider with a big heart. First she overdrives the signal (red page), then feeds it through a stereo delay (green page), next is a lush reverb (blue page), and then finally a wet/dry mix and final output volume control (white page).

Tap on the spider to set the delay tempo, long press (pressure sensitive!) to set the reverb shimmer amount, and drag across the touch strip at the bottom of the panel to influence the delay, like touching the tape of a tape delay. Simply select a page to edit by touching one of the four sections on the touch strip, then twist the knobs to change the two parameters associated with each page.

You can clock the delay by feeding a regular trigger into the CV input, or assign the CV input as a modulation source by tapping the strip 3 times (led will flash rainbow) then turning any knob(s) you want it to control.

Bib has a rear-panel 6 pin audio header compatible with Intellijel and other makers’ case jacks and jack modules,  the rear connection supports one TRS stereo input and one TRS stereo output which can drive line or headphones with ease.

Bib is the first collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The Crey Emporium.

Bib – Build Manual | Build Video | User Guide

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP
  • Depth: 38mm (including power cable)
  • Power: +12v: 107mA, -12v: 4mA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plinky & Crey – Bib 3U Conversion kit

If you already have a Bib 1U Tile but want to convert Bib into a 3U module with Buzzy and Blueberry then this kit is for you!

This kit contains:

  • 1 x bare 3U Eurorack panel for Bib, Buzz, Blue
  • 1 x Buzzrito components kit
  • 1 x Blueberry components kit
  • 1 x Bib 4 pin header to attach your module to 3U panel
  • 5 x gold jack nuts to match the rest of the panel

Meet Bib, Buzzrito and Blueberry!  These little buddies provide a plinky style stereo reverb, delay, and drive (Bib), a rich swarm oscillator (Buzzrito), and a generative touch sequencer (Blueberry). This module takes the touch-enabled sensitivity of Plinky, and breaks it out into 3 complementary creatures.

Bib

Bib is a shy spider with a big heart. First she overdrives the signal (red page), then feeds it through a stereo delay (green page), next is a lush reverb (blue page), and then finally a wet/dry mix and final output volume control (white page).

Tap on the spider to set the delay tempo, long press (pressure sensitive!) to set the reverb shimmer amount, and drag across the touch strip at the bottom of the panel to influence the delay, like touching the tape of a tape delay. Simply select a page to edit by touching one of the four sections on the touch strip, then twist the knobs to change the two parameters associated with each page.

You can clock the delay by feeding a regular trigger into the CV input, or assign the CV input as a modulation source by tapping the strip 3 times (led will flash rainbow) then turning any knob(s) you want it to control.

Bib has a rear-panel 6 pin audio header compatible with Intellijel and other makers’ case jacks and jack modules,  the rear connection supports one TRS stereo input and one TRS stereo output which can drive line or headphones with ease.

Buzzrito

Buzzrito pairs really well with Bib and Blueberry but also easily integrates into any eurorack setup that can provide gate and pitch (V/Oct).

Buzzy is a very simple to use: Pitch and Gate go into the left-most jacks, and glorious, wide stereo, plinky-like buzzing comes out of the right-most jacks. The main surface is a large 2D (XY) touch plate, with 7 presets scattered across its surface. Touching at a particular point changes the sound immediately, while dragging your finger records a looping automation following your finger movement, animating the sound. The remaining two jacks, X and Y, allow voltage control over this 2D morphing between presets. From simple triangle-tones in the bottom left, to rasping comb filtered super-saws at top right, Buzzy is a characterful oscillator in a small package.

Blueberry

Blueberry also pairs really well with Bib and Buzzrito but easily integrates into any eurorack setup by providing a gate and pitch (V/Oct) output in response to touch.

Blueberry is very simple module to use: Just hook up her Pitch and Gate outputs to an oscillator (such as Buzzrito), then jam on the 5 pads with your fingers. The pitch of each pad can be adjusted to taste, up to 5 long patterns can be recorded (and played back), and CV control is provided to transpose, clock, scrub and select which pattern is played. When clocked, blueberry becomes an unconventional step sequencer, where each note retains its original pressure articulation, but the melody only progresses at each clock trigger. By feeding voltages into the ‘scrub’ input, the play head can be directly manipulated – playing the melody backwards, forwards, even scrambled… but not fried. Each of the 5 memories saves its own tuning alongside the notes, and can be selected by the memory CV input – allowing chord selection, for example.

Bib, Buzzrito and Blueberry are a collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The Crey Emporium.

Build Manual: 3U Combo Build Guide

User Manuals: Bib | Buzzrito | Blueberry

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP (3U Eurorack format)
  • Depth: 38mm (including power)
  • Power:
    • Bib: +12v: 107mA, -12v: 4mA
    • Buzzrito: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA
    • Blueberry: +12v: 100mA, -12v: 5mA

Plinky Synth – Assembled Synthesizer

 

Plinky is an 8 voice expressive polyphonic touch synthesizer that specializes in fragile, melancholic sounds, designed by mmalex. Think of it as an 8 stringed instrument, arranged in 8 vertical monophonic strips. You can play Plinky straight away with those 64 main pads. Plinky can be used either as a standalone desktop instrument or can be mounted inside a Eurorack case as a 24HP module.

Each of the 8 strings has:

  • 4 oscillators or sampler grains, detuned by the movements of your fingers
  • A white noise generator
  • Two ADSR envelopes
  • A resonant 2-pole low-pass gate
  • Distortion

Plinky also has global delay, reverb, high pass filter and saturation units along with a simple mixer, arpeggiator, sequencer and sampler. The row of 8 shift keys (blue LEDs) along the bottom are used in conjunction with the main pads to select parameters, presets, sequencer patterns, and samples. Plinky also supports 4 external CV modulation sources, each with their own LFO. This assembled version comes with “Meska” presets pre-installed.

Plinky was designed and released in 2021, but was then forced out of production due to the global chip crisis. In cooperation with Plinky’s creator mmalex, in 2024 Thonk and Making Sound Machines are bringing back the new and improved Plinky v3.

Plinky v3 integrates a TRS MIDI input and output directly on-board, so it’s now possible to sequence polyphonic chords externally and expressively play a melodic line on top. The USB connections have been updated to USB-C and the v3 circuit also improves the noise level on the inputs.

Best of all, Plinky is now open-source, with improvements and contributions from the Plinky community and PCB contributions from Making Sound Machines, TiNRS, Okyeron and LPZW. 

You can power Plinky by either connecting it to your Eurorack power (it requires a 5V connection) or USB (although it is best not to power through both at the same time). For connecting USB you can use either one of the connectors on the front or the back (but again, don’t use both at the same time!).

Plinky Standalone Dimensions: Width 12cm, Length 13cm, Height 2cm

Plinky Rev3 – Play Guide | User Manual

What’s the deal with Plinky?

We are not expecting Plinky to come back until 2023

September 7th 2022 – We are getting lots of emails about Plinky and we just can’t reply to them all. The third Plinky run sold out in August 2021. We gave around the first 25% of people on the wishlist the chance to purchase it, in the order they originally joined the list. We didn’t even get past the people who joined the list in February 2021.

Due to the huge chip shortage in the far east our confidence in sourcing more Plinky kits before the end of 2022 is currently very low. Our goal is to satisfy everyone who wants a Plinky eventually but currently we can’t give any estimates.

There are now nearly 6000 people on the wishlist (!) and there were only 200 kits in the August 2021 batch. Yeah I think you can see where this is going!

The extreme semiconductor shortages due to Covid-19 in 2021 and 2022 made even sourcing only 200 kits a relentless and tricky task. We have no current estimate of when we can source more Plinkys.

We’re not accepting pre-order or pre-payment. That ship has sailed now the demand dwarfs the supply. It creates a huge bureaucratic burden on our staff who are already run off their feet. Opening up pre-payment is no more or less fair than just putting them on sale when they are ready and notifying the waitlist, in the order that people joined the waitlist.

JOIN OR LEAVE THE WAITLIST HERE (you need to register and log in first) – https://www.thonk.co.uk/shop/plinky/

CCTV – Plinky Eurorack Expander – Full DIY Kit

The Plinky Expander is a 4HP Eurorack module that adds a bunch of functionality to Plinky rev2 or makes it more easily broken out in a Eurorack system with Plinky rev3. The following features are included:

  •  4 LFO/modulation +-5v bipolar CV outputs, labelled ‘A B X Y’
  • TRS Midi input (type A and Type B both work)
  • TRS MIdi output (type A)
  • USB Midi, flashing and web-editor support via a sturdy USB-B connector so that you don’t need to take plinky out of your case to use it with your USB host.

The 4 bipolar analog outputs allow Plinky’s 4 ‘modulation buses’ to connect to other Eurorack modules. A and B are connected to the dedicated knobs on plinky, while X and Y connect to plinky’s accelerometer. In addition they support all of Plinky’s LFO shapes, warps, speeds, depths, and offsets.

The module can be powered from Plinky, so only a single cable is used from Plinky to the expander, and no power is needed from your case. Note this expander won’t work by itself  – it needs to be connected to the Plinky via its ribbon cable in order to function.

Note: This is compatible with the Plinky rev3 (Black PCB – 2024) and Plinky rev2 (Blue PCB – 2020-2023) versions. For information on Plinky rev1 (Green PCB 2020) compatibility please visit the Plinky Discord.

Build Guide: https://plinkysynth.com/docs/expander-build-guide – Note: this version has all SMD parts pre-soldered, including panel LEDs and header. Very easy build, only 9 components need to be soldered.

 

Plinky Eurorack Expander – Full DIY Kit

The Plinky Expander is a 4HP Eurorack module that adds a bunch of functionality to Plinky rev2 or makes it more easily broken out in a Eurorack system with Plinky rev3. The following features are included:

  •  4 LFO/modulation +-5v bipolar CV outputs, labelled ‘A B X Y’
  • TRS Midi input (type A and Type B both work)
  • TRS MIdi output (type A)
  • USB Midi, flashing and web-editor support via a sturdy USB-B connector so that you don’t need to take plinky out of your case to use it with your USB host.

The 4 bipolar analog outputs allow Plinky’s 4 ‘modulation buses’ to connect to other Eurorack modules. A and B are connected to the dedicated knobs on plinky, while X and Y connect to plinky’s accelerometer. In addition they support all of Plinky’s LFO shapes, warps, speeds, depths, and offsets.

The module can be powered from Plinky, so only a single cable is used from Plinky to the expander, and no power is needed from your case. Note this expander won’t work by itself  – it needs to be connected to the Plinky via its ribbon cable in order to function.

Note: This is compatible with the Plinky rev3 (Black PCB – 2024) and Plinky rev2 (Blue PCB – 2020-2023) versions. For information on Plinky rev1 (Green PCB 2020) compatibility please visit the Plinky Discord.

Build Guide: https://plinkysynth.com/docs/expander-build-guide

This kit requires a small amount of SMD soldering. It has a black front panel and a green PCB behind the panel.

Plinky & Crey – Bib – Kitbags

Bib is a shy spider with a big heart. First she overdrives the signal (red page), then feeds it through a stereo delay (green page), next is a lush reverb (blue page), and then finally a wet/dry mix and final output volume control (white page).

Tap on the spider to set the delay tempo, long press (pressure sensitive!) to set the reverb shimmer amount, and drag across the touch strip at the bottom of the panel to influence the delay, like touching the tape of a tape delay. Simply select a page to edit by touching one of the four sections on the touch strip, then twist the knobs to change the two parameters associated with each page.

You can clock the delay by feeding a regular trigger into the CV input, or assign the CV input as a modulation source by tapping the strip 3 times (led will flash rainbow) then turning any knob(s) you want it to control.

Bib has a rear-panel 6 pin audio header compatible with Intellijel and other makers’ case jacks and jack modules,  the rear connection supports one TRS stereo input and one TRS stereo output which can drive line or headphones with ease.

Bib is the first collaboration between Alex Evans – creator of Plinky! – and Ray Yokell aka CrazyEmperor893 of The Crey Emporium.

Bib – Build Manual | User Guide

Specs:

  • Width: 12HP
  • Depth: 38mm (including power cable)
  • Power: +12v: 107mA, -12v: 4mA

 

Coming Soon_

After you’ve added yourself to the waitlist – you’ll then receive an email as soon as the selected item is in stock

Please note: displayed prices may on occasion be subject to change.