DIY: Step Brother
"Live the experience of assembling an instrument like the Step Brother"
The DIY kits are designed for those wild and adventurers who want to experience building their own instrument with their hands. It is a wonderful and absolutely rewarding experience.
This kit is mainly based in thru-hole technology, a classic format for the DIY world and more friendly for the human hand scale. There are only a few SMD components located in the MIDI clock board and are all pre-soldered.
This project is easier compared to the 2600 kit and more accessible, nevertheless, it is not still a beginner kit. We recommend this kit for users with some experience.
Note that it is not a fast project as there are many components and solder points.
Recommendations
We have a few recommendations before starting with this project:
- Good tools are needed to assemble and calibrate. Being a device with many components, having good soldering equipment is required.
- Lot of patience, is a project with many hours of work until reaching the end.
- You can find technical documentation at the end ot this page. It is detailed with schematics, layouts, and BOM files but there is not the typical building guide with detailed steps and procedures that helps non experienced builders.
- You can consult, the Modwiggler thread will be very useful for documenting all the progress about that.
Also very recommended the videos of Zed Audiolab, useful timelapses for visual references and further details:
We recommend being organized and tidy; given the large number of components, a messy workspace can make things difficult. And last but not least, patience. It is a really big project, it requires a lot of time until the end.
And also if you are looking for a builder in your country write to us for see if we can make contact with a recommended builder suitable for you.
One important tip we are use to say is that we don’t recommend to go with the DIY option for people that only wants save money of purchase, because the amount of work and many details is high, even more if the builder is not a pro DIY user, in most cases is more affordable to purchase built. We recommend this adventure for the people that likes and feels a value building by itself this kind of instruments, for make custom finish or mods… having the knowledge and skills for build and also keep in service in a future. As this instruments are designed in serviceability in the future is a great value that someone can do by itself.
About the Design
For this project, we made a replica of the ARP sequencer circuit and it shares most of the schematic, numbers and values. There are some differences in the Sequencer part, related to the led bright circuit and the Envelope, the Oscillator, the two VCA’s and the Divider.
We minimize the wiring we have to make a single full board for the instrument, and the other boards are the MIDI Clock interface that is attached at the rear panel and the power supply.
Style
Tolex vs. Metal
One important aspect of this project is the case itself. We offer two options:
The classic Tolex Case, a replica of the original ARP2600. The most faithful, and also transportable option. This is the most wanted version because the tolex case makes it very easy to transport it and also as it is a handcrafted product, you can customize the tolex in the color of your choice.
The Metal Case option is a modern and more affordable option. Finished in a textured black paint, this steel enclosure offers a compact and elegant footprint for the contemporary studio. This case, more recommended for studio use.
Both options were built prioritizing quality and stability. They are easy to assemble as long as you follow the installation instructions.
Must allow the installation of Step Brother units on top of the 2600 using the vertical brackets, like the classic Antonus system.
DIY Kits
The DIY options we offer for the Step Brother are the following:
Electronic Parts Set
The electronic part includes the following parts:
- Full kit of electronic, mechanical and electro mechanical parts (including standard parts and rare parts)
- Cables built, ready to connect.
You can dispense this kit if you prefer to source yourself just looking at the BOM files and making your own cables.
Partial Electronic Rare Parts Set
This kit is addressed for those adventurers who want to source most of the parts and want a really big challenge.
This kit includes: tempcos, rare transistors, lm301, ca046, etc.
Check the excel file for description and details
Cable Kit Set
This kit is dedicated to those who want to source most of the parts but prefer to have all the cables built. In that case, this is the kit for you.
You will have all the cables built, with all the PCB sockets, reverb tank also included, power ON /OFF switch, main transformer board full (built and wired), AC connector, Front Lamp, XLR-Jack combo connectors, Speakers and Midi connectors.
Tolex Case
This kit is for the tolex case ready to install all the kit.
Personalized colors available. Limited quantity per month, preorder needed to ensure the fabrication on time.
Metal Case
This kit is for the metal case. We delivered the case disarmed ready to be assembled for the user. Once assembled, it will be ready for installing the panels and all the boards.
Square Knobs Set
Inspired in the 2600 style we offer an illuminated slider set of 23 pieces.
Selling Points
If you are interested in acquire this kit we offer three selling points:
1- Antonus (info@antonus-synths.com)
2- Synthcube
Kit Documents
For download and info resources
In the following zip file you will find all the documentation available to build the project.
A few tips we recommend to have in mind in case you want to purchase the kit:
Verify that you have experience building the unit using this documentation. It is a large project and there is no step by step building guide.
The BOM files suggested source and part numbers. Note that anyone can purchase the full electronic kit for have all parts verified and all cables done, use any of the other partial kits (rare parts, and cables)
For inquiries and evolution of the project you can consult the Modwiggler forum thread:
Also, we recommend for consulting a classic site for DIY builders, the Patrick Dslman site:
And last but not least, don’t miss the wonderful videos made by Zed Audiolab, one is a timelapse of the building process and the second video is about details of building, assembly and calibrating the equipment. Really useful for consulting and for having an idea of what this project means.