Elektor Formant: Exploring the Legendary DIY Modular Synth from the 1970s
The mighty Elektor Formant is probably one of the most exciting and rewarding DIY projects in the history of synths. Two fantastic new videos explore the legendary modular system, which was recently reissued by Erica Synths.
Elektor Formant: Analog Modular System for DIY Enthusiasts
In early August of last year, Erica Synths made headlines when the manufacturer announced it would be bringing back the Elektor Formant. The instructions for building your own modular synth were first published in the Dutch electronics magazine Elektor starting in May 1977. If you wanted to build the complete system, you needed a lot of patience and perseverance: the schematics for the individual modules appeared in the magazine over a period of several years. Although the front panels and circuit boards were available to order (some electronics dealers even sold complete kits), many hobbyists at the time found this too expensive and resorted to sourcing their own components and making their own PCBs, which is the reason why no two Formants look and sound alike.
Those who managed to acquire all the necessary components, completed the build, and then successfully navigated the troubleshooting and calibration process were rewarded with an astonishingly versatile modular synth. As with all DIY projects of this magnitude, I reckon that there must be a rather large number of Formants that were never completed (have you checked your aunt’s attic?). And of the systems that made it, no two are the same. That makes the Elektor Formant one of the most exciting vintage synths an analog enthusiast can come across.
Erica Synths’ spectacular reissue sparked new interest in the Format, and not one, but two of my favorite YouTubers dedicated videos to it in the past couple of weeks. So if you’ve never heard about it before, now is a great time to immerse yourself in analog synth DIY nostalgia! Starsky Carr features the reissue, which, while still a massive project for experienced DIYers, no longer holds quite as many surprises and pitfalls as the original schematics from the 1970s:
Alex Ball, on the other hand, managed to track down an original Formant built by Bruce Newman, who even makes an appearance in the video. Among other things, he explains that despite working in the electronics industry at the time, he couldn’t afford some of the ICs needed for the oscillators—a single one would have cost him a week’s wages back then. So instead, he resorted to a trick from another magazine to keep the transistors at a constant temperature. As I said: No two Formants are alike!
If you think you’re up for a DIY project of this caliber, you can get the reissued Formant from Erica Synths. €2,300 plus VAT gets you a partial kit that includes the case, circuit boards, front panels, power supply, potentiometers, and other specialized components. In this case, you’ll need to source the remaining components yourself. A complete kit that includes all the necessary parts is available for €3,000 plus VAT.
Want a modular synth but don’t want to pick up a soldering iron? Check out these fully assembled modular systems*:
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