Products of North Coast Synthesis
Matthew Skala is the founder of North Coast Synthesis Ltd. He began exploring hobby electronics in the 1980s, spending time in amateur radio and even completing one of the classic NRI electronics correspondence courses advertised in magazines before the Internet era and the rise of digital computing.
He went on to study computer science, earning a PhD from the University of Waterloo with a specialization in high-dimensional geometry and its applications in areas such as security, database search, and computational linguistics. Over the next 15 years, he worked in academic research and teaching at universities in Canada and Denmark.
In 2017, Matthew left academia to establish his own company in Toronto. Through North Coast Synthesis, he brings the craft of handmade electronics to Eurorack modular synthesizers. His designs are aimed at serious hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts, with a focus on top-quality components, thorough and open technical documentation, and long-term maintainability.
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North Coast Synthesis - MSK 007 Leapfrog VCF
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There are hundreds of analog synthesizer VCFs, but only a few core designs. You've got your Moog transistor ladder and imitators that use diodes or other substitutes; you've got your two-pole state variable filter, maybe cascaded to get additional poles; and that's about it. Your grandmother was making electronic music with these designs in the 1960s, and not much has happened since. There are a few more options available in digital and semi-digital (such as switched-capacitor) architectures, but most analog designers have given up trying to create really new filters. Instead, they compete on how well they can imitate or clone specific "vintage" filters.The North Coast Synthesis MSK 007 Leapfrog is new and different, with a sound all its own. The fifth-order "leapfrog" core topology, with five integrators and multiple feedback loops, originates in scientific work more recent than the 1960s and as far as we know never before available in a modular synth VCF. The near-elliptic response curve has an extremely sharp cutoff, with ripple in the passband and nulls in the stopband at frequencies chosen to be musically relevant.Sweep the cutoff and hear each harmonic pop into existence and wobble around before the next one arrives. Choose a timbre, and the temperature compensated volt per octave tracking will keep it consistent across the frequency range. Change it up with exponential and linear frequency modulation. There's even a built-in VCA, because you can never have too many VCAs.The MSK 007 is available as a pre-built 16HP Eurorack module or a DIY kit. It's the perfect gift for Grandma or any other electronic musician in your life.Features:• High-quality potentiometers with bushings fastened to the panel for wobble-free operation; conductive plastic for smooth feel; rated for one million operations lifespan (compare to fifteen thousand or less for typical cheap pots)• All-new design, not a clone or imitation of anything else• Ultra-sharp five-pole near-elliptic low-pass response, 61dB/octave at the least steep part of the main cutoff slope, with peaks and nulls at musically relevant frequencies• Built-in VCA switchable to feedback or output modes from the front panel - no jumpers• Temperature compensated V/octave tracking• Through-hole for easy hand construction and maintenance• Connectors between boards, and panel controls mounted on a board - no flying wires• No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; panel screwed solidly to both the PCBs and the pots and jacks, for maximum ruggedness; nickel and gold plating on the circuit boards; polystyrene integrator capacitors; close-tolerance metal film fixed resistors; multiturn trimmers.• Fully open design - no lock-inDIY-Kit-Type:THT-Kit-1. This is a Do-It-Yourself kit, not an assembled module. The kit includes all parts to build the module. Only trough-hole parts to solder. Make sure to check the build guide before you buy. For build guide, more info, videos etc. please check the buttons below.
€223.00*
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North Coast Synthesis - MSK 008 Dual VC Octave Switch
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The MSK 008 Voltage-Controlled Octave Switch is a multifunction voltage processor. The module has two channels, each containing a whole-volt quantizer that maps its input to the nearest integer number of volts from -2 to +2; a three-position toggle switch that shifts the quantizer boundaries up or down by a volt; and a precision adder (with optional subtraction function).If you simply route a pitch CV through one of the unquantized CV1 inputs, it can be a performance control, allowing easy transposition up or down an octave at the flip of a switch. That might be useful for VCOs without their own built-in octave switches. With no input signal, it generates a selectable offset of -1, 0, or +1 volts; feed that into an attenuated exponential FM input somewhere and you get the same tactile control over any other interval transposition you choose.But the possibilities really open up when you start using more inputs. An LFO into the quantized input gives the effect of flipping the octave switch under CV control, keeping your hands free to wiggle elsewhere. Using the unquantized inputs, which are normalled across the two channels, you can transpose one sequence by another. The CV2 input can add or subtract, selectable during build by a solder jumper on the circuit board; in a default build, CV2 adds on the left channel and subtracts on the right, but do-it-yourselfers can change this selection, or design their own expanders to make it switchable on the fly.Combining the two channels, with or without other utility modules, allows more complex melody-shifting effects. And it doesn't have to be just for oscillator pitch control. Switching fixed-voltage offsets on filter cutoffs also makes for great drops and timbral shifts. (And try putting the result through a slew limiter!) The default sum and difference configuration allows the module to act as a "mid-side" encoder or decoder. With other patching it can be a flip-flop or a wavefolder.The MSK 008 is fast enough to work on audio. The quantizer is built from hardware comparators, without a microcontroller, and it can do simple bit-crushing effects across the whole audio spectrum. Each channel can also be a unity mixer for audio, with two regular inputs plus the output of the bit-crusher.The MSK 008 is available as a pre-built 8HP Eurorack module or a do-it-yourself kit. Prices can be as low as zero (if you download the plans and source all the parts yourself). It has blinky red and green lights on it.Features:• Two channels and multiple CV functions in a small space• Flash-style comparator quantization - no microcontroller• Through-hole design for easy hand construction and maintenance• Connectors between boards, and panel controls mounted on a board - no flying wires• No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; nickel and gold plating on the circuit boards; close-tolerance metal film fixed resistors; multiturn trimmers.• Fully open design - no lock-inDIY-Kit-Type:THT-Kit-1. This is a Do-It-Yourself kit, not an assembled module. The kit includes all parts to build the module. Only trough-hole parts to solder. Make sure to check the build guide before you buy. For build guide, more info, videos etc. please check the buttons below.
€120.00*
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North Coast Synthesis - MSK 010 Fixed Sine Bank
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The MSK 010's Wien-bridge oscillator cores produce low-frequency sine waves natively, in a fully analog way with a minimum of harmonic distortion. There are no glitches from waveshaping or stair-steps from insufficiently filtered digital-to-analog conversion. Modulate synthesis parameters with these for smoothly evolving timbres and mind-expanding soundscapes. Because the cores are fully independent and will not synchronize, a patch using multiple LFOs will not repeat its modulation state for a long time, if ever.Choose one of three variants of this module, each with its own set of eight nominal frequencies and cycle times. There are no duplicate or near-duplicate frequencies between different variants, so with two or three, you get the full benefit of a larger modulation palette. Note that the nominal frequencies are just that; every module will have its own one-of-a-kind pattern of exact output frequencies within a few percent of the nominal values, due to component tolerances.• Variant A - 16mHz, 60mHz, 190mHz, 410mHz, 720mHz, 1.3Hz, 4.8Hz, 16Hz (63s cycle time down to 63ms)• Variant B - 34mHz, 88mHz, 160mHz, 280mHz, 600mHz, 1.8Hz, 3.4Hz, 11Hz (30s cycle time down to 94ms)• Variant C - 28mHz, 72mHz, 130mHz, 340mHz, 2.2Hz, 4.1Hz, 7.2Hz, 8.8Hz (35s cycle time down to 110ms)The MSK 010 is available as a pre-built 8HP Eurorack module or for do-it-yourself construction, with prices as low as zero (if you download the plans and source all the parts yourself). Imagine having enough LFOs to modulate everything.Features:• All-new design, not a clone or imitation of anything else• Fast starting - full amplitude oscillations within one cycle of power-up, unlike the usual behaviour of an oscillating filter• Through-hole design for easy hand construction and maintenance• Connectors between boards, and panel components, mounted on the boards; no flying wires• All three variants build from the same bill of materials; one full kit or PCB set can be used to build any one variant of your choice.• No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; nickel and gold plating on the circuit boards; close-tolerance fixed resistors and integration capacitors.• Complete technical documentation released under GPLDIY-Kit-Type:THT-Kit-1. This is a Do-It-Yourself kit, not an assembled module. The kit includes all parts to build the module. Only trough-hole parts to solder. Make sure to check the build guide before you buy. For build guide, more info, videos etc. please check the buttons below.
€120.00*
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North Coast Synthesis - MSK 011 Transistor Mixer
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North Coast makes the Eurorack four-knob utility mixer sound great again with this minimalist design featuring just six transistors. Where a conventional mixer would typically require at least five operational amplifier units each containing a dozen or more transistors, we cut the complexity and distill mixing to its essence. This is a new design made with current components and modern manufacturing quality; but its Class A amplifiers operate on principles that go all the way to the dawn of electronic signal processing.Suitable for both audio and control voltages, with bonus features that don't compromise the minimalist philosophy: positive and negative offset; simultaneous DC- and AC-coupled outputs; maximum gain a little over unity for when you need that extra push over the cliff. It can also function as a transistor distortion effect, by offsetting the signal until it clips and then using the AC-coupled output.Features:• High-quality potentiometers with bushings fastened to the panel for wobble-free operation; conductive plastic for smooth feel• All-new design, not a clone or imitation of anything else• Classic discrete-transistor design style; DIY kit ships with silicon 2N5088 transistors for a clean modern sound, easily modifiable to use other recent or "vintage" types• No ICs!• Through-hole for easy hand construction and maintenance• No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; nickel and gold plating on the circuit board; film output coupling capacitor; close-tolerance metal film fixed resistors.• Fully open design - no lock-inDIY-Kit-Type:THT-Kit-1. This is a Do-It-Yourself kit, not an assembled module. The kit includes all parts to build the module. Only trough-hole parts to solder. Make sure to check the build guide before you buy. For build guide, more info, videos etc. please check the buttons below.
€95.00*
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North Coast Synthesis - MSK 012 Transistor ADSR
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North Coast's Transistor ADSR is a four stage traditional envelope generator for Eurorack synthesizers. With full control of four stages, it can shape percussion notes like an AR envelope, organ notes like an ASR, but also the complete range of acoustic-style and classic-synth notes which the simplified envelopes in some popular multi-modules just cannot handle. Use it in subtractive patches for amplitude or filter cutoff, or branch out into controlling other functions, like vibrato amount.At a svelte 6HP and only 33mm deep, the Transistor ADSR can fit in almost any rack. A Schmitt-trigger input allows it to trigger from slowly changing voltage sources, opening the door to special effects like gate delay when the MSK 012 is triggered by another envelope (or another MSK 012). Three timing ranges controlled by a rugged front-panel toggle switch cover a wide range of musical applications, with the fastest settings allowing the envelope to run well into the kilohertz range for audio-rate effects and signal conditioning. The smooth conductive-plastic potentiometers are a tactile joy to play and pay for themselves with increased lifespan.The MSK 012 is available as a pre-built 6HP Eurorack module or a DIY kit. Push the envelope.Features:• High-quality potentiometers with bushings fastened to the panel for wobble-free operation; conductive plastic for smooth feel• All-new circuit, not a clone or imitation of anything else• Classic discrete-transistor design• No ICs!• Through-hole for easy hand construction and maintenance• No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; nickel and gold plating on the circuit board; poly film timing capacitors; close-tolerance metal film fixed resistors.• Fully open design - no lock-inDIY-Kit-Type:THT-Kit-1. This is a Do-It-Yourself kit, not an assembled module. The kit includes all parts to build the module. Only trough-hole parts to solder. Make sure to check the build guide before you buy. For build guide, more info, videos etc. please check the buttons below.
€95.00*