Kasser Synths' DAFM BLASTER Kit Is a Yamaha YMF262-Powered FM Synth You Build Yourself
Previously available only as a surface-mount design, the new through-hole version packs all the features in an easy-to-build kit.
Kasser Synths has announced the launch of a redesigned, kit-form version of its DAFM BLASTER — an FM multitimbral synthesizer built around Yamaha's classic YMF262 OPL3 chip.
"The DAFM synth BLASTER YMF262 (OPL3) has been redesigned as a DIY friendly kit. This is a nice project that comprises soldering of through-hole components," the company writes. "[It] uses the YMF262 (OPL3) Yamaha chip that was employed in many sound cards, including the popular Sound Blaster Pro 2 and the Sound Blaster 16 ASP."
The kit is designed to appeal to gamers of a certain vintage: "[It] includes the 128 General Midi 4-OP instruments designed by The Fat Man," the company explains, "and used in 90s PC video games like Doom; Descent; Tyrian; The Lost Vikings; Heretic; Hexen, Ultima Underworld; Day of the Tentacle; Dune; Wing Commander; Another World; Syndicate; Lemmings and Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis."
The synth offers six channels with four operators per channel, and comes with two rotary encoders and a 12-note tactile keyboard — usable in a pinch if you have nothing to plug into the MIDI input. Four OLED display panels provide a user interface, and a YAC512 stereo digital-to-analog converter (DAC) links to a 3.5mm audio jack.
The kit is available on Kasser Synths' Tindie store at $159.99, including all components; the original, more compact, pre-assembled version is priced at $259.99.
