The Otamatone's beauty is unmeasured and unchallenged by any other musical instrument in existence.

While I could buy one for $32, why not make a more expensive and worse DIY version?

Sketches

I made three sketches showing a potential design of the DIY otamatone:








Making the circuit

I followed the Handmake Electronic Music book in making this circuit with the CD4093 chip (page 120, figure 15.2 and page 124, figure 15.7).

I took the basic circuit in figure 15.2, and instead of a resistor, used the soft pot between pins 2 and 3 on the chip.

Then, I added a 10K potentiometer for volume control.

It turns out the soft pot I used only completes the circuit when it's touched, so I won't be needing the button to control when the sound happens after all.

Schematic







Build of Materials

Breadboard Demo







Next steps are soldering and making the enclosure!