Erica Synths EDU DIY VCA

mki x es.EDU VCA is a simple yet efficient dual VCA for your eurorack system. It has DC-coupled inputs so you can use the VCA both for audio and CV signals. Inputs of the second VCA are normalled to the first one which allows to split the audio signal to both VCA or control both VCAs with a single CV. A 60-page build manual explains the electronics behind the module and provides step-by-step build instructions.


We – Erica Synths and Moritz Klein – have developed a series of educational DIY kits under the brand name mki x es.EDU with one specific goal in mind: to teach people with little-to-no prior experience how to design analog synthesizer circuits from scratch. What you’ll find in the box is not simply meant to be soldered together and then disappear in your rack. Instead, we want to take you through the circuit design process step by step, explaining every choice we’ve made and how it impacts the finished module.

In total, we have developed 9 kits to build a fully-featured modular monosynth: a sequencer, a VCO, a wavefolder, a noise/S&H module, a mixer, a VCF, an Envelope generator, a dual VCA, and an output stereo mixer with a headphone amplifier. Additionally, an affordable eurorack case with a DIY PSU will also be available. While these kits are easy to build, we did not compromise on design and functionality. We will launch one kit every 4-6 weeks. For each kit, there is an extensive user manual (40+ pages; can be downloaded separately) that will dive deep into not only the electronics behind each circuit but also the fundamental principles of sound synthesis. We hope that the mki x es.EDU project will inspire future engineers and will contribute to the ever-growing diversity of electronic music technology.