thingstruments

You have to see this. The Hammond Novachord restoration project

  Here's a DIY hacked Cynthcart, which is connected to the NES, making this a synthesizer with the power of both the C64 SID and the NES audio chip.

Matt built a 4-oscillator digital oscillator running on an ARM Cortex-M0 . And it's awesome!

If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely check out Hans Fjellestads documentary film on Robert Moog, for free on Youtube!

More DIY for you. This guy made his own Akai MPC style controller - but with laptop trackpads ! This means each pad can track it's own X/Y coordinate! This must be a first in the history of pad controllers! Found via hack a day .

Here's some more from littleBits: a keytar and a synth spin table project. littleBits are a product family of little electronics modules that can be connected together like legos. If you don't already know, they just started collaboration with Korg for a new synthesizer module product line...

Dentaku have created a mini-synthesizer the size of a cassette tape: Ototo. Looks fun!

Korg just keeps bringing out some excellent toys for synth geeks. Now they have started collaboration with littleBits , a company making open-source modular circuit boards that can be connected like legos. That's right, Korg is now making open-source synth modules. They've released the monotron schematics already a while back and seems like it worked out just fine for them. It's great to see a big company like Korg embracing the DIY synth community like this! Read this great article on create digital music for more info on the littleBits + Korg collab.

No more fiddling with pots: this guy removed the knobs and replaced them with an on-board Arduino with a Bluetooth module. On top of that he wrote an Android application with which he can change presets on the fly and even create some tremolo-like effects by switching between the presets automatically. Details on the project can be found on the Arduguitar home page .

Here's some Arduino powered synth magic for you. frauAngelico is a drum synth / sequencer, Standuino Pi is a drone synth and the microGranny a cool little granular sampler. Mix them up and you've got this:

Bumped into this set of very cool artwork by Dan McPharlin . He has creates little synthesizer miniatures from cardboard. I can almost hear them bleep and bloop.

The Seaboard is a very cool new instrument from ROLI . It is a soft version of the classical piano keyboard, with polyphonic pitch bend and vibrato added in to mix things up. Yes, you heard it right, you can pitch bend multiple keys in different directions at the same time!

This punch-card operated drum synth / sequencer is too cool to be true. Be sure not to miss the part where he programs in a new sequence!

This guy built his own modular and filmed it all with a time-lapse app for the iPhone. The synthesizer can be also heard on the soundtrack. Amazing work!

Here's a great, in-detail introduction to the Oberheim polyphonic 8 voice synthesizer . It's just... beautiful...

I really have no excuse for not introducing the Teenage Engineering OP-1 until now. It first gained fame being featured in the swedish house Mafia's music video for "One (Your Name)" . It's a quirky portable music workstation. Here's one example of the OP-1 in action: And here's a tutorial to the ridiculous and wide accessories range, which makes the OP-1 even more a real Thingstrument. The unit currently costs 800€, so it's not the cheapest toy you can get, but it can really do quite a lot for the buck.

In case you've somehow missed it, here's a really cool video clip of the ReacTable , which Rolling Stone magazine called the hot instrument of 2007. I had to include it here.

Here's a clip from the documentary Magic Music From The Telharmonium . The Telharmonium was the first electronic synthesizer complete with a touch sensitive keyboard. Three different versions were built, weighing from 7 tons to almost 200 tons! For those wanting more spoilers, you can read this great synthmuseum.com article about the instrument .

Here's David Gilmour and showing how they did the the synth line for On the Run on an EMS Synthi A . And here's a Synthi advert from days gone by.

This is so cool. A short clip of an old speech synth in action.