LENSTake a look at the huge and ambitious ‘Monolith’ synth,
created by Ross Fish (Moffenzeef Modular), Darcy Neal (Lady
Brain Studios), Ben Davis (Malekko), and Paul Stoffregen
(PJRC). The synth is based on a Teensy 3.6 microcontroller
(basically a more powerful Arduino, capable of high-quality
audio), with a clear acrylic case mainly fabricated on a laser
cutter. The 40 arcade buttons act as a drum sequencer,
while the two end panels produce bass lines, arpeggios, and
textures. The instrument weighs around 40 kg, looks amazing,
and was designed as an “interactive sound sculpture” to be
exhibited at Maker Faires and other events. If you’re looking to
make your own synthesizer from scratch, the Teensy’s intuitive
drag-and-drop interface (which automatically generates
Arduino code) is a great place to start.Some of the most fascinating homebrew musical instruments
combine both mechanical and electronic elements, and a
great example of this is Mike Cook’s ‘Chaotic Pendulum’. The
design is based around a pendulum which is free to swing in
two dimensions. The pendulum has a magnet on the end, and
there are a number of magnetic switches (known as ‘reed
switches’) laid out underneath it. When the pendulum swings
close to one of the switches, the magnet on the end briefly
closes the switch, triggering a note via the MIDI output port.
The tiny amount of energy required to close the reed switch
also causes a slight variation in the pendulum’s path, creating
a chaotic, ever-changing, mesmerising pattern. This project
uses an Arduino to generate music, a subject that Mike
literally wrote the book on: Arduino Music and Audio Projects^
is available to buy online and is a great reference. Mike’s
website is also a brilliant resource, as he publishes detailed
build instructions for a lot of his instruments.pjrc.com/monolith-synthhsmag.cc/fvMipr
Monolith
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Nenerate 40+0 notesThe projects mentioned here are just a tiny sample
of all the amazing musical instruments being hacked,
modified, or built from scratch right now, so get onto
YouTube and find some more inspiration. If you want
to start building your own instruments, there are lots
of good places to start. If you’re interested in
circuit-bending, there is an excellent book on the
subject by Nicolas Collins called Handmade Electronic
Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking, and you should
also check out Look Mum No Computer online. If
you’re not yet familiar with modular synthesizers,
that’s an excellent rabbit hole to go down.
For those who would rather build something digital,
there are loads of great platforms: Teensy, Bela, and
Raspberry Pi are all great ways to build your own
audio inventions, and even an Arduino can be coaxed
into producing (lo-fi) sounds using the Mozzi library.
Also, don’t discount the idea of designing instruments
in software on a PC first – it’s often a good way to
test out your ideas before bringing them into the
physical world.
If you’re more inspired by mechanical or acoustic
projects, you should look into the instruments
commissioned by Björk for her Biophilia show. It’s
also worth getting some background knowledge of
‘proper’ musical instrument building, perhaps by
binging on the satisfying guitar build/repair videos on
StewMac’s YouTube channel.
Whatever you do, make sure to have fun, and if you
come up with something cool, share the details of
your instrument online so that others can build on it in
the future.