Music

New in the Maker Shed: Pico Paso and Nebulophone

New in the Maker Shed: Pico Paso and Nebulophone

These two new kits from the Maker Shed were designed by Bleep Labs for Handmade Music Austin. Both are featured in our upcoming Ultimate Kit Guide and kits website. The Pico Paso (above) is a perfect beginner soldering / electronic music project based on the Atari punk console. The Nebulophone (above) is an Arduino based synthesizer with a stylus keyboard that can be played through 6 octaves using the shift button. The programmable sequencer function lets you record, play back, and manipulate custom arpeggios for musical awesomeness.

Hand-cranked Toy Piano Hack Keeps the Tunes Coming Forevermore

Hand-cranked Toy Piano Hack Keeps the Tunes Coming Forevermore

When a battery operated device runs out of juice, most of us reach for a fresh pair of AA’s. But when his daughter’s electronic toy piano had drained its batteries, Dominik instead installed a hand-cranked dynamo to power the instrument ad infinitum. He hacked apart an Ikea flashlight to co-opt its cranked generator and installed it inside his daughter’s plaything. Now a little bit of elbow grease keeps the tunes coming while saving the environment and a little bit of money to boot.