This synthesizer was built using an Arduino shield kit made by Critter and Guitari.
The Arduino microcontroller allows musicians to explore digital sound using programming rather than analog circuitry. Using a shield made by Critter and Guitari to expand the audio limitations of the Arduino, I wanted to construct a keyboard that could be reprogrammed with new software that can completely change the way it sounds.
The synth shield by Critter and Guitari
You can see that the pots just sort of hang out at the top and the buttons are those really tiny momentary switches. Sure, it sounded cool, but not very practical for a touring setup.
So I decided to build an enclosure:
Nice, easy plywood enclosure. I didn't have any scrap metal lying around for the top, but I did have some plexiglass. Let me tell you, drilling through plexiglass is NOT a fun time:
This probably took longer than anything else related to this project. We actually had to spray water on the plexiglass as we drilled to prevent cracking.
Next were the buttons. Now, the surface-mounted buttons were not going to cut it, so I needed something that would press down on them from the faceplate. I ordered a 1/8" wooden dowel from mcmastercarr, along with some rubber washers to keep them in place. Steph glued the washers on the bottom side of the dowel pieces and we dropped them into the plexiglass holes:
After adding a 1/4" jack in the side, the synth was almost finished:
I decided to finish the wooden case with a layer of Tolex. After a fun night with glue, the finished Arduino Synth was ready for the road. Here’s the video demo, as promised:
