Component Quality: 5
(5=Highest quality) How nice are the components in terms of materials, design, fit, and other qualities? Well-made circuit boards, computer-cut plastic and metal parts, and other precision components add to the experience.
Drum Kit Kit
Turn anything into a drum set with your Arduino and this simple kit. Some makers build custom drum sets from fine hardwoods, while others take the easy route and make practice sets from mouse pads and sheet metal. Instead of building my own, I used the included piezo elements to trick out my Rock Band […]
Musical Instruments: Arduino, drums, music, musical instruments
Tenor Wolfelele Ukulele
It took me about 45 minutes (not including glue drying time) to put together a service-able ukulele from Wolfelele’s precut wooden components. The well-designed parts fit together in a way that ensured it didn’t end up crooked, and the triangular instrument sounds better than any other $100 ukulele I’ve played. The kit has everything you […]
Phantastron Synthesizer Kit
In an alternate Old West universe, folks played synthesizers, and they called ‘em “Phantastrons.” Incorporating tubes, steel panels, and a branded wooden crate ripe for customization, this is one unusual synth kit. The power supply comes mostly assembled, but the 30s-era “turret board” is a challenge for seasoned solderers. Not your standard volt-per-octave functionality; this oscillator […]
Musical Instruments: music, musical instruments, synthesizer
Drone Lab V2
As a newbie to synthesizers and most electronics, I found the Drone Lab V2 a rewarding kit to construct. This analog drone synthesizer is made up of four oscillators, each with tuning and volume control, that get mixed together and run through various effects. You can also run another synth, noisemaker, guitar, or whatever straight […]
Musical Instruments: music, musical instruments, synthesizer
Seas Idunn 2-Way Speakers
Named after the Norse goddess of youth, the Seas Idunn kit sets a high standard for DIY speakers. Cabinets come fully assembled in black ash, cherry, or maple, and the crossover also comes prebuilt, so installing it is just a matter of affixing it to the boxes and attaching the drivers. All told, the build took […]
PoddWatt Series 1 Amplifier
Just one listen to this home-built, high-end tube amp, and you’ll quickly discover that there’s more to that classic song you’ve been listening to for years. It has nothing to do with nostalgia — tubes just sound more musical than pure solid state, and the PoddWatt is a prime example. So, what can you get from a […]
Elekit TU-879S Stereo Tube Amplifier
The great thing about this kit is the variety of skills you’ll learn. Not only do you end up with a warm-sounding tube amp, but you also learn how all these audio components are produced, as well as proper soldering technique, orientation of polarized capacitors, spacing of large-value wirewound resistors, and heat sinking of transistors. […]
Coil Driver
If you like high-voltage sparks arcing through the air (and who doesn’t?), check out the Coil Driver, which drives an automotive ignition coil at audio frequencies. Like other musical kits, the Coil Driver makes a great group build because you can all make cool sounds together when you’re done. However, while it’s an easy solder, […]
Nebulophone
Another small synth from Bleep Labs, the Nebulophone is more robust than the Pico Paso. It packs three potentiometer knobs, two buttons, an LED/light sensor combo that serves as an analog low-pass filter, and a unique piano-like series of pads on the PCB that you can control with an alligator clip. It has a programmable […]
Pico Paso
This tiny, handheld synth features two light sensors, two pots, and two buttons. It’s an easy build, even for newbies, soldering together very quickly with no difficult steps. I love how snug the little guy is, but this compactness comes at a price: no enclosure and no speaker. To hear the Pico Paso, you’ll need […]
