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MIDI has been around for almost forty years, and over the decades we’ve seen MIDI controllers for everything. Want a piano controller? There are millions. A drum pad controller? Done. Xylophones? Yes. But if you want a custom MIDI controller, with all the bells and whistles you want, you’ve got to build your own.

The 2 Octave MIDI Controller is just that. It’s a relatively small MIDI controller that’s still packed to the gills with features. They include a two octave polyphonic keyboard, eight drum buttons, seven rotary and seven slide pots, a two-axis thumbstick for pitch bends and modulations, octave up and down buttons, and an LCD with a rotary encoder to navigate the UI.

Deep in the firmware for this keyboard are a lot of neat features that automatically generate scales and chords, making this one of the smartest DAW-less setups possible. Of course, all the source code and documentation for this keyboard is available. If you have an idea of what a MIDI controller can be, it’s time to get coding!

Designed and produced by Midi Controllers out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, there’s enough MIDI goodness in this controller to do just about anything. Take a look at the Midi Controller’s Facebook page, or, alternatively, get the all the docs on the project’s Github.

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Use your voice as a unique electronic instrument with the ROBOTO Eurorack Robot Vocoder! This glitchy and distinctly analog sounding vocoder adds exciting timbres to your voice, turning it into a brand new ethereal instrument. With an input gain function that allows you to use a wide variety of microphone sources, this adaptable module will transform your modular setup into a robot rock machine!

Producing sounds reminiscent of early electronica and Kraftwerk, this versatile vocoder modulates your voice using four CV controlled parameters. It can shift the pitch of your voice over 7 octaves – create intergalatic effects by modulating the chip’s clock speed, and toggle the vibrato in either a pitch or robot mode.

These parameters are controlled using either CV input or the associated knobs and buttons, meaning there are many ways to get this module singing. ROBOTO can even create some incredible sounds when used without vocals; get experimental! By plugging it into other elements of your modular synth, you can create outstanding pitch-modulated and effected sounds for your compositions.

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The DS-M Analog Drum Synth Module is a fully featured drum synth for your modular synth patches, able to emulate almost every drum sound imaginable! This complex and modifiable module is easy to fit into your setup, providing a range of perfect percussion sounds from crisp snare hits to boomy kick drums.

The DS-Ms interface is easy to understand and use – featuring clear labels and high-quality potentiometers for each control; so you can get straight to making music! It features controls for LFO Rate, LFO Amount, Sensitivity, Colour, Sweep, Decay, VCO and Mix to craft your sound. With features including VCA-like trigger inputs and trimmer-adjustable attack, this module allows for precise creative controls of your synth parameters.

Featuring 1 volt per octave CV and gate outputs, you can combine this module with a wide variety of modular gear – or use a MIDI to CV converter to connect it to your other hardware. The joy of modular synthesisers comes from the vast array of setups you can create – use this module to experiment and expand upon your synth repertoire!

Designed and produced by Synthrotek, an independent electronics manufacturer based out of the United States, this device has gone through a lot of testing and refinement. Joining Tindie in mid-2021, Synthrotek are making a name for themselves in the DIY modular community – and are a great maker to support!

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EMG, or electromyography, is a method for detecting, recording and analyzing the electrical activity of skeletal muscles. An electromyograph detects the potential energy generated by muscles when they are activated either by the brain or by external electrical fields. It has a wide variety of uses; helping to diagnose neuromuscular diseases or other disorders of motor control.

EMG is split into two methods — needle EMG and surface EMG. Needle EMG uses electrodes that are inserted directly into the muscle, producing much higher accuracy and is typically used in medical settings where accuracy is extremely important. Surface EMG uses electrodes stuck to the skin, which can help test muscle functionality and can also be used to control prosthetic limbs.

The Muscle BioAmp Shield is a device designed for surface EMG, used to analyze and record muscle movements. With this shield, you can take human-machine interaction to the next level! This device could enable new accessibility tools for computer users. It can also be used in physical therapy settings, to help people undergoing rehabilitation detect when they are activating the correct muscles.

EMG devices are typically quite expensive, as they are medical grade diagnostic devices. But with a simple Arduino shield like this, you can be conducting EMG experiments and collecting data for a fraction of the cost of a professional EMG machine. Note that results depend on your placement of the electrodes. It’s important to understand the musculoskeletal layout of the body in order to place the electrodes in the correct spot to measure a particular muscle.

This shield could be a great tool for science teachers covering biology. Show your students how their brains control their muscles by sending electrical signals that they can see with their own eyes! You’ll need an Arduino of some sort, as well as a 9V battery. The shield comes with 15 stick-on electrodes, but it’s very easy to buy more online. Remember that electrodes should only ever be used once, and discarded afterward – treat them like sterile medical products!

Have fun, and get bio-hacking!

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The standard for theatre and stage lighting is DMX-512, a nearly 40-year old standard for controlling stage equipment over big, chonky connectors. It is essentially the MIDI of lighting, and that means oversized, expensive controllers. The Pocket Koala is the small, pocketable solution to testing out strings of DMX lights, without the overheards – except if we’re still talking about lights.

The Pocket Koala uses four buttons and four faders (or linear pots, if you’re of that persuasion) to control 256 DMX channels. A small OLED display splits everything up into four channels of 64 banks, with global and correlated color temperature available at your fingertips. Power is provided through a USB-C connector, and output is done using an RJ45 connector. Of course, the Pocket Koala may also use an XLR output with an adapter.

Compared to the lighting rigs you’d find in the back of a venue that rival the largest mixing decks, the Pocket Koala is minute at just 95mm across. Yes, it can actually fit in your pocket, but still has all the power to test a set of DMX512 lights!

The Pocket Koala is a product of Digital Cool, a Tindie seller out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. While they’ve started their creator journey with some PCB reference coasters, their current work, including a very small battery-powered dev board, is getting better and better.

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With the price of printed circuit boards dropping an of magnitude over the last decade, it was inevitable transformers and coils would make their way into copper coated prepreg fiberglass. The natural consequence of this is, of course, a Musical PCB Tesla Coil that throws sparks without the need to wind coils of copper wire.

The Musical PCB Tesla Coil has two modes, square wave and audio. The frequency of the square wave is controlled by a simple 555 timer, but the audio mode is where things get interesting. The audio mode modulates the duty cycle of the square wave mode, allowing any audio to be played over ionized air.

Instead of connecting your phone to tens of thousands of volts through an aux cable, this tesla coil uses a Bluetooth module to send audio to the tesla coil. That’s a convenient addition and makes it possible to play any audio over tiny desktop thunderbolts.

The Musical PCB Tesla Coil is made and sold by EDISON, based in Toronto, Canada, with the documentation and theory of operation available on instructables. You can check out their store for their latest designs and watch the demo of the PCB Tesla Coil below:

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Who wants to tell the time from a conventional clock or watch, when a servo-powered word clock is available? Well this wonderfully colorful Servo Wordclock DIY Kit is the ideal solution to technical timekeeping, giving you the opportunity to build your own lavish word related timepiece!

As the time passes by you’ll find it magically appears before your eyes in colorful lettering, covering all of the permutations the day brings. Loaded with 114 servo motors this word clock has been refined to be easier to put together than the first incarnation off the back of a complete redesign – most notably reducing the components from around 80 pieces to around 300! The clock has WiFi on board and has it’s time updated via NTP server so you can be sure it’s in the right place.

The source code, BOM and design files have all been shared by its creator, to give you an idea of what to expect – the project can also be found over on its Hackaday projects page. The Servo Woodclock DIY Kit is sold by Twisted & Tinned who are based in Germany – selling a fine selection of tech treats! See the video below to watch it in operation:

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This sci-fi inspired CPU Odometer memorialises every single turn of your CPU with its retro-styled fourteen digit counter. Watch the numbers rise during more intensive computing moments and slow down when idle, giving real-time feedback on how hard your computer is working.

This device counts the number of centiseconds your CPU cores have collectively spent computing, and displays it to you in ‘seconds spent computing’. Able to count up to 1 trillion, this odometer will keep ticking for a very long time – excusing an AI uprising, of course.

This odometer comes with a USB cable that allows it to plug straight into the motherboard, and you can choose to purchase it with a 5.25″ drive bay mounting bracket for clean installation into your computer case. Designed for Linux PCs, this device comes fully assembled with three different LED colour options to suit any computing setup.

With its retro sci-fi looks and genuinely useful function, this is a product that suits many different situations. Whether you want to discover the intimate details of your computer’s processing or dress up your setup, this unique CPU odometer fills the role wonderfully.

TurboLEDz is an independent electronics manufacturer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Beginning as an indie game developer before setting their sights on product design, they’ve set out with the brilliant goal to bring back diagnostic LEDs to PC cases!

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Step up from the virtual pets of the past, and evolve your Tamagotchi into this realistic bionic pet! Emotionally responsive and equipped with three senses – the MarsCat can play with toys and respond to your voice! Its adorable design and sophisticated programming make it the perfect modern household companion.

Just from looking at the MarsCat, you can see the quality and care put into the design. Made of high-quality plastic and rubber, it is surprisingly large and has a charming presence that will enchant any visitor. Arriving fully assembled, each MarsCat is unique and grows its personality based on how its new owners treat it.

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If you’re looking for retro gaming accessories and products for vintage computers, then Tindie has you covered. Evidenced in part by the likes of this Slow Mole Famicom Cartridge, a fully-featured homebrew video game made in Sweden; now available in physical format!

Slow Mole was designed and developed by Erik Rosenlund, and has music by Linus Rosenlund. It’s a game, they say, which makes everyone a speedrunner – so you can expect frantic action, intricate sections and fiendish puzzles awaiting your Slow Mole self! The unique PCB cartridge design comes with gold print on the underside – with LEDs attached to illuminate through the board when the console is switched on. As well as designing and producing the game, Erik has also individually signed each one! This one of a kind homebrew game is sure to be prized in your gaming collection, alongside the Marios and Donkey Kongs of this world!

It has even been reviewed by HackInformer magazine who summariesed their in-depth review by saying: “I honestly love Slow Mole. It could truly be a game that could’ve come out in 1989 and won the hearts of people all over the globe”. A huge endorsement if ever I heard one!

Slow Mole for the NES/Famicom is sold by Slow Mole Studio who are based in Stockholm County, Sweden. Check out his youtube channel for some in game footage, and watch the teaser trailer below:

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