Awesome Synthesizers

Official Exclusive makes some of the coolest enameled pins out there. Their extensive collection includes pins based on classic cameras including rangefinders, SLRs, medium format, and 8mm. They also make mini synthesizers, lighting gear, vintage stereo receivers, and other fun goodies for geeks. Their Dinosaur Photographer is cute too.

The 1970s gave the world some of its first electronic toys. Among them was the Panasonic Do-Re-Mi, a relatively rare gizmo that combined a small record player with a simple analog synthesizer. David Hilowitz got his hands on an as-is unit and spent some time restoring it. After getting it working, he took it for a spin and sampled its sounds for future use.

CLMC Music presents a fantastic compilation of his movie and TV show theme song mashups performed on a pair of KORG synths. The collection includes Ghostbusters x Knight Rider, Indiana Jones x The A-Team, The Mandalorian x Transformers, and many more. Whether you’re a fan of The Avengers, James Bond, or Harry Potter, you won’t be disappointed.

Invented by Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, the Orchid is a portable synthesizer that focuses on building music from a single chord. It has a single-octave keyboard as well as buttons to modify the chord. It also has a bass synth engine, onboard effects like reverb and delay, and a built-in battery. Drops 12.18.24 for $518.

This electronic autoharp from Napkey is a modern take on the 1980s Suzuki Omnichord. Push a button and strum its touchpad, and it plays a chord. It has 36 chord buttons, 20 voice polyphony, and waveform, release, and volume adjustments. It also has USB-C MIDI and TRS MIDI outputs for connecting to digital audio workstation apps and a 3.5 mm audio output.

Washiyama Giken created this unique musical instrument that combines a synthesizer with the bow action of a violin. It uses a piezo sensor to detect the vibrations created by the bow’s movement and an Arduino Uno R4 Minima to translate those into a sound waveform that impacts the sound produced by the note pressed on the keyboard. More here.

The 1980s gave us some of the best movie music ever. CLMC Music mashed up two great ’80s tracks, Alan Silvestri’s theme from Back to the Future and Danny Elfman’s music from Tim Burton’s Batman. In this movie, Batman must go back in time to prevent Bruce Wayne’s parents from being murdered by Joker… so Batman never exists.

The 1983 New Order song Blue Monday incorporated plenty of synthesized sounds. Polaroids of the Pyramids thought it might be fun to play the track entirely on those lo-fi Casio synthesizers of the era. They recorded this multi-track rendition on instruments like the VL-1 mini keyboard, SK-1 sampling keyboard, DG-20 digital guitar, and DP-1 drum pads.

veridiz vz•tv put together a full-length recreation of Pink Floyd’s classic album Dark Side of the Moon using 8-bit synthesizer sounds. After a very monotonous start with Speak to Me, things kick into gear by the time they hit On the Run and Money. veridiz has also made chiptune covers of Another Brick in the Wall, Echoes, and The Final Cut.

Every cat can be Keyboard Cat with this synthesizer cat scratcher from Suck UK. The Mog Sub Catty Feline Synthesizer features a large cardboard scratching surface in place of keys, along with a pitch/mod ball for kitty to bat at. Buy a bunch, and let your kitty pretend to be this guy.

CLMC Music takes us on a trip back to the 1990s with a medley of synthesizer riffs from hit tracks of the era. His performance packs in familiar bits of 18 tunes from bands like C+C Music Factory, Snap, Eiffel 65, Haddaway, Technotronic, and MC Hammer. If this doesn’t get you dancing at your desk, nothing will.

In 2015, Mixtela built a tiny synthesizer directly into a MIDI connector with a piezoelectric buzzer. 8 years later, technology has progressed. But the maker decided he’d to recreate the same buzzy instrument, only using a modern USB-C connector to reduce its size. It only produces a simple square wave, but with multiples and a hub, they can play polyphonic tunes.

Electronics and industrial design masters Teenage Engineering created the EP–133 K.O. II., a portable synth, sampler, and composer for electronic music. It offers instant sampling with 999 sample slots, six stereo voices, 12 mono voices, a high-res sequencer, real-time FX, looping, and more. Ports include stereo audio, sync, MIDI, and USB-C MIDI. In-depth demo here.

This pocket-sized musical instrument from MicroKits is an analog synthesizer shaped like a cassette tape. It has a touch-sensitive 13-key keypad, which you can connect to other objects (like bananas) to turn them into keys. It’s got a built-in 1-watt speaker, a headphone jack, and controls for pitch, volume, octave shift, and a vibrato effect.

Cristiana Felgueiras of Get Hands Dirty shows off an awesome piece of furniture she designed for efficiency in a tiny apartment she’s building out. The desk has a floating design and a built-in electronic piano that slides out from underneath its work surface. She also built a matching rolling cabinet with a secret drawer.

This unique musical instrument combines a synthesizer, a looper, and a MIDI controller. It has 12 capacitive sensing pads, a bridge for strumming and tapping notes, as well as an accelerometer and gyroscope for gesture-based input. It has drum, bass, chord, and lead modes, and a built-in speaker and 3.5mm audio jack lets you play without external equipment.