The Video Critter hardware video synth kit seen here last year has been incarnated as a Cellular Automata kit from the good folks of MAKE Magazine. MAKE has been nice enough to do the scary bits for you: the board is assembled and programmed, so all you have to do is make a nifty case. […]

I wrote today about the Critter Board DIY synth/controller board for CDMusic, but I’m even more excited about the Video Critter: Video Critter DIY, open-source audio/visual electronics platform US$74.95 buys you a fully customizable, programmable DIY board with video out. (There’s also a $45 “mini” board that looks equally tantalizing.) The video routines are already […]

Wish you could build your own music devices? Our friend Jason Kramer points to the Critter Board, a “hardware platform for creating self-contained electronic music devices.” The board looks great: it’s based on the 32-bit 58 MHz ARM microcontroller and programmed in C, like some other boards, but features a unique setup perfect for making […]

Summer in nearly done in northern latitudes, and the US has a big holiday weekend – so gear purveyors are here with a bunch of discounts.

Roland has built one packed instrument to celebrate 50 years of the company’s synths. The SH-4d sports eleven synth oscillator models in one box – from SH-101 and JUNO-106 to new cross FM and wavetable synths. But it’s still hands-on, battery-powered, and costs US$649. And there’s a twist, literally: D-MOTION motion control means you can pick up the synth and play it by moving it around.

With gaming giant Epic buying Bandcamp, why not let music-makers put their albums on indie gaming darling itch.io, too? Thanks to homebrewed, customizable, free players, it’s now totally doable.

Various devices have tried to do what the computer does – letting you play, sequence, and clock other instruments, and arrange and recall ideas. Now, a new grid is in town, and it’s bigger, more capable, truly standalone, and open in every way.

Patching music and visuals is fun, but it helps to learn from other people. With everything from apps (Audulus) to modulars (Softube, VCV Rack) to code and free software (Pd, SuperCollider, Bela), patchstorage is like a free social network for actually making stuff.

In a few short weeks since it was released, VCV Rack has transformed how you might start with modular – by making it run in software, for free or cheap.

Over the holiday season, developers of software and hardware for music making are offering steep discounts. Here’s where to find them.