Wow! Looks great and very inspiring. Great idea to make separate components that can be connected - something like a drum machine, sequencer, maybe even a chord synthesizer? It can be constrained such that you are always diatonic, you could have a mode knob too.
Jamming with other people can be a life changing experience, and to do that as a child would be a great privilege to have.
Regarding case material for productizing, you could consider a combination of plywood and bent sheet metal, eg like a Moog. Also check out dato.mu for a few examples of kid proof synth enclosures.
I'm a 44 year old man and I would love this - for years I've tried to dabble with music with much lack of success - but this looks really fun to play with. Great job.
The "Dato Duo" is also a synth aimed at kids. It allows 2 kids to play together. it is made by a Dutch company called Dato (https://dato.mu). Their latest musical invention the "Dato Drum" had a successful Kickstarter and is shipping now. This drum machine allows even more kids to play together.
PS: As the owner of a Dato Duo I can share you a little secret: it's also fun for adults :)
If I have zero experience designing PCBs but wanted to do a similarly (non)-complex one, how much of a tall order would that be? In my completely made-up mental model, I'm guessing I just take the parts I've already breadboarded, look them up in some sidebar, and drag and drop them around, snapping to nice clean spacing, and then connect all the various pins together and have it automatically organize things? We're not going for perfect here. Just "Baby's first PCB" that at least works.
And then when I have one designed, how much would it cost to get made and sent to me if I was okay if it took a month?
But most importantly: how do I build personal confidence that I'm not shipping a potato off to be printed? Is there a community I could ask for a review from?
Looks amazing! Reminds me of a funny reddit thread about a man who built a fiber optic star ceiling for his daughter. The top comment was "First child?". :)
Makes me wonder what the difference, in definition, is between a sequencer and a synthesizer? Is this really a synthesizer, or is it really a sequencer?
that's great! may your daughter make great use of it!
love the fact that your step sequencer even has a display to tell you what note you are adjusting to and from. i've always found that tuning synths and sequencers both analog and digital can be a pain because you can forget the note (or you don't have a good set of ears or perfect pitch) even if the result sounds good.
The other day I came across a post on Facebook that was just some guy grousing that the new Teenage Engineering gadget looked like "a baby's activity center". And now we've come full circle: a baby's activity center that's actually not far off from Teenage Engineering kit.
Amazing the things we do for our little ones. I built a toddler-friendly keyboard for my son. He's still playing some form of piano 6 years later, no longer with his fists or feet.
Thank you for that closing paragraph in your article. Every time I read something online that tries to bend it into some "profound" lesson, or integrate it into the writer's personal brand, I throw up a little. This is most egregious on LinkedIn, and why I avoid that place unless I have to find a new job or something.
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[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 92.6 ms ] threadJamming with other people can be a life changing experience, and to do that as a child would be a great privilege to have.
On a serious note: https://www.ericasynths.lv/shop/standalone-instruments-1/bul...
Reminds me of the Dato Duo I have.
The "Dato Duo" is also a synth aimed at kids. It allows 2 kids to play together. it is made by a Dutch company called Dato (https://dato.mu). Their latest musical invention the "Dato Drum" had a successful Kickstarter and is shipping now. This drum machine allows even more kids to play together.
PS: As the owner of a Dato Duo I can share you a little secret: it's also fun for adults :)
And then when I have one designed, how much would it cost to get made and sent to me if I was okay if it took a month?
But most importantly: how do I build personal confidence that I'm not shipping a potato off to be printed? Is there a community I could ask for a review from?
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/8g8pce/fiberoptic_star...
For your sake, I hope you built a heaphone jack.
For kid-friendly toys, yes. But for older users not necessarily:
https://teenage.engineering/products/po
https://www.instructables.com/Vacuum-Forming-for-Free/
Yes, I'm splitting hairs about semantics.
love the fact that your step sequencer even has a display to tell you what note you are adjusting to and from. i've always found that tuning synths and sequencers both analog and digital can be a pain because you can forget the note (or you don't have a good set of ears or perfect pitch) even if the result sounds good.
https://blog.afandian.com/2019/09/ux-for-toddlers/