This Synthesizer Is Built From A Wooden Toy Piano

In this video, we watch a demo of the Vintage Toy Synthesizer, a full-fledged polyphonic synthesizer built from a wooden toy piano. Created by synth enthusiast and technologist Liam Lacey, the synth received 1st place in the Element14 Music Tech Design Challenge.

Lacey describes the making of the Vintage Toy Piano:

My main focus was making sure that the synth would retain the existing charming aesthetics and physical character of the toy piano, carefully designing any new elements of the object around this goal […]

Features

• 2-voice digital synthesiser with true polyphony
• 5 oscillators with dedicated waveforms
• State-Varible-Filter with independent LP, HP, BP and Notch mix controls
• Amplitude and Filter ADSR envelopes
• Two modulation sources (LFO and keyboard velocity) with three destinations, each with independent bipolar depth controls
• Digital distortion FX
• Changeable scales on the keyboard
• ‘Vintage’ parameter for replicating old/broken analogue synth voices
• Full MIDI I/O integration
• Polyphonic Aftertouch expression (MIDI-out only)
• Charming miniature grand piano form

Something that’s awesome about the Vintage Toy Piano is that it’s not just a digital synth, but a fully-functional MIDI controller as well. You can watch how this feature in action in the video below.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Vintage Toy Synthesizer, you can visit Lacey’s website as well as browse his development blog that describes each step of the build process.

Next: This Custom Instrument Uses Multi-Touch Expression With Sensel Morph