Cover Your Ears! New Noise Making Products in the Shed

If you’ve done enough making, you’ll know that being a do-it-yourselfer can create quite a ruckus at times, intentional or not!  We in the Maker Shed love our group of rowdy new products, which range from melodious to totally discordant.  Recently, we got in a ton of products from Livid, who dreamt up the Brain Jr., a series of boards and components to create your own MIDI controller.  If you haven’t checked out our post on the entire line here, you definitely should!

Otherwise, we have a heap of other new noisemakers, like the littleBits Synth Kit. If you haven’t heard of the littleBits system yet, it’s ideal for young thinkers that don’t want to mess around with soldering just yet- the magnetic modules “snap” together, allowing for easy experimentation.

Developed in correlation with KORG, the littleBits Synth Kit is a powerful mini-synthesizer that eases beginners into learning about digital music and circuitry. The littleBits Synth Kit is entirely comprehensive, allowing you to start laying down beats as soon as you open the box. The wonderfully illustrated and informative manual also educates young musicians about the technical aspects of the synth without any high falootin’ verbage.

Theremins allow you to make music without laying hands on a thing, and that pesky sheet music? Pointless. Even though the Gakken Mini Theremin isn’t new to the Maker Shed, we’ve recently brought it back due to popular demand.  This easy-to-build kit is fun for all ages, and a great way to entertain your cat.  The only thing you need to build this kit is a small screwdriver, so no need to worry about soldering.

If you’re interested in digital music engineering and don’t mind a little soldering, the Bit Blob Jr. Kit is for you. Developed by Bleep Labs, the finished kit produces “digital noise insanity” as described by the creators.  Each of the eight pads shown above create their own unique noise when you attach an alligator clip, and things get a little crazy when you clip multiple tabs.  Check out the radical video of the Bit Blob Jr. Kit in action at the Maker Shed!