Modular building kit creator littleBits has released a new Makey Makey module, designed to let you incorporate everyday objects into projects.
Combined with the littleBits Korg Synth Kit, you can turn just about anything as a music controller.
Here’s an example project:
The Makey Makey module is available now for US $49.95.
I wish littleBits would drop the proprietary connectors for their “open source” kits.
Yes I too wish they would destroy their own model by giving up the little bit (get it?) of leverage they DO have over the rest of the DIY market, while simultaneously excluding the huge number of novices at which their products are directly aimed.
What is wrong with them?
I believe their aim was experimenters who want to play with electronics, but not with the hassle of soldering or breadboard sockets.
If you look at most of their kits they were aimed at the science project type kids, the korg and music stuff came out way later
Hopefully between them and the microcontroller guys, we can get more into the hobby
Their business model is apparently based around open source hardware (the OSHW logo is prominently displayed on their modules), yet their system is closed and proprietary. Thank goodness Dave Smith didn’t choose to ‘protect his leverage’ in the industry by patenting MIDI. 🙂
Which would have been hard for him to do since it was developed in collaboration with Roland.
A touch switch?
Whats next?
atari punk console?
Talk about an old school circuit
Their connector is proprietary – its their circuit designs that are open source. They are very open and clear about the fact that their look and feel & their connectors are not.
They want people to be able to build on what they’ve done and to be able to hack what they’ve done, but not to clone what they’ve done and sell knock-offs. If you’re interested in building custom modules, they sell the bitsnap connectors in bulk for DIYers.
Is that different than what Korg is doing with things like the Monotribe? They’ve released circuit diagrams, but they’re not going to want people selling Monotribe clones.
Regarding Dave Smith & MIDI – not sure how that is relevant, because Sequential Circuits and the other companies that established MIDI as a standard did not open source their keyboard designs – they just supported a communication standard. And littleBits does the exact same thing – supporting MIDI with a MIDI module.
Nice, tapping in to the http://mogees.co.uk market. Might actually make mogees start shipping worldwide sooner ffs.
I’m replacing my entire live rig with a Korg Little Bits setup.
PLEASE post a video when you do 😉