
littleBits Synth Kit
littleBits and Korg have demystified a traditional analog synthesizer, making it super easy for novices and experts alike to create music.
A Modern Take on Analog Synthesizers
From the Beatles to Björk, legendary artists have used analog synthesizers to produce complex sounds and innovative music. For the first time ever, the littleBits Synth Kit will enable anyone to build their own sound machines with little to no engineering or musical knowledge. Included is a handy 35+ page booklet, with step-by-step instructions for 10 great projects like the Keytar and Synth Spin Table. You’ll also receive a 9V battery + cable, everything you need to get started right out of the box.
What’s in the kit?
12 modules that give you everything you need to make a powerful analong synthesizer: Power (w/ 9-volt battery), Oscillators (2), Keyboard, Microsequencer, Envelope, Random, Filter, Mix, Split, Delay, and Speaker

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Oscillator, Filter, and Envelope
The oscillator module are the main sound source in the Synth Kit. They feature a “pitch” knob to adjust its output tone and a “tune” dial for adjusting the tuning when using with the keyboard. They also features a mode switch that selects between “square” and “saw” waveforms. The envelope module modifies the loudness contour of a sound. This envelope has two controls: “attack”and “decay”. You can use its third bit-snap to trigger the envelope from different sources, like the keyboard. The filter has the most effect on the sound’s character or timbre. Use it to brighten the sound. The “cutoff” knob sets the frequency to be emphasized, and the other controls peak.

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Keyboard
The keyboard lets you play melodies- it features 13 switches that make up an entire octave of notes. It has two modes: “press” (which only produces output when you press a switch) and “hold” (which will hold the last note you played). It also features an octave control which changes the playable range. In addition to its main output, which is great for controlling our oscillators, it also has a “trigger out”, which you can send to the “trigger in” of envelope or other littleBits modules

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Microsequencer
The micro sequencer sends out voltages based on the position of each of the four “step” knobs. Connect it to an oscillator and it will step through the “sequence” consecutively to make a melody (The LEDs tell you which step is active). Turn a knob all the way counter-clockwise to make the step silent. Use it in “speed” mode to set the speed using the dial, or flip the switch to “step” mode to use an input module like a pulse or button for control. In addition to its main output, it also has a trigger output, which you can send to any of your other Bits modules.

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Mix
The littleBits mix module allows you to combine two inputs and send them to a single output. It also has a volume control for each of its inputs — that’s where the ‘mixing’ comes in. Use it to play two oscillators on a single speaker!

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Speaker
The synth speaker amplifies your sonic explorations! You can control the volume with a dial at the front of the module. It also features an output jack that you can connect to headphones, an amplifier, or a computer. The speaker is connected with 3M Dual Lock so it can be removed from the circuit board. To reattach, simply press together firmly.

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Customize your synth
The modular nature of littleBits with the magnetic connections allow you to quickly customize your synth to get the sounds you need in seconds. Use your synth on it’s own, multi-track it in your computer, or connect it to your other synthesizers and music equipment!
$ 159.00
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
![]() Amazing! A flexible, intuitive synth right out of the box!, By
Mitch Martin (Hanover, NH) – See all my reviews
This review is from: littleBits Electronics Synth Kit (Toy)
The littleBits/KORG synth kit is really unique. I didnt know what to expect when I first received it…I certainly didnt expect it to be able to deliver quality sound in such a small package. What I think most people will find compelling is that the kit is flexible/powerful enough for true musicians/DJs but it’s also intuitive enough for a novice to pick up and begin to understand how a synthesizer works.
The kit comes with: Bought mine on the littleBits site after seeing the ad on Amazon and got it within a few days. Bonus was that I saw some cool projects on littleBits’ site for ways to use the kit and combine it with other equipment. Highly recommend this for all levels of musicianship and teenagers-adults 0
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
![]() Our favorite littleBits kit so far…, By
MKinz “Mindi” (Salt Lake City, UT USA) – See all my reviews
This review is from: littleBits Electronics Synth Kit (Toy)
Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What’s this?)
This is the third littleBits set that we own and it is by far the favorite. This kit allows so much imagination to build and create, but also has some pretty straight forward projects for those that are newer to littleBits and their imagination isn’t quite there. As always with the littleBits, I wish it would include a pegboard to snap pieces into. The magnets are not strong enough and it is frustrating for little guys when they keep falling apart. I also wish they came with more ideas in their idea book. I would also say that if you are new to littleBits, this is just a music oriented set. If you are not highly into music, then I would do another starter set instead. This one, however, would be most favorable for the younger audience. Other than that, I would highly recommend!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
![]() Amazing and Wonderful!,
This review is from: littleBits Electronics Synth Kit (Toy)
Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What’s this?)
Korg has been catching my attention with some really interesting products these past couple of years: the KORG DS-10 Synthesizer for Nintendo DS actually compelled me to run out and purchase a DS even though I’m not much of a gamer and the Korg KAOSSILATOR and Korg KAOSSILATOR 2 have taken hours and hours of my time since their introduction.
Now, on to the littleBits Electronics Synth Kit . THIS is the electronics kit that I’d always wanted but which never existed. Until now. LittleBits and Korg got together and produced something totally amazing – a modular hardware-based analog synthesizer kit for a mere 9 (check out the PAiA catalog of professional analog synthesizer modules to see how that 9 stacks up). Amazing. Audacious. And so totally cool! OK, I’ll (try to) stop gushing for a moment — here’s the skinny. LittleBits is known for creating a number of magnetically coupled modular electronics kits… which, to be perfectly honest, is not necessarily something I’d normally find very interesting as I’m a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-heat-up-the-soldering-iron kinda technology guy. But an analog synthesizer is perfect for the modular approach and the littleBits Electronics Synth Kit gets it right. In case you’re not familiar with old-school analog synthesizers, they were often modular in nature and basically consisted of one or more voltage controlled oscillators (variable tone generators), a low-frequency oscillator, voltage controlled filters, envelope generators, white noise generators and some effects — you generate one or more tones and mess around with the pure sound to simulate musical instruments or to create totally new musical instrument. So, what’s in the kit? The manual does a nice job of explaining the basics and history of sound and analog sound synthesis and also helpfully provides diagrams showing some interesting configurations of the module to experiment with but, paradoxically, avoids the subject of voltage control which allows other modules or the keyboard to adjust parameters like frequency for the oscillators and filter. You might want to hit up the library at some point. And, at times I really wished there was a second Y-connector. Plus, the envelope module in my kit initially experienced some issues with outputting sound (which, it turned out, wasn’t caused by the settings of the knobs but cleared up after some fiddling with the module’s connectors). But these are all very small quibbles compared to the sheer joy of building something and playing with the different parameters to create some amazing sounds. To my knowledge, there is nothing like this kit available anywhere else and I would very highly recommend it to any tinkerers of any age (yes, adults, you too!) interested in electronics, sound and/or music. I would like to thank littleBits and Korg for such an amazing kit even if it did keep me up well past my bed time! 0 |
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