Oplab musical experiment board by teenage engineering
all images and video courtesy teenage engineering

 

 

 

teenage engineering has developed an experimental PCB (printed circuit board) that allows users to network electronic musical instruments and software together. the ‘Oplab’ lets you connect things, toys and random junk laying around the house, which interacts with any device that produces sound; grab a broken hard drive, rip it apart, hook it up, and use it as a scratchpad. below, london-based designer yuri suzuki has directed a series of demonstration videos, showing the endless possibilities of the intelligent device:

 

 

 

 

‘Oplab’ has two standard USB host ports and one mini USB device port. essentially any mobile device or computer that sends MIDI over USB or can output an audio trigger click sound will work as a controller.

 

 

 

 

with 2x 12 bit switchable digital in-and outputs, you can interconnect more than just synthesizers. the device works together with LEDs, buzzers, motors or sensors, all in syncing together with your music or controlled via MIDI data from a sequencer.

 

 

 

 

build your own synth kit by connecting knobs, potentiometers and LEDs. with some basic programming skills you can build your own soundmaking machine solely using the ‘Oplab’.

 

 

 Oplab comes as a bare PCB for maximum flexibility

 

 

 

 

technical specifications:

 

2 x USB host port
1 x USB device port
2 x CV IN or any analogue IN
2 x CV OUT or any analogue OUT
MIDI in / out / thru
sync 24
program selection switches

 

dimensions: 92mm X 92mm X 20mm
hole pattern: 82mm X 82mm center to center