[Ivan Franco] sent us this great synthesizer project that he’s working on. Or maybe it’s more like a synthesizer meta-project: a synthesizer construction set. You see, what Pryth has is a Raspberry Pi inside that’s running a custom distribution that includes SuperCollider to generate the sound, OSC for the communication layer, and a Teensy with up to 80 (!) multiplexed analog inputs that you’ll connect up to whatever hardware you desire.

With the computer inside the box — the Raspberry Pi in question — you can easily make this system into a standalone musical instrument, without tethering it to your laptop. Or you can tether it, and using a web interface that’s hosted on the Pi, write new SuperCollider programs for your instrument, changing the way it behaves. And of course, if you’re already a SuperCollider or Raspberry Pi expert, you can work on the Pi directly.

The system is brand new, but check out the Mitt synth device that [Ivan] already made, with a video embedded below. It’s a good overview of one of the possible hardware configurations, and a sweet demo of a couple SuperCollider routines.

[Ivan] is trying to create an interesting and easy-to-use empty vessel for you to pour your hardware and software synthesizer dreams into. Everything is open source, and aside from the Pi and the price of potentiometers, this is a dirt-cheap device. You’re not going to be limited by SuperCollider, and we’re guessing that you’re not going to be limited by 80 inputs either. What’s the craziest sound-maker you can think of?