![]() With that in mind we do have a slight criticism in that if you go beyond half-a-dozen pieces, some of the constructions can get a bit unwieldy and do tend to fall apart. Nothing is designed to be difficult and experimentation is the key – just don’t expect anything to stick around and remain a permanent construct for very long. ![]() What quickly became apparent was that this is all about ease of construction and destruction. ![]() You get a keyboard with 13 tiny keys set out in proper keyboard fashion (what can only be described as a nano-keyboard) along with a Filter Bit complete with frequency and cut-off controls, two oscillators with square and saw waveforms plus pitch and tune, a mixer to combine two inputs, a Randomizer for white noise and random pitch generation, an envelope with attack and decay rotaries, a delay effect with time and feedback dials and, finally, a step sequencer (with four parts). We’re really interested in the Input Bits, though, as the remaining ones are more or less simply to power and hear whatever instrument you create. The Kit comprises a power source (a Power Bit that allows you to connect the supplied 9v battery), nine Input Bits, one Wire Bit and a Speaker Bit. Consisting of 12 audio-based Bits, we have 500,000 combinations for $159. Finally – and we’re there at last – there’s the Synth Kit, which we have here for review. There’s a Base Kit that costs $99 (including ten Bits and 150,000 circuit combinations), a Premium Kit at $149 (14 Bits, 600,000 possibilities), and the biggest Deluxe Kit at $199 (18 Bits and a probable infinite number of possibilities!). You can buy the Bits individually for between $8 and $36 a piece or buy kits or bundles. littleBits is adding modules all the time and encouraging people to let them know about any others they would like to see produced (so-called dreamBits). ![]() Finally, the 13 Output modules include the modules that ‘make stuff happen’ – lights and motors (like a fan), LED and the speaker for the synth. The eight orange Wire modules are for branching out and adding more to your creations. There are more than 20 of these, including a tiny keyboard, a light sensor and an oscillator. The pink Inputs are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the system. There are three blue Power modules, including a coin battery and USB. So far, four types have been produced: Power, Input, Wire and Output. Module types Before we get into it, let’s look at the Bits modules themselves. This is not a great thing, they believe, and in order to help create a generation of thinkers and innovators the company is breaking down the world of technology into Bits – and lots of them. The people behind it have realised that we all spend a lot of time with technology (7.5 hours of ‘passive consumption’ each day, they reckon) yet we all know little about how it works and fits together. ![]() LittleBits is more of a mission than a company. Shiny colours? Bits of electronics? Connected together using magnets? Half-a-million combinations? We’re geeky and proud – and at the time of writing it’s coming up to Christmas. We apologised for breaking the story before the embargo but littleBits very kindly sent us one of the first kits to review as a reward for our initial enthusiasm.Īnd it’s hard not to get enthusiastic about it. It’s basically a DIY set of easy-connecting components that allows literally anyone – without any knowledge of electronics and synthesis – to build their own synths. We broke the story of Korg and littleBits’ Synth Kit a little too early on a few weeks ago. ![]()
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