Alma - Custom Kids Synth

Finding the perfect present for someone can present.,. a challenge, but not for Ali Roberts who has created a synth for his daughter, called Alma. It looks and sounds the part, with a vibrant colour scheme and a range of interaction methods. Given the amount of views it's had already, this may be a new product coming our way soon... read the full article here.

My daughter received a Montessori activity board full of switches and LEDs for her first birthday. Watching her twist knobs and flip the switches reminded me of the control surface of a synth, and I wondered if I could build a musical version - something simple, tactile, and creative that didn't require holding down buttons to keep the sound going. A year later I finally decided to build it. I had no prior hardware experience, so this became an excuse to learn about microcontrollers, CAD, PCB design, and 3D printing.
 

TLDR: I built a portable step-sequencer synthesizer for my daughter's third birthday. It has four sliders that control four notes in a looping sequence. Slide up = higher pitch, slide down = lower.

It includes:

• An onboard synth module + speaker
• Tempo, volume, scale, pitch, and instrument controls
• An OLED screen with visual feedback + a dancing panda
• A custom PCB and 3D-printed enclosure

It's a child-friendly, tactile music toy. Here's the pink edition in action:

More from Ali Roberts

• STR-500 Gestural Granular Synthesizer 16-Oct-26
• F9 Kits Vol 1 & FREE Beat Machine 15-Oct-26
• SLEDGEHAMMER: Music Production Breakdown 14-Oct-26
• In the Studio with Erykah Badu 14-Oct-26
• New MonkeyBoard from Wavy Industries 13-Oct-26