It occurs to me that I neglected to post this a while back.
A bigger and better version of Beep-it is available thru Transistor in Chicago and will be in my online store soon(ish). This one features a handsome laser-cut bamboo case and a 2nd oscillator for LFO modulation.
Here’s what it looks like in the [...]

I’ve been a busy bee in my studio producing some new and fun devices for your audiovisual enjoyment. This coincides with the opening of a new boutique in Andersenville that is carrying an exclusive line of my handbuilt optical theremins and other unique synthesizers. This fantastic new establishment is called Transistor, and it’s just a [...]

I’ve had this idea every time I pass Mr. Samuel Chambers on the street – his message is so negative and it gets to me every time.  I’m not sure how effective this would be, but it would make a point and I’d be doing something about it.  I try to ignore him, but with [...]

Man, what a fun time that was.  Big thanks to Patrick of Roth Mobot for putting it all together.  And my new handmade sequencer synth worked!

Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade synth from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade synth part 2 from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade [...]

Anyone in Ireland this weekend should check out the Synth Eastwood show in Dublin- there’ll be a live music performance featuring Beep-it, among other excellent multi-discipline art happenings. Click the image for details.

A few people who’ve purchased Beep-its from me in the past few months have written with video and audio of themselves using them in various situations. And that’s awesome.
Jason Mullinax AKA Pilesar sent along some excellent audio with a Beep-it solo starting at around 19mins 30secs:

PIL-2009-02-11-09 vbr by michaeluna

He has [...]

I’ve started making the latest Beep-Its in a smaller, more durable plastic case.  The old one had a lot of empty space and was prone to cracking.  Also, I’m working on getting circuit boards printed.  You can see the first revision here:

Greetings everyone. This is a quick note regarding two events happening this week:
Thursday, December 11: I’ll be conducting a workshop wherein you can build your own Beep-it.
It’s part of Handmade Music Night, sponsored by Etsy, Make Magazine and CreateDigitalMusic.
Venue is 3rd Ward in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Details here.

Friday, December 12: My piece “Mini [...]

For future Beep-its, I’ve decided to switch the case to a different design:

I wanted to retain a similar look/feel, but make it easier to assemble.  The round case presented some issues getting the 1/4″ jack to mount properly.

Beep-it, the optical theremin synthesizer designed and built by yours truly, is now for sale at Etsy.

A short video documenting the various sounds one can obtain from this wondrous device can be seen here:
Beep-it from Michael Una on Vimeo.
If you’re interested in building your own, here’s the diagram. It’s adapted from a design by [...]