This Raspberry Pi digital audio workstation (DAW), created by maker and musician Stone Preston, takes the Raspberry Pi 4-powered synth idea to a whole new level. The project, known as LMN 3, is entirely open-source and packed with tons of cool features to make custom jams just the way you want them—with plenty of input options and tons of flexibility when it comes to sound wave manipulation.
The Raspberry Pi is a community-driven board and this project wouldn’t be in the same spirit if wasn't open source. Thankfully, Preston has shared all of the juicy details about how it was made, how it works, and what you need to do to make your own at home. All of the repositories are available over at his Fundamental Frequency GitHub profile for any curious party to look through.
Preston considers the LN3 project a DAW-in-a-box with tools to function as a synth, audio sampler and sequencer. This is one of many projects he’s created, past works include an Arduino-based weather application and a custom Arduino library for a 7-segment display module. No doubt this experience culminated into the clever project we see today.
A full build guide is available and includes an exact list of all of the components used in its construction. It’s built around a Raspberry Pi 4 and is assisted by a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller. A Pimoroni Hyperpixel 4 screen is used for video output while input is handled by rotary encoders, a joystick and a series of mechanical keyboard keys. Everything is housed inside of a shell made from an acrylic sheet.
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(Image credit: Stone Preston, Fundamental Frequency)
(Image credit: Stone Preston, Fundamental Frequency)
The software used leaves plenty of wiggle room for drawing up custom effects and implementing original audio samples. The interface, firmware and everything necessary to drive the DAW is available over at GitHub for anyone to download.
If you want to recreate this Raspberry Pi project, check out the LMN 3 build guide for the full instructions. There’s also a demo video of the LMN 3 in action over at YouTube if you just want to see what it’s capable of. Be sure to follow Fundamental Frequency for more cool projects and any future updates on this one.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
