LMN 3

Imagine building your own portable DAW from open-source plans, complete with a full synth engine and sequencer, all powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 tucked into a sleek 3D-printed acrylic case. That's the magic of this prototype from 2022, dreamed up by maker Stone Preston as a DIY rival to gear like the Teenage Engineering OP-1 or Dirtywave M8.

At its heart is the Tracktion Engine software running on that Pi 4 with 4GB RAM and a 64GB microSD for storage, paired with a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller handling the 45-key velocity-sensitive keyboard with aftertouch, pitch bend joystick, and four push-button rotary encoders for intuitive navigation. Fire up the 4-oscillator digital subtractive synth with filter and ADSR envelope, layer in a sampler, drum programmer, or step sequencer, then mix with reverb, delay effects, and multitrack recording—complete with clip editing, looping, and a built-in mixer on the crisp 4-inch Hyperpixel touchscreen. Two audio ins and four outs via 1/4-inch jacks, plus USB MIDI in/out and microSD expansion, make it a standalone workstation ready for jams anywhere.

The maker community has embraced it since the GitHub release, praising its hackable depth for custom plugins and samples, though some note the DIY build demands soldering skills and patience for the custom PCB. It's a playground for tinkerers who want pro-level tools without the closed-box limits.