The Scout Is Oskitone's First Synth to Feature a Microcontroller

Oskitone is a fun little company that designs and sells hackable, DIY-friendly synthesizers. Their bright, cheerful models are simple machines intended for basic jamming. Their most well-known model is the OKAY synth, which has a single octave of keys and knob for selecting between six octaves. It is also analog, as is the larger POLY555 synth. Many musicians prefer analog synthesizers like these, but digital synthesizers have their place, too. The new Scout is Oskitone's first synth that features a digital microcontroller.

Like Oskitone's other models, the Scout is bold in its simplicity. It is also open source and hackable, so you can build your own if you have access to a 3D printer and have some soldering experience. It has 17 individual keys, each of which sits on top of a tactile push button. A custom PCB contains the buttons and other components. Power comes from three NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries. Audio pumps out through a built-in amplifier and speaker or through an output jack.

The primary difference between the Scout and the OKAY synth, aside from a few additional keys, is the microcontroller. That is a Microchip ATmega328P, which is the same microcontroller used in the Arduino Uno and many other development boards. In contrast, the OKAY synth used a 555 timer and a 12-bit binary counter. The benefit of the microcontroller is that the sound is configurable through firmware. By default, the ATmega328P produces a square wave output corresponding to the pressed key. But you can reprogram the microcontroller to produce different sounds if you want to.

Oskitone designed the Scout to be easy to build. While experienced musicians can certainly have fun tapping out melodies, this is ideal for young people, STEM education, and anyone who wants to tinker. Everything you need to build your own Oskitone Scout is available for download right now.