Atari paddle synth

From the MAKE Flickr pool: This slick synth built inside an Atari game paddle, one of many cool synths Michael Rucci has created.

This is a square-wave generator with a pulsing effect, hand built into an Atari paddle controller. When you press the trigger it plays the pitch controlled by the large original knob. When you flip the switch a LFO will start to pulse on and off. The speed of the pulse is controlled by the additional smaller knob and at high speeds you can get some interesting throaty sounds.

A red LED lights with the sound. It can easily be connect to amps, effects, recording equipment, etc. At the end of the original cord is a 1/4″ plug and running from there is a wall adapter for power.

This classic feels great in your hands and residue in the old knob (that once caused annoying skips during your game) now gives you nice little distortions.

If you’re in the market to buy some noisy stuff, check out Michael’s Etsy store.