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This Lego Drum Machine Turns Bricks Into Beats

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If you’re more adept at playing with blocks than fiddling with a bunch of knobs and buttons, then you might need Mark Crosbie’s SoundMachine. This sequencer lets you assemble a funky Midi beat using nothing but Lego—and maybe a crude sense of rhythm.

The NXT-powered box connects to a PC and works as a scanner, making a panel covered in colored 2×2 Lego pieces produce a specific beat sequence. Different colors trigger different sound effects, and custom software converts the brick-covered panel into a MIDI signal fed to Ableton Live which produces the final sequence.

It’s no TR-808, that’s for sure. But if you’ve got kids, you’ve probably already got everything you need to build your own.

[More Than Just Bricks via The NXT STEP via Make]

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