Volume 15

54

SPECIAL SECTION

54: The Guitar Zeros

Making real music with play instruments. By Jay Laney

56: 21st-Century Keytars

Hack your Guitar Hero controllers. By Owen Grace

60: Drumbot Activate!

Build a MIDI kit that plays drums. By Michael Una

64: Laser Harp

Play strings of light. By Stephen Hobley

70: The Moof Tronic Mini Synth Conjure music from a tiny instrument. By Brian McNamara

74: USB Gamepad Music Controller

An effects controller from a gamepad. By Brian Schmierer

78: Hooked on Phononics

Filter sound frequencies with metal tubes. By Charles Platt

82: Stomp Box Basics

Learn to create tremolo and fuzz effects. By Charles Platt

86: Music at Maker Faire

Wild and wonderful music from our Bay Area 2008 event.

ON THE COVER: The Guitar Zeros rock to the

fullest, DIY style, in Brooklyn, N. Y. Photographed by

Elena Dorfman and styled by Sam Murphy. Thanks to

Julian Honoré for the awesome lighting bolt.

Columns

12: Welcome

Share the adventure with books. By Dale Dougherty

88: Electronic Drum Kit 14: Make Free

Make big pads for a micro drum machine. By Tom Zimmerman Pull the plug on net abusers like Fox, the RIAA, and the MPAA.

By Cory Doctorow

16: Reader Input

Tales of boating experiments and childhood hijinks.

26: Hands On

Escape the module. By Bruce Sterling

28: Maker’s Corner

Inspire kids. By Dan Woods

30: MakeShift: Germs on a Plane By Lee D. Zlotoff

makezine.com

Visit for story updates and extras, Weekend Project videos, podcasts, forums, the Maker Shed, and the award-winning MAKE blog!

BEAM ME UP: Stephen Hobley strums a celestial synth solo on his laser harp.

Vol. 15, Aug., 2008. MAKE (ISSN 1556-2336) is published quarterly by O’Reilly Media, Inc. in the months of March, May, August, and November. O’Reilly Media is located at 1005 Gravenstein Hwy. North, Sebastopol, CA 95472, (707) 827-7000. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Send all subscription requests to MAKE, P.O. Box 17046, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9588 or subscribe online at makezine.com/offer or via phone at (866) 289-8847 (U. S. and Canada); all other countries call (818) 487-2037. Subscriptions are available for $34.95 for 1 year ( 4 quarterly issues) in the United States; in Canada: $39.95 USD; all other countries: $49.95 USD. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sebastopol, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MAKE, P.O. Box 17046, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9588. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement Number 41129568. CANADA POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: O’Reilly Media, PO Box 456, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6V2

2 Make: Volume 15