portable synthesizer

Last update: Mon Apr 27 22:30:05 2026

I bought an AKAI MPK Mini as junk in April 2026 thinking it was a mini keyboard... well, it's not! I could repair it, but I don't want to keep it plugged on my PC. So I need a portable synthesizer to make sound...

MiniDexed

https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed

I'm stuck with my USB keyboard, so I need something that can accept MIDI commands via USB and do music. Seems a bit far fetched for an Arduino-ish, so I turned to the venerable Raspberry Pi 1 sleeping on the shelf next to me. And after a some search non-AI powered, I found MiniDexed. A simple minimalist software (can't even really call it an OS?) that boots in 3-4 seconds and just does what I need! DIY friendly, add a screen and a rotary knob and you're rolling!
Fantastic!

The thing is about 30MB (!!) and you just drop it in a vfat (FAT32) SD card. No need to dd the thing, just drop the files. I did not believe it would work, yet all worked directly from the start: great! ANd whatever they say, on a Raspi v1 the jack sound is not half bad (and whatever grittiness it adds I like tbh).

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