More than your average Music Box!

Posted on 28/03/2018 by Sarang Sheth

Made to bring absolute tears of joy to the analog synth lover, the Bivalvia Synthesis is a tiny wooden box that fits a remarkably powerful synthesizer into its tiny frame. Made clearly for the tinkerer, the Bivalvia Synthesis box comes with 15 keys and 6 dials/faders that let you work the synth and play music through it. 12 keys at the bottom provide 12 MIDI notes, while the three keys on the top are for cycling through patches and octave shifting. The dials/faders on top allow you to tweak the sound, editing aspects of it. The synth is based on the Axoloti Core, an open source hardware synth created by Johannes Taelman, and features absolutely no symbols or text on its body… the idea being to allow you to figure out what it is you’re doing and learn along the way. You can even create your own synth patches using the free Axoloti Patcher software by connecting the Bivalvia Synthesis to your computer and then storing all the patches on the Bivalvia’s SD card.

Designed with some absolutely delicious color combinations and a brain-melting electro sound coming from the 15W speaker built into the wooden box (it has stereo output too), the Bivalvia Synthesis is a great toy for musicians and music enthusiasts alike! *opens lid and plays the Stranger Things theme*

Designer: Love Hultén

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Pixel Vision Retro Portable Game System: Game Boy Advance SR

Posted on 17/11/2015 by Lambert Varias

A few months ago we checked out Love Hultén’s PE358, a retro handheld inspired by the Game Boy Advance SP. It seems like that got a lot of people’s attention, because Love is now offering the Pixel Vision, a limited edition production version of the PE358.

Unlike the PE358, the Pixel Vision hides the display cable and has a speaker grill. Inside the walnut case is a Raspberry Pi A+ running RetroArch, a custom made DAC chip, an 8GB flash drive for storage and a 3.5″ LCD display. Love used software to add barrel distortion and a soft shader to the video output, making it look like it’s coming from a CRT monitor.

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The Pixel Vision can play games from the Atari 800, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Intellivision, Sega Genesis, SNES and Game Boy Advance. That said, it doesn’t have X,Y, L and R buttons.

Pledge at least ~$460 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive one of only 500 Pixel Vision units as a reward. You can also pledge ~$800 to get one of only 20 Pixel Vision Pearl units, which have a matte black panels, solid brass buttons and d-pad and an inlay on the lid made from Mother of pearl veneer.

They’re extremely expensive, but I think the video above shows how much work Love puts in to make just one of these systems.

Wooden Macintosh 128K Replica: The Golden Apple

Posted on 09/11/2015 by Lambert Varias

While Love Hultén’s retro-futuristic wooden machines are inspired by past gadgets, they usually still end up being distinct and fresh. But for one of his recent projects, Love opted to make a straight up replica of a classic computer.

Love’s The Golden Apple is a life-size replica of Apple’s original Macintosh 128K. Inside the American walnut body is a Mac Mini, and a DVD drive resides in place of the floppy drive. Love also made a matching wooden wireless mouse and a wooden keyboard with gold-plated keycaps.

I don’t know if Love is selling The Golden Apple, but he did say it’s a one-off. He should at least make more of that cool mouse.

[via designboom via Geeky Gadgets]

Love Hulten’s PE358 & Battlecade: Game Boy & Game Twins

Posted on 25/08/2015 by Lambert Varias

Retro gadget maker Love Hulten recently showed off two of his latest creations, both of which are gaming systems. The PE358 is a Nintendo emulator inspired by the Game Boy Advance SP, while the Battlecade is a kickass two-player arcade machine inspired by the likes of Battleship.

The PE358 measures about 3.1″x 3.1″x 1.5″ and is based on a Raspberry Pi A+. The Battlecade on the other hand has two 12″ LCD screens back-to-back, a compartment to store the joysticks and power adapter and neatly folds into a suitcase. Both devices have walnut wood cases.

Sadly, Love isn’t selling the machines, though even if he were, I wouldn’t be able to afford them anyway. Nintendo should hire this guy already.

[via Uncrate]

Retro-futuristic Arcade Cabinet: Pixelkabinett 42

Posted on 23/05/2015 by Lambert Varias

The Pixelkabinett 42 is Love Hulten’s latest furniture inspired retro-futuristic computer. It’s a two-player arcade cabinet based on “old industrial cabinets, vintage mixing consoles and early space travel.”

The cabinet itself is made of ash and American walnut. It has a light-up planetarium on the front and a Saturn-shaped speaker grill on its control panel. It also has a 19″ 4:3 LCD, two joysticks, 10 arcade buttons, a slider knob and two toggle switches. The nozzle-like feet can be added at no extra charge, but you can also pay extra to add a subwoofer, or to customize its color or the controller layout.

To run games, Love Hulten offers one of four JAMMA boards, or a computer with a MAME interface and a USB port so you can load your games of choice.

The Pixelkabinett 42 is limited to 50 units. You can order one from Love Hulten’s online shop for ~$4,100 (USD).

[via Gear Patrol]

Life-size Classic LEGO Gadgets: The Brix System

Posted on 01/05/2015 by Lambert Varias

Boutique PC maker Love Hultén is known for building computers inspired by 20th century furniture. But his latest masterpieces are based on toys, LEGO to be specific. Love’s The Brix System are wonderful 6:1 scale functioning replicas of LEGO gadgets from the ’70s and ’80s Space sets.

The Brix System consists of two computers, a gamepad, a telephone, a mic, a speaker, a synthesizer/keyboard and an effects machine.

The gadgets can be wired to each other and used as one unit e.g. the computer, the keyboard and the gamepad or the speaker and the keyboard. It sounds like a simple feature, but my younger self would have instantly turned into the world’s most behaved kid if it meant I could stack and wire and fiddle with these wooden machines. And I’d be the Pope by now. Pope LEGO I.

What a talented artist. Head to Love Hultén’s website for more on The Brix System.

[via Gizmodo]

R-Kaid-R Portable Arcade: Game & Wood

Posted on 03/07/2014 by Lambert Varias

Last year we drooled over Love Hulten’s R-Kaid-42, a wooden arcade console. Love has a new piece for us to wish for this year. He calls it the R-Kaid-R, a self-contained portable arcade machine. It has an 8″ 800×600 display, a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 8 hours and a beautiful wooden case that makes it look like an artifact from an alternate past.

The R-Kaid-R looks like a simple wooden box when closed, but as soon as you open it up you’ll see how unique and beautiful it is. As a neat twist, its joystick doubles as a lock that keeps its two halves together. It comes with a 16GB SD card that contains its custom OS and interface.

The R-Kaid-R emulates multiple video game consoles, including the Neo Geo, Playstation 1, Atari 2600, Game Boy, NES and SNES. It will also come with a copy of the critically-acclaimed Cave Story. You can edit your game library via R-Kaid-R’s USB port.

Now for the sad part. As with Love’s other creations, the R-Kaid-R is going to cost you. Love is asking for €2,499 (~$3,400 USD) for this modern classic. At least you’ll be able to choose its color. Head to Love’s website to reserve an R-Kaid-R.

[via Engadget]

Beautiful Wooden Workbench Hides a PC: Maker’s Desk

Posted on 04/03/2014 by Lambert Varias

Swedish artist Love Hultén continues to marry classic furniture with computers. One of his latest projects is Tempel, a modern workstation inspired by 19th century writing desks. It combines a workbench, a large drawer and a computer in one elegant piece of wooden furniture.