Software instruments are super versatile, and they've gotten to a point where they actually sound good and work well in live settings. However, you usually have to bring a laptop or tablet on stage, put it on a stand, and be poking a screen or tapping keys while you're trying to play - which does not, to my eyes, rock. What is needed, I decided, is a sound module that fits in a cool guitar-pedal-type stompbox, has some buttons you can stomp with a foot or smash with a fist to change patches and settings, and a little screen so you know what it's doing. So, I made the SquishBox, a Raspberry Pi computer crammed into a stompbox that runs FluidSynth (hence the name - that's what happens when you stomp on a box full of fluid) and uses soundfonts - an open, widely available, and moddable software instrument format - to produce whatever sounds you want.

Features/Includes:

• 2 stomp switches
• 16x2 character LCD
• 4 USB inputs to connect MIDI keyboards/controllers or other devices (e.g. 5-pin MIDI->USB connector for legacy devices)
• 2 1/4" outputs for line out or headphones
• 24bit 192KHz stereo audio
• Onboard WiFi with web interface for advanced configuration/uploading additional soundfonts
• 5V power supply

Your SquishBox will arrive preconfigured and ready to plug in and play with standard soundfonts and settings that will work in many playing situations. However, the great thing about the SquishBox is that you can modify it. You can find or buy many additional soundfonts on the web (e.g. at polyphone-soundfonts.com, hammersound.net, synthfont.com, etc.), or modify/create your own using free software such as Polyphone. The source code for SquishBox is posted at the GitHub link below - watch for updates that add new features or dig in and create them yourself. The Raspberry Pi inside the SquishBox is a fully fledged computer running the Raspbian OS, so you could even modify it to run other software instruments or effects instead of or alongside FluidSynth, or to do other computer things. If you do, share your successes so that others can enjoy them!