The Tine Organ is built on a combination of magnets and MIDI.

Artist and musician Matthew Steinke has somehow managed to pack the rich sound of a cathedral-esque pipe organ into a MIDI-controlled device the size of a toaster.

Rather than using a wind chest like a typical pipe organ, the Tine Organ instead utilises a combination of electromagnets and steel tines. The magnets pulse with modulation at a specific frequency and the pull and release of the tine causes them to resonate continuously with a particular tone.

The Tine Organ is capable of producing 20 chromatic notes, starting at middle C, with full polyphony and can be controlled using either a standard keyboard or a synthesizer app on a smart phone.

You can hear the Tine Organ for yourself above.

[via Synthtopia]