Wildwood Soundworks is a small independent producer of electronic music devices. Our products include Lightning and Express. All products feature a digital sampler, sequencer and synthesizer. All devices share the same firmware and offer a similar set of features, differing mainly in form factor.
Wildwood Soundworks products are available for sale at the Wildwood Soundworks storefront on Etsy.
Wildwood Soundworks is pleased to announce the availability of Bolt, a guitar-inspired device with sequencer, synthesizer and sampler.
Bolt features a chord selector where a single press from a finger on your left hand selects a chord type and root that you can then strum with your right hand. It includes overdrive and reverb effects as well as front-panel octave, channel and transpose options.
Bolt makes it easy and fun to compose your own chord progressions or follow chord-based music in guitar tabs or sheet music.
Bolt is mounted on a wooden base and is available in two versions, the 75 mm x 610 mm "long-tail" (about 3" x 24"), which is great for handheld use and the 75 mm x 380 mm "short-tail" (about 3" x 15"), which takes up less space for desktop use.
Bolt debuted at the Bay Area Maker Faire, September, 2026.
Lightning features a unique note wheel interface that makes it possible to play across multiple octaves with just seven capacitive touch sensors. Express features a color touch screen with popup softkeys. It measures 100 mm x 138 mm (about 4 inches by 5.5 inches).
For more information on Wildwood Lightning, see Lightning Overview.
Express has a capacitive touch sensor based interface featuring a one octave keyboard (eight octave range) plus chord and strum sensors. It measures 100 mm x 200 mm (about 4 inches by 8 inches).
For more information on Wildwood Express see Express Overview.
Wildwood Soundworks devices are compact audio systems that provide everything you need to record, play and edit your own music as well as standard MIDI music files:
Asterisk (*) denotes a feature available in Express. Plus (+) denotes a feature available in Lightning.
Lightning and Express include metal touch pads, a hand-stained hardwood base and protective rubber feet.
All devices feature both sample-based and FM synth engines.
The sample-based synthesizer works with both custom samples created using the sampler feature as well as a builtin general MIDI sample set of 128 instrument and 56 drum/percussion sounds.
Wildwood Soundworks provides regular firmware updates as new features become available. New devices ship with the latest firmware and you can upgrade your existing device to the latest firmware using WIFI-based over-the-air update.
For a description of the latest features, see updates.
For information on how to use Lightning or Express, see Detailed Documentation.
For information on setting up and configuring Bolt v1.0, see our Bolt Quick Start Guide. For more information on using Bolt v1.0, see our Bolt Quick Reference Guide.
For information on setting up and configuring Express, see our Express Quick Start Guide. For more information on using Express, see our Express Quick Reference Guide.
For information on setting up and configuring Lightning v2.2, see our Lightning Quick Start Guide. For more information on using Lightning v2.2, see our Lightning Quick Reference Guide.
For information on the previous version of Lightning, visit Older Documentation.
Rivet is a compact audio system that measures approximately 2.5" x 1.5" and features a color touch display and USB support. It has a 3D printed case and is available in three colors: red, black and white.
Rivet was developed for the 2026 LA Synth & Pedal Expo.
For information on setting up and configuring Rivet v1.0, see our Rivet Quick Start Guide. For more information on using Rivet v1.0, see our Rivet Quick Reference Guide.
For information on starting the Wildwood Soundworks Developer Tools, see Developer Tools Quick Reference Guide.
For information on the Developer Tools JavaScript examples, see Developer Tools JavaScript Examples.
The Developer Tools are included in all products that ship after June 6th, 2026. If you have an older version of Express or Lightning, please connect to WIFI and update your firmware to get the latest features, including the Developer Tools.
Wildwood Soundworks prepared a kit for the 2026 Bay Area Maker Faire field trip day that is based on the Stepped Tone Generator by Forrest Mims (later popularized as the Atari Punk Console). See Wildwood Punk Synth for more information.
The Wildwood Soundworks aesthetic features exposed electronics on a hardwood base. If you would like an enclosure for your device you can make one using our 2D and 3D Models.
For videos that show how to use Wildwood Lightning, see Lightning Videos.
For videos that show some of the key features of Wildwood Express, see Express Videos.
Lightning and Express are powered by a standard 5V USB adapter and produce sound through a 3.5 mm AUX audio output jack or USB UAC1.0 audio device.
The 3.5 mm AUX audio output jack is a standard line-level two-channel (stereo) three conductor Tip-Ring-Shield (TRS) connector intended for use with a mixer or amplified speakers.
We do not recommend plugging headphones directly into the AUX jack, especially Tip-Ring-Ring-Shield (TRRS) audio headsets (e.g. with microphone) where the extra ring conductor can cause a short-circuit.
Unless noted otherwise in sales material, you will need to provide the power source and mixer or amplifier as well as cables.
For more information on Wildwood Soundworks, see About Wildwood Soundworks.
To provide feedback or contact Wildwood Soundworks, see Contact Wildwood Soundworks.