What drew you to the world of synthesizers?
As a kid I loved to listen to music before I became a guitarist with friends during high school. I loved ‘90s Bakery Music bands and then a new generation of musicians like Slot Machine, Death of a Salesman and bands from the Smallroom label. I learned the importance of synthesizers and finally bought one, a MicroKorg, and started dreaming of making my own sounds. I researched about how to make a sound card first, before aiming to build a synthesizer while studying to be an electrical engineer at Naresuan University. But I was never successful.
So when did you succeed?
Things got clearer when I started working as an electrical engineer at NARIT in Chiang Mai. I had the chance to work with better technology while also developing electronic systems and writing new software to support them. Making a synthesizer from scratch was so new in Thailand. No one had done it before. Nobody understood what I was trying to do. I relied on the internet to see what others had done. When I had to be on shift at the Doi Inthanon observatory, I spent my spare time experimenting with mathematical formulas to make the processor chip create sounds correctly. I worked alone for nearly a year before I released the MBXone, my first synthesizer, in late 2014.
How was the feedback?
Pretty mixed. People wanted more options from it so I decided to study with professors at Chiang Mai University to learn more advanced mathematical formulas. After that I released MBXone M2 in late 2015. Now I’m making new models, both higher in performance and less complicated, such as MBX Kids, the prototype just showed at Chiang Mai Design Week 2016.
How do your synthesizers compare to others on the market?
They have many more functions than other synthesizers in the same price range, because I use only one chip to process all the sounds. The chip I use is just like the one in smartphones.
Do you have much international business?
Yes, people from the US and UK have placed orders. Most musicians play around with many synthesizers anyway, so they love to try something new. Thais aren’t as into this stuff, but we’ll still open a booth at electronic music events in Chiang Mai like Delicate Decibel (
goo.gl/iKcLAH). The MBXone M2 sells for US$198 [B7,056].
What’s next for you?
We’re using our knowledge about sound and light waves to create a color sorting machine for Thai rice farmers. As my family grows rice in Nakhon Pathom, we thought we could do something to help them. Normal color sorting machines are big and really expensive as they have to be imported. Only big rice mills can afford them. We had the idea of producing a cheaper, smaller version to help farmers refine their rice product. We have got the patent and will continue to develop it. We might name it Piti Loves Rice.
