Published: Dec 2, 2025 by dadamachines
We are happy to share that dadamachines and Musical Instrument Designs will begin work on the TBD DSP Toolkit project, supported by the NLnet NGI0 Commons Fund.
TBD is an open‑source platform for audio DSP that supports experimentation, learning and instrument design. We look forward to making the platform easier to use for musicians, students and developers.
What is the TBD DSP Toolkit?
TBD DSP Toolkit is an open-source platform for audio DSP for experimentation, learning, and audio research. It combines more than 50 high-quality generators and effects within a modular, easily extensible architecture. TBD has a flexible approach to embedded audio processing, and tries to deliver an accessible, musician-friendly environment, both in software and hardware.
A key new component is a standalone desktop version of the hardware, including standard MIDI connectivity, designed to welcome users beyond the Eurorack community and make the platform easier to adopt for education, prototyping, and instrument design. This includes a redesigned, intuitive web user interface and UX guidelines to help developers build playable, musician-centered DSP modules, clear documentation and example use-cases and reference workflows.
By uniting developer flexibility with musician usability, TBD aims to offer a resilient, open-source alternative in a landscape dominated by proprietary platforms. All software is released under GPL 3.0, and updated open hardware designs will be published in KiCad.
Get involved
- Learn more on the project page: /products/tbd-toolkit/
- Explore the source code on GitHub: ctag-fh-kiel/ctag-tbd
- NLnet project page: TBD DSP Toolkit at NLnet
Run by dadamachines / Musical Instrument Designs
This project was funded through the NGI0 Commons Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 101135429. Additional funding is made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
If you’re an educator, musician, or developer interested in open DSP tools, we’d love your feedback as we shape the next steps. Stay tuned — we’ll share updates and ways to contribute soon.
Discover the TBD DSP Toolkit
An open platform for musicians, students and developers.
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