Wood is good,

But lets face it, who really has the power tools and time to make nice wooden cases. I got your solution right here in the form of wood adhesive covering. Available from any Wall-Mart around the world comes this affordable ( $5 ) solution that will spruce up any gadget. Take this Dull box pictured before the wood application. A few minutes and a small mess later, tada! It looks awesome! The possibilities are limitless, however everyone will agree that wood trim like this makes anything Classy. Not to mention that it works perfectly to cover up those pre-drilled, but never used switch and jack holes. Oops, that will be out little secret ;-)

Noise Box

A truly horrible sounding device came out into the world over the weekend. It is based in the gating properties of the 4066 Quad Switch and the amplification power of the LM324 Quad op-amp. Originally inspired by a section in the Practical Oscillator Circuits book, which describes creating an oscillator from 4066 switches. It worked to some extent however the frequency range was nothing impressive in my experience. I then decided to use 4066 for gating signals and also relying on the fact that the control for the switches is very sensitive to the electro-magnetic fields of the body and other objects, making a sort of proximity controlled Theremin. The switches get "confused" and start triggering when something is near the antennas attached to the pins. The signal consisting of a negative and a positive is split and routed to separate switches on the IC. This particular device can be used with a stereo signal or 2 separate signals. The gated output of the 4066 IC was then fed to a switch based patch and distributed to the various configurations of the Op-Amps. There is a summing/mixing, difference, integral, and a Triangle shaper configuration. The output from the Op-Amps is routed to another switch bank to be mixed and sound flows to the output set of RCA jacks. The device runs on 2 sets of 9 Volt batteries that take up most of the space. A point job will most likely be in order for this terrible creation. All of the connections are point to point instead of perf board. I don't mind the method be cause A.) It is fast, and B.) It allows me to arrange the components in 3D. The rough sketch of the schematic is pencil drawing from memory, which will get revised as time goes on. I don't recommend following it right as it is, but the main idea is there. The sound samples are very harsh and may only be admired by Noisecore fans, so please watch your levels. Sample 1 with Classical Music processed Sample 2 with Classical Music processed Sample 3 no input signal present Sample 4 with 555 based oscillators processed Sample 5 with 555 based oscillators processed Sample 6 with 555 based oscillators processed Sample 7 with a Rock song processed

Time for a change.

Over the weekend I have finished building a distortion box, which I will post about soon. In the process I finally cashed the $2.99 soldering iron reviewed months ago, it worked well for a while I do admit. Before it bit the dust I did have enough foresight to order a new and better soldering solution. Today it arrived and no more cheap soldernig sticks for me, A Soldering Station is the way of the future! After getting the best deal on the planet through eBay, for $19 I ended up with a Brand new Elenco SL-5 that is Grand. It featues a sturdy and heavy base, a 5 to 40watt heating adjustment, and a solid 3 prong grounded Weller-like stick. To boot it was made in USA ( I would've also excepted Canada or UK ) so the box claims. Ahh Yes! Ironically enough Elenco was the company I raved about earlier with all the kit PDFs for download. A few words of wisdom if I may: Don't purchase cheap soldering sticks ( unless you have to ), they will break and wear out after prolonged use. Especially the ones with folded sheet of metal, they will wobble and split eventually causing much frustration in the end.

Noob talk

This one cracks me up, taken from an auction for the Casio KA-20. "I've bent this keyboard for your pleasure. 1 Glitch Switch 1 Switch to turn on photo cell, wave your hand or light over the sensor and it changes the pitch of the note or tune being played. 1 Switch that does nothing at this point, future use" The rest of the page appears to be a word for word copy from the WarrantyVoid Tablehooters website. Last time I checked the proper citations of the site were required. If the seller is serious about making money on circuit bending I would advise to include some samples and not setting the BuyItNow at $150.00 for something like this.

www.dandeacon.com is back

Dan's website is back up ( Thanks to Shaun pointing that out ), lots of mp3s and more of Dan's performance vids. This guy is pretty out there with an amazing blend. I would have to compare him to a modern day Bruce Haack, in the best possible way. Anyways enjoy his site www.dandeacon.com and if you feel like checking out some Haack samples visit the Amazon link.

Synthstick

I remember hearing about the ribbon controllers based on the use of VHS tape on the Benders List a while back, however completely forgot about until I ran into the Synthstick project. The VHS tape acts much like a variable slide resistor and the further up you go the more resistance you will have because the current has to pass through all the iron in the tape. Anyways I know one thing I'll be doing tonite is making on of those things. The sound samples completely rocked my socks off. Sample 1 With Filter effect Clean Sample 2 [Via FolkUrban] BTW, We'll see how long it takes for this post to get on Make:

Back when Radio Shack was down

1970s was a great time for Hobby electronics enthusiasts. They could simply wonder into the Radio Shack and pick up a great Science Fair Kit and possibly a handful of the SN76477s for shits and giggles. Those times are long gone however the manuals and pictures of these kits can be viewed at http://my.core.com/~sparktron/pbox.html One thing I find very interesting is the Point to Point and Surface mount techniques for the kits. I've been considering making all my circuits surface mount like that. They would be just fo' show with some LEDs behind them.

Crazy awesome DIY pedals.

While doing some research for GetLoFi I came across a spectacular page full of DIY guitar effect pedals. The www.moosapotamus.com/ contains not only neat pictures and sounds but also schematics and inside shots that will make you drool all over the keyboard. Everything seems fairly simple with some amazing sounds. The Tri-negistor was my favorite, all transistor device that uses negistors and negative resistance to oscillate like crazy. Each pedal is very well documented and referenced. There are also a few mentions of the StompBox Cookbook with pictures and schematics. It is available via Amazon from the below link. [Found through inverseroom.com]

ARIUS BLAZE done for good

For those who have wondered about what happened to ARIUS BLAZE, creator of some of the most "Huh?" devices, the answer lies in the auction posted on ebay , which circulated through the Benders List. Apparently this guy is closing shop and selling off his stuff, however ARIUS did not bother telling Chris a naive German musician who paid a hefty price for an instrument that was delayed for a year and never shipped. ( Chris was contacted but did not reply to my request for a story) Personally I can't possibly see why anyone would ever purchase something like this for the amount of money. I mean really! What is so special about it? I call it IT cause noone has any idea of that it does. I got a couple of guesses and all of them involve 555 timer ICs. No sound samples, no nothing in the auction. The instruments do look cool and vintage in "Dark City" sort of way. I guess maybe I don't appreciate art or I'm just really jealous.

Dan Deacon

Honestly, I would've never heard of this guy if not for an avid GetLoFi reader who shared this awesome piece of footage with me. Dan Deacon an electronic Musician who uses hi-tech Vocoders, Harmonizers, Signal Generators, and Toy Keyboards can be seen spazzing out on NBC with his fly open. The guy is nowhere to be found except in some dark corners of the internet. However his music did make it on archive.org and can he heard right now. Thanks Jon.

Synth Toast

One of the best things about DIY is the ability to take all the liberty with the Case design. Many devices have been crammed into just about everything. However this MFOS simple synth disguised as a toaster is grand! I wonder which knob controls the actual toasting cause it looks like it come out a little burned. The same guys have other interesting devices and homebrew synths including a patch bay Casio SK 2100 on their website. [via Google]

Lots and Lots of switches

I was flipping through some records at the local shop and happened to see the Super_Collider's EP Message Coming. On the cover was this huge box with a crap load of switches ( 400 to be exact ). What are they for I wondered. Well as it turns out they trigger the light box matrix in order to display messages. The device was created by Andy Spradbery and on the cover it is actually doctored to have the messages in red. The construction deserves a shoutout, all the switches are perfectly strait and the box is flawless. Maybe its Computer generated, but most likely it is real. I ended up buying the record just so I can take a picture and do this post for everyone, I hope this was worth the $10. P.S. To hear what Super_Collider sounds like check out the below image link.

Teletubby Death

Sometimes I do get strange looks and questions when I buy kids toys, however that probably was nothing compared to what this grown-up gentleman had to endure when he purchased his Teletubby toy. Alas his efforts paid off and we now have a great look at what can be done to a stuffed Teletubby. There are movies to boot as well: Video 1 and Video 2. It turns out the Tubbies have ICs manufactured by Microsoft, which also seems to be the case with a lot of newer educational toys. Glitches are mainly random gibberish. Univac also suggests strait forward connections between chip legs create glitches, however I don't think that pitch bend is very easy because the CPU is Crystal controlled. Main link http://techdweeb.com/TinyFlaccidPo.html [Via: Bendersanonimous list]

Pathways to Music Part 2

Well here it, finally after months and months of waiting is the conclusion of Part 1. To be honest I had this on file for about a month, however did not want to post it cause the quality turned out not the greatest with slides being washed out and having lines through them. I do have to rescan the slides and adjust some things at some point, but I may not get to that for a while. So I figured better post it as it is for now. Enjoy. Pathways to Music Part 2 ( 40mb )

20,000 Maniacs and counting

Just wanted to take a moment to Thank everyone who visited my site over the past 2 months. Getlofi.com went from 0 to 20,000 in no time. i'm glad that some of you find it a good read and keep stopping back. More posts will appear very soon. Some highlights include, Pathways to Electronic Music Part II, Video bending of Joystick games, and custom wood cases for keyboards and synths. Stay tuned and keep on bending. --CM

Electronic Kits

This time the winner is http://www.technologykit.us/ Their catalog includes such favorites as 25 tone organ, Robot Voice Changer and a schematic available for the kit. It turns out to use a 4066 Quad switch IC with a LM358 op-amp. I've been working on a similar circuit recently and it is great for gating and gargling up audio signals. Something I may order to try is the 3 Sound effect circuit, with separate ICs for each sound the modding of the effect generation can be quite interesting, similar to the Echo Keyller pitch control. The most advanced kit that comes preassembled is the 4 channel, 16 step programmable LED sequencer for $35 which is not bad. There are not too many clues to its operation except that you have 10 user programmable patterns and 40 factory ones to choose from. A slew of amplifier kits is also available from the site, along with tone control modules. IMO this is a great way to jump onto synth building or instrument modding.

Want to be Kraftwerk?

Now you can with this Stylophone sold on eBay as seen in this 1981 Computer Welt image! You can always try and circuit bend this thing, but don't come crying to me if you bust it.

In time for Halloween these scary toys are.

The seller what*mama*had seems to be unloading a collection of decent devices on the ebay to "....pay the bills". The sound samples are not too bad, however going through savefile.com is pretty lame. The zombie tracker is probably my fav, with some nice glitching speak and ***** action from a National Geographic toy.

Circuit Benders Co.Uk.

These guys seem to have it together when it comes to Flashy galleries, totally impressive interface located here. http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/gallery.html

Circuit Bending in Detroit, Crackle

It looks like NYC is not the only place with a hip and happenin Experimental scene. From Detroit in 2002-2003 came a series of events entitled Crackle. Noise Musicians, Circuit Benders, MAX/MSP gurus and DJs converged to enthrall the public. The full list of Crackle installments is located here. http://www.simulated.net/crackle/ Not sure if there will be more, however I do hope there will. The one pictured is the circuit bending workshop, Crackle #5 From the left we have Talking WhizKid, Altoids case Amp?, Speak and Math, with what must be some sort of an educational toy with a bunch of body contacts.

Micro Mixers to fit in your pocket

When playing out with circuit bent or DIY gear it is a no-brainer that a mixer is needed to merge the audio signals from various sources. It would also be handy to preview the sound before you mix it in. However the thing that gets me is that virtually none of the multi-channel mixers have the CUE to headphone option like DJ mixers do. WTF? I guess it can be done if mixer can send channels to the AUX bus or maybe to Main 2, but that may not be useful if its post fader. At any rate these Micro mixers are of great value, below $40, and are very tiny. Micro mixers at Active Musician

Bend++ photos

It appears as though Bend++ came and went. The only things left are these photos and the memories of those who attended. I spotted alot of Powerbooks with MAX/MSP and some interesting tape contraption which seems to read the strands of tape amplify the signal. The pictures can be seen at http://benders.seesaa.net/article/7636130.html But they are all dark and hard to see. No videos or audio, however there is some mention of VHS and DVD in the post. If anyone can read Japanese please translate the key points. Thanks.

Monthly circuit bending workshop in Chicago

Today, October 16th Sunday at the Peter Jones Gallery will be held a Circuit Bending workshop. I can't possibly think of a better thing to do on a Sunday. Anyone is welcome to attend. Link and info below. This statement was taken from the site:

Our capitalist culture are often regards people only as consumers. We have been convinced that we lack the ability to accomplish even the simplest of electronic tasks. "If it's broken you must buy a new one."

Circuit bending helps to break down this mind control. It innocently empowers people to make repairs to their own equipment. And it gently frees them from the perception that everything in their lives must be purchased. It also cuts down on waste.

Many "broken" toys found in the garbage only need a minor repair. A dab of solder and the thing works again. Another dab of solder and the thing takes on a whole new life as a unique instrument and, at times, a work of art.

It's very satisfying.

http://www.rubbermonkey.org/circuitbending/index.htm

Bent Atari and NES up for grabs on eBay

The real value is probably Wayfar's MIDINES and Paul Slocum's Synthcart which are also included with each console. From listening to the sample of the NES it appears as though the mod is the solo instrument switch hack, seen in the Barbie NES posted earlier. Pretty useless if you are using MIDINES, but if you just need that juicy bassline from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom you can have it. The Atari video mod is interesting, however the real kicker is the Sega Rapid fire joystick. When used with the LightShow mode of the synth cart it triggers sounds very rapidly. Perhaps if modified to change speed the rapid fire it would be even better, Great idea, and I don't see a reason why this joystck can't be used with other circuit bent things to close switches for instance, very rapidly though. I am sure they are super cheap nowadays as well. Modded Atari on eBay link Modded Nintendo on eBay link Sellers website: http://www.dispyz.com/bends.html Video Link: http://www.dispyz.com/bent/ataribend3.AVI

Joystick Sk-1

This and other cool bends can be seen on the Process R245's website. I like the joystick idea in the speaker, very retro gaming. The execution however could've been better with components that line up and things filling every hole. Good idear never to less. http://www.processr245.com/articles/bending.php

Workbench Porn Fridays

Seems like bloggers like to dedicate days to things, so I bring you the Workbench Fridays! It pains me when I see people working in horrible conditions. On small tables with piles of junk scattered all around, on the floor in the bathroom, or on the computer desk betwen the edge and the keyboard... Staying organized is key and on this Cadillac of workbenches one can build just about anything. Link to building one.

DIY guitar pedals

Great website containing some distortion guitar pedasl and original schematics was posted on Make:blog. The cases are pretty neat and some mockups are definatelly inspirational. http://www.vmsrecords.com/dissolute/pedals.html

Another analog data synth parallel port switch

The data synth is capable of producing classic moog/jupiter/tb-303 type sounds according the auction. Wow and it also has 10 knobs to fondle! Great! Bidding starts at very reasonable $150. However the website with the sound samples is down due to transfer limit. The seller TestStrikego has also been selling guitar pedals and theremin kits and from what I can tell based on their feedback comments people have been very happy with the products. I wish the seller has a better website though.

Circuit Roulette

From the website http://www.magpieindustries.org/broadcast/ comes the game of Circuit Roulette, text taken from site: Circuit Roulette is a game where players take turns to cut wires inside a fully working, switched on radio/cassette player! The one who causes the sound to die is the loser. Great idea the only catch is that you have to have enough geeky friends to play that with :-) Thanks Dach.

Tape Sequencers from Gijs

At first when I saw the post on CDM and later on Matrix about the amazing tape sequencer I was very impressed and wanted to know how it worked. However just like anyone who ever tried navigating through that crazy Netherlandian site I quickly became disinterested. Well the news is in and judging from this thread and also from listening to the mp3 recordings, this device does appear to operate by speeding up motor of the tape player based on the resistor value for the current step. The mp3s appear to be done with a few other tracks at the same time making for not very good sample files. A great idea never to less to use the tape as a wave source, I would definitely like to hear what this would sound with a tape track that contains only one long fixed frequency tone, maybe with a few different waveforms. In that case it will sound like an instrument, however then you have to worry about the whole Envelope ADSR thing. The first unit pictured does control the speed of a Gameboy somehow, but that is still a mystery.

Mass produced circuit bent gear

I don't mean to point out the obvious here, but lets face it. Circuit bending for profit only makes sense when you make same things over and over. It is a long and frustrating process to come up with a good set of bends. One may spend a whole day just poking around and another day wiring switches. So what is the answer to making the bling? Do the same mod over and over. The more times you do it, the quicker you become at it. Also there is no need for making individual auction pages since you have the one from the first build already! Take the Awesome SK-1 which I've seen for the n-th time on the eBay now. Everyday I also see the same Tablebeast mod from the now defunct sk-1.org site on all the SK-1s sold! I will not even start on the Speak and Spells and now with the Ghazala's book detailing some steps everyone is doing his bends. Not saying that there is any wrong with making money or following directions, but then again. Taking something that is highly individualistic and custom like Circuit Bending and turning it into a one trick pony is sort of lame. Exploration and creativity need to be there at all times and the feeling of being the first person to do something different or possibly inventing something is pretty amazing.

OT-Switched on Bach

Wendy Carlos' Switched on Bach has no Circuit Bent gear on it from what I can tell. However while I was in Wisconsin, I picked up the Japanese version of the record! The cover is hilarious, depicting the actor being startled by the electronic madness coming from his headphones. Liner notes are all in Japanese and I am not sure if tracks are different yet. Just thought it was kind of interesting to share with everyone. Update! funny photo was actually used on the First issue of the record and later switched to the standing actor shot. Great article here http://www.endlessgroove.com/issue1/switch.htm

Dutch Talking Scholar

While browsing the ultra minimal webpage of the Dutch musician Kassen, I came across his Bent VTech Talking Scholar. Nothing too impressive really, except for the fact that is it a Dutch speaking device. The sound sample is most entertaining though, little boring at first but alot better later on, Listen Here. The last image is the guy's studio, Yikes! ( Fixed incorrect origin, thanks for the comment )

Computerwelt circa 1981

This photo is on the insert of the Computer World LP, which I have on vinyl btw, thank you very much. I got to looking at it the other day and noticed the instruments. All looked like handheld devices and toys. I guess back in the day it was part of the show for Kraftwerk to come into the crowd and let people play their mini keyboards and one may argue that they are one of the poineer bands that used such devices in their music. I started playing the game to see if I can ID all of the instruments held. I pretty much got most of them except for one. The Beegees Keyboard was fairly easy to recognize. The one held in the background next over appears to be something that may use a stylis much like this Stylophone, I think I am correct on this one given the switch placement on the right and the black frame around those, the top of the case must have been simply masked off to hide the brand.The shiny box in the center I have no clue as to what it is. It may be some sort of a custom device. All the way on the right is the IT Language Translator which may seem like a normal calculator to the untrained eye. Those things are great to say the least! And one can be seen with a break out box in Jeff's collection, posted earlier. If anyone can shed some light on the mystery object fell free. The images used as reference were taken from datamath.org and miniorgan.com both amazing sources to have around. Could not have done this without them.

Keyboard kit on eBay

We all should still remember the awesome mod on the square wave keyboard done by October71. The question of where one may aquire such keyboard has been brought up and the answer is simple. eBay! The same kit is on right now, eBay Link. It may take quite a bit of work to make this look just like her keyboard, but alot of bending pointers can be gathered from the photos. The important thing is that all the schematics should be icluded in the box allowing for some easy modifying of that sweet sweet square wave. Truth be told, this keyboard sounds awesome without any mods, very 1 bit if you know what I mean. The original post can be found here.

Website Updates

Jeff Boynton is no stranger to the benders list and when everyone heard about the fire that broke out in his house after a circuit bent instrument jam, we were all devastated. However he has rebuilt and now put up a new website showcasing his creations. Let the content speak for itself. http://www.blankstare.biz/ [via Benders]

Via Experimenralists Anonymous comes a strait forward 8 step analog CV sequencer with Tempo control. From start to finish this great thread can be further investigated here: http://www.experimentalistsanonymous.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=233

Nanoloop 1.3

Apparently this thing is supposed to be out sometime this month, but I remember last time when NL2.0 came out and Oliver promised that for a few months, before actually starting to take orders. NL 1.3 will be the same as 1.2 that we all know and love. Except with some tweaks and fixes like the LFO, basic arpeggiator, pitch bend, more memory banks, and an extra R instrument. Can't wait. Too bad Micro is not backwards compatible with the old GameBoy carts. http://www.nanoloop.com/13.html

Joystick Video Games

I was interested in these things for a while in so far as their bendability potential. After some time searching I found out what the insides of an Atari stick look like. There is a crystal and some blobs. A few obvious techniques can be tried, like switching it out the crystal or short circuiting its legs. Curious to explore I decided to cough up $9.87 for one at Walmart. To my surprise there was quite a selection ranging from Atari to Sega with everything in between. All I am assuming to be console-on-chip combinations, Like the NOAC. The one I purchased comes from some No-name company in China (well KidConnection actually) and is simply called Joystick 30. It does contain 30 Games with sounds and video resembling NES! One big difference from the Atari version pictured above is that all the roms are stored on a 32Mb Flash Rom chip called M5M29GBT320VP and I was able to get the Data sheet on it pretty easy. From the datasheet I concluded that this flash rom chip is fairly easy to burn data to. Meaning that if someone was so included as to reprogram the Joystick 30, they can very well do so with some basic hardware. Unfortunately that someone is not me, at least not yet. But the possibilities are limitless. Imagine a MIDINES all enclosed in this joystick with a Nanoloop like sequencer. That would be awesome! And for $9.89 the price is definitely right. I have not started bending this one, but from what I can tell it will be fun.

Circuit Bending in not a Crime, Yet

With all the patent enforcement and copyright lawsuits it is only a matter of time before something like circuit bending will be considered a criminal offence. In the preparations for that, I have decided to make some bumper stickers and t-shirts available via my www.MakeSynthsNotWar.com CafePress shop. Please show the whole world where you stand on this issue.

Tomas Henry Books on eBay

Along with some other cool stuff like an assortments of Musical components and ICs including the SN76477 and others. To me it looks like the person is getting ready to switch hobbies, or maybe their wife is mad. Tomas Henry Books + ICs and Circuit Bending stuff This was pointed out to me by bsom of somewhatinteresting.com

Circuit Bent NES from Netherlands

What can I say, it is awesome. The idea to use a doll head and shoulders as a patch cord breakout is nothing short of genius. The black velvet on the NES makes it almost cyber/porn like. I've seen Barbie heads used as opto-theremin cases before, but this is Art! http://circuitbending.gieskes.nl/files/?dir=nes BTW these are the same Gents that are responsible the the tape player sequencers and other machano-electrical instruments which can be seen here http://experimentalmusicalinstruments.gieskes.nl/ Thanks to Matrix for posting about the tape sequencer in his blog.

Tim Kaiser's Vintage Looking Box Sequencer

Well not really, I guess what makes it a sequencer is the fact that it is a rehoused toy with a few loops in it that can be triggered and modified in a circuit bent fashion. Great case though, very awesome. We'll just have to wait and see if he gets the $400 buy it now. Link Here