To all my readers,
I will be out of the office during all of next week, there may be some guerilla blogging here and there, but nothing from the workshop. I'm going to San Francisco, so if anyone is in the area, please feel free to drop me a line with suggestions for cool stuff. So far I plan on going to all the Goodwill, Thrift, Music, Book, and Clothes stores in the area. Maybe catching a show or two. This current week has been pretty crazy with gigs and events that I had to get ready for and had no time to post, even though there were some very interesting things happening on the Benders list. I got a bunch of cool posts coming up, so please stay tuned.

Thanks for understanding,
CircuitMaster.

This device comes via the original post on We Make Money Not Art. I guess today is the day of cross posting for me. However being interested in microcontrollers and their MIDI applications I felt that this was worthy of a mention. Wearable drum machines and synthesizers are nothing new. However trying to incorporate them in to clothes is finally within our grasp. Just imagine someday everyone will be able to jam out while riding the bus, or sitting on the subway train. Lets just hope that people use headphones otherwise it will be a nightmare. Anyways there a a couple of things that are pretty interesting about this. First its the code that sends the MIDI notes to the computer. Located here. From the code, I gather that the bank selection is done via a resistor array. The decimal to base 2 conversion appears to be done automatically by the microcontroller, which is a plus. So "hserout [144, noteVar[0], 127]" is something like 10010000,1001,1111111 ( rough guestimate ), which a MIDI interface will read and convert to Channel 1 Middle A, Middle velocity. Pretty neat, IMO. The second cool tip that I gathered was the use of FSR, Force Sensing Resistors. A piezo element solution would've obviously not worked in this case because of not enough voltage being generated from the pressure of the fingers. If this were an acoustic drum trigger that would've been a different story. Anyways enjoy the link.
[Via We Make Money Not Art]

I try not to cross post whenever I can, but in this case I fear that this intense video would just slip through the cracks. First it appeared on gvod.blogspot.com, it depicts a man showcasing his rigged up tape player. This inventor demonstrates his tape skills to a couple of younger guys with all the usual stops made like: Technical difficulties that result from not plugging it in, rants about RadioShack, good ol' Communist propaganda, and the use of a CAT based synth. Must see, feel good video of the day for sure. Video Link.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1985470743073373347

Hahahahaha, MothersAgainstNoise.org had me fooled for about 10 seconds. Only in America would something like this actually happen. However a further search reveals that Mr. Smarty Pants from Amsterdam has registered the domain just a few days ago. Anyways, I had a good chuckle especially when Radiohead and Sonic Youth made the list as Gateway Bands. Hahahaha. Good times. [Via post on the Benders forum]

I like this case, I do admit. Sleek metal box with knobs galore and opto sensors. Nice paint job and the rivets are kind of cool. Judging from the the inside shots, its seems to me that the builder is only using one IC, along with some caps and resistors. This may lead me to believe that the circuit is similar Schmitt Trigger idea that I have utilized in the Gameboy build. BTW, the schematic for that will be released in time for X-Mas. Currently the SleepDrone 5 is up on eBay, however more instrument can be learned here:
http://www.kingcapitolpunishment.com/SLEEPDRONE5CONTROLS.html

This breaking news comes strait of the eBay wire. Apparently HongKongSuperSeller is no longer registered and eBay has removed all of their listings. Why? I don't know. My parts always got here on time and they never frauded me. So if you have not invested into a box or two of those tasty tasty switches you may be out of luck.

*UPDATE* I've emailed Harry and he said that they just have a misunderstanding with eBay and they will be back in business soon. So if you have a pending order, do not worry, it will get there.

that's right! From the team that brought you the Nintendo Barbie mod and various Tape sequencers comes another great design. The Sequencer o5 is a module based system with 3 modules. One is tape module, second one is a 555 oscillator based synth, and the third is a stylo keyboard. The difference between this sequencer and previous ones is the fact that instead of controlling LSDJ from the sequencer, the team switched to controlling the clock speed of the sequencer from the LSDJ. This I'm sure is a more stable way to do the syncing of sound effects with GameBoy sounds. From the looks of it I'd say that its an 8 step sequencer, as far as parameters go. The schematics are also available for free along with some sound samples. Personally I am a big fan of the board layouts and the plexi-glass cover on the stylo keyboard is ace! Very good job indeed. http://instruments.gieskes.nl/files/?dir=Seq05

Mike Ford a sculptor and a musician decided to share some images of his creations with me and inherently all of us. The insides of these machines contain a range of sound generators, toys, electronic hobby kits, and some original circuits even. On the outside these art deco inspired pieces show great craftsmanship. At this time Mike does not have a website, so consider this a teaser of sorts, however after the 1st of the year he promised to get one rolling with sound, samples, more images, and video. Thanks Mike.

This ofcourse this Bending Workshop was planned for a few weeks prior, however I seemed to have neglected to report on it. At any rate those of you who are in France tomorrow, Dec 18th in between the hours of 2pm and 6pm and wish to pertake in some bending hi-jinks, feel free to attend. "Entree Libre" must mean free. Once again, I will watching diligently for images that popup from the event, so bend away.

I have wondered for a long time as to what exactly the Sonar*Axe does and what it takes to play. Apparently 3 things as seen in the new videos released by the ElectroKraft Website. One, pair of welder goggles to protect your eyes from the Sonar insanity. Two, a pair of yellow rubber gloves most likely for the same reason. And three, a large reflective lab coat, but that one is just for looking cool. Thanks for making those Tony, now I really wonder what a three piece Sonar*Axe band would sound and look like?

A little something something I made last nite. The circuit is incredibly simple and consists of only a Quad 4093 Schmitt Trigger IC, 4 1uf electrolytic caps, 4 Photo-Resistors in the 140k Ohm Range, and 4 Diodes. The basic idea for this circuit came to me from the Electronic Candle schematic in the Nuts and Volts magazine, however it was greatly changed. The inputs of the gates were left open, there is no connection between the Positive voltage and the gate output. The outputs of all the gates are summed up through the 4 Diodes, this mod is probably the most critical step. When these were summed up without the diodes, the signals did not output at all. Also it is interesting to note that an 8 Ohm impedance resistor was not needed on the output jack. As a matter of fact it caused most of my headaches. The internal impedance of the IC seems to match audio output just fine. As far as the case goes, I think that this worked out perfectly. The Red Gameboy was long dead, and the grommets fit perfectly inside the A and B buttons. The arrow pad fit grommets as well, however a center metal piece had to be added to cover the hole. Select and Start became touch contacts that help the modulation. A power switch was added where the normal power switch used to be, while observing the On-Off positions. A power LED was added to the side where the adapter jack used to be located. The two remaining switches are used for Low-Pass Filtering as well as signal feedback. Unfortunately I never had the Screen protector for this case, so I had to cut out a piece of semi transparent plastic to cover the hole. The video turned out good, but the sound did not record very well. So if you decide to view it, please turn up the speakers all the way up in order to hear the audio track. More audio links are also available. I may post the schematic for this thing at some point when I have more time.

Audio Link 1
*Update* More images available in the Gallery.

This theremin kit seems to be fairly reasonably priced, for only $35 US it comes with all the parts including the case and a built-in speaker so one can have a good ol' time anywhere. Not really sure of the bending possibilities, but it would be cool just to have one around or possibly even build one as a gift for someone.

So these "Artist" Edition keyboards made by Tablebeast have been popping up on eBay. Usually with a hefty pricetag, this one is $555 which seems high, however after doing some research I found out that SHS-10 is a much sought after keyboard. Given its poor sound quality, people are still willing to pay upwards of $200 for one, Unbent! I guess the description in the Bent SHS-10 Auction says it all. However I will summarize the key points while giving my opinion on them.
Ok, so its kind of rare, given that it is the last SHS-10 Tablebeast will ever make for sale to the public. I say why should anyone besides benders care about that. Tablebeast is not a household name like Bruce Springsteen or DJ Shadow. So chances are an average musician will not make the connection.
Also if this keyboard sells for $555, I would make more for sure. Granted they have to be bought fairly cheap, $100 or less.
First off, I really don't see the point of having that drawing on there and I also hope that its clearcoated, otherwise it will get scratched up to hell from one gig with large belt buckle and this thing dangling on a strap.
Second, answer me this, "Why should I buy this keyboard when in a month the sounds will be out on the TableBeast Sample Library a lot cheaper and also everyone else will have them?"
I like the warranty and support parts, as a matter of fact I think that every circuit bender and synth builder should include that in their auction, because chances are its something easy that breaks, like a poor solder joint. Tablebeast seems to have a few other items items for sale at similar prices. Personally if I was gonna shell out that kind of money, I would go for the Sk-1 ( Concertmate 500 ) modded by Highly_Liquid for $300. It has MIDI IN, no hand drawings, pro looking breakout box, and patch cables. I do have to admit that sound samples from the SHS-10 are kind of cool so note to self, get one and bend it.

I seldom post on databending nowadays, but that does not mean that I'm not into it. Recently I have learned about the http://www.glitchbrowser.com/ which is a pretty nifty tool for scrambling up graphics on webpages. The glitching of the getlofi logo is a result of this browser. Give it a try and see what you think. Also if you have some image to sound conversion tools, listening to these glitched up images maybe very interesting as well.

Thats right, Google Video. Last week I kept pretty quiet, one of the reasons for that was the constant distraction of the Google Video. There is a lot of funny and entertaining stuff on there. However the bright idea of posting some circuit bent instrument videos did not come to me until just a few days ago. One thing to point out is that GetLoFi.com was the first put those on Google Video. So don't go running and hugging all the credit. The credit has been officially hugged by me. Anyways one problem however, I had 2 videos uploaded and they did show up in the search prior, but as of today only one does. I dunno, maybe google server that hosted the second one is down. Finally, this should also solve the compatibility issues with QuickTime files being played from my site. So go ahead, enjoy the nasty sounds of the Hell-Tar.

Phil of RuinProjects has decided to share some info on his new 386 and 555 based distortion pedal. The 555 is used to control the gain of the 386 providing for sort of a Tremolo effect on the overall sound. Speed can be adjusted with a single knob. The signal from 555 is isolated through the use of a vactrol assembly. The pedal is powered from a single 9Volt battery. Schematic is included however no guarantees are made that it works as drawn, I looked it over and it looks fine. As a side note the lm386 is pretty loud so it could drive a speaker connected just to the output.
Sound Sample1 ( Drums )
Sound Sample2 (Bass )
(Thanks Phil)

Alesis ModFx units have been at clearance prices for quite sometime. I did get my Philtre and SmashUp relatively cheap a while ago. The Philtre is kind of cool, but the Smashup totally sucks IMO and here is the reason why. It puts that annoying compressor pop all over my tracks and I am sick and tired of it. Now I don't expect a lesson on compressors and how I should use them, but for the longest time I wanted to take apart the darn thing and see what's on the insides. The hardest part about that is undoing the nuts that are on the control pots, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to do the trick. To no surprise at all the main DSP consisted of a tiny tiny Chip. The main IC had an Alesis 0-61-0060 m14 v1.04 sticker on it, under the sticker the true identity of Phillips p87c51rd-1b was revealed, link to datasheet here. Its a programmable sucker and I have not had much time to look through the specs, but my guess is that all of the ModFxs are virtually identical except with different firmware. I still have the Philtre to disassemble and confirm that. I guess the next step is to probe around and see if I can fry the thing. One thing I gathered from the datasheet is that these chips have an onboard crystal, however there is a second clock input that can be manipulated. So the usual data injecting techniques will be tried. Please stay tuned for part 2........

This Gent on the Experimentalists anonymous Board has done an expression mod for the ModFX. Note quite circuit bending, but interesting never to less.

That's right, a 6 year old has been frequenting the Livejournal Bending group and it is true that his bending skills are leveling at the rate of every 24 hours. Actually I'm glad that kids are into circuit bending instead of TV, video games, and or talking on the cell phone. When I was that age I didn't really bend much, but I enjoyed taking things apart, sometimes with devastating results. All I can say is that Niko is one lucky kid to have hip grown-ups around him. Also thank god he is not Chinese, otherwise we would have a super-bender our hands and we'd all be doomed.

Looks to be another aspiring website for all things bent. However I am not sure if I would trust them to bend my equiptent.

That's right, I am glad I caught this discrepancy while surfing bent items on eBay. In this item we have "of California", in this one we do not. Different item locations as well, the second one is in Kansas, did this person move or is it two different people selling under the same name. Strange if you ask me, geez I'm so bored.

I am speechless on this one. However the seller should've set the B.I.N. at atleast 1,000 for this genius piece of art. The only thing better then the images is the description, talking about Trent Reznor crapping his pants when he sees this insane keyboard. Via [Electro-Music.com forum]

Wow, holly crap. This video definitely tops Pathways To Music series anyday. A highly recommended watch, especially if you are into sound effects, tape splicing, and Music Concrete. This documentary interviews British composers who used to work at BBC's Radiophonics lab. The 1 hour long extravaganza is packed full of archival footage and electronically generated noises. The saddest part for me came when the studio became absolute thanks to the invention of the Synthesizer by the Americans. The often painstaking process of splicing the tape was abandoned and the studio more less closed without any sort of recognition. I suggest grabbing this one before it goes down.
http://fatbaron.com/alchemistsofsound.wmv

Original Post Via Theoretical Playground, Awesome forum!
http://theoreticalplayground.co.uk/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=&page=viewtopic&t=430

Trogotronic has you covered. The sounds from these units are fairly interesting, but I am not really sure as to how the the tubes are used. My guess in some unorthodox way, however I am confident this builder knows what they are doing granted they built a huge Tube Mixer for themselves. I will say that the sounds are different from just a basic 555 oscillator, but they are similar none to less. Also these units must use low power tubes because the cases would never fit an entire power stage safely. The blue joystick box is apparently a switcher for patching signals in and out based on the direction of the stick. [Thanks to Housepig for the link]

A reader emailed me a neato blog called Doorstop Electronics. A few homebrew projects can be seen there, including a battery powered Microphone and a Tri 555 oscillator dubbed Doorstop Tooth Synth. Seriously, how can anyone not like the sound of 3 or more 555s?

Egonspengler has posted pics of a pretty neat SK-1 with a custom paintjob and switch style bend control. Its nice to see for a change something other then a patchbay. No sounds yet, but the inside shots are pretty cool. Good clean build I must say, with zip ties on cables running to the switches. The idea for re-labeling controls with a patch of paint and a pen is definitely something I will have to borrow. [LiveJournal Link]