CIRCUIT BENDING ... Mini forum in a single thread !!!

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do you have car boot sales over there ???

slainte ;) rob

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pHz wrote:how much you want for it liqih ???

slainte 8) rob
PM me what is worth for you, we may have a deal, <grin>

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Great thread! Couple of highly recommended books on the subject:

Circuitbending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments
Handmade Electronic Music

Theres also a very good journal: Experimental Musical Instruments

Check the back issues section, good articles to be found from the collected volumes.

Currently putting a bass guitar back together and hopefully adding a few things from the Handmade Electronic Music book, if all goes well I'll post pics and an mp3 at some point.

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CC4 wrote:...anyway, here's some more stuff i stumbled onto recently:
cool ... added ...

slainte 8) rob

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added ...

slainte 8) rob

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Right - I think I may getting old but what exactly is the "purpose" behind circuit bending ?

Can someone define it for me ?

I mean, I love me electronica (including glitch stuff (Akufen etc), Aphex, Squarepusher etc.

What is the point of this - surely you can get these sounds with "glitch" and other plugins (e.g don't the Smartelectronix collective specialise in stuff like this ?) ?

Is it for people who just like to get there hands dirty and mess about with wires & stuff ....?

Maybe to replicate the sound mangling possibilities of software in hardware ?

cheers

BC
If God did exist (and he doesn't) he would answer to the name of Maurizio

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pHz wrote:Image
VIDEO (2.2Mb .wmv)
AUDIO (2Mb .mp3)

... watch your speakers ...

slainte :hihi: rob

(edited to add audio link)
I'm not into this sort of thing at all, but that noise creator thing is very very awesome. I enjoyed the video to a high degree.

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basic channel wrote:Right - I think I may getting old but what exactly is the "purpose" behind circuit bending ?
Entertainment? Finding something new? Doing something different? Panning for gold?
Can someone define it for me ?
Its fun?
What is the point of this - surely you can get these sounds with "glitch" and other plugins (e.g don't the Smartelectronix collective specialise in stuff like this ?) ?
Nope. I'd have to say Im not aware anything which comes close to replicating the very 'earthy' sounds of bent electronics. Yeah, the verious FSU plugins can put you in a similar territory. But they arent the same.
Is it for people who just like to get there hands dirty and mess about with wires & stuff ....?
Probably ;)
Maybe to replicate the sound mangling possibilities of software in hardware ?
No, I dont actually think so. Not for me, anyways. Its about alchemy.
my other modular synth is a bugbrand

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whyterabbyt wrote:
basic channel wrote:Right - I think I may getting old but what exactly is the "purpose" behind circuit bending ?
Entertainment? Finding something new? Doing something different? Panning for gold?
Can someone define it for me ?
Its fun?
What is the point of this - surely you can get these sounds with "glitch" and other plugins (e.g don't the Smartelectronix collective specialise in stuff like this ?) ?
Nope. I'd have to say Im not aware anything which comes close to replicating the very 'earthy' sounds of bent electronics. Yeah, the verious FSU plugins can put you in a similar territory. But they arent the same.
Is it for people who just like to get there hands dirty and mess about with wires & stuff ....?
Probably ;)
Maybe to replicate the sound mangling possibilities of software in hardware ?
No, I dont actually think so. Not for me, anyways. Its about alchemy.
Thanks - that clears things up a bit.

Sometimes I find the online world a bit overwhelming...you've only got to turn your back on it for a short while and a whole new community appears.

Bet if I typed in "snail racing circuitboard" there'd be a bunch of nutters neeting up every w/e to race circuitboard-carrying snails....

The world was so simple 20 years ago :wink:

BC
If God did exist (and he doesn't) he would answer to the name of Maurizio

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basic channel wrote:The world was so simple 20 years ago :wink:
"You must be joking,
Oh man you must be joking"


20 years ago, almost the only way I could make electronic music was by er, "circuit bending" (or some process that involved getting bent). There was always some piece of gear or adapter you had to build yourself. I discovered I'm not that handy with the soldering iron so I say it's far easier and cheaper to do this stuff today.

And I agree with whyterabbyt, the beautifully unpredictable complexity of variable feedback and distortion are well-beyond the capabilities of many digital effects - but daisy-chained plug-ins and some of the more modular architectures do a decent job of emulating certain charateristics. Plus you can automate aspects of computer DSP plug-ins. Try that with a bent Tickle-Me-Elmo.

Of course it is a matter of taste, but I think bending appeals to those who are fascinated by chaos, non-linearity and randomness - a refrain from the desire to control every aspect of the creative process. And it's fun to take things apart.

:ud:

I've been having some luck using telephones as a good source of tones and samples.

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You™ wrote:
basic channel wrote:The world was so simple 20 years ago :wink:
"You must be joking,
Oh man you must be joking"


20 years ago, almost the only way I could make electronic music was by er, "circuit bending" (or some process that involved getting bent). There was always some piece of gear or adapter you had to build yourself. I discovered I'm not that handy with the soldering iron so I say it's far easier and cheaper to do this stuff today.
I'm sure it is.

What I was kind of trying to say is that sometimes it's very hard to keep up generally with the internet & the seemingly exponential growth in topics / issues / new developments etc.

This thread was a case in point for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love it - it just seems that keeping track of stuff was easier 20 years ago.

Mind you, 50 years ago it was even easier..

Like I say, I getting old and overloaded with info .. :drunk:
If God did exist (and he doesn't) he would answer to the name of Maurizio

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:tu:

I know THAT feeling!

Dave

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mckenic wrote::tu:

I know THAT feeling!

Dave
And it makes you wonder what it'll be like in another 50 years :o

The amount of information to assimilate will outstrip our brain's ability to evolve to cope by several orders of magnitude (if it hasn't done so already).

The most important skill to develop will be appropriate focus & filtration of the (already) mindboggling information available.

I know this has all been a bit OT but it's all of your fault....bloody "circuit bending", I ask you :)
If God did exist (and he doesn't) he would answer to the name of Maurizio

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