All of the instruments listed here are "circuit bent"...Designed by Arius Blaze of ISM™, based on many of the techniques described and introduced by Reed Ghazala.
Audio Anarchy.
All of the instruments below represent illogic to some extent. The sometimes chaotic rhythms and textures they speak become controllable, making clear the inherent order that lies within chaoss...The machine is no longer entirely reliant on the user, and is allowed the freedom to roam from it's usual routine. This idea is a huge part of experimental music of any kind...Learning to roam free of conventional ideas that still flood mainstream culture...Roaming free of logical circuitry that traps minds in routine...To float out of tune or off tempo, have spasmatic episodes of energeticisms, give music color then scribble over it, abandon what IS-and allow it to be...
These instruments become the direct expression of nature through electricity...To be exorcized by human hands...
Much less like playing the guitar and more like letting the guitar play itself while you scratch the strings and bang on it, occasionally tapping the chords or dropping it on the floor...
But the circuit bent instrument represents more than simple illogic. It's playing an instrument in a way that it was never meant to play...Only it's actually been permanantly rewired to be played that way.
The solidification of innovative idea...Yet the result represents fluent impermanance. At some point some instruments may have had enough of your poking around it's insides...The outcome of the next playing experience may possibly be something entirely new. Sponteneity.
These instruments are an opportunity to release all preconcieved notions...Abandon the past, and rewire the way you think.
Performing an exorcism on all this keep it realism.
Feel free to inquire about any instruments on this page...And please see the Gallery for more works.
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Optomin
bent optical theremin
A simple optical theremin with a big fat sound. Controlled by 2 photo cells, one controls strictly pitch - the other effects different parameters such as volume and tone as well as pitch changes.
There's also a switch that sends the circuitry into wierd lo-fi deep noisy atari mode. Very strange indeed.
Below are 2 sound samples...The first goes through several ways of playing, recorded straight, no editing or effects...The second is a recording using samples from the Optomin - contorted, effected, twisted, and completely reworqed and added to. Meant to give an example of possibilities, but also I just really enjoy the opportunity.
The photo theremin is an instrument that requires mastering...I have not-that may be self evident, but perhaps you will.
The Optomin is available right now (limited) for those who are interested...Each comes custom painted...No 9 volt adapter included. But it's a standard, so you should be able to pick one up at a thrift store for next to nothing - or if you must, you can get one at Radio Smack for $10.
Price: $101 + sh
"Embryo"
A fine piece of funky late 70's gadgetry...Amazing beats, and a nice old fat analog sound...Capable of sheer madness, or a huge array of clicks and cuts sounds and rhythms...Analog style patchbay, and funky old mini knobs for your plugging and twisting pleasure...
long sound sample
"nOISE" (pINK AND bLUE)
These things are incredible to play...More than being an extremely technical piece of gadgetry that you lightly poke at, you get to feel the noise out...Get your hands dirty (fuzzy). The sound is much more determined by how well you massage. Like the Naked Lunch typewriter.
Go to the current ebay auction for full details
Here are the sound samples as promised:
cungreyonic - 2 minutes + some...
Straight recording taken from a 10 minute live session using the blue one...No editing or effects until the very end.
incongruency - 8 minutes + some...
A composition using that same recording (cungreyonic) plus another couple minutes from later in the same recording. Used in part as a drum track type thing. Remanipulated, added synth parts and recorded the session. Worth a listen if you have the time.
moon unit
click on boxes below for sound samples
to hear a song made using moon unit™ and the antithesis™ see creature music
Optical controlled synthesizer/effects box
Fully playable pitch and other effects with the optical glowing blue orb
5 switches for altering optical function or global parameters, 2 to turn the optics on or off and a number of other function knobs. As well as 4 body contacts.
8 synthesized voices and an audio & Mic input for changing a voice or sound source up or down 8 steps in pitch...
The moon unit works similar to a photo theremin but with many more possibilities, and it has a glowing orb that's very nice.
I have made 6 of these and there will be no more...I may eventually work with the same idea executed in different ways so email if you'd like more info.
SK-1 sampling synthesizers
The sk-1 is what all other circuit bent instruments aspire to be. It is endlessly manipulated, mutilated, regenerated. And the end result can be something unfathomable. That a keyboard so simple and so overlooked in it's early life could be transformed to transcend the original purpose and audience imposed by the Casio makers themselves, and become a professional instrument...
No longer meant for just the novice musician, lo-fi artist, or child of the 80's middle class family.
It is now a truly fascinating experimental instrument that's only restriction is the shell that holds the circuitry and keys, and the inevitable system crash that will come to the inexperienced and the experienced alike.
Every sk-1 has a personality all it's own...I have made many sk-1's in my day and I can honestly say that no two have been the same.
Below are different examples of the extremely modified sk-1 series.
ANTITHESIS
to hear a song made using antithesis™ and the moon unit™ see creature music
Detachable 24 port patchbay, 8 port switches, 10 effect switches, 4 kill knobs (extract drums and synth parts), audio input and 4 filters...
PATCHBAY
Connections are made using RCA plugs (similar to vintage analog patchbay synthesizers), there are 287 potential single connections available on a 24 port patchbay...A single connection acts differently if there are other single connections plugged in...That means there are literaly thousands of possibilities with multiple connections and switches...These connections effect the parameters of internal or sampled sounds.
The heavily modified Antithesis or other sk-1 has hundreds if not thousands of sequencing possibilities using the Chord (Arpegiator)...
There are four knobs that also primarily represent sequencing...Drum Extractor allows the gradual increase or decrease of internal drum sounds...In the same style Poly 1 extracts low tones from the sequence and Poly 2 extracts the high tones...So the sequence can be stripped down to near silence. The Pitch Knob adjusts the pitch from high on one end to low on the other and offers a wide range. All of the knobs as well as the audio in/thru switch are mounted on colored plexiglass that covers what used to be the speaker grill.
SPACEBOX 343
24 port patchbay, 8 switches, 3 knobs (pitch, synth/drum extractor), 3 LED's.
333
hear a song made entirely by this spacebox-no editing whatsoever! (18 secs.)
24 port patchbay, 8 switches, pitch knob and photo cell for pitch.
323
This unit is the same as the Spacebox 333 (above) but with fewer modifications.
SK-ISM-5
go to the creature music page to hear a track made using this synth
Overlooking the sampling feature, the sk-5 is not at all similar to the sk-1...The sounds, rhythms and circuitry are completely different...The possibilities are limited in comparison to the sk-1. But it just has a different personality...Very good for clicks and cuts rhythms and altering samples to a great degree.
The sk-5 will hold either four 2 second samples or 1 sample up to 8 seconds...8 onboard tones, 4 rhythm pads, 10 different beat patterns, 4 sample pads (so different samples can be played together), 6 envelope selections, effects (reverse and loop), sample tune, and sequencing.
Added 16 port patchbay, 4 port switches, 2 knobs, 5 main switches.
DRUM Insection
Very simple drum pad normally capable of a few assignable sounds with a few basic methods for shaping...I added 14 switches that works to shape the sounds individually or in combination in many ways from delays and decays to resonance and filters.
Roland Tr-505
One of the many classic drum machines that are fully changed and widely expanded into a great synthesizing sequencer when modified. I haven't even begun to dive into the possibilities of these drum machines. Maybe someday soon.
Early Bird
Modified Casio
This synthesizer had a wand coming out of the top that reacted to motion...The metal end and the wire acted similar to an antenna but reacted to a magnetic field created by the speakers on each side. The field was disrupted by body movement.
Also included an optic sensor for modulation and 14 switches for altering global parameters.
The Speak and X's
The speak and X (spell, math, read) series is the bare bones...The square root of circuit bent instrumentation and theory by which all other malfunctions extend and are fully realized...
They are the very simple teachers of natural rhythm through chaoss, order and controlled accidents.
These are a few of my first, I've gone on to do many others and will probably do a few more here and there. See the custom page for a fully done up model.
MODIFIED SPEAK AND MATH
loops, long droning sound waves, tweaked out gibberish, modulation, and unexpected sounds that you may only find once or twice..
ECHOBOX 202
SPEAK AND READ
ECHOBOX 303
SPEAK AND SPELL
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