FARK.com: (2200371) Abusing and hacking the hardware of electronic sound toys is an art form called circuit bending. Meet circuit bending artist Jeff Boynton

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(LA Alternative)		Abusing and hacking the hardware of electronic sound toys is an art form called circuit bending. Meet circuit bending artist Jeff Boynton (laalternative.com)		62
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Phores Kin		2006-07-29 09:53:32 PM

mmm, gender bending... i mean, circuit bending...

PappaSon		2006-07-29 09:54:20 PM

No wonder I never heard of it.

I guess I'm not enlightened enough to get it.

Starhawk		2006-07-29 10:09:08 PM

Thread is useless without mp3s.

blahpers		2006-07-29 10:10:05 PM

Pork!

/so wants to do that

Dirtydan		2006-07-29 10:11:46 PM

Ho-meh-her, Y? Y? Y? Y? Y? Y?

Amigajoe		2006-07-29 10:11:52 PM

-I used to do something similar when I messed around with music. There are some wierd sounds hidden in the sound chips of some of these toys, and ways of shorting circuits to modify them.

Whatsleft		2006-07-29 10:13:18 PM

Casio made an old Sampling keyboard called the SK3 that made a popular instrument to bend. They can make extremely interesting noises that are really hard to replicated on traditional subtractive synthesizers. I have a few old keyboards that have been circuit bent, I coax glitches out of them and then chop up the samples and make electronic percussion sounds out of them. I heard Trent Reznor has used them before on his recordings.

fappomatic		2006-07-29 10:13:49 PM

But, can he bend a spoon?

cretinbob		2006-07-29 10:14:04 PM

I was doing this 15 years ago. must say the guys has raised the level a bit.

ANd here are your mp3s.

bubbaprog		2006-07-29 10:19:26 PM

PappaSon: I guess I'm not enlightened enough to get it.

I dunno, Make isn't exactly "enlightened" and they had a great feature on making your own circuit bending keyboard.

ravuya		2006-07-29 10:19:37 PM

I've always wanted to try modifying a spare speak and spell to be MIDI-controlled.

Well, it might just be me.

Pope Schizoid XIV		2006-07-29 10:21:24 PM

fappomatic

There is no spoon.

frequencyfarm		2006-07-29 10:22:32 PM

Go to Ebay and type in "Circuit bent" for a current selection of bent items - many of which include mp3 examples in their description.

Fun stuff for us audio producers...

Great way to find unique lo-fi sounds and tones not available with new off-the-shelf gear.

technicolor-misfit		2006-07-29 10:24:35 PM

Wow, who knew that old electronic toys and keyboards could, with enough time and attention, be coaxed into making entirely unpleasant noises which could be strung together to make entirely unpleasant "songs."

/and all this time I just stuck to playing the intro to 'Axel F'

spleender		2006-07-29 10:32:15 PM

Whatsleft

I have a Casio SK1 in my house right now. I love playing around with the sound synthesis device. Also, the hidden track on the Incubus S.C.I.E.N.C.E. album features the demo song that comes with the keyboard.

/still have that song stuck in my head from childhood

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 10:34:46 PM

I use this kind of stuff in my music, a hand bent casio sk-1 and sk-5.

And if you're into the electronic stuff you could check it out

espiforenque		2006-07-29 10:35:39 PM

Many of the videos on this dude's site involved circuit-bending Furbies. I know from experience, however, that you don't need to bend any circuits whatsoever to cause them to generate some very disturbing noises.

PersonTwo		2006-07-29 10:38:04 PM

At last a source for new ringtones.

shadow9		2006-07-29 10:39:30 PM

oh nos! this article has given the me an idea!!

/seriously just listened to Threnody by Penderecki not 2 minutes prior to reading article.
//ready to bring on some chaotic experimental musicization.
///curious, any ann arbor farkers interested in such chaos?
////do these slashies make my ass look big?

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 10:46:37 PM

Whatsleft

Yeah, the entire range of old casio sampling keyboards is ripe for plundering. Some of it is as easy as a dollop of solder on two legs of an IC. I've also heard about Reznor using bent stuff too but don't remember where I read that.

This whole thing reminded me of Suchaturnon's line of shirts. There's a badass SK-1 shirt on there now.

trintrin		2006-07-29 10:51:42 PM

Doo-ay! Huuh, huuh? Whoaa! Yuuum.
Both my Furbies died unexpectedly. I want a new one damnit.

BingoBob		2006-07-29 10:52:03 PM

from cretinbob's link:

'* "Body Blows" 9:28 8.8M
Created entirely using a circuit bent Casio MT-240 (R.I.P. destroyed by Fire)'

Blows is the key word. I thought it was supposed to be interesting... AND music.

I don't get it I guess.

windfall		2006-07-29 10:53:28 PM

I kept waiting for the article to get interesting. Hmm. It did remind me of the time I thought the Devil was in my daughter's bedroom, but it was just a toy that shifted in the toybox and started talking with very low batteries.(at 3 am)

/the Devil was actually in my son's room where he remains to this day..

trexman		2006-07-29 11:02:25 PM

In other, more interesting, news I like the Hot Shorts. They are teh hotness!

plutonium238		2006-07-29 11:07:34 PM

cretinbob / meaty encounters: very cool stuff guys!
\Been twerkin and jerkin circuts and soundbytes since 98.
\\Never laid any stuff down though.
\\\Good to see others involved in auditory experimentation.

Driver		2006-07-29 11:08:50 PM

Thanks for the great links MeatyEncounters.

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:09:56 PM

plutonium238

Keep on truckin'.

Got anything for me to hear at all?

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:13:05 PM

No prob Driver.

Since this is such a... targeted topic/article, I gotta ask... how many people here are electronic or experimental musicians to whom this concept of circuit bending isn't new?

plutonium238		2006-07-29 11:23:52 PM

MeatyEncounters: Nope, but my buddy just scored a roland VS-2480CD and that will all change soon.
\As soon as we get the manual decrypted!

DiamondSmasher		2006-07-29 11:28:22 PM

Always sad when geeks who always dreamed of being engineers try to sound real smart when they don't know what they are doing.
Why not actually become an electrical engineer and learn how to read the schematic of the chip? Then you could understand what it could do and modify the sound constructively, rather than waste countless hours poking around aimlessly, foolishly, in pseudo intelligent experimental mode.
"I learned how to use a voltmeter in high school when I was president of the computer club. I made this stuffed animal make a weird sound. I am smarter than the guy who designed it!" Huh-huh. Hu-hu-huh.

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:29:03 PM

plutonium238

Had to look that up...

I'm envious. That's gotta beat the software multitracking dance I'm doing right now, even if I am getting comfortable with Cubase. What kind of stuff are you aiming to produce? IDM, or something more noise or just flat out weird?

73Pinto		2006-07-29 11:29:33 PM

Try using a power adaptor set for low voltage on some of the early Casio MIDIs. (HT-700 I think?) When the batteries ran low in mine I got some great sounds, just couldn't stabilize it enough to get a sample.

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:31:22 PM

DiamondSmasher

That's not the point. I mean, I can understand the disdain, especially if it's coming from a real EE, but that's just not the point at all. I poke around in those things and freely admit to not knowing a damn thing about what I'm doing other than screwing something up in a way that might make a cool noise.

If I were an EE I'd probably just build my own sampler or synth.

Camper_Bob		2006-07-29 11:34:44 PM

I kept waiting for the article to get interesting. Hmm. It did remind me of the time I thought the Devil was in my daughter's bedroom, but it was just a toy that shifted in the toybox and started talking with very low batteries.(at 3 am)

Back in the day, a coworker's ex-wife's family took away the brand-new SK-1 he bought their daughter for Christmas and destroyed it. Reason? It was obviously demon-possessed.

plutonium238		2006-07-29 11:34:47 PM

Daimond smasher: Do you really have to serve a couple of years with the psuedo hip crowd at devry and attain the title of engineer just to enjoy manipulation? I dont think it takes anything more than a slight interest and a ISP to find joy in such a simple pleasure.
\Unless you want to conquer the animatronics field.

Ghastly		2006-07-29 11:37:01 PM

I've been circuit bending for years. The Value Village is an inexhaustable supply of cheap toy keyboards to circuit bend. Saddly most of the modern stuff is all on one single epoxy chip on the board with very little bending potential. Get ahold of the stuff from the 80s and you've got a lot of great bending points.

I'm never quite sure though if it still counts as circuit bending when you deliberately apply your electronics knowledge to get an intended result.

Here's the last thing I bent. A $2 keyboard from Value Village.

www.ghastlycomic.com

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:40:52 PM

Ghastly

Wonder of wonders, I have that exact same keyboard sitting around somewhere. What did you do to it?

plutonium238		2006-07-29 11:41:11 PM

Meaty: Buddy that sprung for it is heavy experimental, another guy is looking to put down a hip hop album and I am still totally split on what direction I want to take my style of production (like a big girl at a buffet).
\Once we learn the device, we really want to push it in every direction, but right now we are pretty overwhelmed with its capability.
\\baby steps.

DiamondSmasher		2006-07-29 11:46:55 PM

MeatyEncounters,
Good for you. My posts are rarely taken well on this site. I just drop in once in a while and usually make people angry.
I'm an EE, not a real sophisticated one. Low level BS type system level engineer.
The article just reminded me of all the "techie" types I knew in my 20s who actually thought they knew something because they learned to use a soldering iron or had a job at Radio Shack.
I had a disdain for this particular geek circle because just becoming a rank and file EE involved so much coursework. The all nighters, three semesters of calculus, differential equations, circuits, microelectronics, all of the higher level math.
Just like anyone who worked very hard for something and sees people trying to claim the same status without doing the legwork, I guess.
Have a nice weekend!

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:47:40 PM

plutonium: You could do what I did and basically split the difference between hip hop/experimental/idm. :)

MeatyEncounters		2006-07-29 11:50:35 PM

Diamond: I can understand that totally. I had to find out the hard way that I'm not cut out for engineering. Even my solder joints suck (not that it matters when you're trying to break something!). As far as those Radio Shack smartguy types, they annoy the hell out of me. Seem to be the best at bullshiat.

Oh, and if you see this, you too.

Ghastly		2006-07-29 11:56:44 PM

2006-07-29 11:40:52 PM MeatyEncounters

Ghastly

Wonder of wonders, I have that exact same keyboard sitting around somewhere. What did you do to it?

With that one I just opened it up and started poking around. There wasn't a lot to be done with it and I couldn't research the chip. It's one of those "everything on an epoxy blob" single chip toys. Most of the stuff from the 90s tends to use that kind of design.

Tied some points on the circuit board to the LED. Flashing LEDs make a great point to bend from as they make great triggers.

There are a lot of people with education in electronics such as myself who also circuit bend. The circuit bending is the art in itself. It's the randomness and chaos that becomes something creative which is why it starts to get into a sort of grey area when you start deliberately applying your electronic knowledge. Then you're not circuit bending anymore, you're just modifying.

Personally, if I see an obvious or potential mod I'll go for it as well as going for the random mutations. The random mutations always appeal to the anthropologist in me.

Foaming		2006-07-29 11:57:15 PM

There used to be a bug in a toy called "Speak-n-Spell" where a certain set of keystrokes would make it give you gibberish words to spell. I borked a bunch of those things.

DiamondSmasher		2006-07-29 11:57:30 PM

Plutonium 238,
I think I posted hastily in a thread that was about just having fun messing around with toys. You guys (you and Meaty Encounters)understandably took my comment personally. It wasn't meant to be. I was making fun of the article. Have a good time dabbling with the circuits. It is a fun hobby. No offense intended.

weazelbeater		2006-07-29 11:57:35 PM

"Yeah, bending."

"I always just called this foreplay."

DiamondSmasher		2006-07-30 12:05:50 AM

Also I wanted you guys to know that I cringed at the thought of poking around aimlessly because it is pretty easy to destroy components that way. You can destroy stuff permanently by shorting the wrong pins together, shorting one to ground, or placing a low resistance load between a pin and ground when it wasn't designed to carry more than a very small current. You can even destroy some chips by touching a pin after walking across a carpet and storing a static charge in your body. Technicians wear special shoes in many manufacturing and testing environments, and the floor is coated with special electro-static discharge wax so that they don't destroy a chip by touching the wrong pin after shuffling their feet across the floor.

Nightmaretony		2006-07-30 12:06:36 AM

used to have fun bending arcade game sound circuits. Lots of them used EPROMS for music and speech and playing mix and match with the chis and internal code was beyod fun.

//too afraid to bend my ESQ1s, they give a nasty enough sound now
////tempted to handmake some wierd bent soundmakers for future use
//got a shortwave radio for that porpoise...
//movie soundtrack with bent shortwave radio...yum!

Ghastly		2006-07-30 12:15:52 AM

2006-07-30 12:05:50 AM DiamondSmasher

Also I wanted you guys to know that I cringed at the thought of poking around aimlessly because it is pretty easy to destroy components that way.

That's why you do it on old junker toys you buy from the thrift store for only a couple of bucks and not on things like your vintage MiniMoog.

You have to stop thinking of circuit bending as electronic engineering and think of it as a form of chaotic art.

DiamondSmasher		2006-07-30 12:22:03 AM

Ghastly,
Fair enough. Have at it. I already said I was misguided when I gave you guys a hard time.
Just know that after some messing around, the chip isn't necessarily what it was before you started, even if you meticulously restore the original wiring configuration. You might have fried something without even knowing it. I wouldn't want you to get frustrated wondering why it doesn't make the same noise, even though you kept notes on the way it was wired when you started. Haha.