With music technology cheaper than ever, many producers are transforming old gear into new and unpredictable instruments. RA's Jack O'Shaughnessy investigates.

Great article. I read somewhere that Niamh Guckian, who directed "Totally Wired," the documentary about Schneiders Büro in Berlin, is making another film about the European circuit bending scene.

This article offers a relevant perspective on reasons why owning physical versions of the 'old stuff' can be more interesting than simple clone emulations. It also points out how the best emulation software models may never capture the realized potential of the original hardware, once it's in the hands of an innovators with fresh ideas and the technical know-how to make it better or atleast more interesting.

However, you can experiment with some of the core concepts of control input modificaton with software. Everyone should know that building objects in Open Sound Control programs such as Max/MSP (and other programs) can offer limitless paths to modifying the behavior of software and hardware instruments but the simple most options exist within Reason 5's factory instruments. The commonly overlooked and unexplored control input options (patching options on the backside of the instruments in the racks) needs your attention now. You can experiment with the connections and variations in the midi note lane to get some really interesting results. Don't overlook the Matrix instrument either, adding one or more in the path creatively can yield some interesting results from one of the most underated internal sequencers included in the Reason 5 package.

You can also do some amazing things with double slave rewire routing of midi triggering between DAW Master <->Live 8 slaved <->Reason 5 slaved.

Lastly, it's not circuit bending but to come up with some random pattterns, you can take a whole (or part of a complete) midi sequence for another instrument, something like "_______" song's piano performance and throw it into the midi note lane triggering a soft or hardware drum sampler. This can provide some random patterns you'd never think of - even if you played them in with the best of knowledge and skills. It's not exact science and purely experimentation but you can use sequenced parts for songs this way and strip away the undesirables until you find something interesting. The beauty of editing midi in software lanes is that you can select notes based on sound results rather than adherance to structured programing "like a drummer". I suggest using a default GM mapped preset first before getting into your own independently region mapped instruments. The rhythmic patterns and velocities of pure performance originally intended for another instrument is something to be explored. You can't do this with old hardware mising midi input but with newer gear and soft insts - try to explore the triggered patterns internally and via midi out to controlled hardware. Experiment with soloing, adjusting parameters directly and swapping out samples until you get more interesting results.

circuit bending

welcome to 1999, people

like Like like!

Here is a recently modded Synsonics Drums triggered by the 505 With some other custom bits
http://youtu.be/x2vPLCrO4i0

for more goodness, come check out the 8th international circuit bending festival
Bent 2011 in NYC June 23rd - 25th bentfestival.org as well as my Bent Fest DVDs and long running in the works circuit bending documentary here absurdity.biz/wordpress/?page_id=12 thanks for the support and getting the wordz out Jack
don't stop, keep going!

no offense meant but
welcome to the day that circuitz were born if you are gonna pull who was here first,
it was people like Tesla that are the true originalz in circuit bending, modding and creation :
RA is always slow at getting the real Underground word out
ie Maceo Plex, he shoulda been a star years ago
none the less, I love you all

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Yea circuit bending has been around lot longer than any of us but it sure has gotten popular again in the last couple of years. I think it actually has kind of been on a slow and steady rise in popularity.
Mr. Ghazala Has really pushed it forward more than anyone in the last 20 by releasing his book. Only reason it didn't take off before is cause experimental music is usually always ahead of its time and it takes people a while to be able to understand it.
Me and my homies dont make noise and were DJs and producers long before we got in to bending So we are coming at it from the angle of some one who uses pro gear daily and is used to paying a lot for it.
One obvious sign of recent popularity is Korg releasing the Monotron FOR $50-with full schematic encouraging people to bend/ mod it. that didn't happen till this year.

Circuit bent house music
http://soundcloud.com/sexicanz/funkbeatsforeva-unreleased

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i see your circuit bent house music and raise you mine, cept Im not gonna post the link, high five me laterz, cause i like what u is doing son, but your link is broken?

DIY will always slowly rise the top, takez time cause headz been lazy and circuit bending is not as fast or cheap as buying premade gear if you don't do the circuit work yourself

been a longtime mission of mine to get us all bending, teaches you so much about electronics, best starting point for those afraid to "open the pandora box", big problem is that is folk art, and there not any good formula's for making cream off it, most benderz give up on trying to cream it within a few yearz, only the elite bench monkey's still with it hard, like mr. archer, he is super elite

This is a really nice article, but nice articles need some critique here and there as well.

For anybody wanting to read about the downsides and the irony of "analogue" coming back in style, i urge you to read this interesting essay by Norwegian composer and academic Gaute Barlindhaug (AKA Kolar Goi).

The main argument he makes is that all the digital tools trying to imitate analogue circuits actually point out that digital is still inferior to analogue in some ways.

http://www.ub.uit.no/munin/bitstream/handle/10037/971/paper.pdf?sequence=1

We should not care about who did it first and who was or is a part of the so-called 'elite' circuit benders of today or yesteryear.

Theres at least 340 professional branded electronic instrument manufacturers out there with who knows how many candidate instruments in the back catalog that could be remade into a work of art, a dangerous 'Zombie' or a stupid 'Frankenstein' instrument. Not to mention all of the other things like toys these guys are modifying.

Just be glad that there's some current examples of who's doing it right now and how.

(removed the source information)

a bit late with this one, but nice introduction all the same. More people are starting to look for an alternative to sitting at a computer I guess, at least for some part of the day : ) plus some are more suited to hands on stuff than computer programming. But this analog versus digital debate that periodically gets wheeled out ? it's kinda tired by now. There is no either or, this is better, that is better, both have their strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you want to achieve, and your aptitude for experimentation. Anyway, cue loads of otherwise generic tracks with a few "bent sounds" inserted in a knowing nod to what someone thinks is currently hip (according to RA).

I built a site for a circuit bender friend a few years back. If anyone wants to check it the links here.
http://circuitbenz.com/

And to whoever called me "son " on here. I happen to be 33 years old. I fixed my link above. The only person I know besides my self who I have ever heard do circuit bending house music legitimately is my partner Jonah Sharp. If you are doing it I would love to hear it and would be stoked to connect with you.

interestingly SF has a much older tradition of what has come to be known as "live electronics" dating back to the 1960s, group called the Sonic Arts Union were probably the first to screw about with DIY electronics.

Another important guy, well know for his hardware hacking, but not mentioned in this article for some reason, is Nicholas Collins

Nicolas Collins is a genius. The begining of all electronic music was DIY. Leon had to design and build his own Theremins. If you wana talk about SF you must be speaking on "The Bear" Owsly yes he was definitely a Genius too. Not only did he synthesize the drugs for the party and the world but he designed the sound system for the Electric koolaid Acid test parties / Sound system for The Grateful Dead. Also AKG was based in sanleandro, dolby's been here forever, Sequential Circuits was here, DSI is here banging out new analog gear currently...

Don't take their bait - what you are doing is great...stand on that and ignore the fools that commented negatively and had nothing positive to contribute to anyone. Sadly anything presented as information for those that don't know tends to draw out a bunch of the net trolls that know everything and become a bunch of judgmental nay-sayers who don't even try to contribute to the sharing of ideas. They could offer something that would make you want to respect and friend them enough to show them more but instead you just want to punch em in the mouth for saying stupid stuff when everyone else was having a good time and they're trying to steal the moment and make it 'that kind of party'.

not to mention San Francisco Tape Music Center, Audium, Recombinant Labs, C74, CCRMA, so much great stuff there, yet historically SF seems to be pretty low key about it all, maybe that's a California thing? And yeah, right back to Thaddeus Cahill it was about home build! no choice before mass production changed it all, so that's the real tradition, not going out and buying some over priced Japanese hardware. If circuit bending is embraced by more people, and they see that they don't have buy the latest gear to make interesting noises (or spend silly money on retro gear for the sake of "authenticity") that's a good thing, but whether or not it will lead to new and interesting EDM remains to be seen.

yo, im just gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatos,
sorry if anyone is misreading me as dissing, '
im just trying to pass on good informationz,
google me or check my profile if you really care
i'd been warned in the past to not bother to comment on RA...
peace and respect to all the posters here

here is an awesome breakdown of how to bend a furby
japanese otaku stylez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu7HQWHnzp8

circuit bending is overrated by those new to the game, it's campy, we all tend to tire of it once we go real deep and move on to modding and building and having little time left in our short lives, is what I meant when I was talking about elites,
you really gotta be dedicated to soldering and sitting at bench (bench monkey is the EE business slang) to wanna continue with it for a long time, and solder fumes, not so healthy
that alone, the time it takes to bend / mod and build out a newly found device from scratch
does not line up with the pricing schedules on pre made gear
a person ends up taking $5 an hour sometimes, depending on the complexity of their bent device they try to sell
so that most only really bend for themselves, unless they are super dedicated like those UK kidz, casperelectronics, mr. archer and quite a few more
who have been at it, have quick technique and have worked out a money making equation, which is most hard to do in this game
it's very much a folk art, that doesn't fit well into mainstream pricing schedules
like the Banjo, it was a way for kidz without cash to buy a guitar, to make something similar with whatever they could find / scavenge
if I am offended by anything, it's RA taking so long to notice something that has been around since Roland modz have been on the collective radar of gear headz
but again, who was here first arguments can suck it, I'm not offended
circuit bending is something to be shared with love, not hate

Couldn't agree with you more about that point on SF. I attribute the travel-distance between SF and Europe as the reasons why some great things happen 'in a bubble' in that city. I don't think it's isolated I just think the city needs more visible information like this article, to show the rest of the world what's going on in there.

@Dr. Rek... (below) yeah... I love the ability to edit posts and since you and some others may have read it...that info has been passed only to some.

@runningoutofspace
ssssssh, you will ruin the Underground... don't mention SF's awesomesauce too loud hehe

http://www.coa-recordings.com/


https://www.facebook.com/dmitri.sfc


https://www.facebook.com/COATRAX


www.youtube.com/user/dmitrisfc


soundcloud.com/sexicanz


www.residentadvisor.net/dj/dmitrisfc

http://www.mixcloud.com/DmitriSFC

ahaha, link central, we gonna hang soon dude, plenty of reasons this is the first thing I bothered to comment on... are you any good at soul caliber?

I dunno what that is. Only software I use is Digital Performer only for recording and editing. No plugins ever. Just a big rack of gear.

nice article, hope more people get turned on to DIY electronics because of this.



this may well be true, but consider also that there have been many sample packs (some dedicated to dance type production) VST instruments and FX that emulate this sound, so there are bound to be tracks knocking about that have such material in them, also, though not House, bending has gotten more popular amongst Industrial producers, Trent Reznor's plug for the Tablebeast helped with that.

but good to hear what dmitri is up to, great collection of stuff there.

no boutz, circuit bent sample packz are on the market for the last few years,
there is an awesome video of this guy at some music gear show with a stuffed animal on his head showing off the collection he was selling that year, can't seem to lazyweb it up at the moment
not to boast, but maybe RA needz it for fun, i turned down an offer to do a "sample pack" in 2004,
I had wrecked my sitez traffic because of a new york times article about the first Bent Festival and sharks came to bite on something they thought could equal major profits, bending is my documentary passion of nine years, but as a business, not so much, it's too personal of thing for me to put much more effort than into my music and the documentary, anyone need intern work editing 300 hours of video? ahaha

DIY 4 life kiddoze
but i could use a production team right about next month, end of june, Bent Fest 2011, 23rd -25th in NYC
and they could use your kickstarting actionz as well
www.kickstarter.com/projects/phillipstearns/bent-festival-2011
edit: weird, someone turned off my html codez? edit edit: I see, someone is preapproving them

What a fantastic article, and this comments thread has some great links too. Many thanks to everyone involved. I didn't even know this stuff was possible!

This thread represents freedom from the idea that music equipment is too expensive for you or I to own.
This thread offers freedom from virtual plug ins.
To own a soldering iron in this digital micro-controlled age is revolution against consumerism.

We are sharing information up a storm and having a blast! No one owns bending. Bending leads to learning electronics and then to building things from scratch and learning to do proper mods.

Its all about sharing info and promoting innovation. breaking the musical norm. Yes circuit bending in a fuzzy suit for novelty and attention may be passe but as a gateway drug into electronics DIY circuit bending will never get old.

Right now I am faced with the choice to either hold on to it for dear life like the slimy lil guy on "Lord Of The Rings" or share it and help spread it. Im a player not a hater and you already know
"It ain't no fun if the homeys can't have none"

So RydimRyder or anyone interested please feel free to hit me up for any tips, advice or whateva. Bend on !

Probably the BIGGEST inspiration to me in bending has been Bunkit2600 after Ghazala let me know that I didn't have to be a genius to try it. Burnkit really shows what can be done with some conventional but obsolete kit.
My hr-16s were inspired by Burnkit2600 and obviously my Synsonic Drums.

http://www.burnkit2600.com

Get Lo-Fi RULES !

http://www.getlofi.com

hehe, link warz, see u sunday? trust me i don't care just as much as you don't I am off to maker faire now

you know i just be taking a piss

don't hate on me for making a documentary kiddoze, circuit bending will always be free, no boutz
i'm just a clown at your carnivalz
words is love was all I was hoping to spread here...

these guys will pimp your audio interface like what ! [http://blacklionaudio.com]


look at the modifications page. they only recently started providing their own products. They got known for re-doing the whole analog signal path on Motu interfaces and Protools interfaces. Now he sells mic pres and compressors and it don't stop. Half his schpeel is how when you buy a big named product.. half of what you pay for is the marketing budget. So he is steppin up to provide the real deal. I love this guy.

Its been a long time since any comments were dropped on this one so I thought I might add this personal story because it's quite relevant and positive to circuit bending.

I recently bought a one-owner, used Roland SH-101 off of EBay and it was in great shape but there was an issue with the audio output connections (were loose/had to be jiggled to get clarity other than scratchy). I got a good price on her but she was in need of repair because if you played with her the audio would drop out if the cable was jiggled or vibrations occurred. Sounds really bad but that condition was not hopeless so read on.

In my search for someone to repair it, I discovered Circuitbenders.co.uk which offer a £110 professional modification that is like (but improves on) the original "Nova Mod" modification. They can also perform a re-tuning, re-calibrations, and minor repairs in the process of the mod so I contacted them and arranged the job. I got her back in under three weeks and the modification turned out to be the best investment in this "old" analogue synth.

While many will lust over higher priced analogue classsic and then pay an unGodly fortune just to get them restored, this £110 modification on a reasonably inexpensive classic (I paid £480 for her), not only finds that hidden doorway to another dimension of sound, it brought her back to life, making sure I'm playing where the exact sound is and not a worn-out position that has slipped over the years.

I originally only wanted to repair/restore her back to basic and stable performance usage but the mods opened her up and the tuning /re-calibration/repair restored her back to "good as new".
I can't recommend them enough. The main guy (Paul) also found an anomaly with the synth's circuitry - something that's never been seen before and unknown why it was done like that (weird sodering that limited/reduced the possible sound range). He fixed my janky audio output issues and hooked me up with the right, custom-sized, mono cables for the right price (real cheap). She sounds so much better with the power conditioning and has more potential than I had originally hoped.

I offer this info to point out that there is another positive side of circuitbending. Its not to only to be seen as a way for random people to dabble into gear and make Frankensteins...if done by someone who knows what they are doing, it can really open-up and increase the potential of older gear.

D16 might come out with that "LuSH-101" Virtual instrument one day and it may be really awesome with all of its expanded glory, but it can't replace this one. One sound bite will have you a believer,, especially the newly added audio input option... no existing SH-101 should live on without these mods.

nice one runningoutofspace

Awesome!