This is an Atari Punk Console run through a circuit bent Danelectro Fab Echo as delay.
These simple synths are so much fun. I gave this one a very wide range, a three color blinking LED that changes color/brightness depending on the sound, and put it in a prescription bottle.
Here it is with my SK-1:
I’m gonna put this up on ebay if anyone is interested.
Here is a really interesting article from Sound on Sound about the early days of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The Workshop housed many electronic music pioneers, including the lovely beat matching Delia Derbyshire (how’s that for an english name) seen above.
Especially well known for her realization of the theme and sound effects in the original Dr. Who, Delia Derbyshire was an amazing example of sonic curiosity leading to the innovation of new techniques. Her contribution to the experimental, psychedelic band White Noise’s album “An Electric Storm” is certainly worth checking out, as well as her immensely forward looking album “Electrosonic”.
computermatic (from “Electrosonic”)
air (from a BBC Radiophonic compilation)
firebird (from “Electric Storm”)
In addition to the data line cut, I’ve added 12 more traditional point to point bends. These do a wide variety of modulations, variations, and crazy sonic garbling.
Yamaha was nice enough to number all the chips. Here are my notes on the point to point bends:
Thats from the inside of the keyboard. The same colored points are connected together.
The data lines to cut are IC2, pins 10,11, 13-18.
With all 20 switches to play with you can have a lot of fun.
Ben wanted me to bend him a keyboard to make weird sounds for him to use in new songs. I had bent a PSR-11 before and he dug that, so he got me one of those to play with. However, tired of the same old same old, I decided to try a new type of bend, a data line cut. Usually in circuit bending, you add a connection where there isn’t supposed to be one. This kind of bend does the opposite, interrupting a connection that is usually there.
See, certain Yamahas have a FM chip that produces the sounds. There are data lines that run from the main chip to the FM chip to tell it what to do. You press “flute” and it sends it the code to produce a flute sound. If you put a switch on these lines, you can cut the data transfer. This can tweak out the preset sounds and rhythms or even blend multiple sounds. Pretty cool. There are still some more “classic” bends I want to put in here, but these 8 switches are fairly infinite in their ability to confound the senses.
The 8 data line switches:
This came out awesome!! I will be cutting many data lines as soon as humanly possible.
The Danelectro Fab Echo is a really cheap slapback pedal. I learned online that the chip inside is actually a fully functional delay chip, but Danelectro puts shackles on it to sell a low-grade pedal. If you circumvent their obstacles, you can get a really great delay pedal for under $20!
It’s been a fun week.
Here’s the PSR-11 without the delay:
And some with both:
I am bending a casiotone mt-100 for graham from tokyo police club. Here it is with my original unpainted mt-100:
I told him I would paint it up cool. I’ve never really taken apart and painted a keyboard before. Very complicated. All the keys were done separately. Putting it back together was a huge pain.
BUT it sure looks rad!
I used a label maker to do the controls. The white labels all but disappear on the white keyboard.
PA RUMP PAH PUM PUM!!!!!!!
My ever lovin’ wife got me a safari flashlight from cracker barrel for jewish christmas. What a woman!
It makes a variety of jungle noises and promptly got bent.
I also recently acquired an old italian keyboard by bontempi, which was packed by a moron and arrived broken from ebay (thanks for nothing, Dean Sancho!). Anyways I popped it open and think I can fix it up. Also from ebay a barbie karaoke which is basically a gritty little amp with built in delay - also not bent yet.
Some fun in the attic last night, despite the cold. . . .
This is the third incarnation of whiz kids I’ve bent. And it is awesome!
In addition to the usual looping/glitching (which you can see better in other posts), I’ve added two “feedback” tone knobs (high and low) with a photo theremin connected to the low tone, a 555 LFO that can trigger an LED to control the photo theremin, re-trigger the sounds/glitches, or pulsate the feedback tones, and a “glitch” LED that pulsates in strange rhythms.
When you turn on the photoresistor and both LEDs you get crazy polyrhythmic patterns of blooping and whatnot, modified by the knobs, the rate of the LFO, or the photoresistor.
Add a custom Metallic Kool Aid paint job, and you’ve got one hell of a machine.
Here it is making sweet love with the Schatz Box:
Do you like?
I’m gonna put this up on ebay, or contact me if you want to commission one.
American Spirit Atari Punk Console!