Circuit bending is the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as children's

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

s and

digital synthesizer A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds, in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital rec ...

s to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators. Circuit bending is manipulating a circuit to get an output that was not intended by the manufacturer. Emphasizing spontaneity and randomness, the techniques of circuit bending have been commonly associated with

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

, though many more conventional contemporary musicians and musical groups have been known to experiment with "bent" instruments. Circuit bending usually involves dismantling the machine and adding components such as switches and potentiometers that alter the circuit.

Experimental process

] The process of circuit bending involves experimenting with inexpensive second-hand electronics that produce sounds, such as toys, keyboards,

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s, and electronic learning products.

Innovators

While Ghazala says that he was not the first circuit bender, he coined the term Circuit Bending in 1992. Serge Tcherepnin, designer of the Serge modular synthesizers, discussed his early experiments in the 1950s, with the

transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Previous portable radios used vacuum tubes, which were bulky, fragile, had a limited lifetime, consumed excessive power and required large heavy batteri ...

, in which he found sensitive circuit points in those simple electronic devices and brought them out to "body contacts" on the plastic chassis. Prior to Mark's and Reed's experiments other pioneers also explored the body-contact idea, one of the earliest being Thaddeus Cahill (1897) whose telharmonium, it is reported, was also touch-sensitive. Since 1984, Swiss duo Voice Crack created music by manipulating common electronic devices in a practice they termed "cracked everyday electronics".

References

External links

oddmusic.com's circuit bending section
– Gallery of some of Reed Ghazala's work, facts, history, tutorial, benders guide, tools of the trade and more
GetLoFi
a circuit bending blog with a lot of circuit bending tips and resources
Interview on Circuit Bending with Igor Amokian Part I
{{Chiptune-footer Electronics and society Electronic musical instruments DIY culture Underground culture

Experimental process

Innovators

See also

References

Further reading

External links