Circuit bending is a chaotic art. At its simplest, it can just involve making connections between random points on a circuit board to create weird sounds in musical hardware. Or, you can complicate things, get really specific with your hookups, and twist them with various sorts of modulation. [Simon the Magpie] has been working on something closer to the latter category, with his neat project to add MIDI to the circuit bending world.
The concept is straightforward enough. [Simon] has created a device that you place in line with your circuit bent connections, particularly those that create pitch bends with pots thanks to their variable resistance. You can then play your MIDI keyboard, and the device will vary the resistance in the circuit and bend the pitch at your command. [Simon] simply calls the device MIDI TO RESISTANCE, because that’s… precisely what it does, with the aid of a digital potentiometer. He then demonstrates it doing its thing on pitchbent toys, and it sounds pretty radical in use.
If you’re trying to make your circuit bent toys and instruments more musical, this build should serve as a great inspiration. We’ve featured other oddball musical hacks in a similarly creative vein before, too—such as using mixers as a synthesizer in their own right. Have fun out there.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login