Final 'TRANCE-GATE' AMSTRAD Synthesizers (august 2013)

Published on Aug 20, 2013 squidfanny·150 videos

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"Well Hacked & Circuit bent AMSTRAD CKX100 Synthesizer(s).

These machines (there's two of them used in this vid) have been transformed using the power of alchemy & CMOS...

The Circuit Bending & Glitch brings forth a world of weird new sounds, chords & waveforms to experiment with.
The Step-Sequencer provides Gate, Pitch-Modulation & Unique Arpeggiator effects.

In parts of the vid, a Monotribe is synced from the Amstrad, in another part I'm using a MIDI-TRIGGER Converter to generate clock signals (for syncing) from a computer.
In another part I'm using the glitch buttons to scramble and disrupt the Amstrad's native beats & accompaniment.
At some point I'm also using the Glitch buttons to generate nasty waveforms and the step-sequencer to manipulate aforementioned waveform.

The Amstrad has a 'computer aided chord' function similar to the Omnichord, which allows the user to randomly hit any keys you want, without generating a 'dis-harmonious' note........

This little feature, when combined with the Glitch mods, will produce all manner of fascinating, ultra-harmonic and often terrifyingly sinister digital sounds.

These things blow my mind every time I play with them.

These will be the final ever 'Trance-Gate' Amstrad Synthesizers - I've reached the apex of what can be achieved with the current design (an evolved 4017 sequencer module), so I'm going back to the breadboard to try out some new ideas.

Constant and relentless experimenting is the nature of circuit bending. Being creative and trying new ideas is what makes it an art form. Without the creativity, you may as well be working as a assembly droid at a car factory....... you listening s-cat?

Anyway, I've got lot's of interesting ideas for the next Amstrad(s). Just gotta translate them into hardware now (the difficult part).

Wanna know what I'm thinking?

Well, I like the idea of fully transforming the Amstrad into an Omnichord (it shares identical chord feature). So I'm gonna build a metal touch-plate to replace the top octave of keys, along with some DIY circuitry, so that I can play it with fingers just like the Omnichord :)

I also want a dedicated arpeggiator, and an advanced sequencer circuit, which can trigger the notes as well as modulating the sounds. . . . It's a tall order, with not much space inside the machine, and limited capabilities of the Amstrad, however, the Amstrad has a MIDI output to go with the chord feature. This means that a decent step-sequencer circuit could further transform the humble Amstrad into a very powerful MIDI controller :)

Hmmm Lots of ideas and not enough hours in the night. Back soon :)"