Musical Ship's Wheel - For Your New Yacht

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel
"This was a commission for Mucky Sailor, who are an excellent and very noisy band. More details of the project on this page: www.nervoussquirrel.com/muckysailor.html"

And in case you missed it the first time, thenervoussquirrel also brought us:

Circuit bent mechanical furby sequencer - The Furby Gurdy!


and

Circuit bent mechanical Furby sequencer linked to Korg SQ-10

RALPH THE ROBOT

via this auction

"Seven of these were made, for fun and as an excuse to make some parts using my new lathe.

Each robot contains a 'Weird Sound Generator' circuit board, designed by Ray Wilson.
Ray's fantastic site, musicfromouterspace.com, has loads of analog synthesiser-related projects and PCBs."





Ralph the Robot, with built in Weird Sound Generator
Uploaded by thenervoussquirrel on Dec 13, 2009

"One of a batch of seven robots, made to try out my new lathe.

He has a built in 'weird sound generator', available in kit form from the utterly fantastic musicfromouterspace.com

More details here:

www.nervoussquirrel.com/ralph.html"

Velotone - bicycle powered sequencer/synth

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel — April 26, 2010 — "This was made for Paddy Austin, who organises bicycle-powered club nights where all of the lights and sounds are generated by pedal power.

A magnet attached to the rear wheel passes a reed switch, which sends a pulse to an 8-stage sequencer mounted on the handlebars. Depending on the speed of the cyclist, the sequencer plays 8 tunable oscillators, and also controls a Coron DS-7 drum machine.

Paddy and Charlie sent me the video - thanks very much! Visit their website:

www.citiesinthedark.com"

The Musical Stepladders

Published on Apr 19, 2014 thenervoussquirrel·41 videos

"A project from some time ago, but finally made a video...

Each ladder contains four lo-fi sampler circuits, which are activated by spring-mounted steps.

www.nervoussquirrel.com"

Be sure to see the nervoussquirrel channel below for previous posts including the Owl theremin & Pyramid synthesizers.

Custom circuit bent machine with Casio SK-5 etc.

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel
"This project was commissioned by Joe Henson, who specified that it should make as many strange noises as possible. After a few of meetings involving beer and a sketchbook, the plans were made for a machine that eventually included the following:

Modified Neurosmith Musini
Modified Casio SA-2
Casio SK-5 with 24 patch points, separate instrument/drum pitch control and assignable joystick
Modified talking toy educational computer
Patchable modulation section
1950s panel meter connected to audio out (funkyness indicator)
More details at www.nervoussquirrel.com, and please get in touch if you'd like to discuss a new project!"

Another circuit bent TR-505

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel
"This was made for Jay Merrifield of Glasstone Records. It's the same as the first one (see other video), but has a multicoloured LED!
www.nervoussquirrel.com"

Circuit bent Roland TR-505 drum machine

"This was a commission for Chris Wing (www.winganimation.com) who lives in San Francisco and writes cool dub tracks.

I have only used six patch combinations in the video, but there are literally thousands to explore.

The box has MIDI in and out, and a switch to route the drum machine's audio signal through a 'voice modulator' section, which has pitch and LFO controls.

Apologies for the inferior drum programming - I'm looking forward to hearing Chris do it justice!"

Ralph the Robot, with built in Weird Sound Generator

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel

"One of a batch of seven robots, made to try out my new lathe.

He has a built in 'weird sound generator', available in kit form from the utterly fantastic musicfromouterspace.com

More details here:

www.nervoussquirrel.com/ralph.html"

The Badgermin

YouTube Uploaded by thenervoussquirrel on Jan 2, 2012

"Three musicians play the Badgermin for the first time.

More details: www.nervoussquirrel.com/badgermin.html"

The Pyramid Synthesisers

via nervoussquirrel.com where you'll find additional info and pics.

"Another collaboration with Pete Fowler - two pyramid-shaped analogue synthesisers with hand painted casings.

They began as part of an animated music video that Pete made for The Horrors, and then afterwards Richard Russell (XL Recordings) decided to commission a real life version. It was decided to make two synths in the end, one for Richard and one for The Horrors to use. They each have a catalog number, "XLRD001 001" and "XLRD001 002".

The whole project was massive fun from beginning to end - everyone involved was really nice, complete artistic freedom was given, lots of enthusiasm and encouragement from every direction! Once they were finished, Nathan Pask took these great photos

Each synth contains a Sound Lab mark II, built from a circuit board sold by Music From Outer Space."

Video below and at nervoussquirrel.com.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Solenoid percussion controlled by modular synth

Published on Jan 13, 2017 thenervoussquirrel

"This was a nice commission from Michael Donnelly in Australia. The solenoids are completely isolated from the synth system - it takes low current triggers and then uses a separate power supply to activate the mallets.

Let me know if you want any - they are GBP £250 each, minimum order 3, cheaper if you want more.

www.nervoussquirrel.com"

Circuit bent box containing Musini, sampler and ELC piano

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel
"This box basically consists of three sections:

A modified Musini, which is a baby toy originally intended to get toddlers dancing around the living room. A sensor detects floor vibrations and matches the tempo accordingly, or as the manufacturer puts it:

"Musini's patented MusicSensor detects their every move and translates it into a totally unique musical response, teaching cause and effect."

New knobs and switches have been added to create strange new sounds that would probably frighten the previous small owner of the toy.

The second section is a simple lo-fi sampler that can record up to 20 seconds of audio, either as one long sound or four shorter ones. The sounds can then be looped and the pitch altered.

The third section is a modified Early Learning Centre 'animal piano', which can be used to create blips, crunches and bleeps which contrast nicely with the mellow sweeping sounds of the Musini. This section could also be useful for communicating with a pet dog, cat or bird.

The box was commissioned by Norman Fairbanks (www.normanfairbanks.com), after a few e-mails discussing the types of sounds he was looking for. There should be some higher-quality audio samples on my website at some point, and Norman is planning on creating some new music with the box, which is exciting."

Charlie Draper plays the Badgermin

YouTube Uploaded by thenervoussquirrel on Apr 4, 2012
Re-Published on Aug 4, 2013

"Charlie Draper playing the Badgermin, with piano accompaniment by Ben-San Lau.

Badgermin constructed by David Cranmer.

www.nervoussquirrel.com/badgermin.html
www.charliedraper.co.uk"

See the Synth Badgers label below for more.

Update 6/22/13: Don't miss The Owl Theremin.

NLC Cellular Automata synth modules

Published on Jan 25, 2017 thenervoussquirrel

"First patch of six NLC Cellular Automata modules.

More details of the synth here:

www.nervoussquirrel.com/modular"

Circuit bent mechanical furby sequencer - The Furby Gurdy!

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel on the forum.
"Each furby has 4 controls: mute, crash, loop and reset. The handle turns 8 cams which operate corresponding microswitches to create interesting rhythmic patterns. Part of the 'setting up' section at the beginning has been fast forwarded. Please commission me to make lots more of these machines!"

Oscilloscope/synthesiser twiddling

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel — May 28, 2010 — "Oscillosope with X and Y axes connected to a modular synthesiser."

Ore-some Volts synth module: Using jars of uranium ore to manipulate audio

video upload by thenervoussquirrel

"Ore-some Volts synth modules available here:
www.nervoussquirrel.com/modules"

Turmoil: eurorack trigger disrupter by Nervous Squirrel

video upload by thenervoussquirrel

"Big thanks to Gwenan Spearing, David Glasper, Will Muir Llia and Liam Lucas for help and encouragement with this module."



via Nervous Squirrel

"This module is useful for adding controlled unpredictability to any source of triggers.

Use the built in clock as a starting point, or feed it external events.

Set the various disrupting parameters, then use the main disruption knob to dial in the wonkiness.

Plenty of CV inputs to keep everything interesting.

Features and controls

CLOCK SPEED: Sets the rate of the internal clock.

RUN/STOP: Starts and stops the internal clock.

EXT CLK: Input for any source of triggers or gates.

DISRUPTION: Master control of the probablity of Deflect, Skip or Burst (see below) occurring.

CLOCK DEFLECT: Sets the amount of time by which a trigger is temporally shifted. Turn up this knob to set the maximum amount that the trigger is randomly displaced. The module monitors the trigger inputs and extrapolates a tempo which it can then use to predict when the next trigger might fall. This allows the triggers to be deflected forwards or backwards from where they would've otherwise occurred.

CLOCK SKIP: Sets the probability of a trigger being skipped, i.e. not passed through to the outputs.

BURST LENGTH: Sets the amount of times a trigger is repeated (from 1 to 8), for ratcheting effects.

AB CHANCE: Sets the probability of a trigger being sent to Output A or Output B. Press and hold RUN/STOP when powering up the module to change the outputs from A and B to gates instead of triggers.

ALL OUT: Main output for processed triggers.

There are also 5 CV inputs. When these are connected the knobs function as attenuators.

The two LEDs show the status of the triggers entering and leaving the module."

Quad version.

World 1st Radioactive Synth Module?

Geiger counter synth module with uranium ore

Published on Jan 13, 2017 thenervoussquirrel

Update: see the comments below for the answer.

You'll be twisting those knobs with stubs for fingers in no time!

"Produces random voltages by comparing the time between clicks. Initially counts three clicks, then takes the time between 1 and 3 as the overall range mapped to 5V, and click 2 as the voltage level. It then waits for the next click to replace click 3, and re-assigns the previous 2 and 3 to the new 1 and 2, if that makes sense.

The 5V is converted into a control voltage signal, with adjustable range and offset, adapted from Ken Stone's joystick schematic. Glide has also been borrowed from a CGS module. Also produces a trigger output every time the geiger counter is activated."

Circuit bent Roland TR-505 Drum Machine

YouTube Uploaded by thenervoussquirrel on Jul 12, 2008
previously posted
"This was a commission for Chris Wing (www.winganimation.com) who lives in San Francisco and writes cool dub tracks.

I have only used six patch combinations in the video, but there are literally thousands to explore.

The box has MIDI in and out, and a switch to route the drum machine's audio signal through a 'voice modulator' section, which has pitch and LFO controls.

Apologies for the inferior drum programming - I'm looking forward to hearing Chris do it justice!"

via this auction

"He only used six patch combinations in the video, but there are literally thousands to explore. The box has MIDI in and out, and a switch to route the drum machine's audio signal through a 'voice modulator' section, which has pitch and LFO controls. I have labeled very simply the basic buttons/knobs but if you know them well you can easily remove these! But they are handy to familiarize initially... It takes 6xAA Batteries and has a really cool multi-colour-changing "on" light."

Quick test of mini pyramid synth

Published on May 18, 2013 thenervoussquirrel·34 videos

"This was commissioned by Jay Gambit, after seeing the larger pyramid designed by Pete Fowler, commissioned by XL Recordings for The Horrors. This unit contains a MFOS phaser and WSG."