Vicious SID Commodore 64 Keytar

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
via this auction

Via the seller: "In this auction we have one of the most tricked out, one-of-a-kind, nothing else like it Commodore 64 computers in existence! I hand built this fully functional mod over the course of 5 months +/- years in stress. So much research, development, time, design and money went into this project and I can honestly say I am super proud of what I built. I am currently in a bit of a bind and my priorities are completely shifted. In short, I am selling off the majority of my studio to be with my son.

Here is a list of all the mods, hacks and work I put into this thing. Please read all of this to understand exactly what it is that I am selling. There are links for you to further research and see more pictures of this build in the text below.

-Painted the chassis blue and black inside and out.
- Mounted nice locking guitar strap pegs
-Added a custom Li-Ion battery pouch attached to locking guitar strap
- wired a 12v pass through from battery pack, through body and out the top by the LCD mount (no wires, easy disconnect, clean)
- wired a color selector switch close to the 12V battery pack input. Choose Power LED color to suite you mood, can also turn off LED once colors cycle fully if you have not chosen one
- Added a Stratocaster guitar boat style output plate wired for stereo TRS (for stereo output)
- Added a Telecaster style control plate. 2 knobs control volume of dual sids while the switch selects dual sid or mono sid

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Custom Red & Black MicroKORGs

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. via these auctions

" 3-Digit Alpha LED display (red) has been replaced by an amazing BLUE part!
Entire instrument has been converted to jet black [or red]
Wooden end plates painted gloss black [or red]
All 8 bank lights converted to Blue LEDs!
Tempo light converted to Blue LED!
Write light converted to Bright White LED!
Modify light converted to Soft Pink LED! Very unique wavelength LED
Synth lights converted to Soft Pink LED's! Very unique wavelength LED
Vocoder lights converted to BLUE LED's!
Onboard 3.3V regulator circuit upgrade
Unit comes complete with manual (reprint), power supply, brand new USB-midi interface, software, and extensive patch library.
Link for ordering a microphone is included on the software CD."

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Monkeys + Synthesizers - Voltfestivalen june 9, 2012

YouTube Published on May 25, 2012 by voltfestivalen

"Monkeys + Synthesizers is a project where 6 different spieces of monkeys (and some others) were given different synthesizers. Do monkeys like music and do they enjoy creating music?

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DFMZ-4 modular skiff

YouTube Published on May 21, 2012 by ISOTROPOSPHERE

I spy a MATRIXSYNTH card. :) Is that an SS Impala badge on Technosaurus blue panel?

"This is a small jam showcasing my recently finished DFMZ-4 modular synth skiff.

This is the second skiff I have built and the first, DFMZ-3, is also shown here because I added a Camaro SS badge to it and wanted to show it off too.

The DFMZ-4 features purpleheart wood end cheeks, Tip Top black rails, a Flight of Harmony Power module feeding a Monorocket distribution board. Sheet metal case with a custom painted finish.

If you notice, the Purpleheart is thinner and taller than the Mahogany cheeks used for my first skiff. Any questions about building one of your own please contact me.

Enjoy!!!"

microKORG Custom with Blue & Pink LEDs SN 057638

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. via this auction
" Entire chassis (including bottom and battery compartment) double primered & painted satin blue enamel
Wooden end plates gloss blue enamel
All connections on rear panel relabeled
Bank lights converted to Blue & Pink/Purple LEDs !!!
Tempo light converted to Blue LED!
Write light converted to Bright White LED!
Modify light converted to Hot Pink LED!
Unit comes complete with all accessories plus extras!"


Reminds me of the M2000 blue.

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Circuit Bent Talking Computer w/LFO and LTC1799

YouTube Uploaded by circuitben on Jan 12, 2012

"This toy was a Christmas present from my girlfriend's mum, just about the most thoughtful Christmas present i've ever had. I painted it my favourite colour (Duck-Egg Blue), then I added a pitch circuit, and trigger circuit to make it a bit more useable, then I went ahead and bended it up."

Monome MK 256 beautiful unique wooden enclosure

via this auction

"kit was handbuilt in Portland, OR by a really nice fellow. in a stunning wooden enclosure, beautiful artwork painted on 2 sides (see pictures)... monome is bus powered via built in USB cable! no AC adapter necessary! super bright mesmerizing blue LEDs."

circuit bent roland jv-1010 synthesizer w spectrasonics special fx board

via this auction "features: -36 point freely assignable patchbay via color wheel -6 rotary knobs with 12 positions assigned to each -6 color wheel knobs patches a rotary knob to one of three colors: RGB or off between each color -color wheels allow free matrixing of all knobs in up to 3 independant pairs of circuit bends or up to 6 stack of bends

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Custom Slim Phatty

via Jason who brought us The Meyermoog custom Minimax ASB. Jason plays in Talking Mountain. You can find their latest release here and their latest video here.

"I wanted to write in again and show off the custom Slim Phatty I just built. The Little Phatty is great, but I wanted to build a tiny bass/lead synth. Nearly the same process as before.. Slim Phatty is the brains, an Alesis Q25 is the controller. The Q25 is hardwired for power into the Slim Phatty because I didn't want two power cords to worry about (totally nerve wracking to open it up and start soldering, huge thanks to Rosser at Moog Music for some quick pointers). I don't mind having the MIDI cable linking the two, so I didn't hardwire it. It's currently built out of Birch plywood and painted weird, but I'd like to rebuild it out of walnut whenever I get around to it. I'm considering making a built-to-order kit where you would just supply your own Phatty, but I'm trying to gauge interest first. Here's a few photos of the process and the completed synth."

See below for a sky blue painted version.

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Diabolical Devices Circuit Bent Casio SK-1

via this auction

"Custom painted Casio SK-1 professionally modified by Diabolical Devices. It features 20 point circuit bending patch bay as well as master pitch/CLK control with bypass switch and LED indicator. Original power LED has been changed to blue. Also features MIDI IN retrofit. Check out the videos below."

Antenna Controlled Pitch Theremin

Melodic Theremin Natural Sound

YouTube Uploaded by thereminplanet on Jul 30, 2009
via this auction
"A little demo of our Theremin. http://www.thereminplanet.com Natural sound with some delay effect added."

Fx Theremin ( With a Korg M1 keyboard )

Uploaded by thereminplanet on Jul 30, 2009

via this auction
"It is played by the motion of the hand in the magnetic field around the antenna without touching it! Built in a wooden case with a vintage classic look in brown wood ( black wood finish available at extra charge ) It's unique 'voice' is everywhere: first Star Trek series, old Sci fi/ horror films, orchestral compositions, actual movies and tv commercials. Many bands/artists had been playing it for decades, Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, J.M Jarre, Blur, NIN, Massive Attack, Portishead, Eels, Gorillaz, Goldfrapp, great dj’s, etc"

Technical Features

1- Analog Theremin, handmade, fully assembled and ready to play!

2 - The circuit is a dual Hetherodyne oscillator ( like the Classical 1950´s designs used in countless Sci-Fi Movies ). The same type as the most prestigious theremins.

3- This design has a practical range of about 4 octaves over a hand distance of 13 inches between the antenna and the hand. The antenna can be easily unscrewed and placed inside the box to carry or put the theremin away.

4- It has two controls, one for pitch tuning and one for signal level , and a red light on/off led. The controls are placed far enough from the antenna, to enable any adjustment without changing the pitch of the sound

5- Signal output via 1/4" Mono Jack Socket (Similar to used on e-guitars and synthesizers)That allows the theremin to be connected to any guitar or keyboard amplifier , PC soundcard or mixer.
If you wish to connect it to a Hifi amplifier, you can use an easy to buy ´Jack RCA adaptor´

6- The Unit works with a single 9 volts battery - not included - We can add a Power Socket at extra charge ( see ´Custom preferences´ below )

7- Size:230mm. x 100mm. x 45mm.

8- Shipped in a box and with useful easy instructions to get the best results

9-TWO YEARS full guarantee in faulty parts, labour and shipping damage ( rarely needed )

Custom Preferences available at extra charge

Power Supply Socket: The theremin is optimized to work with a 9v alcaline battery to give more than 50 hs of continuous playing. Some customers prefer to connect the unit to the 220v (110 in USA). So we can modify the circuit to add a socket where you can plug a simple cheap 7-12 volts adapter ( not included ).

Black Wood Finish + Red or Blue led: Hand painted case."

George Harrison & His Moog Modular - Zapple & Electronic Sound

via the Beatle Photo Blog.

via Wikipedia: "Electronic Sound is George Harrison's second album. Released in May 1969, it was the second and final record released on the Beatles' short-lived Zapple Records label, a subsidiary of Apple Records. The album features two lengthy pieces performed on the Moog synthesizer. It was one of the first albums to make exclusive use of the instrument.

Zapple was intended as a creative outlet for avant-garde musical works. Not long after the release of this album The Zapple label was folded at the insistence of the Beatles' then-manager Allen Klein. Because of its experimental and highly non-commercial nature, Electronic Sound failed to chart in the United Kingdom, and barely made the United States Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at #191.

The album was issued on CD for the first time in late 1996. CD versions of the album have the recordings (but not the titles) in the wrong order. In recent years this error has led many listeners to confuse the two tracks.

The track on LP side one "Under The Mersey Wall" (25 minutes) begins with a series of gunshot-like sounds and appears to be a performance of a single Moog instrument, though often making use of tape delay and echo effects. Portions of white noise from this track are used throughout "I Remember Jeep," one of several jams included on Harrison's third solo album, All Things Must Pass, released in 1970.

The second LP side "No Time Or Space" (18 minutes) uses the sound of two Moog instruments playing at the same time, an effect made possible through the use of overdubbing.

The cover of Electronic Sound was painted by Harrison himself. The inside sleeve included minimal notes on the album and a quotation attributed to Arthur Wax: "There are a lot of people around, making a lot of noise; here's some more."

Synthesist Bernie Krause later pursued legal action against Harrison, claiming that "No Time Or Space" (side two of the original vinyl album; track one of the CD) was essentially a recording of him demonstrating the Moog III to Harrison (this is detailed in Krause's book Into a Wild Sanctuary). Krause also claimed that the demonstration was recorded without his knowledge or consent. Krause's name was originally credited on the front cover under Harrison's cover credit, but it was painted over at his insistence. Despite this, the words "Assisted by Bernie Krause" can still be read from under the silver ink on the original LP pressings.

The words "Produced by George Harrison" appear on front cover of the original LP pressings printed in light blue ink, but were recolored in dark blue and red on later re-issues.

Track listing

All pieces credited to George Harrison.

Side one

"Under the Mersey Wall" – 25:10
Recorded in Esher, England, in February 1969 with the assistance of Rupert and Jostick, the Siamese Twins

Side two

"No Time or Space" – 18:41
Recorded in California in November 1968 with the assistance of Bernie Krause

Note: This is how the titles appear on the original LP pressings. Later CD versions incorrectly switched the actual order of the recordings and the timings but failed to switch the titles."

This one in via Steve Sciulli of Life In Balance & Raised by Machines

Also see:
George Harrison's Electronic Sound
John Lennon playing the Moog at Abbey Road Studios

Rare AMSTARD CKX100 Glitch Synthesizer By Dave Squidfanny

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
via this auction

Prior videos here and here.

"The Amstrad CKX100 is a rare digital artefact from the late 1980's made by home computer manufacturers Amstard. It has a distinctive lo-fi sound and uses WAVETABLE synthesis to produce a warm, pleasing and ultra-harmonic sound which is quirky and very unique.

The CKX100 has grainy Digital Drums with preset Rhythms & Accompanyment, Electronic Sounding Instruments & Lush Chord with some very useful 'Computer Aided Harmony' Features (similar to the OMNICHORD).

In addition to it's very likable sound, the machine has a simple 'Play & Record' sequencer and a 'tape save' function for storing recorded data on a cassette tape (remember those?). It also has a MIDI output which allows the Keys, and the Computer Chord functions to control other MIDI gear.

Of course the real power of the CKX100 is only revealed after some serious Circuit Bending.......

Needless to say, various new circuitry and dynamic new features have been added to the the CKX100 to upgrade it's sonic capabilities well beyond what was imagined by the original engineers.

This machine works perfectly and can be used 'as stock' if required.

Internal Speakers have been removed and replaced with a stunning array of new Custom Knobs, Switches, Buttons and Flashing Lights. New Controls are mounted of beautiful Green PCB (circuit board), and adorned with Shiney Metal Pieces, Round Washers and a Black Metal Cog.

Glitch-Punk Style......
Metallic Keys are professionally painted in various shades and multiple colours of top quality Metallic Paint. The paintwork has been performed with a speckled effect on the white keys in multiple shades of Titanium, Green & Blue. Black Keys are now Gold.
Paintwork is sealed with high quality gloss lacquer to protect the finnish.

Obviously the machine looks fantastic, but the real power is in the stunning array of unique sounds which this Amstrad is now able to produce. The machine's Ultra-Harmonic WAVETABLE synthesis engine creates a warm, pleasing sound, which when combined with the array of Digital & Glitch Mods, produces distinctly electronic tones which range from dreamy Psycedellic to Sinister darkside, and from 'Aphex' style beat juggling to insane Glitch & Dischord and eventually going way beyond the realms of conventional synthesizers, and often beyond description. This is the power of Glitch...

The new Knobs / Switches / Buttons & Lights are mounted on Thick Green PCB (circuit board), and the Flashing LED Lights above are mounted on a Rusty Matel Piece with Chrome LED Holders.

The Mods are activated and controlled by an assortment of Rotary Switches, Metal Toggle Switches and Push buttons -

Large Rotary Knob - On the right of the panel is a large Silver Rotary Knob, with a toggle Switch below it and a Bi-colour LED Light in a chrome bezel. This knob contains 22 flavours of Digital Ring Mods, Weird Distortion, Digital Filtering and Frequency Oscillation. Use the (on/off/on) Toggle Switch to activate the sounds, the LED light will Glow Red/Green to indicate that the mod is active.

Small Rotary Knob - In the centre of the panel is a small silver Rotary Knob, along with a Toggle Switch and a Blue LED Light in a Chrome Bezel. This knob contains 9 x Instrument / Chord Glitches which provide Beuatiful Complex Arpeggios, Strange Echos, Luch Chords and Extrended Envelope Effects. Use the Toggle Switch to activate the mod. The Blue LED Light will Glow to indicate the mod being active.

6 x Glitch Switches on the left of the panel - Use these switches on the Chord / Accompanyment for Dark Electronic Techno-esque rhythm Accompanyment and de-tuned chords. Use with the drums for weird pitch shifting and drum shifting Rhythmic effects.
Glitch Buttons - Scramble the Digital Circuits with dramatic sonic results. . . Use with the drums for Granular Effects and Grinding 'Aphex' Style Rolls. Use with the Chord / Instrument to generate Chorded Drones, Digital Noise, Instrument/Drum Cross Modulation & General Havok and Glitch Chaos.....

RESET BUTTON - Small Green Button below the right corner of the panel is used to Instantly reset Glitched sound back to it's normal state. This button allows the user to completely Scramble, Mangle & Corrupt the audio beyond recognition, and then instantly return the sound again.

Flashing Lights - 3 x Flashing LED Lights above the panel will pulse and flash along with the sound. The lights are housed in chrome bezels and mounted on a rusty piece of engineered metal..... Modern LED's are used, the colours are BLUE, WHITE & GREEN. The White LED also indicates the instrument's Vibrato when active."

Korg Microkorg Custom Synthesizer Unique LED's & Wood

via this auction
"This truly one-of-a-kind microKORG is serial #101519. This auction contains the following refinements & alterations:

All 8 'Program' lights & 'Tempo' light have been changed to diffused BLUE LED's.
The Arpeggiator LED (under the Arpeggiator button) has been changed to a HOT PINK ONE (though it almost looks purple, through the lens).
The 'Write' light has been changed to diffused WHITE LED.
The 'Modified' light has been converted to diffused HOT PINK LED.
Entire enclosure is repainted (except the back panel) with dark brown, non-reflective enamel paint (very nice durable multi-coat paint job). This required removing all the electronics during painting, but it was worth the work.
Program Select knob painted flat black enamel to compliment dark enclosure (very nice multi-coat durable paint job).
Black Walnut hand-sanded 3/4" end plates with multi-coat polyurethane finish.
The stock internal 3.3V main supply circuit for the DSP, CPU, RAM, & Analog circuitry has been professionally replaced with a much more robust switching regulator module to insure years of problem free service including overload, reverse polarity, & over voltage protection.
Rigorously tested for months (I have been working on and using this synthesizer for about 5 months).
Many, many custom sounds loaded (easily changeable with included MIDI adapter & Korg Patch Editor software.

All electronic modification work was performed professionally, using an ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) safe workstation, and all replacement LED's are American-Made parts! This synthesizer has been meticulously cleaned & carefully tested."

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Heavily modded Speak & Read and Casio SK-1

YouTube Uploaded by TheZombiest on May 22, 2011

"I started circuit bending this Speak & Read over a year ago, but lost interest in the project... until last week. That's when I decided to finish it off. I even painted it. I so very rarely do that. It must be love, right?

Here's a list of the bends & mods:
1x 'on' repeater switch.
1x tone switch
1x distortion
5x loop/hold switches.
1x glitch switch.
1x master pitch dial.
1x reset button.
Video output.
line output.
line input.
PT2399 delay w/ rate & feedback dials. Overdrive repeats button and slapback switch.
555-based LFO w/ rate, shape & depth dials and blue indicator LED.
2x switches for LFO control of the Speak's pitch and the delay's rate.
TL082 mixer w/ volume dials for the Speak & Read and Input.
386 based amp to drive the speaker w/ 2x distortion/overdrive dials.

I think that's everything.

The Casio SK-1 (well, Concertmate 500) has 21 switches for glitched out beats, an added LTC1799 precision oscillator to control the pitch. A bass boost switch, Drum volume dial, reset button and also a video-output and a whole bunch of flashing LEDs"

AMSTRAD CKX100 Synthesizer

via this auction

Video at the auction and posted here. Also see this post.

"Rare and Unique Digital Midi Synthesizer from 1988, Beautifully Circuit Bent & Modified in all the right places by Dave Squidfanny...

Awesome looking Synthesizer has new knobs, Buttons and Switches mounted on High Quality Thick Green PCB (Circuit Board), and adorned with shiney Metal pieces and round Metal washers for Wicked Glitch / Manga Look.......

Fantastic Looking METAL KEYS painted with expensive metallic Auto Paint and finnished with high quality Lacquor for a professional finnish. Keys are Painted in multiple shades of Metallic GREEN, BLUE & GOLD.

This Rare Gem from the 80's has a Warm and Pleasing Lo-fi sound generated by Digital 'WAVETABLE' Synthesis.. The result is an Ultra-Harmonic and very likable sound which is quite different from the usual Casio and Yamaha Keyboards.

Original Features include -
Warm, Pleasing Digital Instruments, Lush CHORD & Accompanyment.
Grainy Lo-Fi Drums with loads of preset patterns and Demo tunes.
Very Cool and useful CHORD Management features like the OMNICHORD
MIDI Output.
Simple Internal Sequencer with Tape Save Facility.
Auto Harmony, Sustain & Vibrato.

'Computer Aided Harmony' feature works by re-arranging the keyboard Scale according to which Chord is being played with the left hand. Dis-Harmonious notes are replaced with Harmonious notes, thus allowing an untrained musician to instantly create pleasing sounding music. Combine this feature with the Arsenal of Glitch Modifications for complex and dynamic new sounds previously un-imagined by conventional synthesizers.

'Computer Aided Harmony' Mode Also works when using the MIDI Output, making this machine a useful addition to any MIDI studio.

A Stunning array of powerful modifications open up a new world of Sonic capabilities for this vintage digital machine."

Diabolical Custom Orange KORG Poly-800

via this auction

"This item is a custom Korg poly-800 synthesizer with a custom paint job, blue displays and "moog-slayer" filter mods. The Poly-800 is a great sounding synth popular for its analog VCF (filter) and fat video game tone. We have added a very popular modification which adds external controls for the cutoff and resonance of the VCF. In addition to being able to adjust these parameters in real time the range of the filter is also expanded. We have refurbished and painted the poly-800 and added custom blue 7-segment displays. We have also added an internal lithium battery so that the synth will remember saved patches when you turn the power off (originally you would need to keep c batteries installed to retain patch data)..."

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The Squarewave Parade Bleak Euro Modules

"New bleak passive euro format modules are now available as sets and individual units.

You can still preorder the new TeaspoonTETHER for a little while longer. the TETHER is a euro format modularized version of the TeaspoonCAS which will be available in a few months. the preorder is limited to only 10 units.

There are some new AUCTIONS happening in the forum. please have a look"

"DESCRIPTION .\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'
the bleaks are passive (not powered) utility modules designed to fill in the gaps of an existing euro system. each one is entirely handmade, they started as a blank plexi sheet and i did everything else by hand. each of the 4hp modules are available in red, blue, green, and purple with a full set of each module available in red and blue. the blue set contains only # 1 modules. the red set contains only # 2 modules. there will also be a seven piece set available soon made using wood panels

ATTEN - a pair of variable attenuators [ 11 made ]
CONVERT - is a dual 3.5 - 1/4" jack converter [ 7 made ]
IMP OUT- attenuator with additional 1/4 jack and variable impedance. used to connect to external hardware [ 10 made ]
PUSH BUTTON - push button and hold mute. this is a push 'ON' button that allows you to 'play' whatever you send through it. toggle hold as well [ 11 made ]
MULT - dual four point multiple normaled in the center to allow 7 points max. jack is marked with white arrow on unit [ 8 made ]
RECTIF - this is for a variable passive rectifier that is followed by a low pass filter allowing for more breakup [ 9 made ]
CONVERTrca - two 3.5 to rca jack converters [ 5 made ]
LOWPASS - two variable passive low pass filters [ 10 made ]

.\\\\\ DETAILS \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'
each is handmade and numbered internally
extensively tested before shipping
units are passive - no power required
entirely hand wired - point to point
spray painted panels, lacquer coated for scratch resistance
dimensions - euro 4hp"

Squidfanny - Circuit Bent AMSTRAD CKX100 November 2010

YouTube via squidfanny | November 06, 2010

"Another Killer Amstrad CKX100..... Going up on ebay in a day or two.

Unique & Lush sounding 1980's WAVETABLE synthesizer.

Ultra-harmonic digital sounds, Complex Arpeggios, Lush pads and textures, Chord effects, Delay effects, Pitch modulation, Punk LFO, Gate, Granular Drums, Superb GLITCH, Instant Reset button, Light sensor/photo-clit, LEDs with the switches to indicate what's active & Flashing Light array. What more could you want?

Also note the METALLIC KEYS..... Painted with 5 colours/shades of metallic Blue, Green & Titanium. Looks much better than Black & White....

Love ckx100"

Squidfanny - Circuit Bent HR-16 Drum Machine for Fabio

YouTube via squidfanny | November 02, 2010
Squidfanny on Ebay
"Loads of Digital Glitch, Distortion, Ring Mod, Noise, Tonal Oscillation, etc.
Both Electronic & Acoustic Kits.
Replaced Red LED's with Blue LEDS, Painted Black and added some tasteful flashing lights.

Many thanks to EX-FADE for help with the Rom switching :)"