Korg Poly 800 mkII with circuitbenders.co.uk Polybeast mods

Published on Feb 3, 2014 circuitbenders.co.uk·9 videos

"Quick demo of editing sounds on a modified Korg Poly 800 mkII. Mods include:

Rotary knob to replace UP/DOWN increment buttons.
Filter cutoff knob
Filter resonance knob
12dB/24dB filter switch
VCF CV input
External audio input
External audio level knob
External audio input signal path switch
VCF FM amount knob
VCF FM source knob
Delay time knob
Delay feedback knob

More details can be found at:
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYEX.html
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYII.html"

Korg Poly 800 mkII with circuitbenders.co.uk Polybeast mods - part2

Published on Feb 18, 2014 Published on Feb 18, 2014

"Quick demo of editing sounds on a modified Korg Poly 800 mkII. Mods include:

Rotary knob to replace UP/DOWN increment buttons.
Filter cutoff knob
Filter resonance knob
12dB/24dB filter switch
VCF CV input
External audio input
External audio level knob
External audio input signal path switch
VCF FM amount knob
VCF FM source knob
Delay time knob
Delay feedback knob

More details can be found at:
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYEX.html
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYII.html"

Also added to Part 1 here.

circuitbenders.co.uk drumBs x3 demo

Published on Apr 14, 2020 circuitbenders.co.uk

"Demo for the soon to be available circuitbenders.co.uk drumBs module.

Based on a tweaked E&MM syntom II percussion synth circuit, the drumBs PCB can be built as a standalone percussion box or as a Eurorack module.

Its driven by standard analogue trigger pulses and has controls for:
Decay
Bend (Oscillator frequency & noise filter cutoff)
Pitch (Oscillator)
Cutoff (noise filter)
Resonance (noise filter)
Mix (between oscillator and noise)
Pulse (the attack pulse on the front of the sound)
Roll (the speed of the drum roll function triggered by a gate signal on a eurorack build, or a switch on a standalone build)

On this video the red module is doing the hats, the black one provides the bass drum and 80's electronic drumkit tones, and the green one is producing the clap/snare noise sounds."

Roland R8 / R8M percussion grinding patch box

Published on Jul 15, 2019 circuitbenders.co.uk

"The circuitbenders.co.uk R8/R8M percussion grinding patch box is an external patchbay case that plugs into the main unit via the sound ROM expansion ports using a custom sound card as an interface. This allows the creation of circuit bent glitching effects without the need to perform any invasive mods on the machine itself.

The patch box itself consist of a 20 way main patching area and three combination patchable switches / patching multiples . Connections made between the patchbay sockets result in the digital drum sample data being temporarily glitched causing all kinds of bizarre percussion warping and digital brutality to be applied to the audio. Connections can be routed through the patchable switches so they can be turned on and off at the flick of a switch, or via the patching multiples in order to connect several sockets to each other at the same time."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Harmonic Engine DIY PCB - E&MM Harmony Generator clone

Published on Sep 14, 2016 circuitbenders.co.uk

"PCB's can be bought from: http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/forsa...

The circuitbenders.co.uk Harmonic Engine PCB is a clone of the E&MM Harmonic Generator. This was a project originally designed by Paul Williams, and published in Electronics & Music Maker magazine way back in 1981.The circuit generates a squarewave output at harmonic intervals to the frequency of an input signal.

Thats the theory anyway, the practice is a little different............."

Roland R8/R8M patchbox used with a Roland U220

Published on May 8, 2020 circuitbenders.co.uk

"It turns out our Roland R8/R8M audio grinding patchbox with the fake ROM card interface works on the U220 as well, and by extension probably the U110, MV30, U20 and anything else that uses the same style ROM cards.

More info at: https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/fors..."


"The circuitbenders.co.uk R8 / R8M percussion grinding patch box is an external patchbay case that plugs into the main unit via the sound ROM expansion ports using a custom sound card connected using a 25 way cable as an interface. This allows the creation of circuit bent digital glitching effects without the need to perform any invasive mods on the machine itself. Just plug in the patch box and be immediately transported to a full on jamboree of wall to wall noise terror!

The patch box itself consist of a 20 way main patching area and three combination patchable switches / patching multiples . Connections made between the patchbay sockets result in the digital drum sample data being temporarily glitched causing all kinds of bizarre percussion warping and digital brutality to be applied to the audio. Connections can be routed through the patchable switches so they can be turned on and off at the flick of a switch, or via the patching multiples in order to connect several sockets to each other at the same time.

The supplied DB25 cable is plugged into the back of the patch box, and is then connected to the sound ROM interface card which is plugged into machine via a ROM expansion card socket.

The patch box can be used with either the R8 or the R8M as the sound engine is identical for both machines. Unfortunately due to the fact that the R8 only has one ROM card slot you can't use other sound cards at the same time as the patch box, but with the R8M it doesn't matter which PCM card port of the three available you use, and the other two can still be used for extra sound cards.

Both the R8 and the R8M are very keen on brutally savage, but also sometimes strangely beautiful distortion sounds. It also excels at strange digital gurgling and shuddering sequenced effects on the longer sounds such as the cymbals and some snares. The R8 and R8M take a little more work than most circuit bent drum machines as many of the possible patchbay connections will produce variations on distortions rather than the common effects found on similar machines, but with a little patience there are plenty of interesting and more complex sounds available."

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Modified TR707 with HKA Design ROM switcher

video upload by circuitbenders.co.uk

"A (far too long) demo of a modified Roland TR707 with a HKA ROM switcher installed to give 8 separate sound banks. Different banks are activated by holding down the 1 to 8 step keys as you turn it on.

This was mainly done as a proof of concept to work out if our standard TR7X7 glitching patchbay, individual pitch controls, DAC distortion and decay modifications would work on a HKA modified machine. It turns out everything works perfectly.

Further details on our mods can be found at: https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/drum...

The HKA sound bank expansion can be found at: https://hkadesign.org.uk/tr707expansi..."

Modified FAT Freebass Demo

YouTube Uploaded by circuitbenders on Aug 18, 2011

"Quick demo of a modified FAT Freebass FB383, otherwise known as a MAM MB33. The YouTube audio encoding has made the really high frequencies go a bit strange, but you get the general idea.

This one has:
VCO On/Off Switch
VCO Drive
Resonance Boost Switch
VCF FM on/off
VCF FM amount knob
VCF FM source selector (saw, square, VCF input, FM input)
Filter Lock switch
External VCF FM input socket
Accent LED
Power switch

Details of the mods can be found at: http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/FREEBASS.html"

Modified FAT Freebass Demo Part.2

Uploaded by circuitbenders on Sep 5, 2011

Demo of some gurgling throaty VCF FM effects from a modified FAT Freebass FB383, otherwise known as a MAM MB33.

"This one has:
VCO On/Off Switch
VCO Drive
Resonance Boost Switch
VCF FM on/off
VCF FM Mode
VCF FM amount knob
VCF FM source selector (saw, square, VCF input, FM input)
Filter Lock switch
External VCF FM input socket
Accent LED
Blue power & midi LED's
Power switch

Details of the mods can be found at: http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/FREEBASS.html"

CIRCUITBENDERS.CO.UK CB55 - Boss DR55 Drum Machine PCB Clone

via Circuitbenders

"The circuitbenders.co.uk CB55 is an exact clone of the voice board of the Boss DR55 drum machine. It has the four fully analogue percussion sounds, bass drum, hat, snare, and rimshot, but leaves out the clunky and arguably useless sequencer. There is also an overall accent feature that adds a little extra punch to the whole mix when it is triggered.

Unlike with the DR55, instead of repeatedly attempting to program a pattern only to find that you messed up the bassdrum on the 16th step so you have to start all over again, the sounds and accent on the CB55 board are triggered externally using standard trigger pulses. With the optional trigger conditioning circuit installed you can use also use gate signals, or trigger pulses longer than 10ms..."

Korg Poly800 MkII w/ CIRCUITBENDERS Mod - Demo

video upload by Ticco Ross

"Today I pulled my old Poly 800 out of the closet and set it to sing. It has the circuitbenders.co.uk modification https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synt..."

You might remember the Bent Akai S2000 break1 and break2 samples previously posted. We now have images, an additional sample and details via Circuitbenders.co.uk.

"We have added 9 x 3 way switches to create an 18 way BEND BUS switching matrix that grinds, chops, distorts, bit crushes and splices the samples in memory in all manner of extreme and unlikely ways." More info at Circuitbenders.

Circuit Bent Akai S2000 demos by circuitbenders.co.uk

Roland ROM card patchbox used with a Roland U110 - TEST1

circuitbenders.co.uk

"It turns out our Roland R8/R8M audio grinding patchbox with the fake ROM card interface works on the U110 as well, and by extension probably anything else that uses the same style ROM cards.
We have another video of it used with a U220 [posted here]

No, its not meant to be musical, its just some random notes looping in a quick test to see what the box could do.

More info at: https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/fors..."

Demon Seed - Noise Apocalypse

video upload by circuitbenders.co.uk

"Every year we make a pedal to donate to the raffle prize fund for the local Christmas Covers Southsea gig, where various idiots play ridiculous cover versions to raise money for Rowans Hospice and Music Fusion. This year its the Demon Seed!

The circuitbenders.co.uk Demon Seed is a fuzz / distortion / frequency shifting / 8-bit / lo-fi / filth pedal that makes noise in industrial quantities more than sufficient to made deaf people weep.
It utilises the Holtek HT8950 voice changer chip that was designed specifically for use in toy robot voice changer megaphones. The HT8950 converts the analogue guitar signal to 8-bit digital, applies 6 selectable types of frequency shifting or a weird robot arpeggio effect, and then converts the digital signal back to analogue again.
Before someone points it out, yes this pedal was to some degree inspired by the excellent Death By Audio 'Robot' pedal, but with the addition of several features that the HT8950 chip offers but the Robot pedal doesn't use. The Robot is the original HT8950 pedal. All hail Death By Audio!

This demo was recorded using just the Demon Seed pedal and and a clean amp simulator. You'll have to forgive the inability to play the guitar.

We may well have some of these available in the new year."

circuitbenders.co.uk drumBs x3 demo2

circuitbenders.co.uk

"Based on a tweaked E&MM syntom II percussion synth circuit, the drumBs PCB can be built as a standalone percussion box or as a Eurorack module.

Its driven by standard analogue trigger pulses and has controls for:
Decay
Bend (Oscillator frequency & noise filter cutoff)
Pitch (Oscillator)
Cutoff (noise filter)
Resonance (noise filter)
Mix (between oscillator and noise)
Pulse (the attack pulse on the front of the sound)
Roll (the speed of the drum roll function triggered by a gate signal on a eurorack build, or a switch on a standalone build)

On this video the black module is doing the hats, the green one provides the bass drum, and the the red one is producing the clap/snare noise sounds."

Roland TR-707 Circuit Bent Drum Machine

via this auction

"professionally circuit bent by the guys at CircuitBenders.co.uk...

Listen to some MP3 examples of the sounds this beast can make!
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/drummachine/TR707.html

Here is a list of the additions:

18 Way 3.5mm Jack Patchbay
Connections made between sockets on the patchbay cause distortion, ring modulation, sound swapping, modulation and otherworldy alien effects to be applied to the sounds. Each 3.5mm patchbay socket is home to a certain audio process or effect which either combines with the effect from another socket when they are patched together, or sometimes just produces an entirely new effect you've never heard before. Multiple simultaneous connections may also combine in unexpected ways to produce a brand new unexpected effect, giving you a virtually unlimited number of warped alterations and audio mutations. The only limit on the number of connections you can make at any one time are how many sockets and patch cables you have available. Connections can be made at any time or even switched in and out using the patchable switches.

2 x 3 Way patchbay multipliers
These are the 2 sets of 3 sockets to the left of the cartridge port. They further multiply the creative possibilities of the machine by allowing you to connect more than one plug to the same patchbay source.

2 x 3 Way Distortion Switches
These switches on the top right of the machine offer four types of distortion from mild over-driven crunch up to all out electro grinding. Each switch also has an off setting in the centre. You may want to go easy on the top switch as the distortion available is absolutely brutal.

2 x Patchable Switches
Four plugs and two switches on the top left enable you to route a plug from the patchbay to one of these sockets and then from the adjacent socket back into the patchbay. This effectively allows you to find two patchbay settings you like and then turn them on and off at the flick of a switch without having to keep re-patching.

HiHat Decay Knobs
The knobs in the bottom right corner control the decay of the Open and Close Hats, giving you much more control over the hats in your performance.

Audio Input Socket
Last, but by no means least is the audio input jack socket on the right hand edge of the machine. When a plug is inserted, the Hi-Hat sound is removed from the mix and replaced with the audio input controlled by the Decay Knobds detailed above."

Phonic Taxiderminist 47 2b - Maplin Voice Vandal clone - ACID test.

Published on Apr 19, 2016 circuitbenders.co.uk

"The Phonic Taxidermist 47.2b is a DIY clone of the Maplin Voice Vandal. This was a kit available from Maplin in the early 90's, consisting of a high frequency audio chopper and grungy 10 bit delay.
PCB's are available from http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/forsa..."

Maplins Voice Vandal clone - prototype PCB 2

Published on Jan 25, 2016 circuitbenders.co.uk

"The second prototype PCB for a Maplins Voice Vandal clone.
DIY PCB's should be available soon from circuitbenders.co.uk"

"It was a kit from Maplin, probably in the early 90's if i recall correctly. Its got a grungy digital delay and a 4 stage high speed signal gating circuit, with a knob to set the gating speed. Gate the signal fast enough and you get cross modulation style effects."

Injecting Oscillators Into The CPU of A Gameboy DMG BOOOM

Published on Apr 19, 2018 LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

"So its simple! you solder a wire from the oscillator out straight to one leg of the timing crystal of the gameboy, and you can override that and use the oscillator to clock the gameboys CPU! meaning you can adjust the pitch!

for more info on the precision oscillator board check here :-
https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/fors...
And
http://getlofi.com/shop/ltc1799-preci...

There stems of this gameboy jam on my patreon for you to do with what you will! Next week i will be giving this gameboy away on my patreon too!
Patreon :- https://www.patreon.com/lookmumnocomp..."

A bag of parts from https://www.thonk.co.uk is in there as well.

Circuitbenders TR505 Pitch Mod

via Circuitbenders

"This mod adds a pitch knob that controls the sample playback speed, and therefore the pitch of every drum sound simultaneously. It can sweep from punchy clicks and blips at the top, to horribly granular crunchy noise at the bottom as the sounds disappear under a wall of aliasing noise. The pitch knob can be used alongside the patchbay effects for some seriously messed up percussion sounds."

TR505 pitch mod demo by circuitbenders.co.uk

Circuitbenders CASIO RZ1 MODS

Patchbay, filter and pitch knobs and more via Circuitbenders.

"The Casio RZ-1 is a member of that rarest of breeds, the sampling drum machine. With a grand total of 12 sounds that seem to have been recorded from a passing bus, and space for four short 12 bit samples the RZ-1 was never going to be right at the top of anyone's kit lust list (and there's a phrase you don't hear everyday), but what really makes the RZ cool is its sheer crapness. The sounds punch and flap like someone battering you around the head with a plank of balsa wood, the timing has mechanical 'Daft Punk'ness' written all over it and the tiny amount of RAM assigned to each sample pad can be spliced together into one vast 1.5 second sample! Combine this with individual outputs and volume sliders for each sound, and the kind of weight you could uses to beat wales to death (and yes, we do mean the country) and you have a machine that passes through coolness and out the other side into the realm of uber-cool."

Casio RZ1 pitch demo by circuitbenders.co.uk