Published on Aug 21, 2013 frostedminipete·126 videos
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"Circuit Bent Casio SA-2
Speaker is still intact
Features...
Glitch button [with knob for variable strength]
Variable heavy distortion/feedback knob
Crunchy/fuzzy distortion switch
Heavy distortion/feedback opto-theremin
Hidden sound/voice selection switch
Kick drum trigger button
Snare drum trigger button
1/8" (3.55mm) output jack
RCA (aux) Video Output Jack
Speaker on/off switch
Blue power indicator LED
Also...
--Black, Blue and Green paint job--
I've built upwards of 40-50 machines for different bands, musicians and producers across the world on commission (and through eBay) over the years who would assure you that I know what I'm doing ~ check my feedback! These various instruments are being used in live performances and studio production. This keyboard is not only noisy, but made to be musical. Most of my circuit bent instruments with musicians and performers in mind... and, in this case, also for everybody else who enjoys the endless amount of glitching sounds the Casio SA series keyboards can make.
About the features!
[All are demonstrated in video below]
Glitch trigger:
On the left of the keyboard is a large knob and a button; the knob corresponds to intensity of the glitch that will result from a button press. For instance, if the knob is turned all the way to the right it will make a full connection when the button is pressed which cuts out the sound momentarily and will either result in a heavy glitch when often will continue indefinitely, or a crash (turn the keyboard off & on again). While the keyboard glitches it's also possible to modify what's happening by adjusting the knob and pressing the button again. Pressing the glitch button while the knob is not turned up fully will result in, often, a shorter glitch which does end and then brings the keyboard back to it's original status.
When playing the keyboard, playing the demo song or a rhythm, or (if the knob is turned up higher) while no sounds are happening, glitching will start (may take a few presses if no sounds are going off). Most commonly the resulting glitches are a modification of the sound coming from the keyboard at the time of the button press, but there's really no way to tell what to expect. The video I've made for this keyboard provides some examples of what you can achieve with it. Random patterns, sounds, drones, repetitive noises, mellow slowed down tones... it's essentially limitless.
[To stop glitching/if keyboard stops sounding, just turn it off and back on]
Distortion/feedback knob:
This is the knob to the right of the keyboard. When turned it causes interesting noise/feedback, and while playing the keyboard or rhythms it causes some heavy variable distortion/feedback depending on its position. This mod by itself can transform some of the cheezy sounds of this keyboard into some sort of distorted squealing monster.
Distortion opto theremin:
So on the very right of the keyboard there's a photo cell and a switch above it (bottom switch). When you engage the switch it turns the opto theremin on. The more light hitting the photo cell = the more distortion you get. Be creative with it! Wave your hand over it while you're playing the keyboard to produce sweeping distortions by changing the amount of light hitting the photo cell! A strobe light can cause some crazy pulsating distortion/modulation...
Crunchy/light distortion switch:
This is the top switch on the right of the keyboard. It does what it says and creates a different sounding distortion when engaged. Sounds heavy and very noisy if used in combination with the other distortion; pitch of this distortion slowly steps upward when a key is pressed as well. Goes great with simple rhythms.
Hidden Voices switch:
Fun mod for the SA-2. The middle switch on the right of the keyboard allows you to access 25 additional keyboard voices not included on the stock SA-2. To access them, you engage the switch and use the first 5 lowest keys on the keyboard as you would use the 1-5 buttons to select a voice. So, F = 1, F# = 2, G = 3, G# = 4, A = 5. As seen in the video, by pressing F(1) followed by A(5) while the switch is engaged selects a Jazz Organ voice. After selecting a voice you just flip the switch back. I'm not sure what to name each of the voices available with these buttons, so you can explore :P
RCA Video output:
So here's something that you generally won't find with many other bent devices. Basically, it's just a simple RCA jack on the left of the keyboard at the bottom of the speaker grate. This can be plugged into a TV, projector... anything that accepts RCA video (though I wouldn't suggest sticking it into your big expensive 60" plasma screen.. I offer no guarantees on this!) I have used this on various TVs (large and small, CRT, LCD) and on projectors; it looks pretty cool. The video demonstration doesn't do any great justice to the appearance, but shows you what it does.
The visuals that it creates are, essentially, horizontal black and white waves/lines Higher pitched sounds create lines that are thinner/closer together. Smoother preset sounds (like square and sinewave based voices) are more clear solid lines, while crunchy or distorted voices are more dotted and scraggly. Combinations of notes and other sounds cause interesting clashing wave forms and things. Would be great for live performances. It's somewhat memorizing to watch this while the machine is glitching... random visual patterns that correlate to the sound.
Other features:
Two buttons [to left of distortion knob on keyboard] added for triggering drum sounds. (Left/blue is Kick, Right/green is Snare)
A 1/8" output jack is located on the right of the keyboard for plugging into an amp/mixer/recording device/headphones/etc...
Speaker on/off switch (Left of keyboard, bottom of speaker grate) for when using output jack.
Blue power indicator LED at the top of the speaker grate.
*This keyboard runs on 4AA batteries. The battery compartment cover is included."
