circuit bent emu px7, alesis qsr and yamaha mu5

YouTube Uploaded by spunkytoofers on Apr 25, 2011
spunkytoofers on eBay

vocal processing with midi cpu

YouTube via spunkytoofers | January 19, 2011
spunkytoofers on eBay
"vocal processing is controlled via midi podcaster. the podcaster is a interface design by spunkytoofers based off the midi cpu by highlyliquid. the podcaster has an onboard synth and different firmware settings utilized to create new interfaces and functions based on all the added sensors and midi controllers.

more info: http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=712"

akai ewi4000s modified w/ midi cpu

YouTube via spunkytoofers | December 29, 2010

spunkytoofers on eBay
"akai ewi4000s is modified with a highlyliquid midi cpu. the cpu is set up to measure tilt into midi values and has several triggers for midi relays, sequencer controls, and triggering options for the light based theremin.

the ewi is independantly controlling 2 voices of dsi evolvers and 2 voices of a circuit bent nanosynth.

more info at: http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=762"

akai ewi4000s modifications

YouTube via spunkytoofers | December 27, 2010

"akai ewi4000s modified with a highlyliquid midi cpu with acclerometer, light theremin, triggers (sequencer control, relay control, reset, theremin triggers) this setup is controlling two dave smith evolvers and a circuit bent alesis nanosynth.

more info at http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=762"

Update:

modified akai ewi4000s

spunkytoofers | December 28, 2010

midi cpu and bent mu5

YouTube via spunkytoofers | December 15, 2010
spunkytoogers on eBay
"two channels being controlled on a bent yamaha mu5. the midi podcaster controller is based around a highlyliquid midi cpu circuit for diy midi control applications.

midi podcaster details: http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=712
bent mu5 details http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=315"

midi podcaster and circuit bent qsr

YouTube via spunkytoofers | December 02, 2010

spunkytoofers on eBay
"onboard synth and midi controller based around a highlyliquid midi cpu. the pod interface handles many duties including ambience triggering, vocal processing, onboard synth control, and a pre-programmed midi controller cpu for the interface. the midi controller is controlling a programmed sound on the qsr and cycled through bends. still have alot open on the cpu for adding on later for. good support at the forums and firmware is supportted.

more info:

http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=712
http://forum.highlyliquid.com/index.php"

midi controller/circuit bent synth 333 - Build in Mic

YouTube via spunkytoofers | November 18, 2010
spunkytoofers on eBay
"midi based controller and circuit bent synth based around the highlyliquid midi cpu. in this example cpu interface is controlling 2 voice dsi evolver, a tc electronic fireworx processing vocals, and the onboard bent synthesizer onboard. circuit bent synth and controller will keep getting added to with more sensors and circuits with more ways to intermodulate voices. midi cpu firmware and support are great. thanks to jim mcdougall for help from the highlyliquid forums.

more info:
http://spunkytoofers.com/hottopic/?p=712
http://forum.highlyliquid.com/index.php"

circuit bent alesis nanosynth by spunkytoofers

via this auction
"same archeticture and power of the alesis multi-timbral 64 voice quadrasynth keyboards and rackmount synths in the smallest footprint available. the nano and bent interface is housed in a compact 1u rackmount enclosure. one of my most favorite combinations in a bent synth: extremely crazy sounds with extremely stable bends. you'll be surprised at how powerful, musical, and smooth this small synth is. 620 onboard sounds (256 available from 2 banks on the front panel, the other 4 banks are available through midi program change) 1 user bank can be customized or uploaded with any bank available for the nano or q6. free bank downloads from the alesis website (i'll be compiling free banks to distrubute for the winner). great breath controller patches available as well via patchman. excellent legato, responds to midi effortlessly, very crazy sounds in this one.

one is being kept for personal use, this is the one made available for sale.

here are the modifcations:
-matrix style 24 point patchbay on chicken head rotary knobs

-4 switches for matrix switching of rotary knobs

-led lighting and steel bezels for matrix bend indication

-green color illuminated power rocker switch

-modified rca outputs with 1/4″ jacks

-replaced internal lithium battery and modified with a a clip instead of direct solder to battery

-added midi jacks (in and out/thru)

-banana jacks added to patchbay for external bend modulation possibilities

-internally shielded cables

-power input added. this allows the standard proprietary barrel size to be replaced by a more standard power supply size

-brand new power supply (with said standard barrel size above)

-nanosynth pdf manual and bend diagram emailed to purchaser

-sysex banks emailed to winner

the two following demos are of the circuit bent qsr. they are identical in archeticture and is basically the same synth. very similiar sounds.

first demo is a standard note triggering with no velocity or midi controllers. the second demo is a 4 bar drum pattern with a bend being applied every 2 bars."

circuit bent alesis qsr demo by spunkydoodle

circuit bent alesis qsr- 4 bar drum demo by spunkydoodle

matrix-glitch casio sk-1

YouTube via spunkytoofers | October 05, 2010
spunkytoofers on Ebay
"matrix-glitch is a new design of the circuit bent casio sk-1 by spunkytoofers. demonstration of bent flute and bossa nova sounds. more info at http:www.spunkytoofers.com"

TECHNICS SX-WSA1R Acoustic Modelling Synth

via this auction

Curious how these sound compared to the Yamaha and KORG physical modeling synthesis.

Update via spunkytoofers in the comments: "technics had a large number of synth romplers and d-50 style keyboards.

the wsa is way more friendlier to program then any of the yamaha vl synths but probally due to the simpler nature of the wsa. sampled attack, body resonance was modelled by complex filters. the yamaha computed the attack as well which is taxing on processors. the trade off was polyphony. with exception to the vl1m it was monophonic with the yamahas. the vl1 can handle two but what you get is total expressive control and realistic physical reactions from instruments: reeds squeak. trumpets crack. penny whistles will break the octave by overblowing etc.

the vl's have better outputs then the wsa and the wsa always seemed a bit thin sounding to me, but it always could distinguish itself in a mix. the wsa was pretty bad for wind control. you'd think that they'd keep that in mind while designing the synth. the mono legato mode requires a keyboard to activate (slurring between two notes) so it could never sound smooth in realism for me.

i'd hate to program the vl from scratch. the editor is a bunch of text boxes. patchman has a good set of wind controller sounds he's made for professional use but if you want to tap into the exotic possiblities you'll need to edit it yourself. total mayhem.

my vote for the ultimate physical modelling would be the vl1m. still very expensive and even really rare. the vl70 is still available though.

perhaps you've heard a few of the stock demos presets by this guy? there's a few exotic sounds demonstrated: http://www.kbspace.com/vl1m/audio/index.html

patchman also has some vl1m demos on his site too. http://www.patchmanmusic.com/yamahaVL1.html

he also has some patches for the korg z1 and a few other physical modelling synths on his site as well if you were curious to compare the quality: http://www.patchmanmusic.com/korgZ1.html"

See the comments below for more.

circuit bent alesis qsr synthesizer by spunkytoofers

via this auction
"the following audio is simple trigger from a toy midi keyboard (no velocity, midi controllers, etc) for triggering some of the presets on the qsr. the audio was recorded direct from outputs with no signal processing used at all. these are just snippets tied together. check out the other sound files at the end of the auction as well as a video. the demos at the end show that the qsr can be played with stability without any sampling, editing, signal processing, etc. to form musical statements and performances in realtime."

circuit bent alesis qsr demo by spunkydoodle


"-freely routed and stackable 24 point patchbay located on 4-12 position rotary knobs indicated in gold chrome

-24 point patchbay effects oscillator waveforms (glitches, cutups, extreme sound reconfigurations, extreme aliasing, sample rate effects, etc)

-9 point patchbay located on 2 rotary knobs indicated in copper chrome

-9 point patchbay effects FX section. delay cutups and glitches, extreme feedbacks, etc)

-each switch activates a corresponding colored leds to indicate which knobs are connected.

-one sample rate knob indicated in chrome and red jewel. controlled by getlofi 1799 precision oscillator for over 2 and half octaves controls of sample rate

-one sample rate switch selects between original clock and precision oscillator control

-one switch dedicated to input either by onboard knob or external controllers (see back panel)

-indicator lights for midi controlled relays activity

-one overall power led indicator in blue behind vintage milk white glass lens


-internal battery removed and replaced with a user servicable battery clip and a fresh battery

-one midi input for midi controlled relays. activates any of the front panel 12 point rotary switches together

- 3 extra midi controlled relays on back panel indicated in yellow. connects to external gear and circuit bent devices with banana jacks

-db25 expansion port- for use with spunkytoofers mm1 midi devices

-2 midi thru ports

-1 heavy duty toggle selects between internal midi circuitry or bypassing power to a mm1 unit.

-two banana jacks indicated in black and red to supply power to compatible spunkytoofers devices

-effects banana jacks indicated in blue and white. plug either midi controlled relays, switchboxes for extra control over fx section

-bend diagram and pdf manual forwarded to winning buyer

in my opinion the qsr is the most expressive circuit bent instrument ever. not only because of the deep modulation matrix involved but because it has the smoothest sample loop points and triggering for legato playing. you'd be very hard pressed to find another synth that does circuit bent solo leads as well as this. it also works very well in multitimbral mixes. in addition it has one of the fastest midi response rates available in synths of today and yesteryears.

the qsr is something i make very rarely so if you want this be sure to bid. the qsr is in perfect operating condition with the production sticker stating that this was one of the very last few leaving the factory. that ensures that you are getting the newest qsr possible.

the following audio is played in realtime with no processing by an akai ewi. two notes at a time can be triggered from the wind controller"

seperation anxiety by spunkytoofers

circuit bent alesis quadrasynth by spunkytoofers

video previously posted here.

Nyle Steiner - Interview 2010 / Bach Toccata

YouTube via northblip | May 30, 2010

"Nyle Steiner is the inventor of the Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI) and the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI). As well as being an amazing musician, he is one of the kindest most humble people I've ever met. This is a clip from the Park City TV "Mountain Morning Show" with host, Jen Hardman. This was done live at 7am, May 12th, 2010.
For more information on Nyle, please visit his home page.
http://www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleStei...
http://parkcity.tv/"

via spunkytoofers in the comments of this post.

"notice the custom sequencer/chord voicers built directly into the controller. this is a one-of-a-kind slickness for wind controller players. i had read articles about nyle talking about these kind of problems with chord voicing, etc in the past and to see him still at it and ironing it all out is inspirational.."

Nyle Steiner / Richard Souther - Shenandoah

northblip | May 20, 2010

"This is a total improv for Nyle and me from PCTV "Mountain Morning Show" with host, Jen Hardman. We did this live at 7am, May 12th, 2010. Please excuse some of the sound distortion and the sudden cutoff at the end."

Nyle Steiner / Richard Souther - Greensleeves


Nyle Steiner / Richard Souther - Waltzing Matilda

Spunkytoofers circuit bent yamaha pss790 vector synth

via this auction

CLICK FOR MORE »

spunkytoofers circuit bent boss ps-2

via this auction

I added a spunkytoofers label. Click on it below for more. You'll find details on this unit including video in a previous post as well as the auction of course. I also updated the Ebay store link on the right from d3park to spunkytoofers.

spunkytoofers antithesizer circuit bent casio sk-1

via this auction
"circuit bent by spunky toofers.
here are the modifications
1. 11 switches- controls freeze/holds, pitch related effects, bizarre filters, odd synthesis, self composing random melodies, rhythmic drum varations and much more. use alone or in combination.
2. 5 switches located on the far right which cuts out all 4 voices the instrument can play at once and the drum sound kill switch
3. one reset button
4. one vintage pilot glass lens with a bright white led underneath
5. master pitch switch enable indicated in black (with this switch you can activate a extremely stable precision oscillator circuit which replaces the original clock signal for extremely stable pitch control)
6. one overall pitch knob (approximately 3 plus octave pitch range with knob)
7. lfo rate knob (lfo activated by pulling up on this knob. activates a lfo to modulate sounds from subtle to extreme)
8. lfo depth knob
9. lfo indicator light- indicates depth and rate activity. vintage new stock soft glow dialco red LED
10. light theremin switch
11. light theremin photo cell (light sensitive wafer that responds to light, shadow, and movements from hand, body, etc)
12. 2 chrome dome body contacts (super expressive control of pitch via body contact
13. 16 point patch bay to make various connections in the patch bay via rca cables for experimenting new bends
14. 1/8" trs input for expression pedal or spunkytoofers mm1 midi module.
15. master power switch on/off indicated in red
16. intuitive and through interface with as much spacing as possible for all controls
17. manual and bend diagram emailed to winning bidder

finished in white/black paint job with plenty of clear coat to seal

a few things i'd like to address that have been asked previously. regardless of who bent your instrument every bend on an sk-1 will most likely respond differently in different settings.. for example you will get different results in sample mode then in a preset.. and from one preset to another.. i have bent the instrument to be as stable as possible in all modes of the instruments.

the pitch and lfo is fine tuned. if a pitch is allowed to go too high it will glitch and will otherwise interrupt a good sound, loop, or bent function of the instrument. where this glitch occurs is different between sk-1's..the range therfore of the pitch control will sweep approximately up to 3 octaves down and approximately an octave or so above normal pitch of the note.

the right side of the instrument is the functional side of the instrument featuring mixing, reset and power indication... the casio is capable of 4 notes/sounds at a time along with drums.. the switches on this side allow you to mix on the fly or isolate certain sounds. this is especially useful when the instrument is locked in a particular bent function or loop and doesn't respond to key information. this way you can isolate a particular sound in the lock or loop and sample that particular sound or have only that sound running.

the patch bay is setup to be as stable as possible. these are not ins or outs to other devices.. they are meant to be patched within the patchbay only and will allow you to create new bends on your own.. since it's experimental it's not as stable for live use but great for studio work. with a little planning the patch bay can also be used in live use with good stability.. they will offer new bends not available on switches along with variations to bends that are located on the switches. for example if there is a filter on a switch it is most likely you will get a variation of the filter on the patch bay.. a vocoder like sound can shift in harmonics with a little experimentation on the patch bay.

and the sk-1 will function as normal provided that all bends are not activated.. it is highly recommended that you understand how the instrument works and experiment with bends in all modes to make the best and widest use of your instrument. there are plenty of good resources on the web with manuals to download.

outputs to external amplifying, mixing or recording devices via 1/8" on back"




previously posted


previously posted

circuit bent e-mu xl7 command station w/ mm1 module

via this auction
also see this post
"this auction is for the circuit bent emu command station and the mm1 midi module the unit was purchased as a brand new instrument. the previous owner said the command station was used for only a few hours. i have confirmed this and the unit internally is pristine. all knobs, buttons, outputs, velo pads, ribbon, etc are in pristine shape and just like new. the outer shell was painted and salvaged from a emu mp-7. internally it is a xl7 and is absolutely in mint shape. i've had this unit for a few weeks now and can confirm everything is working perfectly both in mm1 and emu command station. this is a one-off offer and most likely will be the only one in existence

the following audio is several drum tracks played in realtime with a simple appegiator programmed for each sound. the emu sports 32 independant arpeggiators. the drums are then circuit bent and leads into a formant synth texture controlled with a wind controller.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Circuit Bent E-mu MP7 Command Station

via this auction
"-circuit bent with freely routeable 24 point rotary patchbay for the maximum in flexibility.
-points were carefully researched and arranged in order of harmonics whenever possible. very intuitive interface.
-chrome chickenhead knobs
-heavy duty toggles activates rotary patchbay connections
-db25 connector added- adds the option of expanding the e-mu commandstation units with the spunkytoofers mm1 midi module.

connector supplies power to the mm1 as well as allows circuit bending over midi via added midi circuitry.

the mm1 allows a tightly integrated system with the e-mu that can trigger it's own bends and other compatible bent devices.

all spunkytoofers instruments are now all compatible with mm1.

mm1 is sold seperately.
-unit is expandable with up to 3 more e-mu rom cards
-2 blue jewel lenses with bright blue lighting
-solid build and and quality components used throughout
-don't have a way to check the spdif output but should be fine.
-comes with power cord, bend diagram, and pdf manual
-support and warranty work covered for modifications

the e-mu command stations are perfect companions for the mm1 for a centerpiece for modular circuit bending over midi. there is no better way to sequence all your circuit bent devices than starting with one of the most powerful hardware sequencers ever made. modular sequencing and circuit bending is all possible through the e-mu command stations. the internal synthesizer in the command station is truly a powerful synthesizer and practically all waveforms within respond to the pressures of circuit bending. there are complex filters onboard and can virtually create any kind of circuit bent sound so long as you can picture it in your head. want a circuit bent speak and spell looping sound in one of the 32 sequencer tracks available? no problem. bend vocal roms applied with formant filters and will sound like a bent speak and spell. it does a whole lot more and covers alot of sonic territory within the onboad circuit bent synthesizer. the synthesizer sports a huge modulation matrix both in synthesis and circuit bending.

simple drum patterns are reconfigured rhythmically, tonally, and you can shape the circuit bent sounds any way you like with the powerful proteus 2000 synth engine onboard. 128 voices of sequenced mayhem is possible on this device. you can also add your controllers on top of the sequencer to any of the 16 voice parts. in addition to onboard sequencing you can sequence outboard midi gear. this makes it perfect companions with any spunkytoofers instruments with midi since they can integrate seamlessly."

circuit bent e-mu command station- rhythmic by spunkytoofers

circuit bent e-mu command station- melodic by spunkytoofers

video here

circuit bent kawai k1m vector synth by spunkytoofers

via this auction

details and video captured in this previous post and this video.

spunkytoofers mm1- midi modular circuit bending

YouTube via spunkytoofers — May 22, 2010 — "mm1 is a midi modular format for circuit bending by spunkytoofers. in this example the mm1 is cross bending a yamaha tg33, kawai k1m, and emu command station. the mm1 is also cross modulating the yamaha tg33 and kawai k1m using a little midi math."

circuit bent e-mu mp7 command station by spunkytoofers

It looks like the circuit bent command station in this video is now up for auction here.

"-circuit bent with freely routeable 24 point rotary patchbay for the maximum in flexibility.

-points were carefully researched and arranged in order of harmonics whenever possible. very intuitive interface.

-chrome chickenhead knobs

-heavy duty toggles activates rotary patchbay connections

-db25 connector added- adds the option of expanding the e-mu commandstation units with the spunkytoofers mm1 midi module.

connector supplies power to the mm1 as well as allows circuit bending over midi via added midi circuitry.

all spunkytoofers instruments are now all compatible with mm1.

mm1 is sold seperately.

-unit is expandable with up to 3 more e-mu rom cards

-2 blue jewel lenses with bright blue lighting

-solid build and and quality components used throughout

-unit in superb shape. all functions work perfectly.

very light cosmetic scuffs but not very noticeable. unit was cleaned throughly after assembly.

don't have a way to check the optical output but should be fine.

-comes with power cord, bend diagram, and original owners manual

-support and warranty work covered for modifications

the e-mu command stations are perfect companions for the mm1 for a centerpiece for modular circuit bending over midi. there is no better way to sequence all your circuit bent devices than starting with one of the most powerful hardware sequencers ever made. modular sequencing and circuit bending is all possible through the e-mu command stations. the internal synthesizer in the command station is truly a powerful synthesizer and practically all waveforms within respond to the pressures of circuit bending. there are complex filters onboard and can virtually create any kind of circuit bent sound so long as you can picture it in your head. want a circuit bent speak and spell looping sound in one of the 32 sequencer tracks available? no problem. bend vocal roms applied with formant filters and will sound like a bent speak and spell. it does a whole lot more and covers alot of sonic territory within the onboad circuit bent synthesizer. the synthesizer sports a huge modulation matrix both in synthesis and circuit bending.

simple drum patterns are reconfigured rhythmically, tonally, and you can shape the circuit bent sounds any way you like with the powerful proteus 2000 synth engine onboard. 128 voices of sequenced mayhem is possible on this device. you can also add your controllers on top of the sequencer to any of the 16 voice parts. in addition to onboard sequencing you can sequence outboard midi gear. this makes it perfect companions with any spunkytoofers instruments with midi since they can integrate seamlessly.

the video below is a circuit bent e-mu mp7 and xl7 demonstration. both units are identically the same except they have different sound sets with the option to expand sound sets with rom simms. they both feature breakouts for spunkytoofers mm1 midi module expansion for modular circuit bending over midi.

1st demo [previously posted] is one pattern being mangled manual with a rotary patchbay

2nd demo [previously posted] is a midi multi-setup on the command station with setups for akai ewi wind controller, akai mpk25 keyboard and sequenced drones being interjected sporadically. all sounds are arbitrarily circuit bent throughout the demo via midi. the command station itself is used over midi to trigger it's own bends."