[sdiy] Chaotic/lo-fi patching techniques

[Derek Holzer]

Hi Alex,

I've also seen Cor Fuhler (http://www.euronet.nl/users//fuhler/) play 
his Synthi EMS with things like a stove-lighter over the lid-keyboard 
(the sparks seem to trigger the keys as well as pressure) and a 
"randomizer" attached to the patchbay, which is basically a wheel which 
makes and breaks various pin connections.

The work of circuit-bender and "shyinths" designer Peter Blesser uses 
quite a bit of crocodile clipping across nail patchbays and spoons stuck 
in the mouth:

http://www.ciat-lonbarde.net/shinths/index.html

But my feeling is that these kind of "noisy" or "random" approaches 
might be a bit less popular in this list, which seems to strive for more 
"perfect" or "musical" results. But that's just my feeling. I'm at an 
internet cafe right now, so I haven't scanned the rest of this thread, 
but I'm looking forward once I'm not paying for every second online ;-)

My own DIY project, TONEWHEELS, uses phototransistors modulated by 
spinning transparent disks in an overhead projector to make a very 
mechanical audiovisual set. I send the voltage straight to the mixer as 
audio (after some buffering action), or use it as CV in my Doepfer/DIY 
modular:

http://umatic.nl/tonewheels.html

Maybe I'll think of some more after reading this thread.

best!
d.

|||||||||| |||||||||| wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm currently thinking about alternative ways of making connections on
> a modular synth, particularly of the primitive, somewhat random kind.
> For example, German Synthi AKS improviser Thomas Lehn sticks bits of
> metal in the Synthi "Prestopatch" slot and wiggles it around, to
> short-circuit between various modules and make all kinds of sudden
> complex noises...This is what I'm into as well. (It doesn't seem to
> harm his Synthi, by the way).
> 
> I'd love to hear about other ways that people are "mechanically"
> interfacing with their synths. I vaguely remember seeing some design
> that just had a number of metal nails sticking up, for example, that
> one would either touch or clamp crocodile cables to.
> I also seem to remember something with a metal ball rolling around
> another bed of nails?

-- 
derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista
---Oblique Strategy # 111:
"Lowest common denominator check
-single beat
-single note
-single riff"