circuit bending?

[dangerkirk]

im thinking of buying some of the cheap-o danelectro pedals to mess around with some circuit bending. had any one here tried anything like that here or can give me some pointers on the process?

[superbassman2000]

I have done it--its really fun!

personally, i'd say have some switches and wiring ready for when you find something cool!

also, here is a good video for anyone else interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Pbyg_kcEk

the easiest way to bend is to lick two fingers and make contacts that way--use a battery to power the pedal lol I don't know if there is any harm in plugging it into the wall, but to me that seems more dangerous haha

[KarateKid25]

I circuit bend, but more with kids toys rather than effects.

I have a really cool Texas Instruments Speak & Spell that does delay type things, pitch shifting, speaks random jargon and has an output for an amp with volume control.

Its fun stuff

EDIT: Couldn't resist... Here is my old speak and spell post and sound clip

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

I took some photos and made a sound clip... Not trying to hijack the thread, but I didn't really think it should get its own thread. Its not for bass as such, its just interesting because we are on the topic of short circuits

I still have a few more glitches that I need to attach switches too (ran out..), so its only half working at the moment. It has loop, hold, 1x glitch and pitch at the moment. Im running it into Distortion, flanger and delay. You might need to turn up a bit as I recorded a bit soft.

I have no idea what its use is, but it was/is a bit of fun





Hear it

[KarateKid25]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

the easiest way to bend is to lick two fingers and make contacts that way--use a battery to power the pedal lol I don't know if there is any harm in plugging it into the wall, but to me that seems more dangerous haha

Don't play with anything that plugs into 110 / 240. Only bend basic battery powered circuits. You could quite easily kill yourself.

[CuticleThorns]

I messed around with my old danelectro distortion, purply/pink one (forgot the name) and found a few good 'bends that dramatically changed the distortion or in some cases would put a huge thick buzz over the signal. so I added 'push to make switches' & the like to it. basically this was just for a bit of research i was doing for a uni project & i ended up killing the pedal. but it was good fun!

main problem was that the danelectro circuit board is very small and fiddely, not much space for my fat fingers!

the pedal broke before i got to complete this but as the effects are housed in plastic you shouldn't have any problems drilling holes for switches & pots. just have fun with it!

[tomhanzo]

dude this sounds very interesting.

can anyone give me any good pedals to try this with cause i think i am gonna try it.

the danelectro pedals do sound like the best to start with.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

Don't play with anything that plugs into 110 / 240. Only bend basic battery powered circuits. You could quite easily kill yourself.

that was my first thought--i figure at the very least if you somehow started electrocuting yourself with a battery powered circuit, at least the battery would run out eventually haha

[CuticleThorns]

Originally Posted by tomhanzo

dude this sounds very interesting.

can anyone give me any good pedals to try this with cause i think i am gonna try it.

the danelectro pedals do sound like the best to start with.

all you need a piece of insulated wire. never do it with powered pedals... 9v batteries only.

a good place to start would be to visit Reed Ghazala's website. or just search circuit bending on youtube.

its easier to start on cheap electronic toys as opposed to playing your bass & holdingawireonacircuitboardonthebackofaneffectpeda l

[tomhanzo]

Originally Posted by CuticleThorns

all you need a piece of insulated wire. never do it with powered pedals... 9v batteries only.

a good place to start would be to visit Reed Ghazala's website. or just search circuit bending on youtube.

its easier to start on cheap electronic toys as opposed to playing your bass & holdingawireonacircuitboardonthebackofaneffectpeda l

ok thanks i am defanitly trying to do something with this

[Swimming Bird]

A lot of the old DOD pedals are a dream to bend: they're cheap, easy to find and are almost guaranteed to do something. Do a search and you'll find sound clips I posted of an FX25 and an FX70 that I circuit bent. Also, the FX69 is bendable, but I haven't gotten around to many others.

Stay away from all-digital pedals and ones that don't run on batteries until you get some experience.

As for Danos, I tried a FAB Flange and found one or two bends, but nothing I particularly liked.

I just took an ECE graduate level independent study in circuit bending and I can e-mail you my quick-start how-to guide if you don't feel like reading through Ghazala's book. That goes for anyone who wants it.

[tomhanzo]

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

A lot of the old DOD pedals are a dream to bend: they're cheap, easy to find and are almost guaranteed to do something. Do a search and you'll find sound clips I posted of an FX25 and an FX70 that I circuit bent. Also, the FX69 is bendable, but I haven't gotten around to many others.

Stay away from all-digital pedals and ones that don't run on batteries until you get some experience.

As for Danos, I tried a FAB Flange and found one or two bends, but nothing I particularly liked.

I just took an ECE graduate level independent study in circuit bending and I can e-mail you my quick-start how-to guide if you don't feel like reading through Ghazala's book. That goes for anyone who wants it.

dude i would really appreciate it cause i want to start into this.

adkins690@marshall.edu dude thank you so much

[roflol]

easy way to get stuff like this is just connect the collectors/emitters of the transistors in the circuit

[Flintlock]

You've just opened my eyes to this crazy world of short circuiting perfectly good circuits. Lets go try some...

[KarateKid25]

Its good stuff

[knarleybass]

Circuit bending is fun, I have done a little, but never with pedals. I want to try it with my Line 6 Delay and Modulation pedals.

[B.C.]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

I circuit bend, but more with kids toys rather than effects.

I have a really cool Texas Instruments Speak & Spell that does delay type things, pitch shifting, speaks random jargon and has an output for an amp with volume control.

Its fun stuff

EDIT: Couldn't resist... Here is my old speak and spell post and sound clip

Bro I can't wait to hear this!

[B.C.]

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

I just took an ECE graduate level independent study in circuit bending and I can e-mail you my quick-start how-to guide if you don't feel like reading through Ghazala's book. That goes for anyone who wants it.

That would be steller, I'm an ECE undergrad.

[KarateKid25]

Originally Posted by B.C.

Bro I can't wait to hear this!

The soundclip is attached to the post Its underneath the pics of the speak and spell. Have a listen and let me know what you think

EDIT: Here it is again - Hear it. I really like it Its gone from teaching kids the alphabet, to given them messed up nightmares

[sixandeightstringer]

I just did a Boss DS-1 (G***ar) Distortion pedal two nights ago; it was my virgin attempt at circuit bending. It's pretty well documented on the net as far as points to play with, and they're cheap ($25-35 on the used market); I did four separate bends on it and further modified two of the bends with alternate paths using some small electrical components I had lying around.

It's pretty cool - makes some really wild noises now... I just have to figure out where to put the six switches I added to it...

If you're trying different points, one thing you can do to make it easier - rather than trying to play your instrument and make contact with at least two points - is run a drum machine or iPod or something through the input jack; that keeps a steady signal going, and you can instantly hear what's happening without trying to balance a guitar or bass on your lap...

I'll second/third the "only try bending battery powered things" because you can easily blow yourself across the room touching points on an AC circuit. Bad idea.

[niftydog]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

I have a really cool Texas Instruments Speak & Spell that does delay type things, pitch shifting, speaks random jargon and has an output for an amp with volume control.

WANT!