When I find the time, I’m making one of these.

The guitar sounds quite mandolin-ish, besides the two stings that are on it, i might even (when i get the chance) I might put in an electric pick-up in it.

Thanks to alm of Carolina Traipsing for the link.

Via Fuzzytopia.

This custom SID synthesizer sounds absolutely awesome. Listen to it here.

Electric Druid Synth DIY pages.

“I’ve finally got around to something that has been a dream for a long while – building my own synthesizer… So far, I’ve managed to write firmware for two devices, a voltage-controlled LFO and a voltage-controlled ADSR envelope generator, modelled on the CEM 3312 and SSM2056.”

I have a love/hate relationship with sites like these. On one hand, the material is fascinating, and I gain a lot of insight on various ways to approach instrument design in Csound. On the other hand, I sooo wish I had the time to hone my soldering iron skills and learn to program for a microcontroller. There must be something entirely satisfying with the hands on approach.

Link via Matrixsynth.

My electronics workstation in the garage has been closed for the winter due to extreme cold.  Not that I’ve had the time, anyways.  However, the temperature is on the rise, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.  The big goal I’ve set for myself is to make some of my very own eurorack modular synth units.

And perhaps by cosmic coincidence, a modular synth enthusiast, who goes by the name of fonik, commented on one of my flickr photos a couple of days ago.  This led me to his photos, which led me to www.modular.fonik.de.  On his site, he shares in detail his custom modules and schematics.  Having a DIY guide to follow is exactly what I need.

“Rather a musician than an electronics engineer I was always looking for new sounds. This finally(?) let me to modular synth. Once I purchased some Dopefer modules for a modular guitar effect the plan rose to build my own modular synth… this was about 2 years ago and I never held an soldering iron in my hands before.”  – fonik

This is the position I’m in today.  The fact that he has been able to accomplish so much with in such a short period of time gives me hope that I, too, will be able to succeed in my modular synth building endeavors.

C64Music! is a weekly journal about Commodore64 related geek music projects, featuring DIY, schematics, releases, C64 bands, retro software reviews, SID based synths… you could call it a Multiple Sidosis…

I think I’m going to pull out my SidStation later. I’m inspired.

“We send probes into deep space to listen to alien worlds. But alien world’s aren’t always that far away.” – Reed Ghazala

I recently finished reading Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments. This is probably the easiest, and quickest way to get you up to speed in the field of Circuit-Bending. Reed Ghazala, the internationally recognized “Father of Circuit-Bending,” provides a concise compendium of most issues that will arise during your alien spelunking adventures.

Is this book for you?

Depends. For myself, the book was absolutely worth it. My background is mostly digital. The text introduced me to very rudimentary skills required to build these instruments. Skills such as: soldering, quasi-electronics, drilling, painting, etc… If you can already do these things, even on a basic level, you might not get much from these chapters.

Where this book truly excels is Ghazala’s personal insight and experience. His writing is candid, humorous at times, and allows the reader to get a glimpse of how his thought process works. In many ways, this book is more than just a DIY guide. It is also about composing through the process of electronic experimentation.

In other words, good stuff.

Part of Get Bent.

Uploaded to flickr by urban_data

The Graffiti Research Lab is dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists and protestors with open source tools for urban communication. The goal of the G.R.L. is to technologically empower individuals to creatively alter and reclaim their surroundings from commercial and corporate culture. G.R.L. agents are currently working in the lab and in the field to develop and test a range of experimental technologies for the state-of-the-art graffiti writer.This site documents those efforts with video documentation and DIY instructions for each project.

LED Throwies fascinate me.