GuMbaLL eLEcTrOniCs .. pOrTFoLIo

C64C with feedback loop for MSSIAH

2010-02-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

C64c single 8580 with FeedBack Loop for MSSIAH

I made this one for local DJ and Producer Lewis Cancut. It is both sexy and sturdy thanks to the metal grill across the front.

Features an op-amp buffered output to keep the SID safe from killer spikes when plugging while powered, shielded cable and input off mode for minimum noise, and the awesome Feedback Loop mod for overdrive or extra resonance FX.

Also features the better pots mod for full-travel and less jitter, and an RCA video out connector for a much sharper picture than the Commodore AV cable.

Colour scheme is kinda sports shoe inspired... Lewis Cancut likes it like that...

Black DMG-01 with Back Light and Pro Sound Mods

2009-08-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

This is my favourite GameBoy. : ]

NES controller Buttons on a Black Play-it-Loud DMG with Blue Backlight from Nonfinite and Pro-Sound Mod.

Matching Black Magnifier tops it off!

Gameboy DMG-01 with Pro-Sound Mod, Backlight, and Custom Paint Job

2009-08-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

Where did it Go?

This is a Play-It-Loud DMG-01 Gameboy, modded for use with LSDJ or any other music making apps for the original B+W gameboy.

Features:

Pro Sound Mod

Blue Backlit Screen

'Green Camo' custom Paint Job

The paint is sprayed inside a clear Gameboy, so it won't scratch or wear. Very cool.

Commodore 64 'Breadbin' with Dual Revision-4 SIDs and Pots for MSSIAH or Cynthcart

2009-08-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

One SID is a beautiful thing. Two is even better.

This thing sounds amazing. Especially with MSSIAH Monosynth. 2x Revision 4 SIDs makes for superPHat basses and leads.

Next step will be adding on a 5" LCD games screen with internal power.

Can currently be used without a screen for Paul Slocum's Cynthcart, or connected to a TV for MSSIAH.

Once the screen is on, I'll be looking at getting a flash Cart for running something like SID Duzz' It or Ninja Tracker.

Roland TR-505B with 6-Position Swich Matrix * Circuit-Bent*

2009-08-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

Let's bee friends... and it's got a picture of a bee on it!

- Ralph Wiggum

The TR-505 seems to be becoming my specialty.

This one features:

4 6-position Rotary-Switch Matrix

8 Mute switches for individual drums

1 Audio input for Hi-Hat Channel

1 Audio input for Tom Channel

Rotary Switches are FAR better to bend with than RCA patch-bays. I'll do a tutorial on how to do this very soon. Probably when I get stuck into my Mega Drive II. Not only does it look neater, but its possible to write down or remember your favorite settings

I'll post some audio of the Weird Sound Generator in the Tom Input, Atari Punk Console in the Hi-Hat Input. Then things get really awesome!

Music From Outer Space, Weird-Sound-Generator

2009-08-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

Got Lunch?

This is a WSG (weird sound generator) from the schematics at Music From Outer Space.

It's the double version plus analog filter.

It's basically 2 Square waves with variable Width and Freq, controlling 2 more Square waves with variable Width and Freq. Then the output gets summed through a simple Bandpass Filter.

Very analog sounding, even if only 9 volts. I also added a nice bend between the two chains of oscillators for nice chaotic intermodulation.

Built into a Kid's game's case that looks like a lunchbox...

...I love how it hinges and stands up like a MiniMoog!

Speak and Spell Circuit-Bent with optoVibrato Switch

2009-08-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

Say it! Bitch!!!

This is a relatively modest bend for a Speak and Spell, but it is extremely stable.

Features:

1 Momentary Loop switch (with 2 directions)

4 Tone Buttons

1 Pitchbend Pot

1 optoVibrato switch

The optoVibrato switch is a cool addition. I simply found a point on the chip that sends data whenever a word is said, connected an LED/LDR combination to it, and sealed it inside the unit. The LED flickers with the data, the LDR is strapped across the PitchBend Pot.

Works great ; }

MIDI could be nice.... another job for Highly Liquid?

Speak and Math Circuit-Bent

2009-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Solve it! Greater than less than...

The Speak and Math has a far superior tone compared to the Speak and Spell.

This one has:

2 glitch switches

2 loop switches

1 tone button with 3 tone switches

1 pitchbend pot

3 pitchbend body contacts

1 hard reset button

Sometimes it makes the coolest underwater bubbly beats...

... sometimes it doesn't.

Ibanez Auto Filter Pedal Circuit-Bent

2009-08-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Woop-Bzzz-Woop-Itty-Bzzz....

Some people think this thing looks cool... personally I've gone off using RCA patch-bays. Too messy, and hard to pull out. However it's a cheap and quick option.

But aside from how it looks, it sounds fantastic! No longer real good for guitar, but on something dynamic and repetitive like a drum machine, it kicks butt!

The 3 pots on the right attach to the internal trim-pots for Envelope Attack, Envelope Release, and Filter Cutoff (or Envelope Depth. Whatever way you want to look at it.)

And the Patch-bay creates all sorts of self-oscillating crazy-good wrongness!

Bendy-bendy Sine and Ring-Mod tones, plus dynamically controlled distortions hisses and glitches.

I'll have to post some audio so you know what I mean.

Me thinks a circuit bent 'Bass Balls' pedal could be next! Nice and formanty!

Shin-Ei Fuzz with Germanium Transistors

2009-08-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Woman...

This is an old 60's Shin-Ei Fuzz pedal. I liked the idea of it, but in reality it's a really nasty sounding pedal. The sort of fuzz that clips so hard it's not even a guitar anymore. Chords? Forget it! Any more than one note at a time and things go weird.

However on dismantling an old HiFi amp i found on the street, i found a treasure trove of little chocolate drop Transistors. I'm guessing they're Germanium, cos it transformed this thing into a Creamy Vintage Blues machine from hell!

I experimented with them a bit, and found that a combination of the original Silicon Transistor with the Germanium Transistor in parallel actually gives the best of both worlds.

Germanium for Big Bottom, Creamy Top, and the ability to play chords, and Silicon for that extra bite in the middle.

So in went some switches for:

1x Silicon vs 1x Germanium.

Silicon+Germanium vs Germanium+Germanium

For anyone interested in making guitar pedals from scratch, the Shin-Ei Fuzz circuit has VERY FEW components (perhaps 10?) , and I certainly found experimenting with salvaged transistors can give a big variety of tones on the cheap.

Atari 2600 for Synthcart with Inbuilt NumPads

2009-08-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Build-it-in for yummy times..

I loved the idea behind Paul Slocums Cynthcart for the Commodore 64 so much, that I wanted to extend it to his Synthcart for the Atari 2600. If you can wire pots inside a C64 case instead of using Paddles, why not wire a couple of 12 Digit NumPads inside a 2600?

The NumPads are cheap from Jaycar, especially compared with finding Atari Video Touch Pads and the like. And I think this way looks supercool!

Structurally, its VERY solid. The Pads sit on the RF sheild inside the 4 and 6 switch models. If any of you have seen the hunk of metal inside these things you'll know how OTT that thing is!

KeyPad combinations are printed on the front for easy reference, however I might expand this to cover the full width. I would like the table from the cartridge label regarding waveform select to be more accessible too.

Perhaps an internal MIDI kit from Highly Liquid would finish this one off nicely ; )

GameBoy DMG-01 3-Speed Mod

2009-08-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

One of my ugly guinea pigs..

Has a 'half-speed / normal-speed / double-speed' switch. Half speed for an extra octave of bass, or double speed for clearer samples and crisper hats. Well thats the plan anyway. Still have to test if it makes any difference to the sample clarity...

Sounds great for 'GB ELECTRIC DRUM' Half speed kiks have more balls, and double speed flams are out of this world!!

I'll post a video on how I got it all to fit, cos it's a big arse switch!

Basically i replaced the 4.194 Mhz crystal with a 2Mhz, then the switch adds a 4Mhz in Parallel, an 8Mhz in Parallel, or center leaves the 2Mhz on its own.

Next is to try out the retuned LSDJ for 4Mhz by 10k and Little-Scale.. sweet idea dude

(4Mhz mode in next update of LSDJ anyone??)

Atari Punk Console in Analog Joystick

2009-08-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

Don't let mum catch you wiggling with it....

An Atari Punk Console built into an analog joystick. X and Y axis control the stepped oscillator, and the Fire Button connects the Battery. Pots are wired in parallel to joystick as coarse trims to use in conjunction with the included mechanical fine trim adjusters. Also features 1/4" line out and Silver Atari Panel ripped from a busted Atari Jr Console.

Only downside is I have a bad habit of holding it over my crotch as I wiggle away furiously...

it makes baby Jesus cry...

Commodore 64C cut down case with Pots for MSSIAH

2009-08-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Love like Lime and Soda...

Here's a green Commodore 64C with the cut down 'alpha mod' case, and Pots for the MSSIAH 64 cart.

Still to come is a SID2SID with another 8580, an LCD, and an OpAmp Buffered input/output.

Pink & Blue Gameboy Color with Pro Sound, LSDJ and Light

2009-08-10T05:02:00.001-07:00

Like a Gumball-kid in a candy store..

Pink and Blue case swap looks pretty sweet on the Gameboy Color. Sounds cool too with the Pro-Sound mod.

A bit more focused in the low-mids compared to a DMG-01, with a tighter sound overall i think. Not as much bass, but the noise channel is a bit crisper, without the bassy pops that you get with abrupt envelopes on the DMG.

The sound of this thing brings back 80's+90's Nintendo memories, where as the DMG sounds more like some ferocious wildebeest that could never truly be tamed...

..oh yeah, and its got a sharp colour screen too.