MTF - Sem2, Wk3: Breadboarding

Well, every time I walk into the local Dick Smith's I'm a little the wiser. After meticulously following the breadboarding video on the Emutron website fifty times, I realised I had the wrong IC in! So after some net crawling and research, I headed to Dick's (we're just about on first name terms) and procured some 4093 and 4066 IC's.

An IC by itself is great, but when you combine it with others, all with their role and function, the possibilities are multitudinous. A bent guitar which senses how hard you pluck and/or what note, responding with a blast from whatever you've wired in there.

* Blurry square wave generator pic with light sensitive resistor

I put the light sensitive resistor in and it could be used in my instrument with a switch, so not engaged permenantly. You can achieve a tremelo/wah-wah/theremin (ish) effect and it's a versatile dot. Will experiment with combinations.

*Modulating square wave

I'm learning how each component fits and what part it plays in the chain. It has helped me better understand the theoretical concepts we have studied previously. Perfect in tandem with the virtual version, Plogue Bidule. As I learn more about the many possibilities through experience and experimentation, my instrument may start to take better shape and 'write itself', but for the moment, the kalimba feels like a good start. There is an old Remington typewriter in ' Junkies Second-Hand' around the corner; the key mechanism looks promising to make a contact when pressed, triggering a sound event. This could be done by on/off push buttons wired onto the circuit board which in turn, generates the audio. Then again, I could just have the buttons. Things will become clearer as I begin to understand what I am capable of building within the timeframe, as much as anything else. Lots of ideas for future exploration, though.

*Ring Modulation

Here's some crappy ring modulated electric guitar samples, big and medium sized capacitors (that's technical lingo):

1/ RingModulationBigCap.mp3

2/ RingModulationMedCap.mp3

For those interested in hearing some extreme kalimba (played like I've never heard before), try this;
Catania 12-Note Kalimba :

http://www.kalimbamagic.com/SoundClips/12NoteExample.mp3

References:

"Catania 12-Note Kalimba." The Kalimba Shop. 2007. https://shop.kalimbamagic.com/displayProductDocument.hg?productId=40 (accessed August 10, 2007).

Haines, Christian. "Modular Electronics." Music Technology Forum, Semester 2, Week 3, August 2007.

Tomczak, Seb. MTF - Electronics, Instruments and Improvisation. 2007. http://emutron.blogspot.com/2007/08/demonstration-video-piezo-driver.html (accessed August 2007).

—. "Fun With Sea Moss (or, basic digital sound devices)." 2007. http://www.milkcrate.com.au/_other/sea-moss/ (accessed August 2007).

—. "Modular Electronics." Music Technology Forum, Semester 2, Week 3, August 2007.

MTF Week 3 Readings:

pp 111-133. Collins, Nicolas 2006, Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking.

pp 123 - 138. Igoe, Tom; O'Sullivan, Dan 2004, Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers.