any circuit benders up in harrrr?

[behndy]

i mean, i know Shermy Sticks does the NEAT STUFF.

anybody else?

i just picked up an Akai Tom Cat for super cheap. someone did a mod for the hi hat to make it better, but took down the vidja where they showed what they did.

thing is....it has a Tune knob per part... that does NOTHING. i mean. a tinnnny variance. occasionally? but useless. was wondering about opening it up and trying to get those knobs doing weird or useful things. but.... i suck at bending.

any advice? or someone want to tackle it? moops?

[01010111]

The basic thing that I've heard you do for circuit bending is make a probe and short circuit bits of it to see how it sounds? Some wire with the ends stripped might make a good, little probe. Then you just solder the interesting connections you find. That might be the most basic advice, though.

I've heard trying to jump across chips is a quick way to find bends? I'm currently working on a SK-1 and most of the bends jump across two of the big chips. I am following a circuit-bending guide I found online, though. This is my first attempt at circuit bending.

[kaeth]

I've bent a few things. I get the impression that the circuit-bending ethic has a lot more to do with semi-random experimentation over intentional mods, but it's a little hazy where one ends and the other begins. One of the pitfalls of the more exploratory method of circuit-bending is that there's a decent chance you're going to end up with a new doorstop, and since it's analog you're less likely to stumble across interesting bend points doing it that way. I'd say stick with safer mods that you already know (or can figure out) how to do.

If you want a wider variance on those tuning knobs, you could try replacing them with different values of pots. If you wanted them to do something completely different, you might be able to cram a small distortion or ring-mod/oscillator circuit in there, or maybe a tone knob that bleeds off highs like on a guitar.

[kaeth]

I probably don't need to say this, but don't ever bend anything while it's plugged in. Batteries only. Or else learn the schematic, solder your mods, then plug it in to see if it worked.

[chrisdermo]

Kaeth's right. No digital = no fun to be had with random bends.

[jrfox92]

dminner is a our resident PDS circuit bender.
I circuit bended my DS-1 once.

[Hypnodrone]

I bend stuff from time to to time. My best advice is to get slightly drunk / stoned. Unscrew any panels or lids, lick your finger and touch stuff (unless it's plugged into the wall ...). Digital modulation/delay is really fun to short out. A probe also works but a moist finger unveils the potential.

[fuzzonaut]

a moist finger unveils the potential.

[oscillateur]

I used to be really into circuit bending 12-15 years ago. Back on the "benders" yahoogroups list, for those who remember. Organized a number of workshops in France, even had my minute of fame with a few interviews in magazines/etc. . Anyway, pure circuit bending is more for circuits you don't mind breaking and have no knowledge about. Typically, stuff with old digital ICs give the best results, and analog circuits usually need a more directed approach as the chances of happening onto something cool are overshadowed by the possibility of just fucking up the circuit...

For your tomcat, what you need is an actual mod, ideally from someone who understands what the thing does. Keep bending for cheap pedals and old digital drum machines/keyboards.

Btw, knowing you you'd pobably love a bent old drum machine. Keep your eyes opened for cheap 80s machines...

[behndy]

durp. been so busy with end of the year work time stuff and pre NYE vacation. thanks for all the advice bits!

i've done a bit of for fun bending, really basic fuckarounds with all metal screwdrivers and alligator clips, and double durp. of course. it's not digital so not really a bender box. MOOP.

a moist finger unveils the potential.

heh. LIFE HACKS.

For your tomcat, what you need is an actual mod, ideally from someone who understands what the thing does. Keep bending for cheap pedals and old digital drum machines/keyboards.

Btw, knowing you you'd pobably love a bent old drum machine. Keep your eyes opened for cheap 80s machines...

i DO miss the Fuck With It Till Its So Much Worse It's BETTER activities. what machines would you suggest to look for that would be cheap and fun to fuck with?

also, i love you all so much. such an amazing collection of humans on this site.

[behndy]

also, whilst chabbling with The Danno, he offered "..... Or I could remove it, install sockets and you could try diff caps w/o solder until you were happy and tack them down.".

we were talking about how the thing is FUN, but the pitch does NOTHING. might take him up on that there offer.

[baremountain]

I recently bent my first pedal - a Danelectro BLT. The first night I just bent it, and yesterday I rehoused it. I was super worried about the rehousing part, but it went well. Ergonomics could stand to be improved, but that'll happen on rev 2. I did the random bridge-connections-till-you-like-it method (with basic knowledge of what the components were), and when I liked a connection I installed a switch to turn it on or off. The thing doesn't bypass anymore, but there are some amazing sounds to be found. One of the switches engages ridiculous runaway oscillation, another is a weird staticy thing that originally functioned as a lo-fi/bandpass switch - v2 won't feature this connection, the third switch is a weird phasery/flangey warble that adds a nice bit of modulation, and the momentary footswitch sends the pedal into some weird low-freq oscillations that pulse rhythmically. The real fun is combining the oscillation switch with the momentary, and that's mainly what you'll hear in this video. It creates a crazy blown out delay wash that pulses slowly. At different mix settings you can make the momentary switch simply kill all oscillation and FX, and letting go throws the signal into chaos.
I must've removed the factory I/O jacks, so the ones I reinstalled were just lying around & don't fit the tiny enclosure, but whatever - the pedal works.
Here's a few clips:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO3t-cYjd3G
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO1AuwRjzL7

I've already ordered 3 other Danos (FAB Delay x2 and a FAB Chorus), and I intend to start doing this more frequently. I've already received a definite order and had several people express interest in buying one, so that's super cool.

[jrmy]

I must've removed the factory I/O jacks, so the ones I reinstalled were just lying around & don't fit the tiny enclosure, but whatever - the pedal works.
Here's a few clips:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO3t-cYjd3G
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO1AuwRjzL7

I've already ordered 3 other Danos (FAB Delay x2 and a FAB Chorus), and I intend to start doing this more frequently. I've already received a definite order and had several people express interest in buying one, so that's super cool.

That right there is super cool. Super DUPER cool.

[behndy]

yessssss. saw that on your IG.

NEAT.

[moid]

Wow that sounded great! Is that just the standard plastic danelectro pedal? And are you just connecting parts of the circuitboard to other parts? Or is it more complex than that? I will understand if you don't want to explain exactly what your mods are, but any hints would be cool