An Intro to Circuit Bending

A short intro on how to get started with circuit bending toys, specifically musical instrument toys. For the things mentioned in the video, follow the links below:

Spotify jazz playlist:

TS100 65W Digital OLED Programmable Soldering Iron

TS100 open source firmware:

Gearbest links:

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Music:

Nicolai Heidlas - New Places
CC BY 4.0

[Tridd]

"Circuit bending isn't about bending circuits"

Tab closed

[peteytwofinger]

the older the toy, the better the chance for more bend points . newer toys use black blob single chip - not may points to experiment with . older toys may offer many more individual ic chips, which in turn offers many more points at which to test for bends .

[dunebillydave]

I just learned the term "circuit bending" last night, in the middle of the night when I was half asleep. This video is brilliant! I absolutely love how and well-thought-out this video was, and how systematically it teaches how to wreak chaos. Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing your extensive knowledge. This is how mankind has risen to our current lofty heights; standing on the shoulders of giants.

[FourfoxMusic]

This is great. Actually taking the time to go into the pros and cons of using a switched audio jack at 8:00 was super helpful information. Thanks bud!

[Pypamid]

About that "decent" keyboard, my son plays the "slow rock" demo 24/7. So the only true circuit bend this demonic device is worth is 400V through it

[IronDragon]

12:19 *keyboard noises*
...
*Screams* FEEL GOOD

[nightmaresands]

"Attach a knob if you feel like sprucing up the shaft."

[hughaskew]

I did this with a Casio keyboard about 30-35 years ago. I found a couple of spots that gave me a very musical vibrato and tremolo, and also a few spots that kicked in squawks and squeals and even a frequency divider.

[scarlettray]

Gene from bobs burgers would die for a board like this

[VoidHalo]

One suggestion, since a POT is basically a short when it''s at its lowest setting, it's always a good idea to have a low value resistor in series with any POTs you put in a circuit to avoid overcurrent. Also 555s, VCOs and PLLs make for some easy ways to add/alter sounds on a keyboard like this. Cheers.

[isellcrack]

ahh I`ve been thinking about giving circuit bending a try for about maybeee....10 years and it seems I`ll finally get on with doing exactly that. Thanks a lot for the video it was more than helpful. When I initially discovered the soothing (and I say it unironically) sounds of those bent circuits I instantly got hooked but back than (around 2008/9) there wasn`t exactly a wide selection of videos on how to do it, in fact there were none whatsoever the best thing I was able to find at the time was some proper engineering schematics which ofc were absolutely incomprehensible for me and it all seemed too complicated for me. Many, many thanks to you sir.

[paw]

Aaaagggh! You should’ve put the potentiometer in reverse so dialling up would increase pitch. Makes me sad this isn’t the case. Brilliant video though! Very interesting.

[gerritvos]

I have used external pc-speakers in the past, as a circuit bent instrument, and man, was that a lot of fun!

[MitchRossMusician]

Just saw this video today. Very well done. Gave me a few ideas to tinker with.

[manickn]

Sometimes you just need a project like this to make your day. No real use but it does get one motivated.

I tend to strip thinks and record or do something really simple when I get that itch but don't want to commit to a long build.

[ivanm]

So sick!! I suck at circuit bending but this video gave me alot of inspiration

[voodoosalad]

That Moog sound everyone is looking for : ) Anyways, great vid. Thanks for sharing!

[trulyinfamous]

I've finally guy a soldering kit, and as long as I spend a bit more time at Goodwill and learning about electronics, I could do some circuit bending.

[kramer]

LOVE IT!!! The animal sounds pitch bending was awesome.... I so want to give this a go, but I don't think I'll be breaking into my Access Virus C any time soon!

[RetromagneticDesigns]

Let's see if she chooches alright. :D