You can now find Bodytronix tracks on my SoundCloud .  We’re playing Friday July 2nd at the ND @ 501 Studios.  Come have fun with us, Pong, and Woodgrain.

Handmade Music Austin #9 (nine already!?) is coming up on Sunday afternoon July 11th at the usual location, Salvage Vanguard Theatre in Austin TX.  I came up with a new basic level project called 1976 Phototheremin.  Here’s a demo:

The original circuit is by Forrest Mims III, from the book OPTOELECTRONIC PROJECTS vol 1.  I fell in love with this circuit when I saw it, because it is ultra-minimal.  It has only seven components including the battery and speaker.  Its real transistor magic.  The active circuit is just two transistors, a capacitor, and photocell.  I’ve crossed my fingers that the PCBs will get here in time for the workshop.

I’ve also been experimenting with voltage-controlled oscillators.  In particular the 4069 CMOS VCO of René Schmitz.  I got rid of the PWM section and built two VCOs from one CD4069.  The temperature compensation method deserves some re-working however, because Schmitz’s design requires one tempco resistor per CV input.  It would more efficient to use one tempco per VCO.  So I am consulting some of the other VCO designs I see, including a nice one by Ian Fritz that you can see here.

In order to appreciate the subtleties of temperature compensation, the VCO must be tuned accurately.  This can be a chore so I imagined a circuit to make it easier.  It is just a voltage sequencer that outputs stairstep waveforms with 1.00V intervals.  This makes the VCO play descending octave intervals, and its easiest to hear if it is tuned accurately.  Here’s more information, and a demo.

RDS mod

 drum solo pt 2

Bodytronix has two upcoming shows in Brooklyn.  Catch our Bent Fest appearance on Saturday, then dig the Huitlacoche Circuit Brunch on Sunday afternoon.

Hit me up + say hey if you know where the actions at!

Sat. 4/24 BENT FESTIVAL 2010

Bodytronix is scheduled for 10:30PM on Saturday night.  I’m teaching a Handmade Music Austin workshop on Saturday afternoon at Bent Festival as well.  I’ll be there with Dann Green from 4ms Pedals to teach 3 beginner PCB projects for fun minimal synthesizers: mini space rockers, picopaso (bleep labs), and simsam (4ms pedals).  Register here!

Sun. 4/25 HUITLACOCHE CIRCUIT BRUNCH @ SILENT BARN

A Bent Fest spillover event on Sunday afternoon, with performances by Pixelform, Dr. Rek, Casper Electronics, Judi Chicago, and Bodytronix… curated by Kunal from Loud Objects

PS I just updated that page with schematics and perfboard layout, in case you have a lonely SP0256-AL2 waiting for a chance to jabber.

The vocal synth will debut at SXSW Interactive on 3/13 when Bodytronix plays Dorkbot at Brush Square Park.  We’re playing a bunch more gigs coming up so maybe we will see you.

• Sat. 3/13 6PM - Dorkbot 23 at SXSW Interactive (RSVP event)… located in Brush Square Park right outside the Austin convention center.
• Tues 3/16 8:30 PM - AWTHUMFETHT 2010 at the Independent (located in 501 Studios)
• Tues 3/16 11:00 PM - Club 1808 (1808 E. 12th St, Austin) w/ Reverse X-Rays, MANY MORE!!
• Sat 3/20 3:00 PM - Handmade Music Austin #6 at Salvage Vanguard Theatre
• April 22-24th (TBA) - Bent Festival ‘10 (The Tank NYC)

I’m working on a new DIY project for folks to build at Handmade Music Austin 6.  Tune In Tokyo started out as an experiment with the 74HC594 chip, and it turned out sounding crazy.  YES, I’m aware of the of nipple reference. XD XD XD

Tune In Tokyo

And finally . . .

Sailormouth, another Texas circuit maestro, interviewed me recently and you can read it here on GetLoFi.com.  Sailormouth’s work covers a good combination of circuit bending, original circuitry, mods, and microcontrollers.  Thanks for the interview my friend.

When we played Club 1808 we stripped down the setup to the essentials.  I played BBoT, ABoT, mini space rockers, andromeda Mk-3, modified ibanez DM-1000 looper.  erich played x0xb0x, TX606, clap-raca, casio rapman.

thx for jammin with us: owen, ethan, shane, sweet DJG, lisa, gene, no mas bodas, weird weeds, reverse x rays, club 1808

Bent Festival 2010 is official!  April 22-24th, NYC, venue TBA.  I’m looking forward to checking out everybody else’s stuff, and hopefully I get to see everybody again that I met last time.   I missed out on some good performances last time b/c I spent too much time on the roof looking at the Manhattan skyline.  So this year I resolve to stay inside the venue as much as possible.

I’ll be performing with E-Squared, and teaching DIY electronic music workshops based on the projects we’ve developed for Handmade Music Austin.  That means me, Erich Ragsdale, Dr. Bleep, and Dann Green will be there.  And possibly more Austinites as well.

In the mean time, I’d like to book more performances and workshops while I’m out on the road.   Especially in NYC since we plan to stay for about a week.  And if you have any advice on good places between Texas and New York, let me know.  Maybe further north, even Montreal?

Here’s a photo from last year of E-Squared stuff, with Die Schrauber in front.  maybe this year we can decide to bring less crap?

Big ups to Einstein the Parrot, who is the source of the ’shake your bootie’ and ‘oh my gosh’ vocal samples!!  (We used to have a sample of Einstein’s “who let the dogs out” but it got misplaced.)

Props to video producer/editor Will Patterson, radio host Kelsey Innis, engineer Kayla Croft,  and all of the student radio and television volunteers at UT Austin!

Thanks to everybody who came out to Cherrywood to hear my set last night.  It was cool meeting new DIY/electro people and seeing old friends.  The set didnt get recorded, but here’s a track pieced together from rehearsal tapes.

rehearsal oct 2009

I like to build something new for every gig.  This show I added a 10×10 drum trigger routing matrix.  I found this killer switch matrix at the Black Hole of Los Alamos (r.i.p. Ed Grothus).  That means it was probably originally purchased by Los Alamos National Labs for nuclear weapons research… death rock indeed.

Here’s whats coming up…

THURSDAY OCT 15: Dorkbot 21 @ Cafe Mundi

Arthropod Space Wreckers live demo!!

Location: Cafe Mundi 1704 E 5th St.
Thurs. Oct 15th 2009
7:30-9:00pm

SUNDAY OCT 18: Handmade Music Austin workshop #1

I’m teaching class on how to build your own Andromeda Space Rockers mini-drum machine.  Expert instructors from Bleep Labs and 4ms Pedals will be there too.  Registration is closed for October but there are six more monthly workshops planned so you can still get in.  And the performances (8:30 - ?) are free to attend so c’mon down.

Salvage Vanguard Theater
2803 Manor Rd
Austin, TX

4PM - 5:30 beginner’s workshop
6PM – 8 instrument building class
8:30 – ? DIY music performance

A performance by featured artists Static Storm System will close out the event.

EA at Salvage Vanguard Theatre 8.2.09

bonus rehearsal recordings:

 through the wires

microcosmicmachinedream

dR0NEAMATr1X and LITE2SOUND are new. dR0NEMATr1X is a micro-production version of my light matrix synthesizer. LITE2SOUND is a photodiode preamplifier that could be nice for your next sound camera project. I’ll have both with me on the road if you’re interested. They’ll officially launch in June.

And at last the TX606 is finished, and Erich Ragsdale is its new papa. TX606 is a Roland TR606 with a ruthlessly modded analog section. I still need to make a page for it.  Until then here’s some sh*tty video of the TX606 and dR0NEMATr1X playing together.

And this device is new but has almost slipped thru the cracks with so much else going on. Its an LFSR-type pattern generator with optical digital feedback. Eye candy, or more? The video looks choppy b/c its a hard thing to film!