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.

Switched On (1111 E 11th st.)

7-10PM DJs + Bodytronix

Victory Grill (across the street)

10:00PM How I Quit Crack
11:00PM SILENT DIANE
12:00AM S U R V I V E
1:00AM Pataphysics

EDRUPT - My Speakers

The story of EDRUPT is an esoteric mystery of NASA’s Apollo moon missions.  Did you know that the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was the first computer built with integrated circuits a.k.a. chips?  Containing 4,100 chips strung together by hand with wire wrap and solidified inside clear epoxy, the AGC was used in all of NASA’s manned moon missions.  Details of its operation have been disclosed, but one of the computer’s designers included a strange and poorly documented machine instruction called EDRUPT.  It was used only once in the mission, during the phase when the Lunar Module made its descent toward the moon’s surface under digital control.  Retro computing enthusiasts can simulate the AGC’s Luminary 131 software on desktop machines but its found that the system breaks unless EDRUPT is removed from the code.  One understanding of EDRUPT is that it instructed the computer to send data to an unknown destination elsewhere in the spacecraft.  But why is EDRUPT a missing piece of the puzzle?  What was contained in the data it sent?  And… what or who was the intended recipient?

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?

heres to a very analog 2010.

Handmade Music Austin #3

Sunday, December 20 ‘09

4PM – 5:30 – Beginner’s Workshop
6PM – 8 -Upper Division instrument building class
8:30 – ? Jam and featured performance

Salvage Vanguard Theatre
2803 Manor Road
Austin, Texas 78722

Snare is synthesized with Andromeda Mk-1 damped sine wave + Mk-2 filtered noise burst. The damped sine waves simulate the top head of the snare, and the Mk-2 simulates the bottom drum head and snare wires. The sharp percussion sound is from an experimental all-transistor circuit, on the left. Its triggered by a prototype 2-button loop sequencer using PIC 16F684, code by Wooster Audio.

Its a cluster of four interactive electronic music stations where you can play with Andromeda Space Rockers, the Autonomous Bassline Generator, and MIDI-IR. Each station has 4 space rockers, a mixer, four flexible LEDs from our friends at Bleep Labs, and MIDI-IR to keep everybody in sync.

Here’s video from Handmade Music Austin #2. It was awesome meeting everybody who participated.

HMA3 is coming soon. This time we’ll be building mini space rockers (intro) and Andromeda Mk-4 analog bass drums (advanced).

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!

 e-squared on kvrx

I wrote a retro technology holiday gift guide for Make:Online.  It appeared on Nov 30.  Ironically, I haven’t given holiday gifts a.k.a. christmazz prezntz to anybody for years :0

I’ve posted new useful info for Seeburg (Gulbransen) Select-a-Rhythm drum machine owners.   The full 70-page service manual is available as a PDF download here, including schematics and a technical description of everything inside.  Thanks to Ramiro Jeancarlo for sending a photocopied version of the manual, and thanks to Lace D for scanning it.

Andromeda Mk-1 and Mk-2 kits are shipping.  The first batch of kits is almost sold out but I am revising the designs and will re-order boards soon.  Andromeda Mk-3 and Mk-4 kits will be out soon.  Mk-3 is a twangy synth sound, and Mk-4 is a tuneable boomin bass drum.