Enjoy the time-lapse vid and 80s synth-shread montage music and find out
New Synth Knob Multiplexer - 64 Analogs in one! Part 3
So you know I'm exactly
halfway in the middle of my 64-in-1 analog knob multiplexer project,
right? To keep it exciting, I did a "Soldering Challenge." Enjoy the
time-lapse video!
My bigger goal is to demonstrate
all 64 knobs at once, but that's so many circuit boards... and I just
got back from a sublimely relaxing vacation... so I decided to
challenge myself to build them all in one hour. If I succeeded, I
motivated myself with a relaxing swim at Walden Pond.
You've seen it run with 5 synthesizer knobs, but now the stakes are higher! I'm going to daisy-chain three of my circuit boards together. Then I'm going to run them at top speed.
And if that wasn't enough, I've been preparing a special treat, so watch through the second half of the video :)
I recorded this gorgeous, classic hymn on three different Electric
Eels! Lowest two parts are played on Bowed Eel. Violin 2 is played on
Blue Guitar Eel. Violin 1 is played on Red Saxophone Eel.
I'm looking for more players who want to play classical music on DIY/DSP Instruments!
Electric Eels return the nuance of movement to electronic instruments. I
free synthesizers from the desktop/laptop paradigm. I make them more
like acoustic instruments. They use no batteries, only the
energy generated by player movement backdriving stepper motors. So you
can take them anywhere and play all night. You don't have to recharge
them or wait for their software to upgrade. They do not connect to a
cell phone :) I developed them while at the MIT Media Lab in the Computing Culture research group.
First part was recorded into a phone and iPad. Subsequent parts
recorded into phone while listening on iPad through headphones. Four
parts were synced up with an inexpensive, buggy video editor. Recording
took place over a six hour period on Saturday, July 13th. Cathartic
language has been deleted.
I
invented these instruments, the "Electric Eels," while at MIT's Media
Lab. My inspiration was that I loved the sounds of electronic timbres,
but hated standing still at a laptop or MIDI sequencer. So I made
instruments that require you to move to make electronic sound, just like
acoustic ones... but I didn't "fake" it with sensors. The Electric
Eels have small electrical generators in them that require you to move
to generate that electricity to run the synthesizer and CPU in short
bursts.
I really enjoy the sounds of harmony and I'm looking
for more players to make these recordings with on Electric Eels or other
DIY/DSP instruments.
