Bendinator 1.3 Circuit bent My Music Maker Toy

It's been quite a while since I bent anything, but a free friday night last week allowed me to get back into it and I produced a Bendinator 1.3. This keyboard I got on ebay for a few pounds and was exactly the same as the Bendinator 1.2, a My music maker toy keyboard. The bends are quite different on this one though. I opted for body contacts instead of an LDR, and didn't bother with a sustain switch as one of the pitch modes gives extra sustain anyway.

The keyboard features :

- On/Off switch

- Jack Output

- LED Sound Indicator

- Pitch/Glitch Control

- Mode Switch controls whether Pitch/Glitch Knob is off or acting as Pitch control, or glitch control. (This is a 3 way switch. Centre is off, right is glitch mode, left is pitch mode)

- 2 Body Contacts for pitch. Holding both affects pitch, holding bottom one effects the sound.

Video Demo

Bendinator 5 featuring Light Sensor Pitch Control

Introducing the Bendinator 5 originally a pleasant childrens toy keyboard now turned a bit deranged thanks to some modifications.

The B5 features :

Pitch Control Knob and switch

LDR (Light Dependant Resistor) for pitch and switch.

Distortion Switch

Distortion Dial 1 - Amount

Distortion Dial 2 - Shape (Fine adjust)

Output jack (1/4inch)

There wasn't as much room as I'd hoped for controls on the body so I've left out a reset button, but it has a fairly handy on/off switch for crashes.

Pictures below and video :

Bendinator 2.1 used in another dance track

Steve Noxx has used one of my circuit bent keyboards in another track, only in the intro and middle bit but have a listen at :

http://soundcloud.com/stevenoxx/up-at-night-sample

Bendinator 4 - Circuit Bent Keyboard

This My Music World toy keyboard turned out a lot better than expected.

This is my first circuit bent keyboard to have a button called 'Egg' on it. This toy was bought for 99p in a charity shop by my son, and he also worked on it with me.

It had no controls when i got it, but I soon discovered it has loads and loads of hidden Demo songs which are activated by pressing the 'Egg' button then hitting a note. Pretty much each note fires off a different demo song, you can then mess them up with the other controls.

It has three Body contacts which work well, either touch the first two together for pitch wobble and dives, or touch the middle and third for harsh glitchy noises which are quite distorted.

It's pretty stable but does occasionally crash out to silence or holding a note, but the reset button is in a handy position.

It has a pitch mode with three settings, Mode A, Off (centre) and Mode B. Both modes have their own characteristics. Mode B turned full way will set the pitch so that notes are in concert pitch.

I also discovered there are a few extra sounds for the keyboard hidden on the board, so I added a push switch to toggle between them. The organ sounding one is good for pitching low, and sounding dirty and synthy.

The Bendinator 4 will probably go on sale in the near future on ebay.

It features :

Pitch Mode A/B

Pitch Control Pot

Body Contact for Pitch

Body Contact for Glitch

Easter Egg Button

Sounds Button

Reset Button

Output Jack

Video Demo

Pics

Steve Noxx Track made with the Bendinator 3

A song made using the Bendinator 3 by Steve Noxx. Have also made a Bendinator 2.1 for him so can't wait to see what music comes from that keyboard.

This is 2 min snippet of the song which is yet to be released.

Steve Noxx - Look At Me (Radio Mix) SAMPLE by stevenoxx

Bendinator 2.1 - Circuit Bent Toy Keyboard

Before starting this post, I'd like to point out I almost lost my mind bending this keyboard. Even though I had done one before, this time it was fraught with problems. The circuit board was also different from the first one, which led to some issues. At one point when tired I though I had destroyed the whole thing, but it turned out the batteries had just gone flat.

Since doing this I also no longer solder late at night when tired as I just end up making stupid mistakes, but sometimes its like an addiction and I can't walk away from an open case!

The Bendinator 2.1 is another Boots Karaoke Toy Keyboard, based on what I did with the Bendinator 2 which turned out well. The 2.1 has some differences in bends though :

No Glitch control

Added LFO Socket and switch for Pitch control

Added LFO Socket and switch/pot for Blip control (a repeating effect)

No Speaker Kill switch

It still has :

Reset Button

Doom Setting

Octave Down Setting

Pitch Control

Distortion

Output Socket

LED Blue Inner Lights

The addition of the LFO sockets works really well and I can get some crazy sounds, I will be posting a video soon, and hopefully some finished tracks using the keyboard.

Here are some pictures at different angles, not sure the black paint job is as good as the grey, but i only had enough grey to spray the buttons, so the body had to be black. It reminds me a bit of a 70s Dalek!

Bendinator 2.1 with External LFO

Sockets for LFO

Main Controls for Pitch and Distortion

These control are for the LFO features

More Shots from different angles

Circuit Bent Toy for Easter

My son bought this for I think a pound at a charity shop and wanted to try Circuit bending himself so we did this together. It's not a great candidate for bending, and I would say its a slightly unwilling participant in our plans. Having said that I might use it in a recording perhaps and it does have a good range of crazyness, if you're willing to put up the limitations.

The components inside are those tiny micro-resistor things, and the only bend I could find was Pitch, but it crashes out a lot at the top end, and the pitch is not that good in range.

So basically we've added a switch to enable the bend, a pot to control pitch, and a reset button, as there needed to be a quick way to reset it when it crashes.

Due to the lack of room in the casing, there was no opportunity for an output jack, and the controls has to be fitted to the back of the toy. This makes it a little tricky to operate but you can produce some weird noises etc.

Here are some pics, and a video.