Hing Hon EK-003!?!?

[Tyler1144]

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLACK-Children-Electronic-Piano-Music-Kid-Keyboard-Mic_W0QQitemZ270470276067QQcmdZViewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI?hash=item3ef948e3e3

It looks like an updated version of the hing hon, it even has a mic!

They are all over ebay, somebody should bend one to see if they are any good

[Circuitbenders]

Don't all hing hon's have mic inputs, the couple i've had certainly did.

[Tyler1144]

Yeah thats what i meant, it even has a mic (more proof it could be similar to a hing hon on the inside). They have to add a lot more circuitry to get a mic to work, a lot of the components for the mic are what make the hing hon squelches and overdrives possible

[noystoise]

i had a keyboard with all the same functions as that one. it doesnt sound like  a hin hong. the sounds are all sampled so theres no mixing the timbres or computer drums. the sound quality is pretty good though because its crystal clocked and has a stereo amplifier. you can also add volume controls to the drums, lead and accompaniment. there are also 5 different timbres for the accompaniment and it has programmable rhythm. i am almost certain that this is the keyboard i had. sorry but heres another video:
circuit bent toy axe

[MAGTIG]

That thing is ridiculously awesome. Do you have a list of what all the buttons and knobs on it do?... erm, does? Somebody call the grammar police, I'm a repeat offender.

[sk-1]

That toy axe is way cool!

Have you tried to refit the second set of keys (on the neck) so that they face the same way as the larger set?  Maybe you've already looked into it?  That would be even better to get both sets of keys mounted correctly 

[jamiewoody]

i have to take a recent photo of mine...mine now sports a six point patch bay! ;-) definitely no longer the same keyboard it was when i received it. the sounds in this thing are SICK! i think it sounds BETTER than an SK1!!! (if i could figure how to install a sampler now! lol!).

[sk-1]

i have to take a recent photo of mine...mine now sports a six point patch bay! ;-) definitely no longer the same keyboard it was when i received it. the sounds in this thing are SICK! i think it sounds BETTER than an SK1!!! (if i could figure how to install a sampler now! lol!).

The Hing Hon is one of those keyboards that will become a cult classic amongst circuit benders everywhere, because of how easy it is to bend and because of it's excellent analog squarewave generator.  The organ sound on the Hing Hon is like nothing you will find on any other keyboard (except, perhaps on some larger, more expensive synths). You couldn't really compare it to a sampler as the bends sound totally different.

http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/HingHon_EK001.html

There is an 8-bit bendable sampler kit out there specially made for the bending scene called 'Where's The Party At?' which you can build yourself and is as powerful as all the SK's and Yamaha samplers combined.  Unfortunately it's no longer available and a sequel is being designed even as I type.

Try here:
http://narrat1ve.com/

[jamiewoody]

lol! except mine, by now, only slightly resembles how it sounded when i bought it! it now sounds totally different (with some vague remnants of the original, but very distant!).

[jamiewoody]

mine has a cavity where the drum pads were and where i had to cut away to put in the patch bay. i sort of wish i had placed that where the speaker is, since i have opted out of using the speaker now. (by the way, these things sound MASSIVE through an amp...even a small one! i am using an "estiban" amp, which came with the acoustic guitar. nice keyboard amp!).

i need to make mine look more like a "commercially viable product"! (yuck, yuck!).

[sk-1]

Why did you want to get rid of the drum pads?  If you can rewire and re-trigger them using some sort of button or switch setup then I'd go ahead and connect them again.  Part of the fun of composing glitched out music is the ability to manually add percussive effects 'on-the-fly' and to have the crap bent out of them too.  Especially when you want to enhance the drums and create more complex compositions.

To me, a speaker is not as important when it comes to finding real estate... but when you don't have room to spare, it's either the speaker, a blank space, or a break-out box.

[jamiewoody]

dude, i didn't "want" to get rid of the drum pads! in the bending experiment, it kinda went away. also, due to space, i decided the patchbay was more important. of course, i am  now thinking of doing away with the speaker, since it sounds so FAT through an amp! so, that will be even more space for controls and goodies!

[sk-1]

Sorry... didn't mean it like that

An amp will always be your best option, especially with squarewave keyboards.  The Hing Hon has such a clean, crisp and clear sound that it's speaker couldn't hope to do it justice.  In my opinion, for the purpose of circuit bending, speakers seem to be more of a hindrance than anything.  If you have a steady hand and a good eye for detail, you can also squeeze the components into the sides, around the edges and between buttons and areas where there is a lot of text and empty space behind.

I've always thought that good circuit bending is all about designing an interface that keeps in harmony with it's host, just like the aim of bending is to make the bends as musical as possible (as opposed to just noise).

[jamiewoody]

i went to visit my sisters and their families for christmas in raleigh.

my 8 year old niece, just got a big, casio keyboard (i was not allowed to circuit bend this!). ;-)

karli was using her imagination when i was there...in her words..."then you can just twist the knobs and not even play the keys!".

that is one of the features of this keyboard! this little chick is more innovative than anyone in her age group! ;-)

[jamiewoody]

there are so many perimeters in this thing now! in one of the patches, it will make this automated "jibberish" sound! start twisting pitch and glitch knobs, and it goes NUTS! ;-) i can get this one going by itself and start playing another one! ;-)

i want about 50 more of these!!!