CASIO MT-205

[Timodon]

yeah it didn't go so well. I guess that's just not how the trigger works. When I recorded the output of the drumstick I got level but playing back this recorded sound down a 3.5 mm into the trigger inputs did not trigger the drum sounds. Oh well.

[Timodon]

Hey Jamie

Just wanted to say thanks - I opened my MT205 up last night and I found the dampening and sustain bends you mentioned! - points on the top right chip (printed side up, keys towards you) near the ribbon cable and the bottom chip of the three long chips in the middle. I got my dreamy infinite sustain back! And also a long sustain that stops when you let go of the key. These are both super useful to me and I probably wouldn't have gone looking again if you hadn't posted what you found so cheers!

I also found a set of your "repeating notes" bends at different speeds off the same chips... kind of cool, might stick a couple of switches in for these.

[jamiewoody]

take your pick...switches are cool. i went with a patch bay, there seem to be a lot of possibilities with that.

this board, after bending it, seemed "overengineered". i mean, it seemed like some of the features on the sk1, dampening, etc, were originally meant to be on this, then some foreman came along and said, "dont put those in there, casio reached a corporate decision!". the worker said, "but....but, it's such a good idea!". then the foreman fired him for dissagreeing with him. lol!

seriously, i am flattered that i have inspired someone. it seems like the blind leading the not so blind though! lol!

if you find anything else cool in this, let me know. i have a feeling there are lots of cool bends i have yet to discover in this goldmine!

[jamiewoody]

oh, also, i knocked the speakers out, cut the grill and placed the rca jacks on each side.  one for the echo chamber and one for the envelopes.

i am finding those casio 4" speakers are awesome sounding, and great for other projects, testing things, etc!

[jamiewoody]

well, i discovered a few more bends on this little goldmine tonight!!!

in the spirit of the saturday night live skit...christopher walken in the studio as producer with blue oyster cult recoding don't fear the reaper....

i had my casio mt-205 apart this evening, and i discovered when probing two points, a very dissonant sound. almost like banging on piano keys, creating an atonal chord.

so, i soldered a wire and experimented. for some reason this only worked when contact between the two points were made, not when the keys were pressed.

i started to visualize some sort of drum pad, or a morse code key or some relay to press and make the sound. i looked around and had nothing.

there is this tiny brass cowbell, which i had on my workbench, for comic relief. if things were not going as plan, i could look at it and say, "i need more cowbell!".

well, i found some heavy copper wire (almost electrician grade), tinned the ends, soldered to the point and connected the cowbell. so, now when you touch the wire to the cowbell, you hear that loud, atonal sound...it reminds me of the blueman group's "piano smasher" instrument (a baby grand piano, top removed, placed vertical, played by smashing a huge hammer to the wires!).

[Timodon]

 

I found a few of those "mash the keys" sounds triggered by the bend not the keys to whilst I was probing... sounds like the "Accomp" sound... a few on the MT220 triggered random streams of drum sounds along with this sound. One of them sounded great for two secs but also did one of those scary "lights are on but no-one's home" type crashes so I've steered well clear...

I  didn't feel the need to use them myself but fair play to you for rigging the cowbell trigger! - maybe you could rig the wire that you touch the cowbell with to a beater/ drumstick with a metal tip, then it would look like the cowbell actually made that sound when you hit it 

Yeah Blue man group... I love those crazy blue chaps! those piano smashers are a truly awesome example of "acoustic bending" - no circuits involved but still very creative. Not exactly one many people can try to build at home (unless you happen to have four spare pianos just lying around the house) but still pretty inspirational!

[jamiewoody]

i need a little drumstick or hammer keychain charm, one that is metal to do it. i can just touch the wire to the cowbell and it will work too, but the visual element is half of the novelty! ;-)

i have mixed feelings about blueman group. they are doing some cool things, making instuments, etc. but, they are not the first to do some of the things they seem to be taking credit for. a lot of the credit should go to the german industrial band EINSTURZENDE NEUBATEN!

neubaten make instuments from pcv, scrap metal, air compressors, saws, jack hammers...this was the original definition of INDUSTRIAL music!

i still have not covered some things, like body contacts, photo cells, etc in circuit bending yet. i would like to though. reed gazala has been kind in sharing that stuff with the world!

[Timodon]

No doubting BMG's debt to EN... personally I'd much rather listen to/ watch BMG.  I just can't stand EN's singer. Their instrumental stuff is top though.

[jamiewoody]

i have to be in the proper mindset to listen to any style of music, and i listen to a lot of music. (this should be a thread). i mostly like the experiental nature of progressive (or 'prog') rock bands like king crimson, which covers a large range!

also, i like EN, clang quartet, early king's x, 70s fusion like weather report, return to forever, etc. and the list goes on.

i only hate most music in the mainstream. if it is on the radio, chances are i do not like it, though there are exceptions.

originally, i got into neubaten out of curiosity. there were some electronica bands i had listened to for years. (electronica should not even be considered a genre, as it covers industrial as we know it today, ambient, dub, trip-hop, techno...). so, i wanted to hear this band who supposedly started the whole industrial genre. of course, EN sound NOTHING like ministry, nin, skinny puppy, circle of dust, etc.

i must say, after hearing EN, my music and songwriting have changed and progressed into a more experimental nature.

also, i think this is a reason for me getting into circuit bending too. i love experimental music, now i am creating experimental instruments to perform it!

[Timodon]

Cool man. I'd definitely list BMG in my influences so by extension I guess Neubaten are in there as well!

Well, off on a tangent but seeing as we got onto the subject naturally ... here's a shameless plug for my band which you might be interested in:- instrumental math/ post/ noise rock (which of course used to be called prog but what does anyone know about genres!) with more and more experimental leanings as time goes on...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=329361845

This is the reason I'm here really, to make new instruments to blow peoples minds with! So far I've gigged with the MT-205 once and practiced a fair few times and found it moderately reliable, put it this way I'm glad I've got the MT-220 in case anything goes wrong!

Currently we're using one other experimental noise maker in our live setup - the "drone machine" which is really a tascam 4-track running an endless cassette with different pitched synth drones on each track. It makes a surprisingly flexible, dynamic and responsive  instrument, especially with a multiFX in the FXloop. Again not a circuit bent intstrument but a "repurposed" device now turned into an instrument!

[jamiewoody]

schweeet! do you have a hard time finding cassettes? i was looking for some last summer and walmart didn't even have any!

[jamiewoody]

so, for the record, could i be credited for the famous "cowbell mod"?! 

[Timodon]

Yeah if I end up doing anything like that on mine you'll get a full credit plus a percentage of the gross 

[jamiewoody]

nah, i dont want money, just some sort of cult status! 

[SineHacker]

we'll call you the cow bell guy