REED GHAZALA * DESIGNING 'CIRCUIT-BENT'

INSTRUMENTS
In these days of sampling, DSP and physical modelling, you might think that
building your own electronic instruments would be a daunting prospect.
According to Reed Ghazala, however, it's a piece of cake -- you don't even
need to know how they work. Sam Inglis finds out more...

Sound On Sound's August 1999 feature on

Damon Albarn's London studio attracted quite
a few responses for its mention of "a mad guy
in America" who had built a bizarre musical
instrument from a Texas Instruments Speak &
Spell toy. Among those responses was an
email from the "mad guy" himself -- whose
name, it transpires, is Reed Ghazala. It also
transpires that the Speak & Spell-based
device, designated by its creator the Trigon Incantor, is no one-off but just one
result of a well-developed, and highly unusual, philosophy of instrument
design. Unlike most instrument designers, moreover, Ghazala is only too
happy to tell the world the secrets of his 'anti-theoretical' technique. Over the
last 30 years, he has created hundreds of unique instruments by applying the
principles of what he calls 'circuit-bending' -- a process which, he insists, is
straightforward, cheap, and open to anyone who can use a soldering iron.

"Circuit-bending is the electronic art of the implementation of the creative

audio short-circuit," explains Ghazala. The process is beautiful in its simplicity:
"In a nutshell, a battery-powered, low-voltage audio device (such as a toy or
game) is opened to expose the circuitry. Using a wire, and while the device is
making its original sounds, arbitrary short-circuits are enacted upon the live
circuit [ie. the wire is connected between randomly chosen points on the
circuit board]. The results can be amazing, especially after cleaning,
sharpening and expanding these eccentric voices with studio standards such
as EQ and cautious reverb. Big, thick voices result -- you'd never know you
were listening to a 'toy'! These short-circuits are then hard-wired into the
circuit through switches mounted on the unit's case. Circuit-bending can get
much deeper, but that's where it starts -- it's a technique of chance, and no
theoretical knowledge of electronics is needed whatsoever. It is, without a
doubt, the easiest electronic audio design process in existence."

Starting Points
Ghazala's first 'circuit-bent' instrument was created in 1967, as a result of an
accident: "I had left a toy 9-Volt transistor amplifier amidst the clutter of my
desk drawer, with the back of its housing missing and the power turned on.
When I closed the drawer, to my amazement, there suddenly came from
within my desk miniature versions of the sounds I associated with the massive
synthesizers of the day. While they're everywhere now, sound synthesizers at
that time were still quite a mystery to most folks, and weren't that easy to
come by. When I realised that the sounds I heard were the result of the toy
amplifier's electronics accidentally shorting out against something metallic it
was resting on, two ideas immediately struck: if
these sounds are being created by accident, what
could be done by purpose? And if this can be
done to an amplifier, meant to amplify a sound but
to make no sound itself, what would happen
to sound-making electronics when purposely
shorted out in the same way?"

Financial constraints, the potential for inadvertently destroying equipment and

-- above all -- safety considerations led Ghazala to experiment not with
'professional' gear, but cheap instruments and sound-producing toys. "Frying
a toy is much less upsetting than sizzling the oscillators in your vintage Moog,"
he acknowledges, adding: "Toys use relatively low operating voltages, usually
3 to 9 Volts, and are therefore unlikely to give you a jolt." He gives dire
warnings about the dangers of attempting to circuit-bend any instrument that
runs from the mains, even via an AC adaptor; though he says that component
failure as a result of circuit-bending is rare, he also recommends that 'circuit-
benders' wear eye protection.

Chance: A Fine Thing

What distinguishes circuit-bending from conventional instrument design is the

fundamental role played by chance. No attempt is made to discover how the
toy or instrument being bent is 'supposed' to work; even those instruments
which Ghazala designs from the ground up, such as his Vox Insecta and
Photon Clarinet, are not spared: "After the theory-true design drawings and
after successful breadboarding and operation, I
then circuit-bent the Vox Insecta and Photon
Clarinet also, blindly shorting them out
everywhere to see what happened. With both of
these instruments the circuit was then altered
due to various circuit-bending discoveries,
which are now integrated into the final designs."

The Oddmusic web site at www.oddmusic.com,

which has a large area devoted to Ghazala and circuit-bending, includes
detailed instructions for modifying Casio's SK1 budget 8-bit sampler.
However, mass production of most circuit-bent instruments would be almost
impossible, as the results are so unpredictable: "It's very difficult to publish
safe schematics; the original designs from the manufacturers changed often
over differing production runs, so same-named units may not 'bend' the same
-- even to the point where my charts can fry other people's models. However, I
do publish or distribute everything else possible where I can."

Developing Worlds

Given that electronic music was in its infancy in 1967, and has since
developed enormously, one might wonder whether the same techniques that
apply to the modification of toys and instruments from that era are still
applicable today -- but a part of the beauty of circuit-bending, Ghazala insists,
is that its methods and philosophy are largely independent of changes in
instrument design. "Due to the very standard process of circuit-bending, the
changing technology of target circuits alters things very little as far as the
actual approach goes," he explains. "An occasional drawback I run into might
be the 'epoxy dot'-style ICs found now and then, offering little for the
experimenter to explore. But this event is far outweighed by the other
electronic advancements resulting in more and more complex circuits
appearing at lower and lower prices in the second-hand marketplace."

Developments in electronic technology have, however, opened up a greater

range of possibilities for the circuit-bender in terms of designing new control
interfaces: "The changes to my approach over the years have centered
around advancing the technical infrastructure of the added electronics.
Various body contact materials, for conducting electricity through the player
for sound modulation, have been discovered. Lighting devices within
instruments have evolved from tungsten to LEDs to ultra-miniature backlight
tubes to lasers to cold light strips pulsing with the sounds. I'm about to
undertake an instrument design containing a plasma display too. Also,
miniaturization of available design components now allows me to place
sensors (humidity, solar cells, photo resistors, and so on) where I certainly
couldn't have earlier."

Surface Noise

Just as Ghazala's circuit-bent instruments are constructed by deliberately

ignoring the way in which their original designers intended them to work, so
too he constructs new user interfaces which ignore, and often obscure, the
ways in which the original instruments were supposed to be played. Front-
panel legending is obliterated with spraypaint; new controls, often based on
optical or touch-sensitive components, are added in strange, quasi-organic
housings. "The personality of a circuit-bent instrument, as all users discover,
is very animal-like," explains Ghazala. "The eccentricities of voice and
behavior feel organic. In truth, the often unstable nature of bent circuits does
more parallel the behaviour of creatures of choice than the prescribed
behaviour dictated by the vast majority of electronic designs. At any rate, the
personality of the electronics of circuit-bending surely asks to be extended into
the visual aspect of the instrument.

"Along with many complex surface-finishing techniques -- layers of reactive paints, fluorescent dusts,
laser-etched flake, tinted final glosses, and so on -- I often embed eyes into the instruments, the case
material bulged out as though the eye were a real growth. These might be actual blown-glass prosthetic
human eyes, backlit by pulsating multi-colored LEDs and serving as envelope peak pilots, or they might
be accurate glass animal eyes with light sensors behind them, to be covered by the hands for playing."

Rather than taming the inherent instability and unpredictability of his circuit-
bent creations, Ghazala's control surfaces often seem designed to emphasise
these qualities. A key role for circuit-bent instruments is in the production of
'aleatoric' (chance-based) music, and for adding such elements to more
traditional forms. The radical user interfaces help the player achieve this, both
by diverting him or her from applying conventional instrument-playing
techniques, and by providing new ways of triggering and modifying the
chance-based sounds. As an example, Ghazala explains the design of the
Trigon Incantor, based on a heavily modified Touch & Tell toy, which is spray-
painted, adorned with switches, and -- most remarkably -- on which rest a
number of enormous steel ball-bearings: "The Trigon Incantor's playing stage
requires pressure to trigger a sound sequence; a continuous sound requires
continual pressure. This continuous pressure is needed when creating
aleatoric music to keep things going. While a player can use a fingertip to
initiate a sound, and use constant pressure to keep the sound going, the steel
balls rolled about make this continuous pressure (and sound production)
much easier. But they're round, and unless the Trigon Incantor is sitting
perfectly level, a round steel ball won't stay in place on the original smooth
stage. This suggested a textured surface; the stage material was researched.
In turn, a new playing technique was established.

"This instrument also looks to a single body contact for pitch-bend: a tiny
brass ball is simply touched with the fingertip to impart a nice vibrato in rhythm
with the finger pressure -- the way a violinist rocks a finger on the string. But
the randomness of the Trigon's output is furthered by the eclipsing of the
original graphics over the 36-zone stage, extending the alien nature of the
whole instrument and asking the musician to rely upon a sense of spontaneity
within the musical scheme at hand. However, it's not hard to visualise the
matrix of zones if repeatability is of the essence during other of the Trigon
Incantor's operations.

"Standard Incantors, made from the now-extinct Speak & Spell series, are
more straightforward. With the exception of body contacts, pitch dial and
hand-shadow loop incrementing, the instrument is still primarily actuated as
usual by pressing the 'keys' of the membrane keyboard. Unlike the Trigon, the
design of the membrane keyboard presented no problems and is still used
with original graphics evident. True, waving a hand over the instrument to step
through different loops is an odd user interface, and is a much finer loop-
control system than the alternate push-button switch, also installed in the
bending process.

"On the topic of unusual player interfaces, my Video Octavox serves as a

pretty good example. It's a multi-channel instrument that is attached to a video
screen for activation. Each channel consists of a string oscillator (violin, viola
or cello) whose pitch is governed by a light sensor. The sensors suction-cup
to the screen, and any video programme results in an other-worldly string
ensemble performance. A Photon Clarinet is also built in as a lead voice to
play amidst the drifting chord clusters of the string section. As you've guessed,
a video tape suddenly becomes a programme medium here, like the
perforated paper rolls of a player piano. It gets stranger...

"Imagine a video camera is aimed at a well-lit stage upon which dancers

stand, draped in black before a black curtain. Each person, standing on their
mark, holds a reflective shield. The monitor screen, with the Video Octavox
sensors attached, transforms the dancer's shield movements into music -- the
dancers know which voice is theirs and where to hold (and angle) the shields
so as to control the voice's pitch (via their shield appearing upon the monitor
under one of the instrument's light sensors). To the greater confusion of all,
dance choreography as well as stage lighting effects are now the controlling
agents in playing this instrument. So, yes, the player interface can get pretty
extreme with such an unusual instrument."

Circuit-Bending In More Detail...

Found a cheap audio toy or instrument, and fancy trying your hand at circuit-bending? Here are
some tips on what to do and how to do it from Reed Ghazala's more detailed guide, available in its
fullest form from the Oddmusic web site at www.oddmusic.com/illogic/illogic1.html. The tools of the
trade are simple and inexpensive: a small soldering iron, a set of small, non-insulated screwdrivers,
alligator clips, some leads, a selection of cheap electrical components which can form the controls
of your new instrument, and a drill to mount them in its case. Again, it should be emphasised that
the techique is suitable only for battery-powered instruments.

"First, clip the smallest two screwdrivers in the alligator clips at the ends of a lead to give you a wire
with a probe at each end. This is your most important circuit-bending tool. (Obviously, a custom test
lead with a permanent probe at each end can be made for this job). Remove the back from the
game or toy to expose the circuitry. Turn the device on and activate the sounds (press
keys/buttons, or tape/wedge them in place to sustain sound production).

"With the device making a noise, press the tip of one of the test lead's screwdrivers to a printed
circuit trace, component lead or integrated circuit pin. Keep this screwdriver tip in place for the next
step. Now, with the other screwdriver at the opposite end of the test lead, begin touching various
parts of the circuitry while listening for interesting changes in sound. Electricity will follow the new
course you've provided with the lead. This may have no effect on the sound at all. On the other
hand, the audio effect may be outrageous. Each time an interesting sound is created, note with a
marker directly on the circuit board the pair of points that were connected to each other to create
the sound.

"Once the travelling end of the test lead has explored the circuit's corners and all interesting
connections have been noted, place the stationary screwdriver tip on a new circuit point. Again, the
travelling end of the test lead explores the rest of the circuit; interesting sound-changing
connections are marked. This process is repeated until the entire circuit has been searched in such
a manner. Given a bit of luck, the circuit will soon be marked with a number of potential connections
discovered with the test lead.

"At this point, various choices face the explorer in implementing the creative short-circuits
discovered:

Direct Wiring

"Wires can be soldered directly between the points marked as pairs on the circuit board. In the
middle of these wires would be soldered toggle switches so that these new sound-activating
connections can be turned on and off at will. The wiring procedure begins with counting how many
pairs of connections you'll need switches for. Next, decide how the switches will be mounted on the
device's case (remember to check for internal clearances so that the backs of the new switches
don't hit the device's internal parts when the unit is reassembled). Holes are drilled, the switches
are mounted, the pairs of circuit-bending connections are then soldered through their respective
switches and the device is reassembled.

Potentiometers
 "Instead of switches, potentiometers (variable resistors) can be soldered in the middle of the pairs
of connections. In many cases this will allow the adjusting of the new effect with the turn of a dial.
Switches can be used along with potentiometers between the pair of circuit-bending connections as
well. In this way, effects can be preset with the potentiometer's knob and turned on and off with the
switch. A wire would be soldered to one of the points in a circuit-bending pair, through the toggle
switch, then through the potentiometer and back into the circuit-board to the other point of the pair.
This switched-component wiring may be used with any components, including the following:

Capacitors

"Capacitors, again available in a wide range of values, can be wired between the pairs of points.
These may change the tone of the effect produced or pulse the sound in differing ways.

Photo Resistors

"These are light-sensitive potentiometers (sometimes called 'cadmium sulphide cells'): instead of
turning a dial to vary the resistance and thereby the sound, hand shadows are allowed to fall upon
the photo-resistors.

Solar Cells

"These are light-sensitive wafers that convert light into electrical energy. They can be used to inject
their small voltage (or resistance in some situations) into the circuit between the paired bending
points and thereby change the sound.

LEDs

"Light-emitting diodes are usually, for the sake of circuit-bending, used to provide low-voltage light
sources. You may find points on the circuit you're bending between which LEDs will glow or pulse.
These can serve as function indicators or pilot lights. An LED wired to the speaker leads may work
as an envelope light also, flashing with the intensity of the sound waves.

Humidity Sensors

"These are sensors that convert airborne moisture into electrical resistance. This can give a breath-
control function to an instrument -- changing pitch, perhaps, as the sensor is blown upon.

"There are many other components that can be wired into the path of the pairs of circuit-bending
points, but the above will launch hundreds of possibilities as well as pave the way towards the
understanding of wider concepts."

Making Music

Circuit-bent instruments, then, are unpredictable, unstable, often show no

regard for standard Western scales, and can demand wholly novel playing
techniques. You might therefore be forgiven for wondering exactly what sort of
music can be made using circuit-bent instruments, or would benefit from their
addition. According to Ghazala, their applications are surprisingly varied:
"Circuit-bending is creating its own style of music, and this will be its strength,
its identifier as time passes and compositions are recognised. As to fitting into
present musical styles, not too long ago I would have been reluctant to
suggest these instruments might be accepted anywhere outside of deep
experimental circles. But musicians are using them in all kinds of
compositions, from rock tracks to jazz improvisation to rap and hip-hop to,
believe it or not, acoustic slide guitar Delta blues. And, of course, all kinds of
experimental work everywhere.

"I see circuit-bending's offering to the world of music as a new voice-system to

be added to the old list, a separate subcategory of electronic, since it
embraces its own specialised techniques, voices and aesthetic, and since the
art is exploding internationally and can't be ignored. To my mind it
accompanies rather than challenges things musically. Perhaps I should
mention that I have several hundred traditional electronic and acoustic world
instruments at hand in my collection; I admire these very much. And the vast
majority of music albums in the collection are more traditional than
experimental.

"But, not surprisingly, circuit-bending's voices along with the layers of

aesthetic anti-theory and 'clear illogic' techniques attract many persons
who aretired of the musical fodder of popular sub-culture as well as that of the
mainstream, and who want to make a strong musical statement in response.
Until the saucer lands in your backyard, circuit-bent instruments are about as
close as you can come to getting your hands on truly alien music engines
today."