Scroll down to view some of the instruments that we've built.
Click the pictures to hear what they sound like.
All instruments are played in real time with no effects added.
Cat Boxes
See them in action here!
These gutted CB radios now house the innards of toy vocal processors.
The one on the right is from a toy megaphone. The middle knob turns to
switch between the robot/alien/spaceman type of effects. The box
will process vocals and also has an input to process other
instruments. The switch on the mic turns off the input sound when held
so that only the microphone is in use.
The one on the left
contains a chip from a transformers vocal processor that was advertised as
making you sound like a robot. It did nothing but gurgle and distort
your voice by shoving it through a tiny tinny speaker. Now it is
capable of creating a wide spectrum of assorted sounds and has become
an extremely diverse effect processor.
Cricket Box
The cricket box contains (l to r) a percussion synthesizer, "electronic cricket"
with a light that corresponds to its pulse, and a square wave tone generator.
Kitten Party
This was a toy that made 15 different sound effects. It has been
modified so that the interface better resembles that of a musical instrument.
The knob in the center is the pitch control.
Litter Box
This is the first, the original, the litter box. A modified echo machine is
enclosed in this custom housing. It acts to affect any sound put into it and
will also generate it's own feedback pops. It can also loop a sound indefinitely.
*Sold* Litter Box II *Sold*
This is the second installment of the Litter Box. It is a modified echo toy.
The Litter Box II is much smaller than the original and has a microphone built into
the housing. The red button turns it on and the jack on the left is an input.
There is an output on the back.
Speak and Purr
This is a modified Texas Instruments "Speak & Spell." Along with a loop switch
on the case. It includes a remote box to house switches and knobs.
Speak and Purr (Hnatiw)
This is a model of the speak and purr that was custom
built and designed for the band Hnatiw.
Like the model above, this one has a pitch control
and four switches for effects.
Black Box
This is one in a series of small instruments with one modified toy inside.
The black box is a small hand held piece (6" long) that utilizes a touch sensor
on each side for a momentary on switch and a pitch control on the front.
Spark Box
This is a piece called the spark box. It uses the same chip as the Litter Box, but
it is wired differently to create a fuzzy space-like ambience. It also works
as an echo effect.
Killer Bontempi
Secretly my favorite brand of keyboard to work with (don't tell anybody, ok?)
this bontempi rocks pretty hard. There are touch sensors under each speaker
that control feedback (IN STEREO!) There are also sets of touch sensors on the
sides. The set on the right controls a looping cymbal sound and the set on
the left is a voltage glitch that makes everything gurgle, plus two red distortion
buttons and a pitch knob.
Older Stuff:
This is the Rock Box.
This is a handheld piece that
we made for the band Hnatiw
This is a makeup box with a sound
chip from a monster truck toy inside.
^^This is Herschel^^
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