| Workshops, Classes, Salons, and the eSymposium |
What is Circuit Bending? |
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Circuit Bending is the creative recycling of discarded consumer electronics, usually children’s toys, guitar effects units, inexpensive battery-powered musical instruments, portable CD players, etc., to create unique experimental electronic art by adding wires, knobs, and switches to control new connections within the device’s pre-existing circuitry.
No prior knowledge of electronics is required. Examples can be found on our 'Devices' page.
What's a Good Device to Bend?
Well for starters - don't bend anything you can't live without (especially if you're just starting out). Also never bend anything that plugs into the wall.
There are definitely some "holy grails" of bending - almost anything by Texas Instruments and Casio.
Lately I've been bending musical greeting cards. They don't just beep out a song anymore. They have actual samples in them now. Which brings me to another guideline - toys that have samples in them are the most desirable. If it says, "hi!" or barks or meows or quacks it's probably a good bet. Toys that merely beep and boop are usually not so fun.
Which brings up the obvious - toys that make sound. You'd be surprised how many students bring toys that make no sound to the workshop. True, you can bend them... but the results have less of an "immediate gratification" quality to them.
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Battery-powered video devices are a candidate, but require a monitor to see the results (usually not readily available).
Usually the older toys are easier to work with. Here's why. There's a trend in electronics these days towards miniaturization and cost-efficiency that manifests itself in things known as SMDs (Surface Mounted Devices). They are tiny tiny versions of basic electronic components.
It's one thing to go after a fairly "see-able" resistor or capacitor in a toy, and it is quite a different thing to go after a little square of metal smaller than half a match head. It can be done, but requires excellent eyesight. I use one of those big magnifying lamps.
Some of the simplest things bend the best. I have this rather stupid Fischer Price toy that does nothing but count, do the ABCs, and that's about it. I put one clock bend in it and I love it. (SMD based, by the way).
Here's another general rule. Try to stay away from games. Not that they won't bend - just that they are more difficult to work with because you have to actually "play" the game in order to get it to make sound. Kind of a drag when you're trying to get at it's internal circuitry
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| Workshops Currently Offered |
Beginning Circuit Bending
An Introduction to the Acquired Technology Arts |
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Take apart your old toys and make a brand new musical instrument! Circuit bending is the art of modifying existing battery-powered electronics (like children's toys, guitar effects units, inexpensive battery-powered instruments, etc.) to create unique musical instruments by adding wires, knobs, and switches to control new connections within the device's pre-existing circuitry. Enjoy bizarre sounds, electronic loops, sampling, distortion, and other easy to create effects. At the end of this workshop you'll be able to identify and explore the basic components of a typical circuit board, install an output jack, switches, body contacts (and more!), and control a world of new sounds. No previous electronics experience is required! Tools and components will be provided. Students are required to bring one or two battery powered devices to the class.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Intermediate Circuit Bending
How to Build an Oscillator |
This class will focus on the next level of electronics hacking. How to read and write electronics schematics, how to assemble and use home made oscillators to get more out of your devices. Students should have basic soldering and Circuit Bending skills and should have a basic understanding of electronics components.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Advanced Circuit Bending
How to Build a Sequencer |
This class will focus on the next level of electronics hacking. How to read and write electronics schematics, how to assemble and use home made sequencers to control and trigger your devices. Students are required to have basic soldering and Circuit Bending skills, a basic understanding of electronics components, and an advanced understanding of oscillators.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Introduction to Electroacoustics
How to Build a Simple Contact Microphone |
Contact mics are inexpensive, easy to build, and can be a source for fun and experimental ways of creating new sounds for recording, art installations or various live performances. In just two hours we will show you how to make a simple, effective contact microphone from surplus and discarded materials. Students are encouraged to bring random objects to amplify - sheet metal, cardboard boxes, acoustic instruments, slinkies, coat hangers, textured plastic objects, etc.
No previous electronics experience is required!
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Circuits From Scratch
How to Build a Battery-Powered Amplifier |
This workshop will guide you step by step through the process of building your own standard, battery-powered, portable amplifier.
This course will show how simple electronics construction can be while emphasizing the basics of soldering, following an electronics diagram, custom circuit design, circuit construction, and finishing techniques. Though students may bring their favorite tools, all that is required is a 9v battery and a "box" to house your completed amplifier circuit (good candidates include cigar boxes, coffee cans, Tupperware, broken radios, small pre-existing speaker cabinets, etc. -- anything that can can be easily manipulated with a hand drill).
Students are required to have basic Soldering and Circuit Bending skills and a basic understanding of electronics components.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Vactrol Fever
How to Build an Optoisolator |
"Vactrol” is the trade name for an optoisolator or optocoupler. A simple vactrol is a lightproof packet containing an LED and a photoresistor, usually a Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) cell. Practically any material can be used as the vactro’s casing – as long as it is lightproof (electrician’s tape, gaffer’s tape, heat shrink tubing, opaque epoxy, wood, etc.) Optoisolators are a convenient way to control trigger points within a circuit bent toy.
Students are required to have basic Soldering and Circuit Bending skills and a basic understanding of electronics components.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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Music and the Arduino
An Introduction to Granular Synthesis Programming |
The Arduino is a "microcontroller," basically a computer in the palm of your hand. Learn the basics of programming an Arduino while creting a small, but very loud granular sythesizer,
a basic sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale.
Students are required to have basic Soldering and Circuit Bending skills and a basic understanding of electronics components.
Dates and Times to be Announced |
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| Past Circuit Bending Lectures and Workshops |
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| The Peter Jones Gallery, Chicago |
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| Nic Collins' Hardware Hacking Class, The School of the Art Institute, Chicago |
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| The Association for Computing Machinery, DePaul University, Chicago |
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| The Peter Jones Gallery, Chicago |
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| The Open Source Open Ear Festival, The Mess Hall, Chicago |
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| The Peter Jones Gallery, Chicago |
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| The PACedge Festival, The Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago |
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| Festival de Música Electrónica Latina, The National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago |
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| The eSymposium, Lizard's Liquid Lounge, Chicago |
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Roth Mobot, the Roth Mobot logo, associated images, video, and audio recordings are trade marks of, and copyrighted by, Roth Mobot,
and cannot be used or reproduced without explicit written consent of Tommy Stephenson & Patrick McCarthy.
