01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page iii Circuit-Bending Build Your Own Alien Instruments Reed Ghazala 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page ii 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page i Circuit-Bending 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page ii 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page iii Circuit-Bending Build Your Own Alien Instruments Reed Ghazala 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page iv Circuit-Bending:Build Your Own Alien Instruments Published by Wiley Publishing,Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis,IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing,Inc.,Indianapolis,Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN-13:978-0-7645-8887-7 ISBN-10:0-7645-8887-7 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1MA/QU/QY/QV/IN No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning or otherwise,except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,without either the prior written permission of the Publisher,or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center,222 Rosewood Drive,Danvers,MA 01923,(978) 750-8400,fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department,Wiley Publishing,Inc.,10475 Crosspoint Blvd.,Indianapolis,IN 46256,(317) 572-3447,fax (317) 572-4355,or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ghazala,Reed,1953- Circuit-bending :build your own alien instruments / Reed Ghazala. p.cm. Includes index. ISBN-13:978-0-7645-8887-7 (paper/website) ISBN-10:0-7645-8887-7 (paper/website) 1. Electronic musical instruments—Construction. I.Title. ML1092.G5 2005 786.7'192—dc22 2005010349 Trademarks:Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons,Inc.and/or its affiliates,in theUnited States and other countries,and may not be used without written permission.ExtremeTech and the ExtremeTech logo are trademarks of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings,Inc.Used under license.All rights reserved.All other trademarks are the property of theirrespective owners.Wiley Publishing,Inc.,is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page v About the Author Qubais Reed Ghazala(Cincinnati,Ohio,1953) was first instructed in painting,theatre,and classical piano as a young child (including preschool art courses at the nearby art academy).By the time Ghazala reached the age of twelve,his interest had turned to experimental art (mazes, luminous painting,mirror assemblage,freezing liquids within expandable envelopes—winning awards in local exhibitions for his cubist sculptures).Ghazala soon aban- doned formal schooling in favor of his interests,becoming self-taught in his fields. Author and Moonbear outside Besides circuit-bending,Ghazala also pioneers work in pho- The Anti-Theory Workshop tography (lens-less imaging with dye-migration materials; time exposure with cross-axis polarization and aperture shift),magnetic assemblage (kinetic timepieces,anti-gravity sculptures),and aeronautics (an oper- ative flying saucer;various kites,aircraft,and solid fuel rockets).Ghazala’s further experimental arts include electronic smoke and liquid/gel chambers,lenticular art,plasma chambers,laser and neon chambers,film and computer animation,video documentary,3-D drawing and photogra- phy,program bending (chance data entry),rubber stamps (as a sampling medium to alter), andwoodland art for only forest animals to observe (natural mobiles and interlocking keystone sculptures). Ghazala is the author of numerous articles on electronics and experimental musical instru- ments (including the seminal 20-article circuit-bending series in Experimental Musical Instrumentsmagazine,1992–98).Ghazala is one of the Web’s most influential cyber-professors, also teaching in person via public workshops and one-on-one apprenticeship programs (circuit- bending and Japanese suminagashi,an ancient chance art). Although Ghazala is primarily a music composer and instrument designer,he continues to work as sculptor,photographer,visual artist,and author,and in his spare time pursues hobbies of theory-true designing/hacking,building toys,robots,and things that fly;designing mobiles and kinetic electro-lumia;working in optical lens construction;practicing kitchen and deep woods cooking;designing/building home additions;canoeing;hunting mushrooms;studying entomology,mineralogy,and meteorology;star gazing;compiling a home library;exploring natural incenses and resins,psychedelic and experimental music,unusual lighting,rare musical instruments,antique postcards,home-designed postcards,strange medical devices,parlor and stage magic,ESP,unusual natural phenomena,and the collecting of unidentifiable objects. Ghazala’s work has been covered in all the world’s major press (including,in the United States, the New York Times,the Wall Street Journal,the Washington Post,The Smithsonian,and WIRED);his work is kept in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art,the Guggenheim,and the Whitney in New York City;and his instruments have been designed forsome of the planet’s best-known and most influential musicians (including Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits,the Rolling Stones,King Crimson,Faust,Blur,and many others). Ghazala is recognized as the father of circuit-bending and is credited with launching the first grassroots electronic art movement. 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page vi Credits Executive Editor Project Coordinator Chris Webb Erin Smith Development Editor Graphics and Production Specialists Ed Connor Karl Brandt Jonelle Burns Copy Editor Kelly Emkow Susan Christophersen Denny Hager Stephanie D.Jumper Production Manager Clint Lahnen Tim Tate Lynsey Osborn Melanee Prendergast Editorial Manager Brent Savage Mary Beth Wakefield Amanda Spagnuolo Vice President and Executive Group Quality Control Technicians Publisher Leeann Harney Richard Swadley Jessica Kramer Carl William Pierce Vice President and Publisher Dwight Ramsey Joseph B.Wikert Proofreading and Indexing TECHBOOKS Production Services Cover Design Anthony Bunyan 01_588877 ffirs.qxd 7/19/05 9:12 PM Page vii To artists working in new fields everywhere and struggling against all odds.