Circuit Bending Gone Mechanical: Gijs Gieskes' New Casio SK-1 Bend

There are no limits to the new forms the once bargain-priced Casio SK-1 synthesizer can take, transformed by circuit bending. But whereas most circuit-bending involves hacks with wires, bending superstar Gijs Gieskes goes further, by building a large mechanical apperatus to trigger the bent sounds. Gijs sent this link last week and I didn’t get to talk about it, so here it is:

Gijs Gieskes Casio SK Circuit Bend [Project page; warning: color scheme may frighten animals and small children]

See also: Get LoFi: Gijs SK-1 Mechanical Glitch Mod, at the best bending blog online

There’s a lot going on here:

A giant mechanical patch arm triggers different bends; patch it into whatever you want to control, and it triggers different results
Internal step sequencer
Arpeggiator controlling pitch
Handy home-built suitcase for travel

Look at those wiring diagrams, too; if I had to learn electronics this way I think my head would explode. Somewhere, Forrest Mims scratches his head.

And the results sound like … mice … exploding.

MP3 samples

For this to make sense, watch the movie, which is strangely entrancing both to watch and hear. (Note how impossible it is to tell how the sounds resulting relate to anything you see going on.)