27 March 2010 | Workshop | €70 + €80 for the parts
The Benjolin - Build your own electronic fun-box (FULL) by Rob Hordijk & Joker Nies
Original annoucement:
In a one-day workshop conducted by legendary synth builder Rob Hordijk and circuit bender Joker Nies, participants will build the Benjolin, an analog sound-device that is very different from what you usually will find with other DIY-kits. This kit will ONLY be available through the workshop, it is not for sale separately. The class cost is just €70, plus a materials fee of €80. You will bring home an analog synth, and you can tell everyone that you`ve build it yourself!
The Benjolin is a ‘noise box’ that is ‘bent by design’, meaning that it always has a definite amount of unpredictability while it is still intuitive to play. The Benjolin features two eighteen-octave range voltage controlled oscillators that drive a ‘rungler’ circuit, circuitry that in essence uses a special interference technique feeding back into the oscillators to force them into wild chaotic behaviour. A special slightly chaotic filter is both excited and modulated by the signals from the rungler circuitry processes, producing sounds between fat drones to grungy noise havoc. The kit is somewhat challenging to build, but with a little patience and accuracy a beginner in DIY can definitely do it successfully.
The workshop will take place at STEIM, Achtergracht 19, from 12:00 - 18:00h.
Sound examples: http://web.me.com/klangbureau/DIY/Demos.html
Making of: http://web.me.com/klangbureau/DIY/making_of.html
Teacher BIOs
Rob Hordijk (The Hague, The Netherlands). Originally a sculptor and jewelry designer, Rob has established himself over the years as an expert in sound synthesis techniques. In the last couple of years he specializes in hand-build analog electronic instruments that have distinct sonic signatures, instruments that are somewhere between musical instruments and objets d’art. His instruments are used in live performances by a number of established improvisors all over the planet. An example of an instrument designed by Rob is the Blippoo Box, featured in the upcoming 19th issue of Leonardo Music Journal. Rob has been teaching, lecturing and conducting workshops since 1983 at a number of institutes in The Netherlands, and occasionally in other places on this planet.
Joker Nies (Cologne, Germany) is a musician, sound-designer, sound-engineer, photographer and technical editor for the German Sound&Recording and Keyboards magazines. Recent activities include software synth-design in MAX/MSP for the german Keyboards magazine, and production and sound design for radio-plays for the German WDR radio-broadcast. Joker Nies is known for his energetic improvisations on unusual electronic instruments and re-built electronic toys all over Europe and the US. He has played with many established improvisors and is a.o. part of the trio Die Schrauber. Joker is a leading expert in circuit bending and has conducted many inspiring circuit-bending and DIY workshops in the whole of Europe and the USA.
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