Documentation for all the hardware synths, mods, guitar pedals and noise boxes I have built over the years.

Korg Monotron Mod

Commissioned by Yari (Kyn, Oakland CA), this is a Korg Monotron Delay with every mod I felt I could do. It has an added resonance control, LFO->Filter Cutoff routing, a one octave keyboard, an always-on switch, a pitch control and register knob, and quarter inch inputs/outputs. It also takes AA batteries now for increased battery life!

She saw in the light of the veil... && Reflector 13

(The Veil) is a digital synthesizer platform consisting of a Raspberry Pi and Arduino setup with 8 10-bit potentiometer controls, 3 buttons and an OLED screen. It runs any vanilla Pure Data patch but was designed with Reflector 13 in mind.

Reflector 13 is a chaos being in the shape of a Pure Data patch. It consists of a digital audio feedback loop with an integrated 'listener' that modulates the feedback in various ways. The interplay of the loop and listener causes rhythmic chirping, harsh drones, shrieks, plunks, and other undiscovered sounds. Ref 13 has a large number of internal parameters that vary according to the time of day, month, and year. Hence, it behaves differently every time it is played and is very difficult to "control" as an instrument. The difficulty of approaching it is meant to induce spiritual experiences.

HP Fuzz

A clone of the Harmonic Percolator Fuzz popularized (but not actually used that much) by Steve Albini. Sustains real good and breaks up with that very satisfying germanium slop. Includes a more modern addition to the circuit - a switch that bypasses the diode clipping stage, which turns it into a surprisingly dynamic hybrid OD/Fuzz.

Split Lagoon

Based on a 40106 inverter with some... interesting power supply routings, the Split Lagoon is a synthesizer that reacts to touch. Its highly chaotic circuit sounds different based on the electrical properties of the user's skin, making for a highly individual experience.

Sea of Tranquility v1

The Sea of Tranquility is built around a pair of square oscillators and an unstable adaptation of a twin-T filter. The filter cutoff is influenced by a third oscillator via a photoresistor, resulting in rhythmic pings and loud bass booms.

Transmutation of Grief

I don't know or remember how it works - it wasn't designed so much as it was grown from a pool of deep depression. I modified it slowly as I clawed my way out, and it is such as it is. Touching it seems to cause radical changes in sound, though there is no reason it should do this.