Monday, October 11, 2010

Egon Box Rebuild Pt. 2

Didn't use tie wraps as I kept the runs quite short. D'arsonval meter is now responsive to frequency.




About 1/2 way there...


Friday, September 24, 2010

Egon Box rebuild.

A rebuild for a buddy. Everything is nicely done but for the wiring runs, so that is what I am gonna clean up. Here's a before picture.





Wiring can be tricky, especially for a novice. I know my first projects took some rebuilding before I got use to making clean runs and nice connections. Some tips for anyone building their own project:

- Heat shrink tubing! Yes this stuff rules. Electrical tape is a temporary fix, DO NOT use it for your projects! It leaves a horrid sticky mess and will become un-sticky itself in a year or less. So heat shrink tubing all the way. Just don't forget to slip it over the wires BEFORE you solder them together. Putting some tubing over your solder joints on the pots and switches will help to stave off any disconnects.

- If the build requires some off board component mounting(ie; a resistor on the input of a jack) then make sure you cut the leads short. Cut them as short as possible. It is even better to get them attached and then cut the leads. Shorter lead length = less heat needed to solder the part and less wire to accidentally short against something else. Also some more, you guessed it, heat shrink over the part in question will help secure and prevent shorts.

- When soldering to a board; cut your leads short before soldering(not too short!) for less heat needed to flow the joint and less chance of a short to the chassis or another lead. Also, make note of the type of hole you are soldering to. Some circuit boards are printed on one side, some on both and some have 'thru-hole' construction. Make sure you get that solder flowed over the part and board and that is is a seamless joint. The thru-hole stuff is a bit trickier. It requires a bit more time, just a bit more heat. If you hold the iron on the joint you should see a series of little bubbles begin popping out of the joint. This is air escaping the joint. Air in the joint = a gap which = bad connection which = oxidizing solder joint = no workee.

- Multiple parts to the same spot. I find it best to unify the parts and THEN run a single wire to the connection spot. I have seen pieces of wire used as a bus rail and I have seen multiple part leads mashed into the same spot or same hole. Don't do this. Twist the common ends together and run a wire from there to the spot on the board. Barring this, say because of distance, attach a wire lead to each part then connect the wires together and run a single wire to the board.

- Keep your wires short. Especially for audio projects. Think about it, what is an antenna? That's right, a wire! So long wires can = signal antenna. Whoops, where are those spurious signals coming from? Also, data has to travel down those wires too. Think of it this way, you like the shortest distance between two points right? So does electricity! Also, if you are wiring a project it is good to do it in stages. In other words, work on the power supply, then the LFO, then the keyboard matrix, then whatever is next. One at a time = a bundle of wires that all relate to one area that can be bundled together with a zip tie. That makes it WAY easier to troubleshoot a problem. Say there is a problem with the LED blinker part of a circuit, if all of the wires involved in that part are bundled together then it makes looking that section over that much faster and easier.

Just some tips. These are things that I have learned by doing over and over, thought I would pass them along. Hope they help someone make an awesome project!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Show soon

Full band.
Electric.
Only 1 or 2.

Keep watching the skies...

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Resounding Pause

Some Pics from the last(for now) Resonant Interval.

Lance is a great guy and I wish him well in his new city. The place will be richer for having him. And we are not poorer fortunately! Trills is taking over with a new series. I'll have the info as soon as I get it.

Wonderful fun to play a solo AWAKE set. And MECA was dope, dope, dope!

T was also wonderful enough to provide me with MP3's of the show. I will have a link or something up soon to the AWAKE set.


All photos by Trills.



Hmmm...Mixer, Barbie Krunkaoke, Speak and Read, SA-20, Phaser, Stutterer, Finger Box, UE-405, 2 tape players, pre-made loop tapes, Boomerang, A/B/Y pedal. Another keyboard was there but out of batteries.





Eddie Parsec handled up on a bit of video work for me last minute style.

Monday, July 26, 2010




Happy birthday sir. Orgy-porgy, Feelies, Soma...man, if you could only see this motherfucking place now...

And also, F yeah Wikileaks! Good show!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Talking Literacy




Circuit bent Speak and Read

- LFO Vibrato
- Pitch Adjust
- 2 Glitch Switches
- Loop/Glitch Switch
- Loop Switch
- 1/4" Out
- Spkr Shutoff
- Reset

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Speech Impedalment Mark I






A 4 channel stutter pedal. Each channel is separately controllable or can be synched to a master signal. Video coming soon.

Friday, June 11, 2010

K'naan...Coke head

So K'naan's song 'Wavin' Flag' was adopted as the anthem of the World Cup.

Except for one thing.

Coca-Cola asked that K'naan change the lyrics. Here is the statement:

"For its part, Coca-Cola loved the song but noted that lyrical references to “a violent prone, poor people zone” and people “struggling, fighting to eat” didn’t fit the campaign’s themes. “The crucial moment in the discussion came when K’Naan said, ‘I can take that song, refashion some of the lyrics and give you an exclusive version,’ ” Diener says. “That’s an attempt on K’Naan’s part to revitalize the song in the spirit of the World Cup.”

“I saw it as an opportunity to reach more people,” K’Naan says. “I don’t work for Coke or anything; what I do is my music. This was a really great opportunity for them to use my song, without compromising my integrity as a musician. This is what I write, these are the songs I make. I’m happy about it.”

VERY disappointing. Another artist trying to make money and the corporation steps in to fund it...with a few changes. It's not a super big deal. It's not like patrons have never done this.

But if one can't see how wrong and disappointing this is. Millions are spent on soccer and pomp and circumstance, meanwhile shack dwellers are being marginalized(as usual) people are still 'fighting to eat', Somalia is still a 'violent prone, poor people zone'

See here's the damn thing. The 'opportunity to reach more people' deal is B.S. Oh he will reach people...as a Coke advertisement. This kind of bowing to our corporate overlords(Coke is not without egregious human rights violations) is pathetically typical.

Yeah. Have fun hanging with the Black Eyed Peas K'naan...you just lost a fan...not that it should matter, you got Coke behind you now...sellout.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Schmeer

Pop Smear. This is the video, by Chris Hawley and Fabian Almeda, that TWaI did the soundtrack for. We did a live version at Projected, a multimedia presentation here in Houston.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Told you so

I said I would get some new damn music up didn't I? Well, here is TWAI kicking mucho ass at the Husk. In 3 parts. We were missing DR. Obinson for this one unfortunately.

To clarify, TWAI is a more or less rotating collective of musicians that was started by Eddie Parsec, Nectarine, and Rocketship Ajax. The O.G. lineup has been these 3 members consistently, with contributions from various vocalists. Phase 2 saw the arrival of DR. Obinson, Shun J, and myself. Now we are legion. Cut off one head and 2 grow in its place. H-town massif!





Ant City

A video done by E. Parsec for TWaI.



Yeah. We're pretty fucking good. And getting better.

There are 6 of us on this, unless I am thinking of the wrong session, and I have only vague ideas as to who is doing what. Not that it matters.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Goodbye

Goodbye Gulf.

It was nice to know you.

Blame, hatred, and anger are the predictable results.

But does it matter? Look what happened.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Bentfest 2010

Due to circumstances beyond my control I will NOT be attending Bentfest this year.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Together We are Instruments

I am playing with TWaI now. As well as Dave and Dj Shun. On the last Thursday of every month we are playing at the Husk. After this first one we will be featuring guest bands/musicians. Should be interesting. We have been working together a lot and have covered a shitload of ground stylistically. It seems to be some sort of psychedelic hip hop noise space swamp gumbo dub. So...there.

The Husk. 2808 Milam(between Khon's and Pho Saigon.) Doors 8-9p

We also have a gig this Sunday at the same spot. We were invited by the Resident Interval Sound Series to play. Tix are 5$. The Husk. Check the link for more details. It usually starts kind of early.