Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments

by Reed Ghazala

Fans will get bent out of shape if they miss the first book to cover circuit-bending-"bending," for short-the method by which an electronic toy or a device such as a keyboard is short-circuited and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764588877
• ISBN13: 9780764588877
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A great way to learn a great hobby

Being a collector of synthisisers, and any strange homemade instrument that I could get ahold of to add to the strange sounds I enjoy crafting, circuit bending was the next frontier that I wanted to conquer. This book really showed me how to get into this fun and exciting hobby. It starts off with a breif history and theory of strange and experimental sound as music that I found interesting and informative. After that, you learn about the tools and components of the hobby, followed by a nice, easy to follow tutorial on soldering. Then we get into the nitty gritty of the hobby, Taking an old electronic battery powered device and turning it into an alien sound machine. This book was VERY easy to read and there are a lot of nice pictures to demonstrate varous items and techniques. It made even me, a total newbie to this hobby feel confident to tear open a circuit board and solder it into unrecognisability and as a matter of fact, I probably would never have know anything of what to do without reading this book. Add to the fine pictoral examples and tutorials the Eighteen projects that include plans for bending Speak & Spells, and the famed Casio SK1 keyboard, and you have a real value here. This book was fun and easy to read and I still use it as a reference when I'm tearing apart an electronic gadget for the purpose of creating wierd sounds. I've read other books that deal with similar material, but for someone starting out in the hobby, this book is all you need and it's definitely where I would reccomend starting out if you're interested in getting into this fun hobby.

In the grip of bending...

I hadn't heard of circuit bending until only recently, when an excited friend and fellow musician told me about the amazingly modified "speak and spells" capable of generating out of this world sounds. I was hooked on the idea of using these strange sounds in my musical compositions and began my quest to find out more about circuit bending. I found exactly what I was seeking in Reed Ghazala's book. It didn't matter that I had no previous experience working with electronics. Mr. Ghazala makes electronics so easy to understand, anyone can create these insane sounding instruments. Typically, instructional manuals are really boring, but I found this book to be a real page turner... so much in fact that I forgot about the outside world. So if you want to expand your musical horizons and break into the world of electronic instrument design, BUY THIS BOOK!!!

For the Best Bending

This is The One; the comprehensive guide to circuit bending I have been searching for since I was introduced to the art in 2003, (by a friend named Reid, oddly enough.) At the time there was nothing but a few scattered resources online. We bought an eighty dollar electrical engineering book because we were anxious to learn and advance what we were doing. If Circuit Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments were available then, we could have saved ourselves a lot of confusion, a lot of fried circuits (R.I.P. Lovechild 1,) and Eighty Dollars! Whether you are just starting out, or have been bending for years, there are countless tips, techniques, and in depth explanations that make Reed Ghazala's book a priceless addition to your workshop (or bedroom.) Even with processes I have known for years, Ghazala boils them down, simplifies and perfects them. And the text never gets boring; there is a perfect combo of technical-layman-mumbo-jumbo-anecdotes-and-asides that keep you turning pages and wanting to know more about the instruments, the art, and the author. You can also see, hear, and read more at Ghazala's website or the book's companion website, (even if you don't have the book yet.) There is no be all and end all in Circuit Bending (one of the beautiful things about it) but Ghazala's book is the way to begin one's mastery of the art, all coming from the master himself.

Want to bend but lack any experience? This book is all you need.

I was a novice with no bending experience but plenty of interest. I purchased this book because it was about the only reference I could find on the subject. I had ascertained from poking around on the internet that Reed really was the Godfather of bending. It turns out that he is also an exceptional teacher/writer. This book starts at the very beginning: The history of bending, necessary tools, soldering techniques, etc. Someone with no electronics experience whatsoever will be able to follow every step. I never felt like any steps were missing from the process. Reed explains every detail clearly, concisely and often humorously without insulting the reader's intelligence. The book goes on to discuss bending about 15 specific instruments. This is a great way to get a start and prepare you for the real fun: bending your own instruments. The only complaint I have is that it would have been nice to have all important tools and parts specified with part numbers (Many are). This would allow the reader to more easily obtain the necessary parts. However, this info is available online if you search a little. Word of warning: The costs of the necessary tools to bend are not negligible. You will need a soldering station, a Dremel hobby drill and various switches and components. The costs add up. However, these are mostly fixed startup costs that become trivial over the course of a bending career.

Just what I needed...

I just started looking into circuit-bending about a month ago. I googled the term and thankfully found Reed's site. It was both inspiring and informative. This book reads the same way. Without speaking over the head of the reader, this book holds much information on the subject. It is full of tips, pictures and diagrams that will have you on your way to creating your own interesting instruments. Though circuit-bending deals with electronics in so many ways, he still covers the aspects of instrument design. This book has it all, so check it out.