GumiElectronic

Here I’ll show you how to circuit bend the Yamaha RX5 drum machine. It’s standard circuit bending procedure: we’ll be connecting the pins of the RX5′s ROM chips to create some sounds it isn’t supposed to make. The ROM chips are IC45 & 46. Like the HR-16, both chips share the same connections so you [...]

If I’ve done any work for you in the past, I’d really appreciate your feedback. You can post a message below. Please include the make/model of the instrument and a brief description of the work I did for you in your response. Thanks!

Here is some info on swapping the CR-8000′s voices to different voice groups. This is useful if you’re installing the individual outputs and want certain voices to go to certain outs. For example, if you’ve done the Tom mods, you might want to give them their own output since they now sound so rad. Say [...]

You can get a variety of nasty distortion/bit reduction effects by connecting pins 1–12 on U40, which is the R-100′s DAC chip. I tested all 12 pins, but I only ended up wiring pins 1–8 to a bank of switches on the R-100′s front panel. These bends turn the R-100 into a very dirty beast.

Kritter Litter: Glitching the Kritter’s Keyboard via the on-board crystal oscillator. Squeak Farm: Again glitching the Kritter’s Keyboard via the on-board crystal oscillator, but this time with the pitch turned up.

Here’s a list of all the voice mods I made to my CR-8000, complete with PCB locations, replacement component values, and a few notes to boot. There are a lot more possibilities than I’ve listed here, but these are the ones I ended up wiring. You might want to experiment with different pot and resistor [...]

Various photos of the Roland CR-8000 modification:

Below is a list of all the features included in my CR-8000 modification: MIDI: • two built-in Elby MIDI2SDS(X) modules • velocity sensitive MIDI triggering of all 14 voices plus accent • trigger mute switch per voice • MIDI learn • trigger pulsewidth control individual voice output groups: • bass drum • snare/rim/clave* • congas [...]

Photos of the Kawai R-100 in various stages of bending.

The main R-100 modifications are centered on U24*, which is the voice ROM IC. All you need to do is connect various pins on U24 to get a variety of nasty sounds, everything from rippling ring modulation to crunchy distortion to stuttering delay-like effects. The trick is figuring out which pins can be connected without [...]

Below is my modification of the original CR-8000 bass drum circuit (in blue). Those familiar with the TR-606 mods will notice the similarity to Geoff Waterson’s TR-606 BD Decay Mod. You can experiment with the component values (especially the .047uF cap and 33k resistor) to get different results. I selected a 33k resistor because it [...]

We benders owe much to squidfanny for having the nards to bend IC1 (which resulted in possibly the raddest bend on the TR-505 ever) and for sharing what he learned. I hope to clear up any confusion over how to bend IC1 here. In my opinion, this is a “must bend” for anyone tinkering with [...]