It’s not everyday that you see seven electronic devices connected to a sequencer, but Steven Litt of Crudlabs has discovered a cheap way to create a less traditional electronic sounds. Litt created Crudbox using a 16-step, 8-channel step sequencer. It is an open-source project based around an Arduino microcontroller--an electronics prototyping platform popular with music artists and those making multimedia projects like the Crudbox.
To use Crudbox, just plug in any electronic or electromagnetic device--and I mean anything: Record players, power tools, it all works.
Once all the devices are connected, flip the switch atop the Crudbox, which turns on each device by pointing the switch towards it. The sequences are then controlled by the bottom buttons, and tempo by the knob.
While normal sequencers draw from a set of blank sounds, the Crudbox samples a wider range depending what you plug in.
This version is just one of Litt’s Crudboxes. His primary box uses wood, metal, springs, and other miscellaneous objects to make clanking sounds. Watch the video below to see it in action:
Litt’s original aim, according to his Website, was to explore “electronic music outside the realm of digitally produced and analog synthesized sound”. The box definitely lets out some pretty obscure (but pretty cool) sounds, which you can sample on his site.
Still, it’s a neat hack and it’s probably the most rhythmic you could ever make a working drill.
Which of your household devices would you attach to the sequencer to music? Be sure to tell us in the comments below.
[via Rhizhome | Photo: Crudlabs]
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This story, "Crudbox Turns Any Gadget Into an Electronic Sequencer" was originally published by PCWorld.