Build your own Rebel Technology synthesizer at the Music Hackspace!

Date: Sunday 13th March, 11am-7pm

Location: Music Hackspace LimeWharf, Vyner Street, London, E2 9DJ

The workshop is free of charge, you only pay for what you build and take home with you. It’s relatively easy, no previous soldering experience is required. If you are a keen solderer you should be able to build two modules in one day. We will be on hand to help throughout, should you have any problems.

People of all ages and abilities are welcome, under 12s should be accompanied by an adult.

REGISTRATION. Please note a minimum number of participants is required for this workshop to take place, so please book your place asap! The booking fee will be deducted during the workshop from the price of the kit of your choice.

Module Details:

1. Stoicheia : dual Euclidean gate sequencer 90 GBP

Στοιχεῖα is our famous Euclidean gate sequencer. It generates rhythmic trigger sequences, from very simple beats to complex polyrhythms. Never boring, always musical.

2. Logoi : voltage controlled clock divider and delay 95 GBP

Λόγοι is a voltage controlled clock divider, counter, and delay. It subdivides and adds time, creating organic, evolving signatures. Λόγοι brings movement and life to the trigger signal, from a subtle swing to bizarrely complex and intricate rhythms.

3. Klasmata : voltage controlled Euclidean gate sequencer 95 GBP

Κλάσματα is a single channel, voltage controlled version of Στοιχεῖα. It offers a range of 1-32 steps, opening up more possibilities for complex patterns. With voltage controlled sequence length and fills, Κλάσματα transposes, shifts and modulates rhythmic patterns.

4. PowerKit : small PSU 45 GBP (AC adaptor £10 extra)

Combined busboard and power supply. +12/-12/+5v rails, 200mA per rail. Compact and suitable for small to medium sized cases. Powered with external AC adaptor (not included, available for £10 extra).

5. Phoreo module : brand new (not yet released!) 95 GBP

φορέω is a multiplier, repeater and modulator. It packs three different trigger processing functions:

– modulate pulse width from 0 to 100%

– multiply rate by 1 to 16 times

– repeat trigger 1 to 16 times

All three functions have CV control and dedicated inputs and outputs. By combining the multiply and repeat functions you get a burst generator: fully CV controlled and perfect for drum rolls, arpeggios and for injecting life and movement in hats, beats and synth lines. Go on, give us a snare rush!

Phoreo is 10HP wide, requires +5v, and is the new addition to our Euclidean series of trigger processors.

If you have any questions please email us at workshops@stagingmhs.local

 

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England

We welcome Befaco for the first of our 2016 Music Hackspace workshops at Limewharf. Join us for a weekend of DIY modular synth making on 6th and 7th February 2016!

HANDS ON WORKSHOP: build your own synth modules on eurorack format. We provide all the necessary components to build your device from scratch. Each participant builds her/his own machine during the workshop.

REGISTRATION. Please note a minimum number of participants is required for this workshop to take place, so please book your place asap!

With this item you will be booking a spot in our workshop.Please send an email to workshops@stagingmhs.local indicating which module/s you want to build. This £20 booking fee will be deducted during the workshop from the price of the kit of your choice. Please note there will be no refunds in case of cancelling / not showing.Thanks for the reservation and see you soon!

Choose which Befaco module/s to build:

Spring reverb – 150 GBP

Even VCO – 130 GBP

BF22 VCF – 140 GBP

Rampage – 170 GBP

Instrument Interface – 125 GBP

Output module – 70 GBP

Mixer – 55 GBP

Crush Delay v2 – 130 GBP

Hexa VCA – 150 GBP

Dual Atenuverter – 55 GBP

Slew Limiter – 65 GBP

Sampling Mod – 130 GBP

Power supply + Power bus – 90 GBP

Power Bus – 50 GBP

Required skills: interest and patience. No previous experience in electronics is necessary.

Required materials: Fine tip soldering iron less than 25w is recommended (we can provide some soldering irons and hand tools for participants who don’t have their own).

When: Sat 6th  and Sun 7th February 2016, 11am to 7 pm.

Where: Music Hackspace @ LimeWharf Yard. LimeWharf, Vyner Street E2 9DJ London

If you have any questions please email us at: workshops@stagingmhs.local

Befaco is a Synth DIY/open hardware platform focused on designing modules and organizing modular synth workshops regularly in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and London. Befaco Workshops FAQ’s.

We are moving to the creative lab and cultural innovation centre LimeWharf! Which means celebration is in order! Join us for the inaugural event at our new space, a launch party to celebrate our new partnership with the awesome LimeWharf.

Just a few minutes from our former home at Containerville, we’ll form part of the cultural innovation hub and artistic laboratory that is LimeWharf, surrounded by awesome people, with a larger space to host events & seminars, and even a fully licensed bar.

THURSDAY 17TH DEC – 7pm to 10pm at Limewahrf (Vyner St, London E2 9DJ)

Featuring performances from:

~7:30 – LESLIE DEERE:
Originally from Tennessee, Leslie moved to the UK to study Sonic Art, continuing from a performing arts dance background in NYC. One of the current Music Hackspace artists in residence, Leslie’s live performances use analogue and digital audio equipment alongside field recordings and her lo-fi video projections, to make abstract and absorbing drone collages.

~8:15 – TOM FOX:
Tom Fox is a craftsman, maker and pioneer in the search for new sounds and the development of truly unique instruments. Many of you probably know Tom’s project, Vulpestruments – a collection of hand-built noise machines fashioned from as much recycled and reclaimed materials as possible. From the strings to the pickups and the tuning pins, these unexpected sources make genuinely remarkable sounds.

~9:00 – ADAM JOHN WILLIAMS:
A familiar face at Music Hackspace, curating this evening we have Adam John Williams, who will also perform some psychoacoustics-infused-electronica from his current project, Research-Driven Dance Music.

+ Special guest DJ: ELECTRONIC ELEMENT
Electronic Element a.k.a. Ivaylo Chichanov will be our DJ for the evening, shepherding us through the void between live performances to keep everybody dancing.

This is the start of a fantastic new chapter for us. Music Hackspace was founded as a creative & social hub for the community that surrounds it, and without that amazing community we simply would not exist, so let’s all celebrate together.

Entry is FREE!

Directions

ab•er•rant (ə ber′ənt, ab′ər-),

adj.
departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type;
exceptional; abnormal.

We welcome the øpen-hardware team “000” for the presentation of their new aberrant analogue distortion and percussion modules, which are both stand-alone and Eurorack.

The Spanish/German team will present at the London Music Hackspace their new set of analogue percussive tools (talk/demo on Thurs 3rd Dec at 7pm), followed by a DIY workshop (on Friday 4th December and Saturday 5th Dec) where participants can build their own modular drum system.

TALK/DEMO

Thursday 3rd December, 7 pm
An introduction to analogue percussive synthesis, concept and module design of an aberrant modular drum machine. The talk will also cover the ethos and philosophy of the open hardware team. Come ask questions and test the modules!

WORKSHOP
Friday 4th December from 11 am until 7pm

Saturday 5th December from 11 am until 7 pm

Both days are independent so participants can choose when to join the workshop.

This is DIY workshop about percussion and distortion lead by øpen-hardware team “000“. The team is presenting a new set of aberrant analogue distortion and percussion modules, which are both stand-alone and Eurorack.

Modules available are:

BSDM Bareback Kick

SCAT 0-logical distortion

Snore Fist Drum

WHIP MIDI to trigger interface

This is the first time this workshop is taking place and modules have a promotional discount price.

The workshop will cover both theory and practice about analogue circuit design, percussion and noise. No previous experience in electronics is needed but interest and patience is mandatory.

WORKSHOP BOOKINGS

Only 11 places are available for this first edition of the workshop, so hurry-up and book your place!

In order to register please book the kit/s you would like to build during the workshop: http://mhproduction.wpengine.com/events/percussion-and-distorsion-modules-workshop/

If you have any questions please email us at workshops@stagingmhs.local

Prices includes all materials, pcb, front panel, knobs and custom light button, to be assembled during the 2 days workshop.

The team “000” will also bring some assembled modules and prototypes on our system, for testing and selling purposes.

 

 

This programme is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Saturday 28th November 2015 at Music Hackspace
11h to 18h (with a lunch break)

The workshop will be led by Eleonora Oreggia aka xname.

With assistance by Chris Wood.

After a short introduction, participants will experiment with different
instruments and techniques in order to create sleep inducing sound
culminating in a short composition. The field of lullabies, far from being
saturated, will be left opened for others to reflect and respond.

Selected readings will be delivered beforehand. Individual projects can be
discussed in advance.

Basic guidance available on aesthetics, electronics, circuit design,
physical computing, Arduino/Beaglebone/Gumstix, software programming
(Java, C/C++, PD) and DSP.

Simplicity is encouraged. Focus is the electronic lullaby. Electroacustic
pieces are also welcome.

Some materials will be provided but you can bring your own. You’ll take
your final track with you.

The day will end with a public presentation of NEBULULLABY, a small
preview from the upcoming compilation and the participants performances.

Saturday 28th November 2015
11h to 18h (with a lunch break)

This workshop is funded by Arts Council England.
Participation is free. Places are limited.
Donations will support Music Hackspace.

More info

After the workshop Moldover will give a presentation on the design of The Light-Theremin CD Case, and his other circuit-board artworks.

This is an all ages, hands-on workshop
No experience required
No equipment required: soldering stations & Light Theremin kits provided

Cost: £35 for kit/materials

Date: November 5 @ 18:30 – 22:00

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent , London, E2 9DS United Kingdom

Moldover‘s collected work is deep, diverse, and nearly impossible to summarize, but its essence shines clearly when you see the artist on stage delivering emotional and authentic performances with hybrid instruments of his own design. Explore his creations further and you’ll discover a cultural icon who invents new formats for interactive album artwork, cultivates collaboration by building elaborate jamboxes, and has inspired an entire generation of free-culture music-makers by openly sharing his methods and his madness. moldover.com

 

 

 

 

SIGNUM_Portable Analog Instrumentation Amplifier from animazon on Vimeo.

In this workshop participants will build and take home their own Signum device, which is designed to experiment with hidden signals and usually un-hearable sounds. The device includes a transducer, optical, coil, germanium diode and small loop antenna that will allow you to both to listen to and record the sounds hidden in the electromagnetic spectrum. The workshop will also cover the use of the electromagnetic spectrum in art practice.

With Victor Mazon Gardoqui.

Signum is a portable device designed to provide a clean, line level & micro controller friendly output signal to various input sensors: different bandwidth antennas, high impedance transducers, photosensitive cells, infrared, ultraviolet, sound pressure or line level.

The electromagnetic spectrum will be used as a creative resource where participants will build a device capable of modulate the invisible phenomenæ on various media or devices.

SIGNUM performs a fully analogue difference operation between its input and reference output level, multipling by a factor of 100 times in the first stage  -controlable by potenciometer- and 10 times magnification on its second stage, providing a controlled amplitude output line suitable to be safely connected to any audio input: sound card, computer or mixer, providing the input signal a maximum magnification ratio of 1000: 1 and a signal-to-noise distortion of 0.007% THD.

The kit contains two amplifier circuits operating in parallel to accommodate different impedances of sensors and a final amplification for line output. The 3 sensors embedded on its surface measures close range electromagnetic frequencies, a central SMA antenna connector for long-range signals and an external line input via the 3.5mm jack to amplify self made sensors and physical devices.

It’s powered by a 9V battery or supplied 1,3mm power jack to USB connector.

The workshop will be lead by Victor Mazon Gardoqui who’s the author of workshop concept, electronics design & documentation | CC 4.0 BY-SA ://victormazon.com/signum

Victor will be also giving an Artist Talk about his practice at the Music Hackspace on Thursday 22 October

SIGNUM Portable Analogue Instrumentation Amplifier

Specifications:
Voltage gain 10 to 1000 (w/ ALPS potentiometer)
Amplitude control (w/ ALPS potentiometer)
Bandwidth set to 15.9kHz (w/feedback capacitors), or 100kHz (w/ caps removed)
Line IN / Line OUT (w/ Jack 3,5mm)
SMA Antenna Input
Self-centering output quiescent voltageBattery operation ~3V–30V
1,3mm power jack to USB cable included
220v to 5v USB adaptor included
Current drain ≤160mA
Size 70×70 mm
8x 30mm. metal stands
Sensors: transducer, optical, coil, germanium diode, small loop antenna included
Industrial PCB manufacture
Material FR4
Thickness 1,6mm
Surface Finish ENIG Immersion Gold  on both sides
Black Matt Soldermask on both Sides

 

 

 

 

When: Saturday 24th October: 11h to 19 h and Sunday 25th October 11h to 15h.

Required skills: No previous experience in electronics is necessary, but interest and patience mandatory.

Cost: 95 GBP (Keep you device! All electronic materials and documentation are included).

Enquiries: please email workshops@stagingmhs.local

 

 

 

 

During the six weeks you will build The Ultimate Headbutting Machine – 10 step sequencer with drums and cymbals. You will learn principles of electronics starting from simple circuits to more complex ones. Each class (4h per week) will be focused on building different modules of the UHM, exploring CMOS technology in depth. Participants will be encouraged to experiment with circuits, hack toys and use organic materials implemented in the machine in order to modulate the sounds.

The classes will not only be focused on building final musical device but also on learning principles of electronics. After the course hopefully you will be able to read schematics and build devices yourself.

After each class you will be given hand outs with resources.

Price: £300. All the materials are included in the price and you take the final machine with you.

At the beginning of each module the participants will work on breadboards to freely experiment with the circuits and play around with different components in order to familiarize themselves with CMOS technology and feel more comfortable with circuit design experimentation.

Next, after the participants are introduced to the principles of the electronic circuit’s mechanism and they are happy with the design they will solder each module on copper strip boards / or PCBs.

The whole 6 weeks course will be focused on those modules, where participants will start from building simple oscillators to more complex circuits.

For more information contact curators@stagingmhs.local. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

Module 1

Date: Wednesday 7th of October (18:00-21:00)

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS

Subject: Noisy Oscillators.

TOPICS:

Introduction to electricity: current, voltage, resistance, capacitance, Ohm’s Low.
Basic functions of a circuit.
Introduction to components .
How does the sound look like? introduction to measuring tools.
How does the breadboard work?
Introduction to oscillators.
Combinational logic.

During this module we will work on breadboards, experimenting with different frequencies of oscillators and different resistive materials. We will learn how to build oscillators that modulate each other and use them to control pitch, timbre and speed.

Module 2

Date: Wednesday 14th of October (18:00-21:00)

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS

Subject: Melting solder and making noise.

TOPICS:

Introduction to soldering.
Looking at different soldering techniques and different kinds of copper boards.
Troubleshooting principles.

Module 3

Date: Wednesday 21st of October (18:00-21:00)

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS

Subject: Sequencing in silicon.

TOPICS:

Introduction to sequential logic.
Building LED driver.
Controlling the sequence with fruit ‘n’ veg.
Audio sequencer vs. Gate/CV sequencer
Driving circuit bendet toys in sequence.
Building a 10 step sequencer.

During this module we will build different kinds of simple experimental sequencers, playing around with various triggers. We will explore decade counters.

Module 4

Date: Wednesday 28th of October (18:00-21:00)

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS

Subject: 808 Cowbell demystified.

TOPICS:

What is a harmony mixer?
What is a frequency modulation?
Introduction to XOR gates.
Metallic sounds vs percussive sounds.
Introduction to control voltage.
Transistors and buffers.

We will build the cymbal/cowbell module. We will experiment with different values of components in order to produce various sounds: from metallic ones, to high hats, cowbell and cymbals.

Module 5

Date: Wednesday 4th of November (18:00-21:00) and Saturday 14th of November (12:00-16:00)

Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15 (ContainerVille), 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS

Subject: Filters and Drums.

TOPICS:

Active and passive filters.
Introduction to op amps (Operational Amplifiers).
Why does drum sound like a drum?
Simple distortion effect.

During this module we will learn about importance of an amplification. We will build simple drum module, that will be implemented in the final machine.

Check out the video from the second ‘Gen.AV – Hackathon on Generative Audiovisuals’ event which presented projects at Goldsmiths University of London, which were developed during a 2 day computer-generated audiovisuals hackathon at Music Hackspace on 25-26 July 2015.

During the hackathon, participants developed functioning prototypes of software tools for audiovisual performance exploring issues such as interaction design, reconfigurability, ease of use, audience involvement, and computer-generated sound and visuals.

Projects were performed by their creators. Additionally, the projects are open-source, and can be downloaded from https://github.com/avuis

The hackathon was co-organised by Goldsmiths / EAVI group (http://eavi.goldsmithsdigital.com) and the Music Hackspace. It is part of the Enabling AVUIs research project being conducted at Goldsmiths / EAVI group, and supported by the European Union (Marie Curie programme). More information: http://avuis.goldsmithsdigital.com.

More images from the event in this link.

The Befaco team is back for a DIY modular synth workshop on 17th and 18th October 2015 at the Music Hackspace (ContainerVille).

When: 17th and 18th October 2015, 11am to 7 pm.
Where: Music Hackspace, ContainerVille, Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London, E2 9DS United Kingdom

Hands on workshop: build your own synth modules on eurorack format. We provide all the necessary components to build your device from scratch. Each participant builds her/his own machine during the workshop.

Required skills: interest and patience. No previous experience in electronics is necessary.

Required materials: Fine tip soldering iron less than 25w is recommended (we provide soldering irons and hand tools if you don’t have your own).

Participants can choose to build any of these Befaco modules:

*NEW!* Rampage……………….150 GBP

*NEW!* Crush Delay V2………120 GBP

Slew Limiter…………………..65 GBP

Spring reverb …………………130 GBP

Even VCO ……………………125 GBP

BF22 VCF……………………130 GBP

VC ADSR………………………110 GBP

Instrument Interface………115 GBP

Output module………………65 GBP

Mixer………………………………50 GBP

Hexa VCA………………………140 GBP

Power Bus ………………………80 GBP

Dual Atenuverter………………55 GBP

Joysitck controller……………100 GBP

Please register via workshops@stagingmhs.local

We are happy to answer any questions 🙂

Befaco is a Synth DIY/open hardware platform focused on designing modules and organizing modular synth workshops regularly in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and London (and recently in Japan).