Befaco Modular Synth Workshop, 6th and 7th Feb 2016
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.
Percussion and distortion modules – talk and workshop in December
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.
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:
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.
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.
Nebulullaby workshop: lullabies and consciousness altering music, Nov 28
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.
Algorhythm workshop: hacking church bell patterns, Oct 20
In this workshop percussionist and composer Dom Aversano will demonstrate how church bells ringing patterns can be used to generate a vast array of rhythms. Once demonstrated participants will then be invited to explored how these patterns might be hacked, and encouraged to discover new creative possibilities.
Dom Aversano used church bell algorithms to create an instrument that was part of the award winning Cave of Sounds installation. He will showcase various parts of the patch used in the installation, programmed using the open source environment Pure Data.
Participants are encourage to bring whatever technology they use for music making; whether a laptop with a programming language on, a piece of hardware, or a traditional musical instrument. Ideas will take precedence over tools.
The format of the workshop will be:
7:00 – 7:45pm –– Dom Aversano showcased bell ringing algorithms
7:45 – 8:40pm –– Participants hacking session
8:40 – 9pm –– Participants feedback their ideas
Tuesday October 20th at Music Hackspace.
This programme is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Audio Synthesis for iPhone/iPad (workshop 2), Oct 27
Following the strong interest shown in the first iOS (iPhone/iPad) audio synthesis workshop, the Music Hackspace will be offering a follow-up workshop with Ron Herrema.
Having learned the basics of implementing Pd in iOS using libpd, we will work on incorporating gesture recognition and motion sensors, as well as microphone input and more sophisticated Pd methods. We’ll also sneak a peek at a more recent framework, AudioKit.
Requirements: you should have Xcode 6 or 7 installed and be able to run the most basic implementation of libpd. Instructions for setting this up can be found in
Rafael Hernandez Making Musical Apps.
It will also be helpful to have an iPhone or iPad, though this is not essential.
ronherrema.net
https://github.com/libpd/pd-for-ios
http://audiokit.io
Build your own Light-Theremin with Moldover aka “The Godfather of Controllerism”
Known as “The Godfather of Controllerism”, Moldover will be visiting the Music Hackspace on his Europe tour.
After this workshop Moldover will give a presentation on the design of The Light-Theremin CD Case, and his other circuit-board artworks.
In this basic soldering workshop, Moldover will take you through the steps to build your own Light-Theremin CD case (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8UzSVFUIc0). Even if you’ve never soldered before, this workshop will give you the confidence in two hours. If you do have experience you’ll learn how to solder better, and walk away with a fun and unique instrument, plus a copy of Moldover’s album.
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
Workshop: build your own SIGNUM device and reveal hidden sounds
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
DIY Electronics Course with Ewa Justka
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.
Befaco DIY Modular synth workshop: 17th and 18th October 2015
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).