From 2003-2009, I ran a small business building electronic devices on a custom-order basis for musicians around the world. The projects ranged from adding an expression pedal jack to a completely customized synthesizer. I also designed some circuits for small effects pedal companies. All in all, there are probably a few hundred devices with my signature scribbled in Sharpie somewhere on their case. This page shows some of the more interesting projects I completed. Click on any of the thumbnails in the scrolling box below for information, images, soundclips, and videos of each project.
The "Frankenbox"
"I coaxed all kinds of insanity out of it just by tweaking. Amazing! It will be my favorite noise box in this lifetime, to be sure." -Jeff
The Frankenbox is essentially an all-in-one synthesizer built for making distorted screeches, growls, and other awful noises. It includes two oscillators, a built in microphone, two audio inputs, a voltage controlled amplifier with ringmod capabilities, a voltage controlled lowpass filter, an LFO, and a sequencer. One oscillator includes a photocell and the other can be modulated by the LFO and the sequencer. There is a joystick that allows for frequency cross-modulation of the oscillators. Each component was specifically designed with the intention of creating loud, rumbling sounds with crackling distortion over the top. The entire box, down the knobs, case, and LED color, was created exactly as requested by its owner, Jeff. With 41 knobs and hundreds of ways to make the device interact with itself, an almost infinite number of sounds is possible. I believe that every synth-player has a dream synthbox, this one is Jeff's. I'd be happy to build yours! Click here for an image of the frankenbox with the controls labeled.
Soundclips
Various sounds spliced together
Videos
Images
"I coaxed all kinds of insanity out of it just by tweaking. Amazing! It will be my favorite noise box in this lifetime, to be sure." -Jeff
The Frankenbox is essentially an all-in-one synthesizer built for making distorted screeches, growls, and other awful noises. It includes two oscillators, a built in microphone, two audio inputs, a voltage controlled amplifier with ringmod capabilities, a voltage controlled lowpass filter, an LFO, and a sequencer. One oscillator includes a photocell and the other can be modulated by the LFO and the sequencer. There is a joystick that allows for frequency cross-modulation of the oscillators. Each component was specifically designed with the intention of creating loud, rumbling sounds with crackling distortion over the top. The entire box, down the knobs, case, and LED color, was created exactly as requested by its owner, Jeff. With 41 knobs and hundreds of ways to make the device interact with itself, an almost infinite number of sounds is possible. I believe that every synth-player has a dream synthbox, this one is Jeff's. I'd be happy to build yours! Click here for an image of the frankenbox with the controls labeled.
Soundclips
Various sounds spliced together
Videos