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Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:29 pm
by Cornelis
I would recommend this book by Nicolas Collins:
Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
some nice primitive/direct stuff
very clear I think
http://www.nicolascollins.com/news.htm" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
(clikc on Hardware Hacking)
a review on:
http://www.furtherfield.org/displayrevi ... iew_id=191" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:52 pm
by esquilo
I have it.
It's pretty cool - especially to get you started.
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:04 pm
by Cornelis
Esquilo wrote:I have it.
It's pretty cool - especially to get you started.
exactly
It had a sort of reboosting effect on me
lots of things I had already done/dicovered etc but haden't fully explored yet.
It feels like a nice and very giving, unsecrative book. He's a nice guy too
Cor
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:12 pm
by (<oo>)
yes, it's a very pleasant read. and the cd that comes with it, is quite nice.
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:26 pm
by user_265
thanks for the advice, cor. i just ordered it.
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:17 pm
by (<oo>)
one thing: i've been looking everywhere for plasti dip, but it seems non-existant in europe, or at least belgium. hardware shops over here have never heard of the thing.
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:19 pm
by faster
Keep looking. Hard to find here in Seoul too, but I found some. A hint for when you do: get some thinner with it, the stuff's really goopy.
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:23 pm
by dave quam
Nic Collins teaches a class called "hardware hacking" at my school in which that is the text book. haven't taken it though. The book is pretty cool
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:10 am
by snailed
quam, you'd better take that class!
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:56 am
by RFKorp
We've got a class at NYU in the interactive telecommunications program that I took last summer all about hacking electronics we find in the street. Definitely got me going on some cool ideas. Maybe I'll pick up this book too and see how it furthers my knowlege. Thanks Cor!
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:30 pm
by dave quam
yeah, I will if its ever offered durring a non summer semester.
Richard, I think you would dig this book. Lots of cool ideas and stuff in it, most of them super simple but really effective. I really dont think the book is so much what the title might suggest, which is circuit bending. Its a lot of building your own little creations rather then just ripping crap apart and adding a pot or something. Lots of real simple radioshack fun time projects.
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:49 pm
by the_semen_incident
Plasti Dip? I heard about that stuff when I bought a contact mic coated with it... I think it's produced in Canada, or if not there, some part of north west U.S.
http://www.plastidip.com/" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
What do you want to use it for?... I've been meaning to get some myself to start making my own mics coated with it... works nicely for applications that would get a mic really dirty/wet... the person was selling it as a hydrophone/underwater & geophone/underground mic, as a matter of fact.
EDIT: I looked around some more on the page and I believe it's produced by a company in Minnesota.
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:29 am
by (<oo>)
that's what i wanted it to use for: waterproof contact mics. i think it also muffles the sound a bit, so you get less of that typical sharp contact mic sound. i now use tape for that. nicolas collins talks about it in his book, that's why i started about it in this thread.
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:31 pm
by user_4605
dave quam wrote:yeah, I will if its ever offered durring a non summer semester.
it is being offered for the fall 07 semester
(ive just been registered for it)
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:50 am
by user_1373
It's a nice book.
(<oo>) wrote:one thing: i've been looking everywhere for plasti dip, but it seems non-existant in europe, or at least belgium. hardware shops over here have never heard of the thing.
Ditto in Denmark, but I managed to find it at a rather obscure marine shop:
http://www.mmc.dk/" onclick= "window.open(this.href);return false;
Choose language and search for Plasti Dip.
Re: Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:13 am
by Stephen
Just bumping this to let anyone who doesn't already own a copy know that there's a new edition out:
Nic Collins wrote:The new edition of Handmade Electronic Music – The Art of Hardware Hacking, is out! Lots of new circuits and illustrations, more examples of artists’ designs, and a DVD with 87 1-minute video clips by hackers from all over the globe, as well as a series of step-by-step video tutorials.
The book should be available shortly from CDEmusic (
http://www.cdemusic.org/) and other fine stores everywhere.
Here are some upcoming events planned around the release.
Chicago
On Saturday April 11 at 9PM I’ll be presenting my first Chicago concert in four years at Lampo (216 W. Chicago Ave., 2nd floor). I’m be splitting the bill with the fabulous hans koch from Cologne. We’ll be doing works for laptop and circuit orchestras. Trombone-propelled electronics, backwards electric guitars, candle-powered oscillators, smart-bomb video and a Blippo Box will also be featured. See
http://www.lampo.org/ for more information. Then on Saturday, May 2, at 3PM, Quimby’s Bookstore (1854 W. North Avenue) is hosting a book release party. I’ll screen some video, demo a few projects, and the Chicago Symphacking Orchestra (CSO) will perform. See
http://www.quimbys.com/ .
New York City
On Friday evening, April 17, from 6-7PM we’ll celebrate the book release at Bent 2009 at The Tank (354 West 45th Street.) Books will be available for purchase (I’ll sign them with my illegible scrawl), I’ll screen some of the video from the DVD, demonstrate a few projects, and maybe give a brief performance. Check the Bent website:
http://www.bentfestival.org/#Event/Nic_ ... ease_Party.
Berlin
April 20 and 21 I’ll be presenting a 2-day hacking workshop at NK (Elsen Str. 52, 2. Hof.) The workshops will run from 11AM until 7PM, and we’ll have a concert, party, and book signing on Tuesday evening. For more information see
http://www.ausland-berlin.de/hardware-h ... as-collins.
Amsterdam
STEIM, the Vatican of hacking, is offering a 3-day workshop with me from April 24 to 26. The workshops run 10AM to 5PM. See
http://www.steim.org/steim/workshops.php?id=133&b=1&r=1. Then on Tuesday evening, April 28, we’ll have a little concert and book party at STEIM.
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Re: Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:57 am
by Dohol
It's a great book...The chapter on home cooked piezo mics alone is worth the price of admission.
Re: Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:04 pm
by Red
The new edition is listed on Amazon as arriving on April 17 and priced at $103.50.
I heartily recommend the first edition, but this price on the second edition is ridiculous, I says! Has anyone found it elsewhere for less?
Edit:
According to the Routledge site, the hardcover edition retails for $115, while the paperback retails for $34.95.
http://www.routledgestudents.com/books/ ... 0415998734
Re: Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:31 am
by Dohol
Red wrote:The new edition is listed on Amazon as arriving on April 17 and priced at $103.50.
I heartily recommend the first edition, but this price on the second edition is ridiculous, I says! Has anyone found it elsewhere for less?
Edit:
According to the Routledge site, the hardcover edition retails for $115, while the paperback retails for $34.95.
http://www.routledgestudents.com/books/ ... 0415998734
Damn..the textbook business...what a rip off..
Re: Handmade Electronic Music ? The Art of Hardware Hacking
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:02 pm
by snailed
Red wrote:The new edition is listed on Amazon as arriving on April 17 and priced at $103.50.
I heartily recommend the first edition, but this price on the second edition is ridiculous, I says! Has anyone found it elsewhere for less?
Edit:
According to the Routledge site, the hardcover edition retails for $115, while the paperback retails for $34.95.
http://www.routledgestudents.com/books/ ... 0415998734
Thanks very much for this link. Just ordered it.
(Paperback, obv)