Moog Announces 4th Annual Circuit Bending Challenge
By Brandon Cook
Moog has announced their 4th Annual Circuit Bending Challenge with the coming of Moogfest 2014. Moogfest is a yearly music festival celebrating the spirit of innovation and the life of Dr. Bob Moog with concerts, panels, installations and more. As part of the festival, the circuit-bending challenge is the Moog Foundation’s way of paying tribute to the spirit of inventors and pioneers everywhere.
Many of the go-to, easy to use features of modern day synthesizers (and even software synths) were first developed by Bob Moog himself. Take a look at the synths in your studio, you may recognize some of his inventions on your own gear, such as ADSR envelopes, low-pass filters, and voltage controlled oscillators. By toying with some of the techniques used in Moog’s experimentation, you will most certainly develop a better understanding of circuitry and a more profound appreciation for his contributions to the modern day synthesizer.
It’s fairly simple to get started on the Circuit-Bending Challenge and only requires a small investment. In fact, participants are encouraged to keep their budgets small ($70 or less). Participants in the past have used drum machines, samplers, keyboards, effects pedals and even a Barbie guitar. You can check out some great examples of past projects on here. The opportunities are endless and the most interesting instrument modifications often produce the most interesting sounds.
The circuit bending process has grown in popularity in response to cheaply attainable electronics that can be easily transformed into a beautifully simple, incredibly spontaneous and completely random sound generators. It’s really as easy as cracking open an old or unused piece of electronic gear and connecting any two circuits. Next, just get creative! The joy of circuit bending is that you never know what sounds will result from the smallest adjustments. The calculated and controlled outcome of a Moog synthesizer could have never been achieved without this type of experimentation, so now it’s your turn!
Along with the opportunity to learn the artistry of circuit bending, this unique challenge offers some of the coolest prizes you could ask for. Competition winners can take home a genuine Moog Sub Phatty, Moog Slim Phatty, and a Moog Minitaur for first, second and third place respectively. Each prize also comes with 2 tickets to Moogfest in April 2014. Winning projects will also be featured in a display (maybe the beginning of your synthesizer career) at Moogfest for an estimated 50,000 attendees. Winners of the competition are chosen on the basis of functionality, craftsmanship, creativity, appearance, sound and popularity among the public.
If interested in entering the contest yourself you can visit Moog’s official website for contest rules, instructions and additional information.
Brandon Cook is a contributing music technology writer and cofounder of ToppleTrack.com, one of the web’s leading anti-piracy companies. Topple Track works with artists, labels and distributors to protect and monetize digital content.
