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These Sound Toys Have A Mind Of Their Own
The concepts involved with audio feedback loops are quite fascinating, allowing for a self-sustaining growth in sound from inputs and outputs colliding. In this video, we get a demo of FEEDBOXES, both a rhythm box and a string box that take feedback loops a step further and transforms them into complex grooves.
Krzysztof Cybulski, the creator of these FEEDBOXES, describes the machine:
Rhythm box plays semi-random beat, which complexity depend on the volume of incoming audio signal. String box plays plucked or strummed chords (generated with Karplus-Strong synthesis) based on short, percussive sounds. The boxes could be used together with any instrument, or they could create a feedback loop by listening and responding to each other, creating ever-changing rhythmic structures.
Have you ever witnessed someone speak into a microphone and then suddenly a loud humming noise makes everyone go deaf? This is typically because of a feedback loop, occurring when the input of the microphone is directed towards a PA. The sound from the PA, initially coming out of the microphone, goes back into the microphone, creating an endless repetitive loop.
Learn more about the Karplus-Strong algorithm, the method used in these FEEDBOXES.