cāniah
the pariah dog.
ABOUT
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My cousin Addi's kid had this wonderful little toy that created some great sounds when its battery ran low. I first heard it about two years ago, and apparently Addi had held on to the toy in hopes of recording it one day. Recently, for my tech savy nerd services, he paid me the toy in trade.
The MuttZart toy by VTech is intended to play classical music for infants or toddlers. It contains a trigger switch in the paw, and a collection of other sensors in the forehead (including a light sensor, motion sensor, and microphone). With a few modifications, it becomes an instrument of post-industrial-electro-experimental-glitch-noise-mayhem (or whatever).
BENDS
As usual, the toy was gutted and its circuit was probed with alligator clips and various electronic components (capacitor, resistor, diodes) and a selection of interesting surgical modifications was performed. Here's the breakdown:
- 1/4" audio output jack
- Additional series pitching resistors
- Distorto switch (via diode {LED})
- Progressive pitch decay (via capacitor)
- Sequence ryhthm loop enable switch
- Optical {photoresistor} pitching and enable switch
- Body contact touch point
- Power indicator LED
All this was housed in a gorgeous, shiny chrome motor housing that was inexpensively scrounged from a thrift shop.
IMAGES
Here is a set of images showing caniah in various states of completion: There are images that show the inside wiring and component connections, as well as the finished, sealed unit. The last in the group shows the back of the main circuitboard (which I used to scribble on during probing) and the original plush toy.
Or, if you wish, you can [browse the full resolution images](/art/bends/caniah/full).
SAMPLES
Ok, sure, I suppose you may want to know what it sounds like. The following clips were all recorded in a single take with no additional effects or postprocessing, except for amplification.
- caniah01.mp3 - 656KB (1:23) - Drones and distored pitch swings
- caniah02.mp3 - 920KB (1:57) - Assorted, but emphasizing touch point
- caniah03.mp3 - 718KB (1:31) - Emphasizing loop sequence mode
- caniah04.mp3 - 628KB (1:20) - Emphasizing photosensor whammy
- caniah_early.mp3 - 2.3M (2:26) - Recording made during early exploration cycles.