[microsound] "No Input Mixing Board"

[Brendan Landis]

Justin, did any cool recordings come out of those experiments? Sounds  
fun!


cheers,
Brendan
heyexit.com


On Dec 14, 2010, at 2:18 PM, Justin Glenn Smith wrote:

> Regarding patch cords: the signal will be so hot, that you don't  
> need a good cord. Or a real cord even. I had great performance from  
> an old radioshack brand mixer where I used cut up and bent pieces of  
> coathanger, one end shoved into the hole of one of the RCA style  
> inputs, the other end shoved into the hole of one of the RCA outputs.
>
> Michal Seta wrote:
>> You could probably get a Behringer 8 channel mixer for less than a
>> 100$ at your local music equipment store.  Those are totally useless
>> for pro-audio but they should fit your needs.  Of course you also  
>> need
>> a lot of patch cords.  You may want to check your nearest electronics
>> surplus store, they may have good deals on cables (maybe even some
>> amateur mixing boards!).  Just make sure that when you are buying a
>> mixer to use as a musical instrument, there are more outputs than  
>> just
>> Main Out (hopefully Aux and/or Fx and maybe even direct out) for
>> increased flexibility of routing signals.
>>
>> Here's one good deal for a Behringer:
>> http://bit.ly/f4JPqy
>>
>> You could also check some local classifieds listings but I would
>> advise that when you buy this kind of stuff (especially online or
>> through an ad) you do it with an adult, hopefully someone who
>> understands your needs and what you are buying to some extent.
>>
>> Cheers.
>>
>> ./MiS
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 8:12 AM, Nic Freed <beatthefinalboss at gmail.com 
>> > wrote:
>>> Thank you very much for replying so fast! I do like Larseneurs,  
>>> but I do not
>>> speak french, so I do not know how much I can use their site :(
>>> You explained that very well, and now that I understand, I am very  
>>> anxious
>>> to try ;)
>>> If you don't mind my asking, where might I get a cheap mixing  
>>> board with an
>>> input and output? Maybe somewhere on ebay or something?
>>> Thanks again!
>>> --Nic
>>>
>>> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 11:49 PM, Michal Seta <mis at artengine.ca>  
>>> wrote:
>>>> Hi Nic,
>>>>
>>>> The base idea behind the no input mixing board is that a mixing  
>>>> board
>>>> is never perfectly silent.  It is then expected that when you  
>>>> plug its
>>>> output to its input, the inherent noise (or hum) that is within the
>>>> system will quickly start adding itself up and you will be able to
>>>> build a feedback loop.  Most mixers have pre-amps built in which  
>>>> can
>>>> greatly help you build the sound faster (and they will add a little
>>>> bit of noise to the signal as well).  You can then use the EQ  
>>>> knobs to
>>>> shape the resulting signal.
>>>>
>>>> Some mixing boards come with built-in effects so you could very  
>>>> easily
>>>> start sculpting very intricate soundscapes but if you want to be  
>>>> true
>>>> to Nakamura you should use a plain mixing board with only controls
>>>> being volume, gain and some EQ (usually just 3 knobs on simple  
>>>> boards:
>>>> treble, mid and bass).  Note that having multiple mixing strips and
>>>> ways of cross-connecting them gives you an advantage (most mixers  
>>>> will
>>>> have auxiliary inputs and outputs which you can exploit to make  
>>>> cross
>>>> connections between different strips).
>>>>
>>>> Getting a cheap mixing board will bring you quick instant
>>>> gratification because those will usually have higher signal to  
>>>> noise
>>>> ratio.  You will be feeding back in no time.
>>>>
>>>> If such minimal meas of noise making interest you, you may also be
>>>> interested in Larseneurs (http://www.larseneur.net/NewsENG.php).   
>>>> The
>>>> idea being that you simply use a computer and let the sound pass
>>>> directly from your microphone input straight to the output.  Your  
>>>> only
>>>> control is input volume.  Your sounds will greatly depend on the
>>>> ambient noise.
>>>>
>>>> Happy feedback!
>>>>
>>>> ./MiS
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 11:14 PM, Nic Freed <beatthefinalboss at gmail.com 
>>>> >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Hello :)
>>>>> I have become very interested in the works of Toshimaru Nakamura
>>>>> recently,
>>>>> with his self-named "No-Input Mixing Board", and I would like to  
>>>>> learn
>>>>> more
>>>>> about it. From what I understand, the output of the board is  
>>>>> connected
>>>>> to
>>>>> the input... but if so, where does the initial sound causing the
>>>>> feedback
>>>>> come from? I would like to try this myself, once I understand it  
>>>>> better,
>>>>> so
>>>>> I was also wondering about what I would need to purchase to create
>>>>> something
>>>>> with this method.
>>>>> I am 15 years old and without a job, so maybe a cheap mixer and
>>>>> something to
>>>>> create sound, like a function generator? I would probably try  
>>>>> and get it
>>>>> for
>>>>> my birthday, so it can't be too expensive :x
>>>>> Thank you very much, in advance!
>>>>> --Nic
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> microsound mailing list
>>>>> microsound at microsound.org
>>>>> http://or8.net/mailman/listinfo/microsound
>>>>>
>>>>>
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