The Cracklebox was a small, handheld device designed as a way to explore new sonic territories. It was one of the first electronic musical instruments to use circuit bending techniques in the creation of electronic music. It allowed musicians to manipulate and control electronic circuits in real-time, creating a wide range of unique and experimental sounds.
Waiswisz used a circuit from a toy piano as the basis for the instrument, then added a series of touch-sensitive pads that were connected to the circuit. When a player touched one of the pads, the circuit would be completed, producing a crackling sound.
The Cracklebox was probably the first commercially available portable self-powered alternative 'keyboard' analog electronic instrument with inbuilt loudspeaker. In the 1970s about 4000 Crackleboxes were built and sold by STEIM in Amsterdam.
Nowadays many people refer to the The Cracklebox as the archetype of 'glitch' or 'circuit bending'.
This Eurorack recreation includes a 9v battery, swappable through the frontpanel; this allows to isolate the current flowing through the user's fingers from the Eurorack frame PSU, protecting the user from undesired electrical shocks. The internal speaker is also removed and a transformer used instead to isolate the output signal.
The output generated can be used as an audio, as a gate or a cv signal. When using it as a cv source, due to the specific qualities of the signal, users may want to send it through other modules as slews, sample and holds, quantizers to control it's peculiar cv output.
Controls:
- On/Off switch to turn off the 9v battery (remember to turn it off when you turn off your Eurorack system).
- A Power Starve knob reduces the 9v voltage feeding the circuitry changing its overall timbre/pitch
- An Output Gain knob to control the output volume.
- A Boost switch to add more presence to the signal.
Tech Specs:
- 12HP
- 5.5 cm deep
- 20mA +12V
- 20mA -12V
- 9v battery required
Video: https://youtu.be/qjkLg6B_9nQ
Product Specs
- Item Number: 28305
- Make: ADDAC System
- Model: ADDAC708
- Condition: Brand New
- Finish: Black
- Categories: keyboards-and-synths ⇒ eurorack
- Function: Controller Envelope Generator Noise
- Made In: Portugal
- MPN: ADDAC708
- Modular Grid: Eurorack ⓘ ＋
- Dimensions*: 12 HP 55 mm deep
- Power*: 20 mA +12V 20 mA -12V ? mA 5V
* User contributed details