As a developer, every new project starts with these two words, so this one does too.
This is the first post on Static90, my workshop diary about building music hardware, making ambient music, hacking vintage audio gear and other shenanigans which might pop up on the way. If you want to know who is writing this, the about page has the longer story. This post is about what comes next.
Why I'm writing this down
For years I've been tinkering with electronics, mostly on my own and without showing anyone. That's what I want to change. Writing about it in the open means sharing what works, what breaks and what I learn along the way, and hopefully meeting people who are into the same things.
What's on the bench
Three things will keep me busy for a while, and you'll read about all of them here. Knowing me, a few side quests will pop up along the way.
A loop station for ambient music
This is my way into building music devices of my own, and I'm right at the start. There are plenty of challenges ahead: how to assemble everything, how to write the firmware, and whether I need to revive my barely existing C++ skills.
My first album
This one started at EMF, the Electromagnetic Field festival in the UK. I had a cassette tape recorder with me and recorded the atmosphere from the festival onto tape and tape loops. Then a nice person showed up with a shiny red book, and suddenly I was part of EMF Oath Club, writing down my pledge: to make a whole album based on those recordings, release it on tape and bring it to the next EMF in 2028.
A cassette clock radio
I got a cassette clock radio on eBay for a bargain; it's the opened-up one in the photo above. The plan: take out the radio and the alarm parts, and replace the tuning dial, the window that shows the FM frequencies, with an LED matrix that visualizes whatever is playing on the tape.
What to expect
Posts will fall into three categories: Project for builds, repairs and experiments, with photos and code. Music for releases and the stories behind them. Notes for everything in between, like this post.
Want to follow along? Follow me on Mastodon for updates and new posts, add the RSS feed to your feed reader, or subscribe to the newsletter for an occasional letter from the workbench.
Say hello
If you're into tape, synths or soldering, I'd love to hear from you. The best place to find me is Mastodon: @static90@social.tchncs.de. Or .