The Sound Of Atoms: Nuclear Instrumentation Modular

In which I use a modular designed for nuclear science for music, unleashing The Beast Of Princeton in a vortex of a noise and fantastic distortions. Thanks to everyone who bought my music and supported me on Patreon in the past weeks, it was incredibly helpful!
Soundpacks, music and a heartfelt Thank You: / hainbach
Music: hainbach.bandc...
Questions and answers: / hainbach
Chat and Post-Show hangout: / discord
B-roll footage and guest voice: Nicolas Käppner

[@Hainbach]

Resources: Mika McKinnon: twitter.com/mikamckinnon AdvancedLightSource: als.lbl.gov/ Wired article mentioning the Cyclotron: www.wired.com/2009/07/bevatron/ Images source U.S. National Archive: nara.getarchive.net/media/184-inch-cyclotron-photo-taken-12191946-184-602-principal-investigatorproject-176ddc

[@MahlenMorris]

My father worked for 34 years at this federal laboratory in Berkeley, CA (though not as a physicist; he was a minor administrator). A sound nerd himself, he would have been very surprised and impressed that someone was making music with this equipment. Or perhaps he just would have been impressed that anyone would listen to it!

[@AlexBallMusic]

3:40 A German doing an impression of a German speaking English. That's meta. Thoroughly entertaining video as ever.

[@Praemolar15]

I never thought that the accent could be increased

[@alderankorym]

@@Praemolar15 Oh you can amplify that even more and you get "stereotypical nazi accent".

[@Praemolar15]

@@alderankorym thought the core of nazi acccent is austrian dialect

[@alderankorym]

@@Praemolar15 Pretty much yeah, or Rheinländisch (which isn't surprising conscidering that it's the closest to French border).

[@DRRNNDGL]

Please make story time with Hainbach a regular feature 😂

[@liammadgwick282]

Would watch every night before bed/10

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

its exploding! damn so cooool sheeesh, i remember you saying you ran out of room and you aint getting anymore hahaha

[@Hainbach]

The things we tell ourselves to stay sane.

[@daccrowell4776]

We all know that when an electronic musician says that, the resolve on not getting anything else has a _very short_ shelf-life! ;)

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

It’s a really good article! I like it. The fact that the original purpose came out of a pretty dark chapter of history that no one is isolated from not today, and so now these artifacts are reaching us in a form now resurrected as audio, and the author wisely labeled this effort of yours as “up-cycling”! THANK YOU, Hainbach, for giving these arrays of large silver/mica capacitors and gold plating new life!! ALCHEMY it is, and likely indisputably miraculous.

[@MrBananovitch]

these test equipment techno jams are simply superb, absolutely love the dark evil-ish vibe

[@nephildevil]

This must be the only channel that caught this modular at Superbooth 🎛🎶🤣 can't believe the others all missed it

[@mima85]

This could be the perfect background music for a documentary about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Neat!

[@harmonicres]

Mr. Hainbach you never cease to amaze me what you are able to squeeze out of archaic electronic fossils! One of the best music centric channels on YT. Thank you for your efforts and endless curiosity!

[@Potatomonger22360]

I thought this was a neat turn of events, I just started an undergraduate research experience where the Lock In Amplifier is the central component of our whole set up. It's a beautiful device and it has been a real pleasure to get to know! The precision at which it can lock in on a frequency in a sea of noise is awing. Thanks for the video! I see the LIA in a new light now... or noise... or frequency, anyway, one of those was probably close to the idiom I was aiming for maybe i'll need a LIA to sleuth out the right term for the idiom...

[@nedskeezler]

Hell yesssss!! If it is broken ... whatever you do don’t fix it!!

[@Rustik1722]

You inspire so much creativity. You make me realize how much each of need to cultivate a sound that is not only unique, but representative of our sonic soul in any way possible. Thanks

[@Mugicha808]

Sounds like the soundtrack to the world exploding. Ominous and very cool piece of gear!

[@anniesthesia]

This dark techno sound is so different from your normal stuff, but I love it.

[@anniesthesia]

Ok, you got another Patreon because you made a sound pack on this one.

[@NicStage]

Nice work, as always. Good job with the camera work and voice acting by your nephew as well. I think this is a the coolest sounding of your test equipment so far.

[@therealjohnpitt]

Amazing to see that kind of nuclear equipment turned into an instrument

[@spurioustransients]

Thank you, Hainbach. Fascinating! Really liked the piece you played at the end.

[@bigmistqke]

This channel s such a treasure

[@baleinerenard7629]

Very interesting, those vintage modules look so cool! And the music coming out of it is really nice! Great job :)

[@daccrowell4776]

Dammit, Hainbach..._I_ was looking at that! ;) Ah, well...there's loads more where that came from. Yeah, Princeton Applied Research stuff rocks...eventually, they got absorbed by EG&G but are still going strong as part of another firm, Ametek. I love my PAR CR-4 preamp; when overloaded and the filtering is set just right, it creates the most lovely psychedelic fuzztone with all of the nifty germanium (I presume) transistors in it. It was (and still is, I presume) also slightly radioactive when I got it, which I consider another big plus!

[@Hainbach]

I looked for weeks at that BIN and that lock-in. The shipping cost makes everything so prohibitive. But then my PAR JB-4 died so I had to find replacement.

[@kabood777]

thank you, thank you Hainbach, beautiful as always.

[@gregaluise5727]

Wicked phasing (or at least it sounded that way) around 15:32! Love it!

[@universalpunk]

The whole video was great, but the storytelling bit was fantastic. Would watch a channel of those alone honestly.

[@nunofernandes4501]

Groovy tune in the end. Another win, you the man!

[@DeBoswachter]

10+ quality content! Thank you very much! And I really think re-capping is not a bad idea for almost all older equipment, its very importand to keep the sound and safety standards high!

[@thelaboratoryofspacerecord5239]

That was great. It sounded like a bit crusher to me, but of course I can hear the similarity to a ring modulator when you pointed it out.

[@markanquoe2612]

Hainbach! This is my favorite of your experiments so far. Absolutely beautiful sounds from this one!

[@MouldySoul]

You've become one of my favourite artists and I'm always excited to find a new video from you! Excellent work as always.

[@deejaydubla]

For that frequency knob set screw: you might try some Loctite Threadlocker (blue) to keep the screw from backing out. There's Blue 242 and Red 271, with red being the more permanent bond.

[@mrotaveria]

Great video as usual. Weird, inspiring and strangely funny. Oh! and, btw, nice comic! wondering why it doesn't have a cartoon adaptation.

[@CashMattock]

Wow! Super impressed!! The performance and sounds are amazing. I’m very happy that you’ve discovered NIM’s. I feel that your the best person to introduce these devices into the music world. Great job! I do have to note that you probably have the holy grail of NIM plugins right there and I too I surf the same mystery that you suffer from with your NIM’s. I think that with the size an versatility there’s a loss in longevity. I also can help but think that some of this stuff could potentially be radioactive. They’re still made well but not like a standalone unit.

[@driftliketokyo34ftw35]

It’s stuff like this that makes me want to invent a new format of modular synthesis that mimics looking feel of test equipment but is designed for the purpose of making music and works with eurorack levels.

[@dem4xed]

11:25. Exactly what you hear in German village techno partys

[@V3xxe]

Can we have a separate series of Hainbach reading educational comics about test equipment to us? EDIT: Also, the tones this can produce are beefy as anything. Oh I wanna use the sound packs to go with some industrial metal I'm making haha

[@djhaloeight]

10:49 uuuuffffffffffff that sounds great i love that evil chugging

[@fwpiano6206]

Amazing nasty noises made highly enticing. The pieces of gear they come from are charming as well. A unique way to produce unthinkable, infectious sounds!

[@MrSharps02]

that lock-in amplifier makes some sounds that are, to my ears, very reminiscent of bytebeat music, though it's much more pleasingly fuzzy sounding around the edges. edit: you could probably patch up something similar in eurorack world using a phase lock loop module and some extra gubbins

[@vaspers]

I just love the amazing designs of the knobs and meters and wheels. I try to make my normal synthesizers sound like this test gear. You are right: "It sounds like electricity." Perhaps you might spend more time explaining how to protect your other gear, and your life, from these high voltage devices. I will start my own collection soon. The new versions of these devices are only about $100 to $300 in many cases. Thanks for doing these videos. Love your test gear music!

[@faxmachine1162]

I wish I knew what was happening, but all I know is I NEED THIS. The weird, complex sounds that came from it were amazing.

[@biggie_tea]

I'm a first years physics student and a few days ago i joined some friends for their lab session detecting muons where they were using some NIM gear. I remember wondering whether it could be used in making noise. Perfect timing!

[@PUSH4LIFE]

Love it!

[@perryincorporated2268]

Man that is some beefy sound. I love it. Also you earned yourself a sub off just this vid.

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

At ~13 minutes! Suddenly there’s a sort of odd looking signal or clock generator in the picture, and I can’t help but feel that this is either a Godzilla film, or maybe Planet of the Apes! These experiments you’re doing are really interesting. It’s a sort of ‘dawn of electronic music revisited and resurrected’, only produced from the perspective of a modern day enthusiast! This is a great demonstration of the original electronic instruments, and some story telling to convey the importance of these instruments, not only musically but also in education and training. Thanks a lot for putting in some serious study in on this stuff!

[@FlockOfHawks]

Never a dull moment with this Channel , man i love it !!!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

The jam at the end is bad ass!

[@Racosz]

Your videos are very entertaining and inspiring at the same time.

[@ervinpoljak8332]

I really enjoyed this one!!!!! Thx for sharing this!!!!

[@driftliketokyo34ftw35]

This thing sounds so good it makes me hungry, which is rather unusual and slightly perplexing.

[@thom-alphaxiii-5106]

really really amazing how much this machine sounds great and musical....my DFAM was griity but it seems shy now compared to this nuclear industrial beauty

[@patricketp8356]

8:30 If you want to tighten this tiny screw, use a very small drop of Loctite 243 (thread tightener - Schraubensicherung, blaue Flüssigkeit)

[@quicklistmovies]

You're the man! This sounds amazing!

[@rewire4247]

A Sample Library of this would be killer!

[@dessiplaer]

Bananas are favorite as well, because they have appeal. 8-) Very cool video. This recent acquisition is really interesting.

[@dksmusicbox1371]

Hainbach January 2019: "There are physical limits to how big the setup can get." Hainbach May 2019: "Hold my beer"

[@Hainbach]

That young man had no idea 😄

[@RainOfAshes]

At 11:10 reminds me of Haus Arafna. Very raw.

[@caleyfae1361]

There's a certain excitement to how you say bombs that frightens me

[@SuperPedalhead]

What a wonderful bed time story! Thanks uncle Hainbach!

[@waveshaper]

Good to see you are feeling the lock-in amplifier love i told you about.

[@waltmodul7948]

LOCTIDE ist so was wie ein Special Schrauben bedestigungs Kleber . Gibt es für unterschiedliche Schrauben stärken! damit sie auch mal wieder auf gehen

[@atmeltronic128]

I love it! great video!

[@rameka78]

Oddly really calming sounds

[@dyllanjoyce5284]

Hi Hainbach, as always your videos are inspiring and unbelievably resourceful! I know you have touched on the EG&G 124A lock in Amplifier. I am wondering if you might consider doing a more in depth tutorial on the musicality that can be achieved with the separate sections of the interface. Thank again Man! Hope your well in the world.

[@Hainbach]

I have a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oamsp6ehpt2Lfdk

[@SHVNE]

@7:06 That is is crazy cool.

[@EleniEliades_]

Love all the Lo-Fi music and soundscapes you were able to create out of nuclear Era USA testing equipment ! 🔥💥🐾💡🐒🌟✔

[@TheOneandOnlyAP]

11:07 Real dope beat

[@TheStuF]

Brilliant video.

[@justinmoore9282]

You should get a Mad Scientist Musician of the Year Award! (And there should be a Mad Scientist Musician Award!)

[@petdoe8938]

I need one ,you my friend are amazing thank you , blessed be,

[@aveoxus1139]

Mandolin playing was cool at the end, in my head I imagined a bass guitar riff that fit well with it

[@LavendelBrei]

That instrument is actually a Kantele, the national instrument of Finland.

[@HBCrigs]

6:20 I can hear those clicks at the base of my skull

[@noisejockey]

See, that's why I like you, man...I'm the same: "New gear? Test it with the 606!" This stuff SOUNDS amazing, and the background info is supremely interesting.

[@Hainbach]

606 - gold standard

[@ChrisTheGregory]

So essentially, a lock-in amplifier is what would happen if Aphex Twin sampled a Vinesauce videogame corruption stream to remaster Gil Mellé's score to The Andromeda Strain.

[@AnimalFactoryAmplification]

I wonder when Trent Reznor is going to show up at your doorstep asking if he can use your studio for 2 weeks.

[@mubakka2642]

Hi Hainbach... For quite some time i have had a Particle size micrometer and analyser type 526 from Fleming Instruments. i had the idea to turn it into a sequencer. But after following ur test equip vids i feel like it could be a musical instrument on its own. it seems to have all the right qualities. Do u have any advice or any knowledge on the piece. i cant send u some pics or more information if ur not familiar with it. Kepp up the great work ur the most original music content creator i have seen.. love it..

[@Hainbach]

Oh please post pics to reddit.com/r/Hainbach! I love to guess and help what you can do!

[@joequaid214]

Probably late to this but I'm reading that the zero suppression can allow you to listen to just the harmonics (especially the 3rd harmonic, as that was important for research) by suppressing the base tone. Could be used for FM synthesis maybe?

[@lenekogilles7254]

Hello Very interesting, and you drive me to many rememberings ! When i was at the university, it was there a little studio of electronic music. We began with a pulsed triggered frequency generator (the 802 generator), previously used by the french army for testings of radars. Few time later, one of us has built a little synthesizer,. An odd machine. It may be said that it was not exactly a Voltage Controlled Synthesizer, but a bit a "Devil Controlled Synthesizer". This machine was more... psychotic than an EMS Synthi. Anyway, the accidental behavior produced some interesting (and often scary) sounds. It was a long time ago, but, sometime i think that i may be interesting to find this machine again. If you want to send to me an email address at answer of this message, it would be possible to send to you some examples of my use of this synthesizer. What you play with your equipments sound like the music of Mika Vanio (Pan Sonic, from Finland) or the famous spanish band Esplendor Geometrico. I like ! Do you know that some years ago, a composer created a piece from sounds and electrical phenomenons produced by the LHC, the Large Hadrons Collider, at the CERN, in Geneva ? I may gonna search something about this creation. It's more fun with voltages than with bits ! NEKO

[@jeffreycollins7297]

Anyone else suddenly feel like that 2020 Lock In Amplifier was the key to a lot of Panasonic, and NIN tracks.

[@sonikboom007]

Mika and iilpo approved

[@joshuacarro]

Super cool HAINBACH!

[@edgeeffect]

Your reinterpretation of the manual was superb... maybe if times get hard you could moonlight as a voice actor. ;) I'll come and be your test-equipment technician if you like... I won't have much idea what I'm doing... but it'll be fun. I loved "the sound of atoms"! ... and the acoustic bit at the end.... keep up The Great Work.

[@Rivenworld]

Oh Man! I Just love this stuff! By the way, what Mic is that in the video?

[@bradburnwilliams-synthstronaut]

Watching these wonderful test equipment pieces always leads me to wondering if the engineers that designed them are still alive, and what they might think about them being used for music. 😆

[@forevershampoo]

You find the craziest things man

[@bbk012345]

I'm pretty sure there's at least (3) Nine Inch Nails albums hidden inside

[@forestine_]

Intolerable Right?!

[@jamesbennettmusic]

Regarding the knob that keeps coming loose...you could maybe try putting a bit of heatshrink tubing on the shaft!

[@bobsondugnutt9466]

Like a condom?

[@jamesbennettmusic]

@@bobsondugnutt9466 I'd be worried if your condoms are open at the end. Or if you're using heatshrink tubing and waving a lighter under your old boy...

[@crysstoll1191]

Very cool.

[@tylerkemp5136]

The best content on youtube by far

[@Jefflantern483]

The tune towards the end of your video is mega chill! Love to know what the song name? Love the tune! 🙂🙂👍👍🔊🔊

[@Hainbach]

Thank you! I never released that officially if you mean the acoustic piece. If you mean the test equipment piece that is here: www.patreon.com/posts/nuclear-family-27022670

[@Jefflantern483]

@@Hainbach you are welcome! Yup the test equipment tune that I like! 🙂🙂

[@MaxKoschuh]

excellent. as always.

[@SpazeOfficial]

where can you buy one? its the perfect aesthetic

[@SpazeOfficial]

is it ok to sample this video tho? (with credit)

[@SpazeOfficial]

for a song

[@SpazeOfficial]

unoffical youtube exclusive

[@SpazeOfficial]

im serious about purchasing one tho

[@amoeba23]

Well that will be SHXCXCHHCXSH out of a job now...

[@d3a1990]

Brilliant!

[@jjeshop]

that's badass

[@innnlove]

something very interesting going on in the background at 6:50

[@FSK1138]

4:30 frequency tracking band pass filter ... yes

[@VCVRackIdeas]

HAUS ARAFNA sounds!

[@SendyTheEndless]

That was some tasty pulsegrinden!

[@bazedjunkiii_tv]

that's some funky shit there. nice.

[@finnurjuliusson9635]

It sounds alot like a pll or a phase locked loop. You can try that out for free in VCV Rack.

[@halkyxn]

gnarly, mate

[@Digithalis]

awesome system for music :-)