I Hacked A Vintage Telephone Exchange To Be Musical Like Drums

[@Doctormix]

This is absolutely BRILLIANT! I thought the groove was AMAZING!!! ❤️🕺

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Woop! Nice bit of natural swing on em ha

[@MegaBadgeman]

It fitted exactly along side the 8 bit digital drums. Spot on in my opinion.

[@NateHorn]

* This beat approved by synth-based physicians

[@paulreifsteck5646]

This wasn’t a failure it turned out great really.

[@boyahg1305]

Agreed

[@duon44]

Yea this was amazing, even if it’s not exactly on a quantized beat or anything, when you repeat it it gets musical anyway (insert Adam Neely saying “repetition legitimizes”) That little jam with the drums added sounded amazing

[@lawrencegt2229]

My dad was the lead GPO/BT engineer at a local exchange and I used to accompany him some evenings when he had to back into the exchange to resolve a 'fault' with one of the switches. The rythm of the clacks brings back memories - just missing the heady odour of ozone emanatng from all those electrical discharges!

[@DJPhantomRage]

My grandfather was a tech for a step office in Texas for GTE. That sound brought back memories...

[@PeterLGଈ]

I was a telephone exchange tech during part of my time with the PMG/Telecom/Telstra here in Australia. The nostalgia that sound creates is real 😂

[@Hainbach]

Love love love! I got an relay controlled pulse train generator for communicating with electric power meters - made nice ratchets until I gave it too hot a pulse.

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Uh oh!!; The magic smoke!!!

[@GigaBrand]

Keep it in!

[@sikedipuuhja7376]

I love how you care for these things. These exchanges are engineering relics from an era when electronics were expensive rarities and mechanics just commonplace. We have to save them for the future generations

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

yeah definitely! when i found out about them 3 months ago i got obsessed, and found thiswhich when i got it was not working, and yeah quite proud i managed to get it up and running in a couple of months, its not quite done but its working enough so far :D

"You should never go into an experiment expecting the outcome to be good, you should go into the experiment with no expectations." That's sums up how science works nicely. Keep the experiments coming! And thanks for sharing.

[@L2.Lagrange]

Lmao this is amazing. I'm an EE student designing a small synth from the ground up, "The operational synthesizer," and your music and designs have been great inspiration lately! It should be done in a few months. I'm not musical at all, just trying to learn more about EE.

[@ff-qf1th]

hey. everyon'e musical. you just gotta find your style

[@L2.Lagrange]

@@ff-qf1th Thats fair bro I appreciate the advice! Lol more people were interested in my comment than I thought would be, so I'll make sure to pop back here from time to time to post links to the designs to keep myself honest. I've breadboarded most of the circuit components (summing amp/tone control/power amp/some oscillators/7660 chip/etc), I'm spending the next day or to learning how to design PCB's to make my life easier, and so the few final versions I know look professionally designed. I will be using Kicad to take my schematics from drawings to something easier to work with and share, and then to generate my gerber files for the PCB print.

[@techn1kal1ty]

As a cloud PBX (private branch exchange) engineer, I very much approve. Things have changed just a little bit over the last couple of decades, and it really sucks that a mechanical masterpiece like this becomes useless in today's industry. Thanks for not letting these go to waste, literally.

[@superotterboy7937]

Only scrubs have mechanical keyboards! True legends have Telephone exchanges, ooooh yeah! That sound is bloody beautiful! I love how your projects converge and feed into each other naturally, from teletubby controller to telephone exchange synth! In the words of Terry Tibbs, Beautiful! 👱👌

[@CausticCatastrophe]

Its so wild and cool sounding. Its kinda got the same vibe as when you are driving around and you start humming a song to your windshield wipers, turn signals and stuff you know what i mean?

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

Hahaha or the washing machine! I know what ya mean tho haha

[@javinshki17000]

3:39 "i havent gone COMPLETELY mad. maybe"

[@pallsmortion4750]

I've enjoyed this telephone exchange rabbit hole, I also think the end result from a industrial machine was pretty awesome, top job man

[@PopeCop]

I swear you make the most amazing stuff out of the most unexpected things, ACTUAL INDUSTRIAL MUSIC :D Sending good vibes from Canada.

[@hahaihaveahandlenow]

Industrial just isn't called industrial anymore!

[@BadGooseVJ]

You are seriously underestimating how cool that sounded. Can't wait to grab those samples!

[@23jackleeder]

Imagining the addition of syncopated Morse code being auto tapped on top of that funky exchange groove you've got going. Love it!

[@INADRM]

Huge smile on my face as soon as you triggered the beatstep! You're amazing man!

[@coordinatezero]

Another vote for that awesome groove!!! The sound of 1,000,000 industrial bands from the '80s crying themselves to death. ;-)

[@kirbydjentleman6010]

This is absolutely beautifull. Pink Floyd would have made a whole album with this machine allready!

[@Elektronijaenis]

Really cool Dr. Snuggles / Pink Floyd - Money vibe. It's a rythm monster! Definitely one of the good ideas!

[@ynnebbenny]

Why disappointed? That was a massive win on so many fronts. You are the ONE person on this planet to have that idea and you owned it for sure.

[@jochenstacker7448]

Don't be disappointed, this was AWESOME!! If you did nothing but phone exchange videos, I'd be in heaven. I am in love with your stuff, it's just awesome. It's like remixing my childhood memories of technology. This tech was so mysterious and shrouded in legend in the 70's and 80's and you're making it sing and dance! Absolutely marvelous.

[@AmstradExin]

I can understand your feelings towards this machine! As a kid, I found one of these in an abandoned factory! I always wanted to see it in action!

[@davidboudreau4054]

That was an awesome Techno percussion groove you made with it....I loved it!

[@classekaka]

I sit here with huge smile right now. You sir are no less than a genius!

[@lyndababy]

My Mum was a telephone operator in the village I grew up in. I would sometimes go with her to work and just hang out. This was back in the mid sixties, and the phone exchange was an older version of what you have. Floor to ceiling open towers of rotary selectors. The noise level when the exchange was busy and the operators were connecting lots of calls (all still down with the old plug and socket switchboard) was incredible. I was both fascinated and mildly terrified of the noisy mechanical monsters at the side of the room behind the switchboard. The smell of hot electrical components filled the room at the same time. Ah, the memories!

[@TofuRabbit]

What do you mean bad idea, this was fantastic!! Really love the sharp mechanical thumping the machine makes, it works so well with the drum machine!

[@dysamoria]

I really REALLY liked that rhythm a lot. I don't think it's a failure at all. It's just a limited use. This is actually one of the coolest "industrial" music efforts I've seen in a while.

[@chemenginecat3940]

I’ve been binge watching your videos and binge listening to your music, I can’t get enough! I really like this sound! I’d love to hear more of this (without breaking the telephone exchange!)

[@rburgener2]

I agree it was brilliant, you had a good groove going; just let the switches be themselves. And, I think you need better wire strippers.

[@LabRatWarfare]

👀 I know you said you were disappointed by this but oh man I'm losing my mind about it, absolutely insane man, this was freaking amazing!! I do agree, you would probably have to modify it in some way to get it to do exactly what you need. Would be incredible for Industrial too, omg!! You sir are a true mad scientist!!! 🤘👨‍🔬🐀

[@jeremysmith4620]

I want to try to mic all the different panels and run them through tons of different effects so very badly.

[@thespazdragon]

I think it was sounding great. Always loved these kind of industrial and mechanical sounds in music.

[@chupathingy5862]

I stop watching for a few weeks and you've built a whole phone company. Wonderful stuff, man, this planet needs more people like you. It's very kraftwerky. I'm expecting to hear "boing, boom tschat" at any moment.

[@richardjones2189]

Amazing! I don't think you need to be disappointed at all. Very well done and thanks for all the inspiration and laughs!

[@bacon.cheesecake]

The fast paced vibrating sounds gives this some extratone vibes, which I am all for.

[@modeavant]

If only Pink Floyd had this when recording Money; or, did they? LOL. Love your posts. Thanks from a cross the pond in San Francisco.

[@dykodesigns]

Now you mention it, it does sound a bit like the coin sequence in Money. Come to think of it, the Dark Side Of The Moon album is reaching it’s 50th birthday next year! It was such an innovative album, an early use of “sampling” using analogue tape machines.

[@murfphone914]

Yeh, first thing I thought was "Pink Floyd, Money?" :) The telephone exchange sounds really great, I have to say.

[@modeavant]

@@dykodesigns Yes. Have you viewed the documentary showing more edits of their techniques? Might be wrong; but, I think Rick Beato described how The Pink would also mic a speaker in a closet or above a 2 story stairwell for more ambience. Same with Queen and Led Zeppelin. We have it so easy... just add ambience to my vdrum and mix with free Bandcamp/Audacity. Don't laugh - I'm not an a pro audio engineer (or, even that great of a drummer). LOL. Plus, look at the capabilities of a smartphone app in comparison to the old school ginormous $5M studios of old (Jack White/Dave Grohl docs). I always love watching YT vids of 60s - 90s creativity while valuing innovative technology ppl use now. Cheers.

[@dykodesigns]

@@modeavant Yeah, I have seen a video featuring Alan Parsons a few years ago on the making of Dark Side Of The Moon. Absolutely fashinating how he recorded a clock shop and worked with tape loops. It was sampling before sampling was even a thing. Come to think of it, the Fairlight CMI was only introduced 8-9 years later. Nowerdays we have some much power in our mobile devices, I pretty mch create most of my tunes with Korg Gadget on my iPad. Imagine beeing a producer 30 years ago with an AKAI and and Atari ST, that was only the beginning. Computers have brought us a wealth of possibilities for music making. Also recording has become much more accessible with today's audio interfaces that work with everything, from phones to high end pc's and everything in between.

[@mgmcdb7606]

Looking forward to downloading the wavs from patreon. Thanks for the great work!

[@illustriouschin]

I'm so glad you tried this. It sounds great but it's fairly limited!

[@bricelory9534]

This is amazing.... really really good. I think this was quite a success!

[@davidrendle8408]

Absolutely amazing!!

[@ARTofTY-TV]

I consider the experiment a huge success. The groove you had sounded sick!!!

[@asn413]

I bet the band CLINIC would love to get at least some samples of this :D GREAT timbre! They have had good results with a phillips philicordia organ that has been completely rewired and experimented with. I wish i could send them or you one of my old m series hammonds to mess with. You can't get much better in terms of an analog tone generator.

[@johnpatton7533]

every video you release is awesome man. love the content. You make me want to break things and rebuild them into a drum machine somehow lol

[@TDOBrandano]

It would make a very good background video to another rhythm section. The tempo when you started the drum machine reminded me of the opening of Blue monday...

[@wellurban]

Similar drum machine: I think they used an Oberheim DMX, and this is a DX.

[@kombatDragon]

Not happy with the test results? MAH DUDE U ARE F*IN 💯 BRILLIANT! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@sumatoborukiSaru]

Before you cranked up the drum machine, the intro to Thomas Dolby's track 'Dissidents' kept repeating in my head! 🙃

[@BlueManIan]

Fun fact, Thomas Dolby reused an old lighting board to program drum sounds on tour!

[@TenderfootElectronics]

Pretty sweet! Maybe you could use it as a CV source. A telephone exchange-based chord gen or multi channel sequencer?

[@paarke]

I really liked it to be honest. I’m a musician and I liked the way all the rhythms of the exchange mixed in with the drums.

[@londonbridgebox]

My dream as a kid... Love your museum mate!

[@CrankyOldNerd]

I wish i could have shared this with my dad. he worked on the US version of those when I was a kid, and I think he'd have gotten a great kick out of this whether it worked or not :) Can you imagine sitting in a nearby room to that noise for a city all day long? he did. I used to think they were typewriters until he showed me it all.

[@redsquirrelftw]

That's pretty awesome. I'm posting from where and sitting where the stepper exchange used to be way back in the day. We're on a DMS100 now which is in another room. It's cool to see some of this old school stuff still in a semi state of operation today.

[@Colin_Ames]

Absolutely brilliant. I guarantee Mr. Strowger didn’t foresee this!

[@sparkyprojects]

Sam vs the Floppotron :D strowgertron ? But yrah, you're not pulling current through the contacts (apart from the relays) and the system is robust (rhing how many calls go through them in their life), but maybe your idea to limit musical use is best. Of cousre if someone donates spare units it may be an ida in the future.

[@Probbie]

Love it mate. I used to work on those things at our local exchange..

[@SpectrumDIY]

That is one heck of a nice drum set :3 cheers for the share!

[@blueskyredkite]

It wasn't a *bad* idea.... but neither was it a good idea. It *was* an idea... and there's definitely potential for further musical experimentation. Please don't stop.

[@Joeysun]

Experiments should always be of the experimenty sorts. At the end it got a bit overwhelming, but holy shit, that first groove with the drum machine was pure fire.

[@MrJoeVex]

Wow, this is some brilliant work and tunes! Felt like you were bringing the age of New Order back there :>

[@scottwilkins]

GAUD the memories. I got to visit one of the massive buildings that housed these devices in the 1970's That memory is etched in my mind, and this video was ausome!

[@tcpnetworks]

@5:45 Why do I want to break out into song - "Money!!... Get away. you get a good job with good pay and you're okay"...

[@Gymmot87]

So great thing you make!

[@jamiemoen7307]

I was surprised you were disappointed by the result. I thought it sounded amazing!

[@hudu]

I think with a little bit of filter/EQ/panning that could be a really cool rhythmic bed.

[@pascalmandosse5211]

Love your idea, you’re a genius 😻

[@Sine1040]

One of the last exchange projects? Aaah! I Really enjoyed these :)

[@CzechAvailabilitie]

That sounds amazing. More industrial than any industrial music I've heard.

[@hahaihaveahandlenow]

Try Einstürzende Neubauten. You might want to copy paste the name though.

[@Luchoedge]

I absolutely live for this sort of "real sound" IDM like stuff. Ever heard of Clark? It's real gritty clicky goodness

[@GEOSynths]

Wow...You're a Genius!

[@Maxxarcade]

Man that was cool. Felt good to smile at something today!

[@solhsa]

Thanks, I've really missed the sound of a telephone exhange. Used to hear it as a kid when going to my dad's workplace.

[@ff-qf1th]

whaaat I thought it sounded cool! maybe it's not the kind of beat you're looking to make, but it's definitely got it's use case

[@keithsquawk]

Phone dial locks? I used to show people how a bent paper clip and half a second was all that was needed. Or just unscrew the plastic plate and pop on one without a lock. Or using relay sets to trigger Xmas lights on a 'tree' made of different coloured phone wall brackets.

[@euglossine_tristanwhitehill]

That was legit amazing sounding

[@molekulaTV]

It was actually pretty cool. Just carry on with techmoan's old tape with the lady. Or check this: record a saw wave on the tape. Then set the motor speed with your telephone relays.

[@technation9]

Always enjoy your work man 👊

[@antivanti]

I've been into a couple of small phone exchanges as a kid following along with my dad. He worked on planning new phone lines (where to put the poles and lines etc) and the small stations had toilets and a small break room. Imagine a small house filled with thousands of these switches. Even the small ones were pretty damn noisy. I think I saw the main one in town once but I think it was about to be torn out because it had been replaced by a couple of server racks with Ericsson AXE switches. I remember it being weird going into those stations afterwards and the building would be completely empty except for a half empty server rack in the corner 😅

[@ugzz]

No i'm sorry this was DOPE AS HELL! 10/10 will listen again

[@graxjpg]

My brainwaves enjoy concatenating with these clickety clacks

[@MegaBadgeman]

Try listening to Dazzle Ships by OMD.

[@graxjpg]

@@MegaBadgeman holy shit dude that was so annoying! No offense but not my style!

[@keithyinger3326]

I can only imagine the sound from a whole wall/room full of racks of those things in telephone exchanges.

[@stereociliamusic]

at 4:01 sounds like Atlas by Battles

[@PS-xu7wj]

I'd watch this man turn a bicycle into an instrument. Oh wait, he did that too.

[@ChongMcBong]

this is the kind of mechanical madness we are here for :) nice work

[@MRblazedBEANS]

Totally reminds me of pink floyda money using the cash machine as a musical instrument, pretty cool stuff dude!

[@Scyber_Official]

Taking 'industrial' music to a new level!

[@NicleT]

In Verchères, the village I came from, we played a lot as kids to call one another with tapping our tel#. Don’t forget: 0 is 10 taps ;)

[@thedogwooddandy]

This is one of your finest moments.

[@MikeStavola]

That legit sounds great.

[@Beeks81]

Oh, hell yeah, this needs some synth on the top and i'm into it. I hope you get a chance to play with it more before it becomes part of the museum. Don't worry about confining yourself to using *only* the exchange, use it just as an instrument! But don't tour with it, you'd never get it out of the van.

[@Metamerist625]

Maybe you could build an electro acoustic drum kit from scratch using relays to hit percussive elements? Similar to the red bull can drum machine of old.

[@llarsen1952]

You should listen to Leroy Anderson's Typewriter, Syncopated Clock and even Sandpaper.

[@fluffycritter]

These are some pretty awesome beats. Definitely going to check out the sample pack.

[@kerzwhile]

Quite industrial! Love it!

[@bestintentions6089]

This is bloody bonkers as in brilliant, grats on not being a numpty 🚀

[@ednasdiscomachine6049]

Excellent! Sam, search for a guy called Pixel H8 on YT and listen to his album Obsolete? It's all samples of machines from The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, including Colossus [made using old GPO parts!]. It's an old album now, but I know it took him ages to do...

[@d3rAnDi]

No way... this crazy guy makes even rhytms with things like this. :D

[@johnkaplun9619]

This guy could spend all this money on normal instruments and he just refuses. Love it

[@marknesselhaus4376]

Fantastic idea! I thought Stepper Motors sounded cool but those relays are a step up for sure :-D

[@slesher84]

you make history dude!

[@evoTimer]

Same concept as to the floppy drives stepping motor sounds isn’t it? I like it

[@hodag]

I don't know what you're talking about, that sounded fantastic.