Test Equipment Music FAQ and Guide

In which I answer your questions on test equipment music, so you can dive into this mad world with less worry. Also, piano.
Waveform Research Center: / 1406521449484716
Soundpacks, music and a heartfelt Thank You: / hainbach
Music: hainbach.bandcamp.com
Questions and answers: / hainbach
Chat and Post-Show hangout: / discord

[@Space_pulse]

This is hands down one of the best Hainbach videos. He is so in his element here, and so sweet and sincere about his love of test equipment, of making music.

[@naolmstead]

I work with some old test equipment for my job and actually recognize some of these as things we have just sitting on the shelf for the day it might be needed.

[@chrisbliss7130]

this combination of piano and test equipment sounds so cozy and warm! loving the little melody 🎹❤️

[@laev2516]

really reminds me of Jon Hopkins

[@LucianoBSQ]

I really need a video of the Telegraph message generator. I think is the prettiest one.

[@JesseSep.]

That nick cameo killed me

[@tryasavitsa5754]

Hainbach: Having expensive and rare music gear. My bank account: $-999

[@astrologia.tradicional]

Thank you for this video. Since I was 15 years old, when listened to Andrej Dobrowolski for the first time, I was wandering about how to do this.

[@JC-bf9zm]

It's been said already but that piece of music at the end is lovely, indeed.

[@Hainbach]

It's now on my Patreon and I think I will put it on an album early next year.

[@LittleZdy]

One of my favourite Hainbach vids, the ending music is just fabulous.

[@aeonhorizonmusic8130]

Love your enthusiasm for this awesome equipment!

[@JimBReay]

Such a great overview. Also, I always love a Nick Batt shoutout.

[@pbartmess]

Beautiful piece at the end. All the info about test equipment was fascinating too of course! Thanks for sharing your in-depth knowledge.

[@edgeeffect]

That piano and test equipment "concerto" at the beginning is fabulous. I liked that manual-triggering demo piece too. You talking about the old old days of electronic music and your friend who found 10 function generators reminds me of a machine they had at The BBC Radiophonic Workshop that was just 12 function generators connected to a one-octave keyboard... a very simplistic and primitive instrument but it must have been such fun to play (although quite a long process to tune it).

[@DanieleGiannattasio]

Amazing!! The variable filter 315A sounds so smooth!

[@Ecmusicproductionschannel]

Thanks, love the filters especially!

[@peterb7435]

Wow. Lots of info/secrets!! Love it. Another amazing video. Thanks hainbach

[@YungCortex]

woah that piano with the synths is wild

[@anthonybc]

Thanks for sharing what to look for when buying test equipment. Some of those tubes add so much richness that I couldn’t even imagine recreating it digitally.

[@photoexpert3771]

Thank you HainWizard. I am still trying to get my head around Aalto but still find your work and enthusiasm inspiring and keeps me on my life long learning road. Respect from Pembrokeshire, Wales.

[@perebdrup2842]

I really look forward to your test equipment release!

[@Dr_Ohm]

Really enjoyed the music at 19:40 !

[@josiahblanton8291]

the ending score is a masterpiece! Thank you so much for the music you add to world Hainbach 🙏🏻

[@josiahblanton8291]

Also has that ending score been recorded and up anywhere?

[@joegigs4999]

Thank you for all your wisdom and insight

[@afreezaphorogiancossack2194]

Fabulous video, I've not seen this kind of info presented so well before. I'm actually joining Reddit for the first time so I can talk with you and others about this. I have questions and I'll try to put them there, assuming Reddit ever lets me register. ED: And a heartfelt thank you to you too!

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thanks so much for this. It's helped me figure out where to start!

[@drew3906]

I haven't been this excited for a long time. Can't wait to (hopefully) make EMS style music!

[@markoTardito-BePartOfMyWorld]

you make me addict to test equipment!!!

[@gortnewton4765]

Very informative. Loved it.

[@MrBananovitch]

You can apply the "Will it music?" approach to any electronic device device you encounter, not only lab equipment, trust me on that :) Thanks for the amazing inspiration

[@TheStuF]

You can actually apply the approach you speak of to any object/thing/device, electronic or not. Trust ME :) Example: take the shelf out of your oven (a "rack" type), tie two bits of string to it and shove the string in your ears (not too far hehe) with your fingers holding a seal. Tap the bars of the rack (either by swinging it to hit things or asking a friend). Enjoy.

[@kabood777]

thank you so much for sharing the knowledge so generously sir :)

[@tonytooke76]

Wonderful and inspiring as always with your videos. Puts me in mind of the bbc radiophonic workshop who would make the most beautiful music out of the most intimidating lab equipment. Well done for taming these beasts ;)

[@wakkowarner8810]

Oscilloscopes look so cool for visualizing music.

[@jor9370]

Really lovely video.

[@tempustry]

Thanks for sharing 👍 great stuff 👍

[@alphanumeric1529]

Sorry for the trifecta post, but I had to hit comment again (you're rocking my world right now) that Krohn-Hite filter sounds AMAZING.

[@Hainbach]

It's the best. People use this for mastering, just letting stuff pas through.

[@dr.feelicks2051]

Flaming test equipment and piano: Hainbach does Chariots of fire

[@BrunoWiebelt]

schöner überblick

[@oneloveproduction7107]

Keep up the good work!

[@waltmodul7948]

I saw a video where Oskar Sala played the Trautonium with a Test equipment Oszillator

[@karlramberg]

Test equipment come for a variety of frequency domains. It can be hard to make music with products made for products made for really high frequency.

[@elektroarkivet]

Hainbach, your sound art is a true inspiration to me, in particulary what you do with vintage test equipment!

[@hullinstruments]

I would love to hear about your repair procedures, and any diagnosing and circuit stuff you do with your test equipment. I’m not into synth or test equipment music especially… But I do guitar and music professionally full-time… And I also love test gear and troubleshooting electronics. Would love a video of some of your troubleshooting adventures and test gear used for testing! Thanks for your great content!

[@Hainbach]

Oh I don't know anything about that beyond very basic stuff. I need a tech asap, talking to someone soon.

[@jasoncaldwell0613]

Hey shout out from Cambridge Massachusetts!!

[@thelaboratoryofspacerecord5239]

very informative

[@samanthajarosek9756]

You do some of the coolest stuff! Vacuum tubes rule! (Or should I call them Electron Valves?)

[@Eidraify]

favorite

[@FieldMarshalFeels]

Get a URM-25D signal generator. They have that a really cool 1950's look to them and are a beast of a device.

[@apparently_sonam]

your blink game is strong!!

[@Peter7966]

Man, you sure have a lot of cool stuff to play with. I don't think I'd ever leave my house if I had a studio loaded with such an eclectic and somewhat eccentric mix of electronic devices capable of translating voltage into sound. It must be a challenge to orchestrate your variety of test equipment into a composition. There's so many variables. I'd be overwhelmed... hence I'd be forever tinkering, looking for perfect needle in the electronic haystack.

[@Hainbach]

Deadlines work well for me 😃

[@Peter7966]

@@Hainbach True... That's the way most things get done. The band I'm in would never gig if we did't have a gig scheduled. We'd be too busy screwing around, adjusting the sound, jamming and getting lost in the endless possibilities of a song or composition.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

@@Hainbach Analogue audio step sequencers were even used in space probes and satellites. TV docu "Was sucht der Mensch im Weltraum" (ep7,1968) kzbin.infoUgkxZYFEJdIoGwsmpXFEX05zZgN02uds6BIh

[@daviddalby6217]

Hello Hainbach! You can also get some good stuff by being the manager of an Audiology department in an old building that hasn't been cleaned out in years ;-) (Say, 2 Revox B-77s, 3 Function Generators, a Mixer, a DAT machine, some cassette machines, weird test tapes and an oscilloscope, for example...) Do you use the oscilloscope for in music to process sound? Or is it just aesthetically pleasing? I also have a High Resolution Counter I'm not sure what to do with! My previous physics degree experience mean I've worked out how to use the function & pulse generators to decent effect, especially run through my pedalboard, but I can;t figure out how to do something with the oscilloscope other than lissajous figures!

[@flourfree2K]

Hainbach is gorgeous.

[@MagickFlavour]

Dude I’d love to get a sample pack of these, they sound beautiful.

[@Hainbach]

Lots of packs on my Patreon.😃

[@orhanylmaz8145]

Well i have a Tech Signal Genarator 20D.. i plan to use its AF Out as input to the computer's Line-In, then on computer, using a DAW, modulate the signal... not the fully analog way.. but still the incoming signal will be fully analog... not tested it yet.. hope to do so soon, in these days of coronavirus lockdowns..

[@alphanumeric1529]

Come on man, a plugin line demands to be released. I want a signal generator with a knob larger than my uhd screen!

[@alphanumeric1529]

@@MatthewHyatt Great binds.

[@SlightlyNasty]

I have an Analogic Polynomial Waveform Synthesizer that I should try to do something musical with - it's a digital function generator from the 80s that can precalculate user-entered functions into RAM and then output them. Given it has a trigger input it could make an interesting drum module!

[@Hainbach]

Please post resit in the subreddit!

[@robertkiss7003]

Cool stuff! What about an old Gertsch Complex Ratio Bridge? Is it possible to run sound in and out of it? I think it’s something like 13 tubes in it.

[@francoislemieux9219]

What are good keywords to find nice and useful test equipments on the internet?

[@daccrowell4776]

Another nice one, Hainbach...never seen a K-H 315 filter before, actually. 310s, sure. 330Ms...two sitting about six feet away in here. And of course all of the solid state stuff. BTW, those 330Ms I have actually are getting used in a more "normal" way, since I use mine for front-ends prior to my 2-track A-D conversion to give me 11 active 12AX7A stages before things go digital when mixing, plus I use them as "soft" brickwalls to roll off HF aliasing and subsonics prior to encoding. My tech had them a few years back (one of them had a bleeder resistor issue in the power supply) and although I told him to "recap and upgrade as needed", his response was there was nothing TO upgrade. All of the caps in the signal path were bumblebees, and he noted that it looked on the insides like something that had been specced-out by NASA! Anyway, more great stuff, and I leave you with a link that should cause your brain to explode: www.ebay.com/itm/Ithaco-electronic-filter-model-4111/232630642021?hash=item3629dde565:g:KJsAAOSwLjxaW7Dm Cheers!

[@Hainbach]

Again, I learn so much from your comments. But now I want a second 315, I think you idea is fantastic. And that Ithaco....

[@daccrowell4776]

@@Hainbach That Ithaco is ssssssscary! It's sort of like an unholy cross between a 500-series rack and some bizzaro NSA gear as reenvisioned by some old geezer who use to work for Langevin. Notice how the cutoff frequencies are arranged, also...1/3rd octave spans!

[@Hainbach]

Yeah! I read up on Ithaco and apparently they also do gear used for hydrophones. Very interesting. I wonder how these things ping....

[@daccrowell4776]

@@Hainbach Price is right on their stuff, more or less. Their filters cut K-H on price, for one thing. Didn't know that about the hydrophones, though...did a good bit of field work with one (not an Ithaco) and a portable MD some years back in Japan. Almost got in a lot of trouble, too; I forgot that the ocean has these things called "tides" and almost got caught on a slowly-submerging rock with the gear. The results were worth the danger, tho! BTW, I don't think the following will music well, but the NAME on it is certainly menacing in an industrial/noisecore sort of way: www.ebay.com/itm/Grass-Instruments-Lesion-Maker-LM-3/273833363632?hash=item3fc1bd88b0:g:-cYAAOSwoGxcy21F

[@daccrowell4776]

@@Hainbach Oh, also...the comment about not having VCA control got me thinking. It's true there's not really a test gear solution to that. But there ARE Eurorack modules for interfacing test gear, and once that's done, then there's loads of possible solutions. See this: www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/939547 This is how I'd approach it: a dedicated 8-input skiff with VCAs and attenuation/mixing, and eight channels of loopable AR/AD envelopes under a single control. Stereo out with xformer balancing, also...kills ground loops and electronic crud, which might be very useful considering that this goes in between the test gear and the A-D conversion. Not exactly 100% perfect (the stereo mixer is six channels), but it's a startpoint.

[@billnetherlands]

I literally have that wavetek!

[@jorgegaliano8447]

Nice video! What is the brand of that blue pedal?

[@localtechnique]

R.I.P. Moogerfooger. Press F to pay respects.

[@thomasaustin8477]

F

[@V3xxe]

Rewatching this as I managed to get myself an oscillator and now I'm trying to figure out the best cable to use to integrate it in my setup!

[@leNotstrom]

How do you power all that? Starkstrom?

[@jalexandermedia]

Hello Hainbach! Very cool informative video, I really want to get into music production using weird and whacky modular machines Also... 1:41

[@Hainbach]

Oh damn that is inviting it, isn't it? 😄

[@fernandomercado2711]

I'm trying to find the software test equipment VST or app, I can't remember what it was called. Anyone know?

[@ExcessiveSpareTime]

14:53 I wonder if this was the secret behind Pole's trademark broken Waldorf...

[@WellsOliver]

i just keep lol'ing at a band pass filter bigger than a toaster oven

[@evilefi]

"808" and "909" on the Programmierbarer Impulsgenerator... I see what you did there... ;-)

[@bobbychaos]

I love this Mad Scientist shit! Please tell me you're making an album exclusively using test equipment.

[@Hainbach]

Yes, coming this autumn, early winter!

[@mortarmopp3919]

What are the power requirements of your setup?

[@dr.getter7118]

RIP Moogerfooger

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Do you mind letting us know the name of the piece of music at the end? Is it on the patreon tapes?

[@Hainbach]

Yes, it's on the Patreon tapes. 😀

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

@@Hainbach Thanks!

[@dr.feelicks2051]

Do they make Boutique models yet?🙃

[@horatiopugwash9183]

In theory, all you need are six sine wave oscillators with modulation inputs. The guys at Koma should be able to help you with attenuators; so you can match the outputs from the test kit to your regular kit ☺

[@vaspers]

I'm totally on board with your interest in making music with non-musical test devices. People who ask "why?" are just plain STUPID. I love Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tod Dockstader, and others who pushed the boundaries of soundscapes.

[@troyjlandry]

CES ED-LAB 505 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY 1996 CES Industries Experiment Electrical, have you tried using this kind of equipment?

[@Hainbach]

I know it but haven’t played with it. It is more Look Mum No Computer territory

[@Ecmusicproductionschannel]

I was secretly hoping for an ElectroBOOM/Hainbach crossover =-D

[@Hainbach]

Ooooooh what fun that would be

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

Thanks for this. There's one final piece to the puzzle missing for me still: Have you gotten your electricity bill yet? :D

[@Hainbach]

Stop reminding me! 😄

[@modularmountain3910]

I just bought I General Radio type 1210-C R-C oscillator and I can’t figure out what type the output is for the life of me. I was checking BNC and that doesn’t look right but it’s bigger than a banana cable. The outputs also have these metal caps that screw on over them that don’t come off. Help me Hainbach!

[@Hainbach]

Go to the subreddit with close up pics

[@modularmountain3910]

@@Hainbach I posted a link on your Reddit, but it wouldn’t let me post a close up photo of the outputs. It’s essentially this photo just zoomed in. www.ebay.com/itm/General-Radio-1210-C-Unit-Oscillator-/362975550672 Thank you for the help and I love the new album.

[@ThisIsDownstate]

I picked up a signal generator the other day.it has banana output by the looks of it. does anyone know a simple way to connect that to my mixer ? i was thinking i could use banana to rca adapter, and then run from that to my mixer with rca to 1/4" cable or just into an rca input of my mixer. thanks

[@Hainbach]

That works but you can also just solder two banana jacks to a regular guitar Jack.

[@ThisIsDownstate]

@@Hainbach Wicked ! Thanks, i've got a soldering iron so i may as well make a cable : )

[@ThisIsDownstate]

Soldered up a cable tonight , worked like a charm. Thank-you sir !

[@michaelcandido2824]

maybe a step attenuator would have saved the mooger fooger

[@Hainbach]

Na, I liked how it sounded being totally overdriven and hit it more.

[@Jasonweckard]

RIP Bass Murf

[@alphanumeric1529]

That word generator above the HP word generator (sorry, no chance of turning those sounds you uttered into letters in my alphabet), it's all 808's and 909's! I don't need this stuff, I've got Propellerhead's Rebirth! Naw, what is the chance they're all 808 or 909. Oh damn, now I feel like I may be the victim of my ignorance (for only the first time, wow!), is this an inside joke, something constructed by you Bach, and realized by every one, already? I'll vaporize now, watch.

[@Ellotus13]

Damn, six babies high? That's amazing!

[@josdurkstraful]

Did I already mention that you look a bit like Christopher Franke?

[@andreaswehrmann365]

The thought of having nuclear test equipment within this rack would make me very uneasy... I am probably a bit paranoid but I would be worried if this stuff has been exposed to radiation sometimes in its aktiv years. I know ... total paranoia. But I just wouldn't be able to get rid of the thought.

[@Hainbach]

Yeah I should buy a Geiger counter.

[@mattl9106]

@@Hainbach or anyone. Whats the best Geiger counter to buy? I know one Geiger counter doesn't do all with alpha, beta, gamma, neutrons radiation.

[@TWN-nw4jd]

6 baby high xD

[@Hainbach]

Measurements for the future!

[@TWN-nw4jd]

@@Hainbach Happy to see them being implemented ^.^

[@TWN-nw4jd]

@@Hainbach That broken mooger sounds heavenly btw

[@getbentaudio585]

Is he saying harmac or harmoc or harmon 64 chopper or something else. Idk what that company is. All i know is i need one and i need help!!

[@Hainbach]

Hameg

[@getbentaudio585]

@@Hainbach you rascal, thank you for responding. this was plaguing me!

[@jonpatchmodular]

this is all a bit too much for someone lacking stable funds and space, but I wouldn't mind owning one of those tiny 1630 passive bandpass boxes, they're so cute

[@DanFingermanOctopus]

first?

[@DanFingermanOctopus]

Ayyy I did it

[@Hainbach]

You did it!

[@simeonbanner6204]

You would never get a girlfriend doing this but who cares I say.

[@leNotstrom]

He is married. With children. 😄