Comments on: Gift Idea: $30 mi Jam Toy Scratch Mixer, Toy Interactive Sound Sculpture Beg to Be Abused

By: yo...

yo... — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 02:34:49 +0000

interesting debate sparked by this one… i would tend to agree w/ joe that there are plenty of manufactured goods already in the mix … but shazaam zoinky, chill … you make some good points … but no need for the attitude …

By: Damon

Damon — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:48:06 +0000

Is this a Victoria’s Secret design?

“Get your hands on these babies…”

By: joe dalton

joe dalton — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:57:36 +0000

the things I like with circuit bending is that you can reuse old toys from your youth into musical instruments. the thing I don’t like is that people are buying these crappy chinese products for 30$, 10$ transport, 5$ reseller, 5$ distributor, 8$ pieces and 2$ for the chinese workers and 0$ for the catastrophic environmental situation that we’ll be into in a 10 years.
buy it buy it and buy some iPod and a new computer, a new mobile phone, a new car and a large TV screen

By: zoinky

zoinky — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 03:09:52 +0000

When you say “you can add fx to line-in devices”, what you are saying is that you can trigger the dumb samples over whatever you’re playing into the input. That is not what most people will think of when you say “you can add fx to line-in devices”. Most people will think you mean that the audio input can be modulated with effects (or ‘fx’), like a guitar pedal or ‘fx unit’. Typical effects/fx would be, delay, flange, phaser, etc. Not a 2bit 5khz sample of a record scratch…

Those of us with actual circuit-bending experience know that the technology in these units was around 10 years ago and sold for the same ridiculously high prices, at least when stuck in toy guitars rather than keychains… Apparently the only difference between now and ten years ago is that these types of toys now have a line in, which is ‘iPod compatible’ (uber-snicker).

Seems to me you’ve done an even worse service to the public than the original authors of the ad copy. They tried to make it sound way better than it is in the ad copy, and you edited the ad copy to make it sound even better than that! Personally I’d only consider doing that if I were on the payroll, but you did it without even being comped a unit! The guys at iLounge who you speculated did get comped units were actually somewhat critical of the units, unlike your glowing report…

Incidentally, this is my third try posting this, lets see if it actually goes through this time. “Proudly powered by Linux servers…” that explains it…

By: Peter Kirn

Peter Kirn — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:36:47 +0000

Oh come on, Zoinky. I’ve never seen a sound-producing toy that someone couldn’t find *some* use for. Sure, straight-ahead bending may or may not be possible, but anything that makes noise presents some possibilities for creative abuse. And I’ve seen some benders who are able to make up all kinds of bends even with devices that seem like they wouldn’t be suited to it.

Anyway, nitro, sorry I didn’t make that clear. I didn’t get hands-on time with this, I’m afraid. The scratch effects are sound effects. But you can add fx to line-in devices. Hands-on impressions of the whole line are available over at iLounge, who I expect got comped on these (I’d have a harder time arguing they should set me one to abuse):
iLounge on miJam

$30 starts to get closer to my silly toy threshold, either way. But I would comparison shop — you know, with the rest of the toy section / garage sale / etc.

By: zoinky

zoinky — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:19:04 +0000

I really wish people wouldn’t claim devices would be ‘great for circuitbending’ unless they’ve actually FOUND bends inside the device they’re touting. This article tries to be cheeky and hip, like a tribute to kitch, but this device is not kitchy, its $40 down the drain. It won’t ‘terrify’ DJ dullards or anyone else. It’s marketed to DJ wannabes because people who want to be DJs are idiots.

By: nitro2k01

nitro2k01 — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:38:12 +0000

Did you actually try this thing? According to the last comment on the scratchworx review, this thing is really just crap. Might not’ve been the exact same model, but anyway.
Do you know whether you can actually scratch external audio input? (From own or friends’ experience, not any kind of marketing)
If you can’t, it’s just crap.

By: s o n i c b r a t

s o n i c b r a t — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:24:53 +0000

Great EDIT!!! You got me cracking on the floor by the end of the edited passage! And I would actually like one just to make it interact with my kyma X!

Nay…

Great fun post!