Is it possible to make noise with radios? Or has anyone done it?

Started by dumphump424, October 26, 2022, 06:48:05 PM

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dumphump424

I just ask because I swear I've seen people who make noise with radios. Currently I make noise walls by connecting a small radio playing static to my pedal chain via 1/8" to 1/4" cable. But is there are other ways? Like maybe a way to make more dynamic sound with radios? I don't know really anything about radios... but maybe people use shortwave radios or HAM radios? Just an idea. also sorry for all the question posts. I'll pump the breaks after this one hahah. Thanks!

Johann

One good rule to consider when making noise is that there are no rules and nothing is off limits. You don't need to spend a lot of money, don't need certain equipment, etc. If you are satisfied with the sounds your creating and your having fun doing it your doing it right. Experiment, try new things and be open to what your doing. Don't be overly concerned about "getting it right", since:

A. Often times what makes something fun/worth doing is it's never exactly what you imagined; and

B. Setting really strict "goals" like putting out tapes right away, recognition/praise, or notions of success or mastery will only lead to dissolution and lead to you stopping.

C. Don't get overly obsessed about originality and uniqueness, chances are if your thinking about it someone else has too, this goes for everything in life, it's best to accept this and move forward. Just do your thing and have fun doing it.

Now, regarding radios...

Check someone like John Duncan, when I think of radio and noise I think of him. I guess Werewolf Jerusalem is radio/pedal wall stuff, that's what I've heard, but I've never listened to any of that output and don't care about wall noise.

If you've never messed with a shortwave radio try it out, that can be a really fun and interesting experience, imo as fun as any synth or pedal (check this site listed below)...

http://www.websdr.org/

One other thing to consider when considering radio frequencies is how they sound when recorded and sped up or slowed down, it's essentially just electronic data. Hope that helps some.

dumphump424

I appreciate your feedback dude and i totally agree with you that noise has no limits or boundaries, and also on the originality part. I just posted this because I swore I'd heard or seen someone make noise with radios and I just wanted to know if it was possible. I want to just explore every noise-making medium that I can. Since I've started I've messed with static noise, pedal noise, feedback loops, mixer-only noise, junk metal, synth noise, vocal noise, processed sound sources, and most recently anti-records.... fuck, i love playing anti-records. Soon I would like to get into tape loops to see how I like that.

Anyway thank you for the reference, I'll definitely be checking out that artist's work. And I'm for sure going to be looking into getting a shortwave radio... maybe a real old one. I've actually been thinking about somehow working in a police scanner into my noise ahah. But yeah thanks again!

HateSermon

Yeah a real good friend of mine gave me an old broken radio that only plays AM but makes some real nasty sounds. The slightest tweak of the tuning knob can create a world of hurt for the ears. Have fun with it!

aivosumu

You might also want to check out this old thread: www.special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=196.0

AM radio is indeed great to experiment with, and i sometimes find myself leaving the static on for background listening (the original most pure HNW? no artist or performer... haha).




Leewar

Of course anything that you may think is useable, is useable.

As a child i used to love listening to the radio with the dial slightly off the station, for added distortion and strange noises.

So years later picked up a old am radio and sometimes use it slightly off the station to record (via a few pedals) into a sampler for creating some interesting sounds.


Eigen Bast

I was in NY the other week and found a handheld AM/FM radio on the ground that has the weirdest glitch going...it can receive AM/FM but gets super loud/drops off rapidly, causing this really rapid fire stutter effect.  Pretty cool and I intend to use it ...somehow.



Atrophist

Quote from: Cementimental on October 30, 2022, 01:47:22 AM
If you have to ask, then no.

This is the correct answer.

I've seen a dude play a fantastic noisedrone set with nothing but old broken computer speakers from the recycling centre. He downed an entire bottle of red wine duting the set. Wasn't his first of the evening either. 

Cementimental

One of the best noise sets I ever saw was The Digitariat armed with nothing but a walkman with the back taken off, straight into an amp, live-circuitbent with a spoon