Build a Buckawatt "Bend-a-Boost" Modular Boost Kit

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to build and design a single stage amplifier using sockets. Attendees will practice beginner soldering skills, populating a circuit board with sockets, before experimenting with a number of different custom biasing configurations with no additional soldering. The lecture portion will include how the various different configurations work, while covering topics on the different modes and biasing of the transistors, as well as a brief intro on how the boosts work together in multiple stages to create overdrive and fuzz.

The Bend-a-Boost is a transistor-based boost kit that is easily configured on modular sockets. It is a single stage amplifier used to boost an audio signal, which works as an active volume control. This can be used to add color and character to other devices, and can be configured in a number of different ways to create signal clipping and oscillations. It has practical applications for circuit benders and stomp box lovers alike, and teaches building blocks of amplification, overdrive, and fuzz. The modular socket design allows builders to design multiple circuits and keep them semi-prematurely, to swap them out with no additional soldering.

This event is part of the Circuit Benders' Ball, a day-long celebration of hardware hacking, music, art, and the creative spirit. Register for one Circuit Benders' Ball workshop and get a CBB t-shirt for free! (Limit 1 per student.) Register for all three Circuit Benders' Ball workshops and get into the music showcase for free! (A $15 value.)