Trzypsy

A new experimental production instrument based on concepts from the Horndog, Peter Blasser's Rollz-5 and Michel Waisvisz's Cracklebox

Video examples can be found on Instagram:

Trzypsy (pronounce it as "Chirp Say") is a source of unpredictable behavior that works like an improvisational buddy for you, the discerning atonal electronic musician. It generates complex patterns, bird songs, squeals, modulated noise and undescribable anomalies. It is designed to never do the same thing twice. The name is Polish for "Three Dogs" and it is made up of three tricked out Horndogs (multi-oscillator feedback webs) with extra features. It features 42 oscillators, three analog multiplexers (controlled by select oscillators) that automatically repatch the innards and a zener-effect transistor white noise source. There are no means for articulating specific musical ideas with it and the main way you interact with it is by experimenting with connections and listening.

Brass wood screws serve as patch points for the instrument. Patches can be made with bare wire, alligator patch cords, brass or copper pot scrubbers (try a Chore Boy) or anything else conductive. You may freely connect any of the screws to one another.

It can also be used as a complex signal source for processing with other equipment. Grounding it to other equipment is accomplished via the 1/4" jacks or with the dedicated banana ground jack. It has an extremely wide frequency range and can be used as a CV or audio source, depending on how you patch it. Basic waveforms are negative spikes, but different patches yield different results.

One caveat: It is important that you do not plug other equipment into the Trzypsy: it generates signals, but cannot process signals from other instruments.


Here's a graphical representation of the instrument and its three circuit elements mentioned above. The overlapping circles represent the 42 oscillators all wired together in complex feedback arrangements. Dead center is the white noise source. The rectangles are the self-rewiring patch matrix, based on the CD4051. The asterisks are extra inputs connected to the patch matrix which have their own wood screws.

To hear sound, you connect at least one patch point to an output terminal. These are the upper row of three screws, circled in red above. They take signals from inside the chaotic oscillator webs, run them through a potentiometer (knobs on the right) that controls output level and route the signals to the 1/4" outputs on the back of the instrument. Because of the variety of places from which you can tap an output, it is worthwhile to have different outputs from which to observe different points in the circuits. There are three built into the instrument for your convenience. It is highly recommended to dedicate two of these outputs to a stereo input on your mixer (or two separate amplifiers) to enjoy the complex stereo panning effects that often occur.

*A newer addition to the Trzypsy is a set of banana jacks on the side that offer a noise source output (gray jack) and six CV outputs (orange jacks) influenced by your playing style on the brass interface up top. Signals span from sub-audio to audio rate and above. Waveforms at these jacks can be very complex. These extra outputs allow you to use the Trzypsy to control other banana jack laden devices that use CV. Make sure you connect grounds between devices via the black banana jack or 1/4" outs.*

If you have an older Trzypsy without the CV out features and would like yours retrofitted or instructions to DIY, email me.

A few patching strategies...

Patching method using alligator clip test leads.These are very inexpensive connectors that can clip right on to the wood screws. They are available from Tayda, Radio Shack, various Ebay and surplus stores. You can get good results with just a few of them, but more complicated patching will warrant up to 20 or 30.

Patching method combining hard wiring (bare tinned wire) and conductive materials with complex capacitive reactance laid over top (potatoes). Currents are low in these circuits and they can be very touch sensitive, so finger play a la the Cracklebox is also recommended.

A very fruitful patch strategy for improvisation with the potential for very quick movements is to use alligator clips along with brass or copper pot scrubbers/sponges. Patch up some basic behavior with alligator clips and then dance around the surface with pot scrubbers. Imagine being able to rearrange 40 cables on a modular synthesizer in less than a second with a simple hand gesture.

Pro Tip for Do-It-Yourselfers:
You can also make your own capacitive patch cords that introduce additional complexity by soldering alligator clip leads to capacitors. These will alter the timebase of the oscillators, create filtering effects and add in new feedback paths. Try lots of different values from very small (.0001uF) to very large (470uF). Just make sure your capacitors are rated for at least 12V. The most common standard rating above 12V that you're likely to find is for 16V capacitors. There is no harm in using capacitors rated for greater voltages, like 50V. You can also use the alligator clips to connect caps without soldering.


These are available as part of a limited production run. Each has unique panel artwork based on topographic maps. They cost $500 US + shipping and Paypal fees. DC Adapters are included in North America, elsewhere you will have to find your own 12V DC center positive adapter capable of providing at least 300mA.

I will include some alligator clip patch cords to get you started

Email to order: mroztronium@gmail.com