Fig. 1: The Saw III digital voice recorder costs
just $1.85 each in bulk — including batteries
— and makes some wonderfully crunchy
sounds. Try two for stereo.
Whoever decided to base a toy
recorder on a sadistic movie character
grossly overestimated the market;
AllElectronics.com sells a seemingly
endless supply for $2 a pop (see Fig.
1). The Saw III digital recorder captures 30 seconds of sound through
its mic and plays it back with entertaining
distortion. It''s a great effect
for drum loops and whispers. But the
sound gets even more interesting when
you simultaneously record into two
Saw IIIs and then separate them for
playback. Press the Play buttons at
slightly different times for echo effects.
Whirl Saw on a string to simulate a
Leslie speaker.
Visit GetLoFi.com/?p=1152 for
directions on adding input and output
jacks, a pitch-bend knob, a loop switch,
and a remote trigger. Hackers have
wired up everything from model-train
sound effects to grungy Mellotrons.