THE BUREAU: Part Seven, "Lockdown in the Building, News of an Active Shooter Near the Cafeteria" with Mr Quintron's Circuit-Bent Guitars

Above the fold you'll see this week's comic and playlist, and you can catch up here on the current story. While the main office building gets covered in gasoline and the intruders pounce upon The Brain, we're reminded of this time of year and the basic need of giving thanks and appreciations.

Part of this series has been to acknowledge electronic instruments that impact our lives positively. We've already highlighted the work of Metasonix and Soma Labs, as well as the RF Nomad and SSL's Scat Talker, but there are some incredible pieces never made for mass production. Easily one of the most interesting categories of electronics is circuit bending.

When asked about the weirdest thing in the studio, I'm happy to point to an unassuming set of toy guitars. One is a Hot Lixx guitar by TYCO and the other is a generically titled "Electronic Guitar" by Radio Shack. To certain friends with shared interests, the phrase "These are modified guitars by Mr Quintron" is usually all the introduction needed to elicit immediate interest. These are treasured items that I acquired about 15-20 years ago when he put them up for sale. First, let's meet the guitars without modification.

By themselves, these toys are pretty damn funny and obnoxious. Here's a TV commercial from TYCO from 1989:

The TYCO Hot Lixx Guitar promises you'll PLAY IT IN A MINUTE with its computerized buttons. Read the rest