Circuit Bending Simulator - Online Glitch Sound Generator

Circuit bending is the creative practice of deliberately short-circuiting low-voltage electronic devices (like toys, keyboards, or effects pedals) to create unexpected sounds and glitches. It was pioneered by experimental musicians in the 1960s-70s. This simulator recreates those chaotic, beautiful glitch sounds digitally using Web Audio API — no soldering required!

Our simulator uses a real-time audio engine with oscillators, distortion, bit-crushing (quantization), resonant filters, and LFO modulation. The "bend points" simulate connecting different circuit traces — each applies parameter offsets that stack together. The "Short Circuit" button creates momentary extreme distortion, mimicking the classic circuit bending technique of using a jumper wire or screwdriver to probe connections.

Yes! Click the REC button to start recording. The output is captured as a WAV file. When you stop recording, the file will automatically download. You can also route the audio through your system's recording software or use browser extensions to capture the output.

Each pad represents a virtual circuit node: FZ (Fuzz Boost) adds warm distortion, DP (Deep Shift) lowers pitch, BC (Bit Crush) reduces bit depth for lo-fi grit, SW (Sweep) modulates the filter, CH (Chaos) adds random parameter jumps, PG (Pulse Gate) creates rhythmic gating, RS (Resonance Spike) boosts filter resonance, and CL clears all connections. Combine multiple points for complex, evolving textures!

Yes — unlike real circuit bending which can potentially damage hardware, this digital simulator is completely safe. However, we recommend starting at moderate volume levels as the distortion and resonance effects can produce sudden loud spikes. The master volume control helps keep levels comfortable.

For authentic circuit-bent tones: try the Sawtooth wave with moderate distortion (40-60%), bit depth around 6-8 bits, a low-pass filter sweeping between 500-3000Hz, and LFO modulating the pitch at 5-8Hz. Activate the CH (Chaos) and BC (Bit Crush) bend points for unpredictable glitch bursts. The "Glitch Storm" preset is a great starting point!

Modern browsers require a user gesture (click, tap, or keypress) before allowing Web Audio API to produce sound. This prevents unwanted auto-playing audio. Simply click the Power button to activate the audio engine — this is a one-time requirement per session.

Absolutely! The interface is fully responsive and touch-optimized. All sliders, bend points, and buttons work great on smartphones and tablets. For the best mobile experience, use landscape orientation to see the oscilloscope alongside the controls. Performance may vary on older devices due to real-time audio processing demands.