douglas irving repetto

the spaghetti device

custom circuitry, knobs, switches,
acrylic spaghetti jar
(1996)


the spaghetti device was a rough prototype for the circuitry used in the installation on a hill in eastern pennsylvania. The circuit used in the final piece ended up being a lot different, but the spaghetti device is still a pretty interesting (and really weird looking) experiment.

the spaghetti device has 2 inputs and 16 outputs. Its main function is to take audio from the 2 inputs and distribute it to the 16 outputs one at a time. There are red LEDs on the top of the device that track which of the 16 outputs is currently connected to the inputs. The original idea was to have a large number of speakers spread out in a space and to use the spaghetti device to make the sound move though the space.

The speed of the movement is controlled by the large yellow dial. There are also a number of switches that allow you to increase/decrease the number of outputs actually used and to switch from stereo input to mono.

Another neat thing is that the spaghetti device can be used backwards - it can take up to 16 inputs and switch them to 2 outputs. So, for instance, 16 people could be speaking a text and the spaghetti device could switch between them very rapidly.

Sadly a very bad kitty recently knocked the spaghetti device to the floor, breaking it. BAD KITTY!