Floppy Drives

This library features recordings of seven computer disk drives: two 3.5″ floppy drives, one 5.25″ floppy drive, three Zip drives, and one SuperDisk drive.

All drives were taken apart to access and manipulate the stepper/eject motors to create unique sounds. Ranging from electronic percussive bleeps and glitchy noises, to electromechanical motor movements, this library is perfect for creating futuristic sci-fi soundscapes, robotic textures, and intricate machine rhythms.

An Arduino UNO microcontroller board was connected to one of the 3.5″ floppy drives, allowing precise control of the drive’s stepper motor via custom software code. A midi keyboard was interfaced to the system, giving the ability to control the back-and-forth movement of the read/write heads via notes on the keyboard. This essentially turned the drive into an instrument, producing a new set of sounds not existing in the drive’s normal functions.

Sounds were captured using a pair of induction coil pickups, Barcus Berry contact mics, and a Sanken CSS-5 shotgun microphone, into a Sound Devices 702 recorder.