Eternal Research Demon Box conjures demonic soundscapes from thin air$999, eternalresearch.com
You are, at every moment of your life, bathed in electromagnetic fields (EMF). I say this not because they pose a danger to your health, or are part of some government conspiracy to control the masses. Instead, I want to draw attention to this potentially untapped source of sound. Under normal circumstances you can not hear an EMF, but with the right tool, such as the Eternal Research Demon Box, you can turn this invisible background noise into a potent source of samples.

READ MORE: I got lost in Moog Messenger’s massive Res Bass sounds

Demon Box is not the first device geared at musicians capable of capturing EMFs, but it does have key differences. That’s important, because Demon Box isn’t cheap. While you can build your own DIY EMF mic for about £20, or pick up the Soma Ether (which captures more than just low frequency EMFs) for £135 Demon Box will set you back $999.00 USD, or about £745. But it does more than simply turn electromagnetic radiation into audible signals, it can blend them with incoming audio or even turn them into MIDI data for controlling other gear — imagine controlling a synth using its own incidental EMF. (Note: this is more fun in theory than in practice.)
This is the big pitch for Demon Box. It’s not simply a microphone for the inaudible, it’s an instrument in its own right. But one that can be extremely unpredictable. There are 33 inductors spiraling around the top of the device, split into three channels, which correlate to the three audio inputs and three CV outs, and are then connected to a three-channel mixer with four audio outputs — one for each channel, plus a fourth master out.

The first thing you’ll notice when firing up Demon Box is that it’s a noisy beast. Even with the gain at relatively modest levels it buzzes, clicks and hums with all the chaos of an electrical fire. Because of the sorts of esoteric and experimental devices I tend to be attracted to, it feels like it’s become cliche for me to describe things as “difficult to tame”. However, Demon Box has set a new standard in the field. Even between powercycles the induction pickups seem to change behavior. Pickup one might prove unusably noisy one minute and then 10 minutes later, with the only obvious change being that Demon Box was turned off and turned back on again, it will sound much cleaner, but pickup three will now be the chaotic one.
Demon Box is fickle and sensitive to the environment in which it’s placed. Too close to something with a lithiumion battery in it? Well that’s gonna create interference. Poorly isolated power supplies will exacerbate a noise problem. This is a bit confusing because, sometimes you have to place something directly against the inductors to hear it. All of this background radiation is creating massive amounts of noise, but I have to sit my camera on top of the inductors to capture a usable percussive shutter fire.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
That’s just kind of the price you pay, though, to capture sounds that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Sure, you can put a mic up to a camera and hear the audible sound of its shutter, but it can’t record the magnetic whir of the motors. And a simple electric drill becomes an exciting drone instrument when paired with Demon Box.
The two things that need to be kept in mind are: the MIDI data that comes out of the Demon Box is borderline unusable in its raw state, and you will need an army of effects to make it sound its best.
Even at its most reserved, Demon Box spits out 15 semi-random notes per second as determined by inductor three. But inductor two generates 33 notes per second, and inductor one 57. And you can easily lay all three of those over each other on a single instrument. Unless you want relentless, chaotic note runs then this isn’t ideal. I’d highly recommend pairing it with an external sequencer or plugin that can filter and quantise the notes into something more manageable.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Then there is the raw sound of Demon Box. It’s fun, it’s unique, but it’s a little one-dimensional. Effects are a must to really get interesting with the sound design. Chorus, distortion, delay, reverb… these can all go a long way to helping anything you feed into Demon Box, whether it’s a Dremel or a kid’s toy, sound more musical or haunting. Pitch shifting is also a powerful tool. The Hologram Microcosm, for instance, immediately turns the Landscape Ferrous from what is essentially a superpowered EBow into a nightmare organ.
While I love a device that can be wild and unpredictable, Demon Box does get pretty crazy, even by my standards. I aim for controlled chaos, but Demon Box doesn’t really want to be tamed. It’s a malevolent presence that brings disorder to a recording session and completely hijacks a live performance. While I could see it being the centerpiece of a sound art installation, I can’t imagine it finding much of a home in a more traditional live music setup. While it does conjure exciting sounds in a studio, it requires serious post-production attention to make the most of it.
Even with its rough edges and chaotic, evil sound (that might have some questioning if it’s malfunctioning), I kinda love Demon Box. It’s abrasive and bristles like it’s been possessed. I could imagine it being the primary instrument in the score of a horror movie. But $999 is a big ask. Unless you are a professional sound designer or regularly score films and video games, it might be tough to splurge on.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Key Features

Experimental electromagnetic field (EMF) instrument
33 inductors (EMF pickups)
3 channel mixer
3 audio inputs
3 mono audio outputs
1 summed stereo output
3 CV outputs
5-pin MIDI DIN out
USB (power and MIDI)

The post Eternal Research Demon Box conjures demonic soundscapes from thin air appeared first on MusicTech.