Power Play:  High End Electrical

integrated sound, sight & sensation play

 

Integrated sound, sight and sensation play delivers a synchronized symphony of sensual input that can take an adventurer into another world.

 

Overview:  Integrating sound and sight with sensation requires

1.                  GEAR & KNOWLEDGE:  three types of gear that can interact with each other, with an understanding of safety or limitations for each type of gear, and

1.1.                                                a sound source such as a CD player or iPod

1.2.                                                light and sound gear

1.3.                                                an electric stimulation (“e-stim”) power unit

2.                  ADVENTURE:  combining the gear and knowledge together to wow your partner or yourself with a high-end electrical scene

We’ll go over each of these aspects in more depth.

 

GEAR & KNOWLEDGE:

1.1:  a sound source

 

AudioStrobe Technology


AudioStrobe technology began in Germany where biomedical researcher and computer programmer, Andrzej Slawinski, was just learning about light and sound machines. He was reading about synaesthesia, a merging of the senses, in Scientific America Magazine, and decided to add another dimension to the light and sound experience. By coordinating the flashes of light with that of the music, more of your senses became involved in the experience expanding the synaesthetic effect.

AudioStrobe technology uses specially encoded CDs that are used with light and sound machines. These CDs are encoded so that the light flashes from the light glasses match what the music on the CD is doing. When you put on light glasses with strobing lights and close your eyes, you see a myriad of colors and patterns which are quite fun. When you use AudioStrobe where the light flashes match what the music is doing, it makes the color show even more spectacular drawing you more deeply into the experience.

 

excerpted from www.toolsforwellness.com/audiostrobe.html

 

Sound will be the conductor for this symphony.  However, my personal experience with light and sound gear, which we’ll get into next, is that different music affects it differently. 

 

Driving rhythms trigger lights most easily.  For this kind of music, an iPod is fine.

 

It can be tricky to trigger lights in passages that are ethereal, soft and/or twinkly – potentially some favorite sections.  (Robert Miles’ Freedom on the 23am CD is one example.)  For this kind of music, at least with some gear, special handling is helpful.  If your gear isn’t strobing on these passages as you would like, try this:

  1. Encode the discs with AudioStrobe yourself. 
    See http://audiostrobe.software.informer.com/download-audiostrobe-encode-your-own-music/
  2. Play the music back on a CD player, not via an iPod.  The AudioStrobe encoding is laid in an inaudible frequency on the CD, and this range appears to be discarded in the compression/conversion process when the music is imported to an iPod.

 

1.2:  light and sound gear

Light and sound machines were developed to help people get to one of the four different mental states -- or types of waveforms seen on electroencephalograms – that have been characterized by neurologists:

 

 

State

Wave form

Corresponding mental status

1.

Beta

13-30+Hertz

Awake and alert

2.

Alpha

8-12 Hertz

Relaxed

3.

Theta

3-7 Hertz

Reverie, Imagery, near sleep

4.

Delta

0.5-2 Hertz

Sleep

 

“Pulsating light and/or sound patterns have been used for thousands of years in almost all cultures to evoke emotional responses, from exciting a crowd to assisting in meditation to encouraging sleep. The techniques are part of folk knowledge, and science is just beginning to find out why they work. So as you begin to use light and sound stimulation you are embarking on a voyage of discovery and exploration.”

Excerpted from the manual for a Photosonix light and sound machine, the Nova Pro 100

 

However, gear with flashing lights and sound is not for everyone.  Apparently it can trigger seizures in “photosensitive” people.  Here is the broad warning that comes with the Nova Pro 100.  Having had a friend who was epileptic, I already knew about flashing lights being a potential trigger for him.  I do not know what the other caveats are about, but include them here for completeness:

 

Warning

If you, or anyone else who will use this machine, are subject to any form of seizures, epilepsy or visual photosensitivity, are using a pacemaker, suffering cardiac arrhythmia or other heart disorders, currently taking stimulants, tranquilizers or psychotropic medications, specifically including illicit drugs and alcohol, please do not use ours, or any other Light/Sound system.

 

There are many different light and sound machines on the market.  A search on “light and sound” finds sites like www.toolsforwellness.com/light-sound-machines.html and www.dynamind.com/ls.htm which carry many products:

 

What we want for our purposes is a machine that not only uses its internal programs for relaxation, etc., but one that can be triggered by external music as well.  When shopping for an item, check its specs to make sure it has this capability.  I use a Nova Pro 100 and it works fine, within the challenges mentioned above about quiet passages really needing to be AudioStrobe encoded to CD.

 

Tip

For deeper immersion, replace the inexpensive headphones that typically ship with units with noise-canceling headphones such as the Bose QuietComfort series, $299 retail.  They are truly amazing.

 

1.3:  an electric stimulation (“e-stim”) power unit

Electricity likes to go from point A to point B.

At an appropriate level, electricity can give interesting sensations as it travels from A to B.

Think across my prostate or across my clit as one erotic possibility.

 

Electricity can force muscles to contract.

At an appropriate level, electricity can be gloriously sexual as it forces muscles to contract.

Think about a butthole’s sphincters contracting, or the large buttcheek muscles flexing, as two areas with potential.

 

Because electricity travels, and can force muscles to contract, the most important safety thing to know about electricity is this:

You never, ever want to send a current where it can pass across the heart (or brain).
That can interfere with the heart's natural pulse and stop it.
Shorthand: "No contact above the waist."

 

Take a look at Officer Wes' electricity demo handout if you would like more information on electricity resources, general device information, manufacturers, dealers / vendors, and a pretty good representation of the broad array of products on the market.

 

Electrical stimulation power boxes are the units that power most erotic electrical play.  For integrated sound, sight & sensation play we’ll need a unit that can accept external input, like a music source, for triggering.  The Eros Tek ET312 ($459 retail) or ET232 ($349 retail) would each work.

 

Now on to…

 

ADVENTURE:  combining the gear and knowledge together to wow your partner or yourself with a high-end electrical scene

We’ve covered the three types of gear that we need a sound source, light and sound gear, and an electric stimulation power unit and safety or limitations for each type of gear.  If you’re starting out and want to save some bucks as you gather equipment, buying gear used via eBay seems to shave up to $100 each from a Photosonix Nova Pro 100, an Eros Tek ET312, and Bose QuietComfort configuration.  Now we’ll combine all this gear together.

 

I personally like to flow the wiring from the sound source to the light and sound gear, and then from there to the sensation (electrical) gear.  In essence it’s a simple line from A to B to C.  Here is the step-by-step process for such a configuration, using a CD player and AudioStrobe light-encoded CD as the sound source, along with helpful notes:

 

GEAR CONFIGURATION

CD player
  1. Plug a male-male stereo-stereo wire1 from the headphone jack2 of the CD player3 into the Nova Pro 100’s “EXT” (external source) jack.
    Notes:
    1 One ships with the Nova Pro 100 and one ships with the ErosTek ET312.
    2 It’s really helpful to have a headphone jack with a volume adjustment.
    3 The line out on an amplifier connected to a CD player may also be used, but a stereophonic size changer may be needed as these jacks are often larger.
  1. Put in an AudioStrobe light-encoded CD.

Nova Pro 100
  1. Set the Nova Pro 100 to AudioStrobe mode.  (Turn power on, then hit the ê arrow twice.  Display will change to “AuS”4)
    Note:
    4 Curiously, volume is now controlled by the external source, not the Nova Pro’s volume adjustment.  The light intensity adjustment still works within the limitations of the signal it is receiving, but the triggering volume from the external source on a non-AudioStrobe CD will dictate the maximum light intensity.  As a practical matter that means my AudioStrobe CDs work fine, but on generic CDs soft passages have to be turned up too high volume-wise / ear-wise in order to get the goggles to trigger.
  1. Connect the goggles & headphones.
  1. Plug a male-male stereo-stereo wire from one of the two Nova Pro 100 sound jacks out into the ET312B’s “Audio” input5.
    Note:
    5 The ET312B box, like the Nova Pro 100 set, contains a male-male stereo-stereo wire.  This is so it can be connected directly to an audio source, when not using in conjunction with the Nova Pro 100.

ET312B
  1. Set ET312B to Audio 2 program.  (If you were just using the mic without the Nova Pro 100, use the Audio 1 program instead.)
  1. Connect the unit to where you will be sending sensation (TENS pads, buttplug, vaginal shield, etc.)

Then…
  1. Start the CD and make adjustments.
    1. On the ET312, adjust MA (multi-adjust) up until LEDs are flashing fairly brightly, then turn up the Level controls until you’re getting the sensation response you desire. 6
      Note:
      6 IMPORTANT NOTE:  Having MA all the way down does not cut off power to the Level controls.
      Side note:  The ET312B box, like the Nova Pro 100 set, also contains a stereo-stereo wire.  This is so it can be connected directly to an audio source, when not using in conjunction with the Nova Pro 100.
    2. On the Nova Pro 100, adjust the light goggles’ intensity.
  1. Enjoy.

 

May you have a great time!

 

Warmly,

Officer Wes

February 2007

 

 

About this workshop

The way to truly understand the potential in high-end electrical play is to personally experience it first-hand.  That rare opportunity will be available in this intimate workshop.  Officer Wes will provide an overview of electrical play issues and how this particular consortium of gear works, then those who choose to partake may glimpse another world.

About our presenter

Officer Wes has examined and shared on issues of sexual expression and other areas of the human experience for much of his life.  His experiences and viewpoints have appeared in Newsweek On Campus, Poz, The Advocate, USA Today, Boudoir Noir magazine, and Collars Mastery/slavery newsletter.  He is credited as an influence in the book PROTOCOLS: Handbook for the female slave.  His Web sites stand as a resource for others seeking to live in integrity with their authentic selves and have been visited by over a quarter of a million people.

 

Officer Wes has presented programs and workshops on Master/slave and Daddy/boy relationships, pain and pleasure, great sex, spirituality and leather, uniforms, fetish, interrogation, electricity, and other aspects of the BDSM arts at clubs and events across the country.  He has served as faculty for boy's Training Camp, as guest faculty for the APEX Academy/Butchmanns Experience, as a board member for the Houston chapter of the National Leather Association, as host committee member for Living in Leather VIII, and as a guide to the San Diego League of Gentlemen leathermen's fraternity.  He was an inaugural mentor for SAADE (the School for Austin Area Dominant Education), a formal mentoring program for new dominants that instructs its apprentices not only in physical SM practices, but on the mental, emotional and spiritual dynamics of BDSM as well.  That program is now being replicated in 8 additional cities.  He is also an inaugural core member of San Diego's premier men's BDSM group SuperPigs and was nominated for 2005 Man of the Year in the San Diego Leather Community Awards held February 2006.

 

Officer Wes and his partner Tom have been together since 1991 and have an open leather family built around shared values of respect, honor, trust, and love.  Officer Wes has two slaves in service and is himself in service to a Daddy.  More information about Officer Wes can be found at www.officerwes.com

 

 

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