E-Stim, Electrostim, Electrosex or Electroplay are all names for one simple idea - the use of electricity to stimulate the human body.
You cannot use a TENS unit for audio play - you will need an E-Stim unit with audio inputs.
For safety always stick to playing below the waist. It is possible to play in other areas, but we like to avoid passing current through the chest.
Remember to get ElectroStim to work you need two points of contact on the body.
E-Stim equipment has been around for a while, sound or music has been around for quite a bit longer, but to mix the two has taken a while to become interesting and doable. Here we are going to try to explain how it all works, give you advice on what kit to buy, and generally help you to get the most out of sound based E-Stim.
Ever tried to stick your tongue on a 9V battery and felt a tingle? - that is E-Stim in action. We don't recommend you try the tongue trick, but with E-Stim you can stimulate all the interesting parts of the body.
E-Stim is simply using electricity to pleasure the body. To do it safely you need an E-Stim power box, and an electrode to connect to the body. This site is all about taking it one stage further and adding sound - we call this 'audio play' or 'stereostimming'.
Sound is what we hear. There are two types of sounds used for audio stimming, normal music and sound we all listen to day to day (including your voice!!, and tracks designed for stimming. Depending on what device you have will depend on what works for you. Some units also have a microphone so you don't have to plug anything in - you can just shout at the box to get a reaction.
Yes. E-Stim has been around for quite a while now, and provided you stick to a few basic safety rules it doesn't have any issues. The Rules? Don't play if you have a pacemaker, or our pregnant or suffer from epilepsy And don't play above the waist unless you know what you are doing.
No. E-Stim and Audio E-Stim can be enjoyed by men and women, either with their partners, or alone. If you can work an MP3 player or a mobile phone then you can cope with E-Stim.
There are a few terms that we use all the time to describe what we do
Waveform - a waveform is just a techie way of saying a sound. All sounds are waveforms, but not all waveforms are sounds.
Frequency - the frequency of a sound is its pitch. a low frequency sound like a base drum is completely different to a high frequency like a whistle. They sound different and when they are passed through an audio box, they will feel different.
Frequency Response - Humans and Dogs hear different frequencies of sound. In the same way E-Stim boxes will generate a different response depending on the sound frequencies. This is called the frequency response of the box. No two power boxes have the same response.
Amplitude - generally how loud the sound it also called volume. Louder signals can give more oomph, but if they are too loud they will overload the box, resulting in a constant mash of sound and an uncomfortable or just boring output.
Stereo and Mono - Stereo - Two, Mono is one. We hear in stereo. our two ears allow us to hear sound and determine its position. In the same way a stereo sound from say an iPod, has two signals a left and a right, which we hear as left and right. For an audio box, stereo should give you a left and a right signal, and possible the mixture of the two, (normally called Triphase).
TENS - TENS units are the medical version of E-Stim boxes, using electricity for pain relief or muscle toning. It is possible to use a TENS unit to feel some of the sensations of E-Stim, but TENS units don't have any audio inputs.
TriPhase - A system than combines two outputs of an E-Stim box into 3 giving a whole range of sensations. Normally needs a special cable, and only the E-Stim Systems 2B and ET312 are designed for triphase.
BiPolar - Describes an electrode with two points of contact built into the same device. All E-Stim needs at least two points of contact to work. If you use a monopole electrode then you need two of them.
Monopole or unipolar - A single point of contact. An example would be a sticky pad.