[display_podcast] BoxBeat is a prototype toy that turns the surface of your desk into a beat making instrument. It uses contact microphones to detect different sounds from the desk surface, and a simple software patch to trigger audio samples. “I often find myself tapping away on my desk, and this is a fun and simple… Read More BoxBeat Turns Your Desk Into An Instrument
This video demos the Tapehead Inspector – a sort of tangible sampler. Here’s the background on it, via Roy Mohan Shearer: Inspired by the reversal of the name of a musical trio that I play in with Chris Croasdale and Mr. Jonnie Common. We’re really into tapes, and as Chris’ birthday was coming up Jonnie and I decided to… Read More The Tapehead Inspector
I’ve been skeptical about the Monome & Tenori-On as musical instruments, since they are basically a collection of on-off switches. This video, though, by Edison, challenges my preconceptions and offers a tempting preview of his upcoming album. Should be very cool! via Matthew Davidson
Here’s something different – Andrew Benson’s battery-powered wrist synth, aka the Whisper Synth: Here’s another video of the whisper synth in action. I tweaked the circuit a little bit to make the sound a little louder, and am using a 9v battery now with a 7805 regulator to power it. The little lithium coin cells… Read More The Wrist Synth
This video, via SOS, is a demo of Moog Musics new Moog Guitar: The Moog Guitar has two outputs: one conventional quarter-inch jack that’s fed by piezo saddle pickups, and one five-pin XLR, which connects to a special active pedal. Power is fed up the cable to the components in the guitar body, and audio… Read More Moog Guitar Demo
The Internet has given circuit bending, the process of hands-on experimentation with battery-powered electronic noise making circuits, a life of its own. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that somebody, somewhere, has circuit bent just about any electrical toy or gadget that you can imagine. Here are thirteen of the most bizarre examples of… Read More 13 Bizarre Circuit Bent Children’s Toys
2008 Summer NAMM Show: Yamaha announced the MOTIF-RACK XS Tone Generator. Description: Utilizing the very same sounds as the famed MOTIF XS, the MOTIF-RACK XS includes 1,152 dynamic and authentic Voices, 65 exciting drums kits, and a comprehensive synthesis engine for building custom Voices. These Voices are the basis for further sound creation and customization… Read More Yamaha Motif-Rack XS Tone Generator
Timothy Renalto’s The Bad Hand is a sort of plasma theremin. It doesn’t really improve on the idea of the theremin, but it does look pretty awesome. via MusicThing
Tony Amendolare at ElectroKraft has created a unique new music controller for the NES, the Sonic DrumAxe. Tony’s always coming up with unusual instruments (see our previous ElectroKraft coverage), and the Sonic DrumAxe is no exception. The Sonic DrumAxe is a controller that connects to the Nintendo NES video game system. Used with the Super… Read More Sonic DrumAxe Turns NES Into 8-Bit Percussion Instrument
Over at The Steampunk Workshop, Jake von Slatt has a nice write up on a Jules Verne inspired analog synthesizer with etched brass control panels. While we’ve seen hundreds of nice modular synths, you have to admit the etched brass panels on this are pretty sextacular. Here’s what the synth’s creator has to say about… Read More Awesome Steampunk Modular Synthesizer
