Steel Guitar in a Sink
Prolific MAKE contributor Andrew Lewis sent us this video of a guy who built a steel guitar into a steel sink top. Add a washboard bass and you’re ready to jam and do housework!
Music
Take your creations beyond the workshop and onto the stage with diy music instruments! Let us show you how these creations range from simple, basic setups that produce beautiful sounds to more complex projects that require a greater level of engineering knowledge. With these tutorials and examples, we’ll guide you on this journey to make your own musical instrument for experimental, artistic or everyday use – so whether you’re starting out new or a seasoned sound creator, come explore the wonderful world of making your own music.
Dramatic Gestures With Kinect
I’m indebted to a commenter on yesterday’s Kinect + Tesla Coils post for pointing me to the website of artist, engineer, and interaction designer Gerry Chu. Among the many treasures in Gerry’s online portfolio is this short video showing his use of a hacked Kinect to instantaneously correlate a dramatic gesture with a dramatic sound. He calls it Motion Emotions. [Thanks, Josh Kopel!]
iPhone T Amp Speaker Dock
Michigan maker Pruitt’s iPhone/iPod speaker dock is built using 2-inch full range drivers built into specially constructed pipes that also act as the units legs. Each channel gets 15 watts from an internal class T digital amp (T Amp). It’s not going to blow your socks off, but it’ll sound great at a modest volume.
Arcophone Mark II Debuts
Members of the Perth Artifactory hackerspace in Western Australia built a Arcophone, an instrument that uses Jacob’s Ladders to make music. However, they had a need to build a quick Version Two one and it looks great! Owing to the Arcophone Mk I being stuck somewhere on the Nullabor owing to damage to train tracks […]
Collin’s Lab: High Power LEDs + Digital Color Organ
5mm or 10mm LEDs will work just fine for most projects, but if you really want to light up a room, consider using some of the high-power variety. With forward currents up to a full amp, you’ll need a way to dissipate heat – but the results are very much worth the extra effort.
Collin’s Lab: Homebrew Piezo
Piezoelectric materials are about as close to magic as you can get. They turn physical pressure into electricity and can even turn electricity into physical pressure – an amazing sort of bidirectional converter for mechanical and electrical energies. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that you can easily ‘grow’ your own piezoelectric crystals overnight using just a couple of common ingredients – awesome.
Collin’s Lab: Homebrew Piezo
Piezoelectric materials are about as close to magic as you can get. They turn physical pressure into electricity and can even turn electricity into physical pressure – an amazing sort of bidirectional converter for mechanical and electrical energies. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that you can easily ‘grow’ your own piezoelectric crystals overnight […]
