Collaborate Disseminate
We’ve always said that if we had enough money, we’d have a large room that housed every musical instrument we’ve ever been even mildly interested in. While that dream may …read more Continue reading There Are Stradi-various Ways to Make a Violin, and This Is One
It’s ironic that while violins are popular instruments for children to learn to play, they can also be very pricey. The Montreal-based AVIVA Young Artists Program has set out to change that, by developing an inexpensive yet nice-sounding 3D-printed vio… Continue reading Low-cost 3D-printed violin could be coming to a music school near you
For the last few years, Fender Custom Shop’s Principal Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov has impressed us with stunning guitar creations like the Kodak-inspired Studioliner, the Fabergé-tastic Coronation Strat, and most recently a gorgeous turntable based … Continue reading Fender launches beautiful Telecaster inspired by 300-year-old Stradivarius
As a hacker community, we are no strangers to beautiful and unique musical instruments. A sympathetic nail violin built by [Nicolas Bras] is a welcome addition to the eclectic family. Working up from the simple idea of a nail in …read more
Playing the tiniest of violins may be a phrase to encapsulate the complete lack of sympathy as someone unpleasant receives their just deserts, but have any of you ever considered how such a feat might be achieved? Unless you’re an unusually talented virtuoso with the bow, it’s difficult to believe …read more
Who knew the venerable violin still had surprises in store for us, after nearly 500 years as one of the leading voices in music? An Australian master archetier, or bow-maker, has built a simple device that allows violinists to easily alternate between … Continue reading Hinged bow lets any violin player sound like a quartet
If you’ve never heard a hurdy-gurdy before, you’re in for a treat. Not many people have, since they’re instruments which are uncommon outside of some eastern European communities. Think of a violin that replaces the bow with a hand-cranked wheel, and adds some extra strings that function similar to drones on a bagpipe. The instrument has been around for hundreds of years, but now it’s been given an upgrade via the magic of MIDI.
All of these new features come from [Barnaby Walters] who builds hurdy-gurdys by hand but has recently been focusing on his MIDI interface. The interface can …read more
Continue reading Hurdy-Gurdy Gets Modernized with MIDI Upgrades
They say the only difference between a violin and a fiddle is the way you play it. If that’s so, this modular violin will need a new name, since it can be broken apart and changed in ways that make it sound completely different, all within a few minutes.
The fiddle is the work of [David Perry] and has 3D printed body, neck, pegbox, and bridge. While it might seem useful on the surface as a way to get less expensive instruments out in the world where virtually anyone has access to them, the real interesting qualities are shown when …read more
[Sean Riley] is a violinist who had a problem. He wanted to play one particular piece, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t that he lacked the skill — he a doctoral student at the University of Texas and has two degrees in violin performance from The Julliard School. The problem was that “The Dharma at Big Sur” by [John Adams] is made for an instrument with six strings, while most violins only have four. So he did what any of us would do. He stopped by the local hackerspace and fabricated one. You can hear (and see) [Sean] performing with the …read more
[Martin], of the YouTube channel [WinterGatan], recently uploaded a video tour of the Phonoliszt Violina, an orchestrion, or a machine that plays music that sounds as though an orchestra is playing. The interesting thing about this one is that it plays the violin. At the time of its construction, people weren’t even certain such a thing would be possible and so when [Ludwig Hupfeld] first built one around 1910, it was considered the eighth wonder of the world.
The particular one shown in the video is at the Speelklok Museum in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The bow is a rotating cylinder …read more
Continue reading Self-Playing Violin: Eighth Wonder Of The World