Vulpestruments

NEWZ

2012-02-06T17:37:00.000Z

I've finally managed to acquire all the pieces for my next creation:

If you can guess what it's going to be I'll shake your hand firmly.

I've also been working on a few things with http://daveconservatoire.org/ that'll be coming to fruition soons.

Other than that I currently have no commissions going on, so feel free to give me money to make you something.

In the meantime, head over to http://www.moonmilk.com/ and enjoy the rest of this month's instrument-a-day which are always amazing.

AAaaaaaannnnnd, as valentines day is coming up, I recommend singing this one to your nearest and dearest:

The Oak Tinjo

2011-12-27T15:08:00.000Z

This latest Tinjo was commissioned for a friend of mine for his birthday (these make excellent birthday presents, hint hint). It was constructed from some scrap oak planks I found which were glued together, shaped, sanded, burnt, carved and varnished to end up with this:

The frets are simply nails chopped down and grinded to take away ane edges then glued on with araldite using an online fret calculator to get the exact position right. The tin has a basic piezo contact mic inside which is wired up to the socket.

Here's 2 videos of it being played, one amped and one acoustic:

Here's what it started out as

more photos of the build and finished product when you click the link

The poorly edited portfolio and other news

2011-12-24T12:45:00.000Z

I've had a re-organise of the site to make it a bit easier to navigate, also I'm going to start posting some more tutorials and tips/ideas for aspiring instrument makers to show them just how easy it can be to make cheap but awesome instruments!

Also, using youtube's new video editing service, I've thrown this mini 'portfolio' together. Enjoy and share with friends!

The Mocitar!

2011-11-15T21:14:00.001Z

This is a custom built moustache shaped Dulcitar that i'm selling to raise funds for my Movember campaign.

It's constructed from Pine with an Oak neck, it uses a contact mic under the bridge to pick up the sound which then needs to be amplified.

You can find out more about Movember and prostate cancer awareness at movember.com

You can also donate directly to my fundraising efforts by going here: http://mobro.co/tomfox84

The Violindjo

2011-10-10T19:28:00.001+01:00

My Aeolian harp didn't withstand the batterings of the british weather, I salvaged the violin body and re-strung it with 4 fresh new banjo strings. And the Violndjo was born.

Here's me playing it with my megacheap-e-bow alternative, which is a piece of string attached to a quiet walkman motor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPDau5mIzL0

Mini Squidulele

2011-10-01T11:49:00.000+01:00

This one is a quick mini hollow-body ukulele of sorts I made for my lovely wife.

And here's a video of it being played badly:

A Plea for a Friend

2011-09-17T10:58:00.001+01:00

My good friend helen, who I posted about not too long ago, recently lost everything she had in the london riots. Her flat was destroyed when the shop beneath her was petrol bombed.

She is ridiculously talented, and was trying to raise money to fund her new album (which already sounds incredible), but now she's lost everything it's even more important that her album can get finished so she can start re-building on a good foot.

please either pledge or pass this on to friends.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/hazlitt

Kate's Dulcitar

2011-09-03T18:58:00.001+01:00

This instrument is a mix of a guitar and a dulcimer more commonly know as a Dulcitar. It's for the amazingly talented Kate Mullins of The Puppini Sisters fame.

This fella uses scrap wood for the body and neck and nails for frets. I burnt a peacock into it to make it prettier...

It started off as this box:

more photos of the construction process at this link...

The wood was taken from a wooden crate that delivered brocili, some rough planks

Dronemachine in use

2011-08-22T16:20:00.000+01:00

Here's what happened when I hooked my Dronemachine up to my loopstation:

A side note

2011-08-02T11:30:00.001+01:00

A good friend of mine and an incredibly talented musician is trying to raise the funds to get her new full length album finished.

this is what she sounds like:

Once the target is reached, a percentage of the profits will be donated to the British Heart Foundation for further research on cardiac arthythmia and heart disease.

you can go here to help out: www.pledgemusic.com/projects/Hazlitt

and her own site is here: http://www.hazlittmusic.com/

Junkwood Psaltry

2011-07-22T11:07:00.000+01:00

A good friend of mine commisioned me to make a psaltry for him. I had to rush the construction a bit as I only had my workshop for another 2 weeks but the finished result still sounds ok.

The wood is taken from a busted old cupboard, the bridge is the plastic teeth bits you find on industrial sized cling film boxes and the strings are from a stripped washing line.

I can't play it to save my life, but you can get a good idea of how its meant to be played and how it sounds.

2 fails and a goodbye!

2011-07-17T16:16:00.001+01:00

I'm currently in the process of clearing out my office/workshop:

;

and packing up the tools that I use most often:

I'll be putting a few more instruments up over the next few days. In the meantime this is 2 instruments that didn't quite make it...

The basic Tinjo:

It could have worked if I cared enough to finish it! I wanted to make it a very quick build but it ended up with more problems than it was worth... didn't sound all that great either.

aaaaaaaaaand the Aeolian Baking Tray:

This is a failed instrument prototype. I was aiming for an aeolian harp made from a baking tray that used just one tuning peg and a very long piece of wire wrapped around a bunch of nails.

The construction was simple but it didn't work when introduced to some strong winds, I guess just not enough resonance to make it hum!

so this is just a deme of me plucking it before i get rid of it!

News and Things!

2011-07-08T10:59:00.000+01:00

I've got a new job, so for the time being my workshop is being packed away and put into storage until further notice! I'm scrambling to finish my unfinished projects and get some good recordings or videos of what i've got left, so here is the Bronze Bowl Megaharp being played

Also, a video of a Dulcitar which I'll get some nice photos of done soon and do some more explaining of...

update, of sorts

2011-06-09T22:12:00.000+01:00

I'm working on something awesome which is taking it's time to get to where I want it (progress photo below), so in the meantime I've set up a facebook page which will not only have all these posts but also some extra bits if you're interested (or just too lazy to check back here as often!)

So head here, like the page, I promise not to spam you.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vulpestruments/146363821194

also tell your friends.

Hazlitt's Ukulele

2011-05-08T12:25:00.000+01:00

This is just another ukulele I bought and did some carvings/stainings on. This one is for the very talented Hazlitt and is based around her tattoo designs.

nice and simple.

The Dronemachine

2011-05-06T19:59:00.000+01:00

This is a prototype for a type of instrument i've had kicking around in my head for sometime now. It's a droning instrument that you can change the tone/tune of while it's playing.

It uses a large circular pickup that is infact the outer-core of an electric drill motor. The wires run inside the pickup in a circular position which eliminates the problem of having flat-pickups and having some wires quieter than others.

The strings are 'played' by a piece of frayed string attached to an axel that's spun by a motor via a rubber band. The motor is from a walkman which is important to note because regular motors gave off far too much interferance and were picked up by the pickup even when quite a distance away.

It sounds like this:

DroneMachine by Vulpestruments

The tone change was achieved by having two almost-bridges very close to each other, which one being very slightly higher than the other. Then by threading another piece of wire around the circle of wires between the two bridges you can increase the tension in each wire at the same time. Sorta like having a lasso that tightens around the humming wires.

Mini Tinjo

2011-04-18T21:03:00.001+01:00

This is a quick prototype of a mini version of my Tinjo's. I wanted to see if having a hollow body with a small tin attached to the resonating surface would work together/amplify well enough to hear.

Some ridiculously quick/shoddy frets from bent nails and staples placed in an Appalachian dulcimer style positioning.

Sounds like this:

more photos...

also S784HST3KTPQ

The Newest Tinjo

2011-03-10T20:35:00.000Z

Here is my latest Tinjo!

It's made from about 90% recycled wood and found/reclaimed bits and bobs.

I used a fret scale from an Appalachian Dulcimer, which means that it's just the Major scale. It sounds a bit like this:

I'm accepting commissions if you'd like one, the fact that I use as much recycled materials keeps the costs low, so please contact me for an estimate! They'd range from £50 up to around £100 depending on how much customisation needed.

There's more photos of it when you click the link:

9V motor-electric-pickup with mono-slide

2011-03-07T19:54:00.001Z

Most toys/gadgets/walkmans/tape players/electronic object that needs something to move will have a motor of some kind inside it. These can be easily turned into pickups thusly:

The inside of the motor will look a bit like this, with the magnets around the edge and the coils around an axle in the middle:

Drill a small hole inbetween the coils just about big enough to not destroy the magnets like what I did on my first attempt...

Do the same on the back so that the string can travel all the way through...

Wire up the + and - terminals of the motor to a socket...

Hey Presto!

The nitty gritty of why this works is pretty simple: electric pickups on guitars are just magnets and coiled wire, the vibrations of the strings create a fluctuation in the magnetic field which creates a very small alternating current in the wire. This is then sent off to an amplifier which comes out as noise. It's all called Faraday's law of Induction which is about one of the only things I remember from physics lessons. Electric motors work using the same Law of induction, so they're built from magnets and coils just like a pickup, the only difference is how they're utilised in everyday use, innit.

Moonmilk is being awesome again

2011-03-06T12:59:00.000Z

The ever entertaining and innovative Moonmilk is doing another series of Instrument-a-day projects. You should go check them out.

http://www.moonmilk.com/

They're great... despite the fact that he seems to steal ideas from my head before I tell anyone about them.

Tennis Racketar

2011-02-16T21:04:00.000Z

This is a demonstration of a tennis racket guitar prototype, It uses a piezo mic embedded in a wooden holder directly beneath the bridge to pick up the vibrations of the string.

I'm still working on something to use for frets, the 'neck' isn't in the slightest bit flat which doesn't help at all...

Vulpes Sonitus - C411

2011-01-23T01:22:00.000Z

This is my latest drone/ambient offering, good for drifting off to and getting lost in.

made from a lot of organic sound samples i've collected and processed to smithereens.

The Bendolele!

2011-01-20T19:58:00.000Z

I'm working on a few decently big things at the moment, which means lots of glues and varnishes and waiting for things to dry. Today I came up with this quick thing made from a pool cue and a quick box I threw together with staples 'cause I didn't want to wait for anymore glue to dry!

It's played by bending the wire with the weird-shaped metal thing I wrapped around the cue.

The latest Tinjo

2011-01-14T20:52:00.001Z

This is my latest Tinjo made from old fence posts, BBQ skewers, copper pipe and a travel sweet tin!

My awesome wife got me a Pyrography kit for xmas, so expect to see a lot more wood burning!

The 1 Hour Music Project - MKIII

2011-01-13T23:20:00.000Z

I had a spare hour during my lunch break so whipped up a quick Golden syrup can 2 stringed ukulele thing? I used a handle from a walking stick, a golden syrup can, 2 picture frame hooks to anchor the strings from a badminton racket.

The quality is rubbish, and the audio goes a bit weird towards the end for some reason, but you get the idea! Next one I shall have to try on a different camera.

Windjo MKII - Megafail

2011-01-09T13:01:00.000Z

I enjoyed the results of the first Windjo so soon after decided to make something that could be wall-mounted or shoved on a pole or something, so came up with the Windjo MKII. In theory and practise it works fine, unfortunately it sounds like this:

WindjoMKII by Vulpestruments

which sounds remarkably similar to a wet fart in a large room.

This has been made for a while now but I haven't had a chance to put it online. Soon after I'd finished it, Ranjit from the wonderful Moonmilk pointed me to something he'd made years before that sounds a lot better and looks better too. So if you want to see how this could have sounded if it'd been thought through and made better then go here!

I think the only salvageable part from this one is the bridge design, which I'm probably going to try and use in some wind powered hurdy gurdy thing as I like the idea of wind-powered sculptural musical funness.

More photos after the break...

The Bronzebowl Megaharp

2011-01-06T20:38:00.000Z

This one's quite fun, It's a sort-of-a-harp made from a bronze flower pot, a metal tube from a mop handle and various bolts and wires and things.

aaaaaaaaaaaaand it sounds like this:

MegaBowlHarp by Vulpestruments

Kingdom of Doghead and other news

2011-01-05T09:12:00.000Z

I have a few very interesting instruments that are finished and shall be on the blog shortly, but in the meantime I thought I'd share an unfinished album/completed EP I was working on 3 years ago that I've now decided I'll never be able to finish.

It was inspired by Nick Cave's novel And the Ass saw the Angel, which is a brilliant book.

aaaaand a sneak peak at something coming to your ears very soon...

Gallery of Megafails I

2010-12-08T12:51:00.000Z

Not everything works... and as a jesture of honesty I shall ocassionally post a mini gallery of MegaFails.

Here's the first batch!

Bamboo Jew Harp

sounded like this: Phllummp

Acoustic Guitar Piano Hammers

sounded like this: RAAR RAAR RAAR

Pringle Tube Hurdy-Gurdy

sounded like this: gggnnnghhhrrrhhgggnnnnnh

The Inbuilt SquidAmpSpeaker Combo Tinjo!

2010-12-08T12:44:00.000Z

I've had this one finished for a while now, but my computer at home has been destroyed by monsters so haven't been able to get online in a while. I can't upload any sound samples at work but I can assure you this sounds awesome!

I used the insides of a computer speaker connected to a 9V battery and a piezo transducer for the amp/speaker. The piezo is so sensitive it gives it a nice overdrive sound when thrown to the max! I've also used my own 10p tuning peg design for the pegs on this one, just to show how much I trust it.

The Debut of the 2 Hour Music Project

2010-10-27T20:55:00.001+01:00

Inspired by the 24 project by Paul Sizer where he created 24 pieces of art in 24 hours, I took this idea and applied it to my own favourite form of making things!

So I challenged myself to design and build a new instrument then write and record a song on it within the space of 2 hours.

This was my second attempt at the project, which surprisingly only took me just over an hour from start to finish.

Quality isn't fantastic, but is all I have to work with for the moment!

one string wooden spoon banjo

2010-10-27T17:18:00.000+01:00

A very quick 5 minute project!

The Bumhand Blues!

2010-10-18T22:41:00.000+01:00

Here's a video of one of my Tinjo's in Action!

Pringle tube Speaker

2010-10-17T13:08:00.001+01:00

I didn't have any way of playing my mp3 player in my office. I have an awesome old boombox that plays tapes and radio but it's far too awesome to try and take apart. This was my 5 minute solution...

There's 3 computer speakers inside and one speaker from a long forgotten source ontop, all simply wired up to a small audio jack. It's not the loudest thing in the world, but I only need it to play on my desk to my ears so it works just fine!

Quick video to show it in action, also to see how good the blogger video hosting stuff is!

Quick Note! for those who are searching for the current Pringle Tube limited edition speaker, it's not here. However, you could easily make one from spare parts and a quick small amplifier and it'd probably end up being cheaper than the 3 tubes of pringles you bought.

The Duck Strangler and Other News

2010-10-08T21:46:00.000+01:00

I came across a horn of some poor creature that was going to be thrown away, I couldn't let this happen. So I tried to recreate an instrument my bro bought for me in Morocco. The Bamboo is from my grandma's garden, the reed is part of some tough plastic wrapping, and it sounds more like a strangled duck than anything else worth mentioning!

It sounds like this...

The Duck Strangler by Vulpestruments

Also coming up soon, I've started a 2 hour music project, where I challenge myself to make an instrument and write/record a song with it in the space of 2 hours. I've done a few trial runs and it's been fun/tough! Once I mix it properly I'll get the results online. I'm hoping to try and make it a weekly project.

The 10p Tuning Peg!

2010-10-02T19:11:00.000+01:00

To me, the trickiest part to a completely DIY stringed instrument is the tuning pegs. Which is why I came up with this incredibly simple (and must have been done before somewhere) 10 pence tuning peg!

All it involves is a bolt, a nut, a washer and a washer with a hole drilled into it.

Tie the wire to hole in the washer
.Put that washer onto a secured bolt and add the nut, but don't screw it on too far.
Tie the other end of the wire as tight as you can to whatever it's going to be anchored to.
Turn the bolt with screwdriver while holding the nut, this will push the nut and washer up the shaft of the bolt, increasing the tension in the wire.
Simples!

I knocked up a quick and simple hammered dulcimer to see how well it worked, and so far so good!

Cultlovesyou Tinjo

2010-09-26T21:27:00.000+01:00

My latest, and so far my favourite, instrument, is another Tinjo, with an awesome goatskull headstock, frets from a barbeque skewer and a piezo mic hooked up inside the tin.

cultlovesyou Tinjo demo by Vulpestruments

This one is for my brother who is an awesome designer, check out his stuff which you may have already seen on telly over at cultlovesyou

Busy Busy Bumblebee

2010-09-13T17:25:00.000+01:00

I've not had the net for a while so not been able to update. There's about 7 instruments being constructed at the moment! Including my first attempt at a reed instrument, the Windjo MKII and more Tobacco tin banjo's!

Also, i've finished off a noise album which you'll probably think is weird/rubbish. Everything was recorded in a boiler room using very simple but odd recording methods that gave me some very odd results...

<a href="http://offtandiscord.bandcamp.com/album/theres-monsters-in-the-boiler-room-sessions">There's Monsters in the Boiler Room Sessions by Vulpes Vulpes Records</a>

Some Quick Frets

2010-08-22T16:53:00.000+01:00

I added some quick and dirty toothpick frets to the 2-String Tobacco Tinjo on the 3rd, 5th, 10th and 12th fret positions, and a mini 4th on the bottom string.

I composed this little ditty on it too.

The Windjo

2010-08-11T15:53:00.000+01:00

I've been wanting to get more into creating sound sculptures and things that can play themselves, so I knocked together this quick prototype for an idea I had using wind to pluck strings.

I used 4 dessert pots to act as a windmill that turns a metal rod with the plucking device attached. I had to experiment with what to use for the plucking bit and in the end the corner of a train ticket was the best! The strings are banjo strings and are set up to surround the shaft with the train ticket.

Another Blast from the Past!

2010-08-03T09:51:00.000+01:00

Unfathomably, and weirdly coincidentally, my brother found my long lost second album this week! Not more than a week after a friend handed over the First album I did that I lost.

Hopefully at this rate within a month or so people will be handing me albums I wrote in the future.

<a href="http://offtandiscord.bandcamp.com/album/cd002">T001 by off'tan'discord</a>

Available for free download or pay-what-you-like at bandcamp

Blast from the Past

2010-07-22T23:07:00.000+01:00

I have recorded quite a lot of solo stuff over the past 10 years or so, most of which has been lost to hard drive failures and catastrophic mega fails.

Recently a good friend unearthed the first compilation of songs I wrote, 8 songs of all bass ambient almost meditative experimenting!

<a href="http://offtandiscord.bandcamp.com/album/listen-with-patients">this dream by off'tan'discord</a>

It's available to stream, download for free or even purchase for real monies on bandcamp

The Monolin

2010-07-21T22:18:00.000+01:00

This one surprised the hell out of me! I had a plastic desert bowl and a violin string so threw together a prototype to get them together.

I'm no violinist, I've managed some horrible squeaks and squeals on them before, but this was quite easy to get a good sound out of...

Try and guess the tune!

The 'bridge' is a nylon fishing line tied tight around the violin string and two small holes in the base of the bowl.

The Ukuleopod or the Squidulele

2010-07-21T00:29:00.000+01:00

Alright, I cheated a bit on this one...

It was my wife birthday yesterday, she'd always half joked about wanting a ukulele, and she's had a serious squid obsession since she was a little girl. So I did what any good husband would do, I bought a cheap ukulele and engraved a squid into it!

I engraved one layer and stained it with a mahogany stain, then engraved another layer to get a 2 tone engraved look.

She's had it for less than 2 days and is already pounding out some awesome ukulele chords, which is bloody impressive for someone who's never played a stringed instrument before. She's a natural and I will try and persuade her to let me record her play it soon!

The Aeoliolin

2010-07-15T22:07:00.003+01:00

This is a ~~kitty litter scooper~~ Aeolian Violin. Or an Aeoliolin. A Violin played by the wind.

One of the benefits at working at a school is that kids break things. A lot. Somebody broke their violin at the neck, which left me with a perfectly nice body to play with.

It works when the wind makes the strings resonate. I rigged up a neck to allow as much wind to hit the strings as possible, added 11 strings (3 steel guitar, 2 Nylon Guitar and 6 Banjo) and a very basic headstock.

(It starts about 18 seconds in)

It's been finished for about a month now but today was the first windy day we've had in a while! Also the school I work in is next to a train track, which explains the train in the recording... and the children...

There's more photos too...

Pringle Tube Ukulele

2010-07-10T18:36:00.000+01:00

I had a plank of wood and a Pringle tube. I HAD to make a ukulele.

This is what it looks like:

This is what it sounds like:

once again proving that pringle tubes are awesome.

The Two-String Tobaco Tinjo

2010-07-04T00:12:00.003+01:00

mystery instrument number 1 solved... by me!

I got a small Tobacco tin from a charity shop and decided to make it awesome. I cut some small mounts and drilled some tiny holes so that it could be 'suspended' in the middle of the wooden frame, that way the sound wouldn't be dampened so much. I put a piezo transducer inside the tin because I was afraid it would be far too quiet, but it actually managed to amplify the sound pretty well without it!

Definitely something I can make many more of, so if you want one, let me know and I'll make you one!

sneaky peak

2010-06-24T19:49:00.001+01:00

Because I don't like leaving updates for too long, and because my current ongoing projects are taking a bit of time, I thought i'd upload a sneaky peak at what I'm working on.

10 Points to whoever can correctly guess the 3 instruments-in-progress!

Handsfree Vuvuzela!

2010-06-19T14:56:00.000+01:00

Simply add bees to the jar and hey presto! your very own handsfree Vuvuzela

12 String Coffee Can Kora

2010-06-13T20:16:00.000+01:00

I love Kora's. They look amazing and sound amazing. I didn't have a massive Gourd or any hide so i had to settle with a coffee can...

It's played with dark piece of wood between your knees with the copper pipe on your lap to keep it in place with one hand on each side plucking the strings like a harp.

It sounds pretty good, although nowhere near as nice as the proper Kora's.

The Piperophone

2010-06-06T12:49:00.000+01:00

My previous attempt at a microphone for Hecktate's vocalist Jon was a roaring failure. Not because it didn't work, but because it was far too noisy and didn't really suit his style of running around and destroying things on stage.

So I've come up with a much sturdier solution...

Amazingly simple, Copper pipe, Hose clips, in one end is the small condenser microphone element from an old tape recorder and the other end an unwanted XLR connection held in place with a silicone sealant.

It does have the draw back of looking like a pipebomb. So i'm also going to make a small carrycase for it.

The 1-Stringed presplit Bamboo-cane Ektara?

2010-05-28T21:49:00.000+01:00

Ektara's normally have a cane of bamboo split in two with a soundbox at the base and a tuning peg at the top. The bamboo is pressed together to change the pitch of the string...

I've changed things a bit...

I chopped a length of fresh bamboo at two nodes, making a closed cylindrical bit of bamboo. Then embedded a piezo at one end, attached that to a socket I took from an old tape recorder. Cut a slot into the handle end of a BBQ skewer and drilled some small holes for the string, and voila! The 1-Stringed presplit Bamboo-cane Ektara. Or shall we just call it Dave?

Turn the handle to change the pitch of the string, best played into an amp 'cause it's hard to hear otherwise!

Sound clip after the jump...

Pandora's Boximer...

2010-05-24T20:37:00.004+01:00

Antique Cork Tipped Cigarette box turned into a mini 6 string Dulcimer with handmade Bamboo hammers.

pictures by my lovely wife.

Bamboo Koudi

2010-05-20T20:17:00.003+01:00

I had 5 minutes free at lunch today, so knocked up a Bamboo Koudi.

I'm not that skilled at wind instruments (yet!) so only managed two pitches, but considering how simple it was to make i think i might experiment with it some more!

And yes, I left the leaves on, it looks cooler.

3 Stringed Coconutalika

2010-05-18T22:50:00.001+01:00

I decided to steal the prongs off of a Mbira for my acoustic monster, so there was a perfectly nice coconut shell body just waiting to be used.

An hour or so later after some tinkering I present to you the 3 Stringed Coconut Shell Balalaika!

Current Projects and a Sneak Peek

2010-05-15T14:05:00.001+01:00

Current Projects:

Bellows for the Minimonium
Bamboo Jew Harp
Native American Bagpipes
Cigarette Box Dulcimer
Coconut shell Balilika

And the restoration/modification of the broken down £10 charity shop acoustic guitar which will feature Mbira prongs, Piano hammers, retractable third bridge and go faster stripes... sneak peek of the work in progress here:

Hazlitt's Ho-Bo-Er-Hu

2010-05-03T14:51:00.001+01:00

It was my friend's birthday recently, and considering she's an unbelievably talented musician I figured if anyone can make this sound good, she can...

www.myspace.com/hazlittmusic

Again based on the chinese Erhu and esentially the same only shorter version of the other hobo-erhu I made.

Hopefully if she manages to record something on it i'll put up a link.

The 5 Minute Springcan

2010-04-17T15:26:00.001+01:00

For my Minimonium project i had to get some springs... this left me with a large surplus of springs.

So, i knocked this up in 5 minutes...

Introducing the Eagle300 Combo

2010-04-17T12:24:00.001+01:00

Some of the operating theatres where my dad works at are being refurbished. My dad has a good eye for 'things which might one day be useful' and so picked up a small amplifier to see if it would be of any use...

The speaker we found in the garage buried beneath boxes full of 'things which might one day be useful'.

So now i have my very own makeshift amp/speaker combo. It likes to hum very loudly.

Hobo-Erhu

2010-04-17T11:44:00.001+01:00

An Erhu is a 2 stringed chinese violin of sorts, traditionally made with snake skin and a hexagonal wooden sound box made from nice wood...

I've used a Baked Bean tin, some picture frame hooks and a piece of scrap wood i found at work.

I've piezo'd it up for good measure too.

A clip using my 'new' amp, the Eagle300

Cloche Harp

2010-03-14T00:02:00.001Z

This one's a weird combination between a westernised Kora harp design and a Cloche (those domed food covers used by waiters etc.) It was a prototype and knocked together pretty quickly but the end result i'm pretty happy with!

the bowl resonates and hums pretty nicely, you can even do a few singing bowl techniques on it.

A sound clip from my awesome new phone:

Coffee Can Microphone

2010-02-05T14:20:00.001Z

Very similar in theory to the Shouty Box, only with a much larger resonating chamber area, hopefully resulting in a slight echo effect...

Jake's Bendjo

2010-02-05T14:01:00.002Z

This is Bendjo MKII, a few modifications and improvements from the original and an attempt at making it fancy by the headstock too...

This one's for awesome guitarist Jake... here's some of his links:

http://www.youtube.com/xJakexGuyx http://www.myspace.com/experimentsineuphony http://www.youtube.com/experimentsineuphony http://www.last.fm/user/JakeGuy

Hecktate's Shouty Box

2010-02-05T13:53:00.001Z

The shouty box for Hecktate's vocalist and good friend Jon is my first attempt to create a microphone from scratch.

The contact mic is attached to a metal plate which is in turn connected to the resonant chamber and base with springs. This is in order to help pick up the vibrations and transfer them to the contact mic better.

You can check Hecktate out here: http://www.myspace.com/hecktate1

Will hopefully get some video of it in action soon!

Current Projects...

2010-01-21T20:54:00.001Z

Pringle Tube Hurdy Gurdy - Megafail.
Mic'd Bendjo for awesome guitarist Jake Gold
Shouty Mic Box for Hecktate vocalist Jon
Echoey Mic tube for Myself
misc attachments for the Clampophone
Piezo'd Foot stomper

pics and info to follow shortly!

Vulpestruments on Odstrument.com

2009-11-13T21:30:00.001Z

The Steel Rod Box has been featured on the fantastic website The Oddstrument Collection.

It's an amazing site and i've gathered quite a lot of inspiration/ideas from their pages, go check 'em out and sign up to their newly launched community pages while you're at it!

The Bendjo

2009-10-12T18:37:00.001+01:00

I knocked this one out in a few hours, i'm very much a pick something up, measure it once problem-solve later kind of person, so this is the result of having a spare chocolate tin lying about!

I've made the bridge on the tin close to the 'fretboard' and much higher than it should be, this results in a very odd way to play indeed... The pitch of the wire is determined by how hard you press down on it, not by where on the fretboard you press.

So the strings bend rather than change length.

might knock up some simple pickups as i think it's going to be too noisy for contact mic's.

Clampophone

2009-10-12T01:23:00.001+01:00

This latest thingymajig was inspired very much by the ridiculous and amazing Daxophone.

the idea for the Clampophone is simple, sandwich a contact mic between some wood, clamp bits onto said wood, pick up the vibrations of said clamped item and make them loud with the resonating box + the contact mic.

This would really be more of a microphone than an actual instrument, and then experiments galore to come with what to clamp to it! ideas are already in swing to make a mbira style attachment, as well as Toungue drum style carved wooden bits.

any more ideas on a postcard and sent to offtandiscord@gmail.com

The Steel Rod Box

2009-09-01T01:08:00.001+01:00

For reasons unclear, my father has a few boxes of unused spinal surgery equipment and tools in the garage. including a whole heap load of stainless steel rods that are threaded the entire length.

Something had to be done.

So i've come up with the Steel Rod Box, rods of varying width screwed in on both ends into a basic wooden box. I've included a simple contact mic from a piezo transducer to pick up the vibrations for amplification.

I had no idea how it would sound, so after some playing and experimenting i found it sounds best played with some chopsticks (wagamama ones are good) with a felt coating to soften the blow.

it sounds a bit like a steel drum i reckon...

running fingers along the rods:

the rods can be easily tuned by playing with the lengths...

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Pringle Tubes

2009-08-18T17:49:00.001+01:00

Pringle tubes have fantastic resonance! pick up an empty one and play it like a bongo, it doesn't sound too shabby does it? taking this one step further i decided to make a few little alterations, and hey-presto! i give you the 2 string Pringle harp and the Pringle tube Ektara!

The harp is pretty limited, but the Ektara sounds pretty fantastic. I know of 3 different ways of playing a proper Ektara and you can only manage one of them on the Pringle Tube version, but even so it's not a bad mimic of the sound/style.

Pringle Tube Ektara:

Next stop, Pringle Tube Hurdy Gurdy.

Suitcase Dulcimer - the Dulcicase

2009-08-18T17:07:00.001+01:00

This is my first little project, a suitcase dulcimer/harp/zheng made from an old art supplies carry case. The wire is from stripped clothing line with eyelets, the tuning pegs from windworld.com

It sounds good, a bit twangy, difficult as hell to tune to any kind of scale! I might replace some of the wires with slightly thicker violin strings to get a few 'bass' strings on it. Also going to make a quick contact mic and hook it up to some pedals to make noises with.

a quick demonstration using chopsticks and playing it like a dulcimer:

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