The Microphone of Pasts Future

This is number two in the new microphone department, and slightly more authentic in appearance then the Funnel Mic. I built this for a secret project that I alluded to in my last blog posting based on images I found online of microphones from around 1880 to 1920.

I used an old 510 microphone I bought years ago for about ten dollars. It had been sitting in a metal box in the spaceroom almost immediately after I purchased it so I really didn’t feel bad about ripping it out of its casing. The base of the microphone is from one of the many old useless brass instruments I also have laying around the spaceroom. So in a way I am clearing out the old junk and making new and wonderful junk in the process. Sometimes I find this to be a good exercise when the creative juices aren’t flowing as well as I would like. This goes for the strainer on the back of the microphone as well. For years I have been collecting old kitchen utensils and it hasn’t been until recently that I have discovered a use for them. The face plate was actually from an old busted microphone I took apart years ago to use the body for one of my Fauxbots. If only I knew then what I know now, but I guess it’s always better could regret something you have done, then something you haven’t …Feel free to fill in the next line. There is an output jack and an on/off switch that were salvaged from one of the many broken electronics that get sent my way. As far as the two metal rings that round the face of the microphone I have no idea where they came from, sometimes the spaceroom just gives me gifts.

Again, much like the Funnel Mic I have no idea if this will work in a live setting. Years ago I had the brilliant idea of getting rid of both my amps. I think it one of those I suck at music moments why do I want this stuff taking up space in the spaceroom. If somebody knows what I was thinking please let me know.

Over and out.

The Funnel Mic

This is the year that I have decided to go back to working with a few electronics in my instruments. After learning as much as I have in the ongoing process of recording an album in the studio I have now decided to turn my attention to live performance. A few months ago I was contacted by some friends who asked me if I would like to be part of a new project. At this time I don’t want to go into the details of this project mainly because none of us are sure what exactly those details are. All I can tell you is that it involves the turn of the last century, some thespians, an animator, and my instruments.

I am experimenting with a few different microphone configurations using all the old mics I have picked up over the years. None of them are exceptional great so tearing them apart isn’t really a big deal for me. Some have been taken out of telephones, kid’s toys, or crappy musical instruments made of plastic that have all but died under my curious tampering.

I built the funnel Mic using parts from a few old brass horns I had scattered about, and some hand made aluminum swirls. The microphone is mounted fairly close to the mouth of the horn and I am hoping it will be good for picking up stringed instruments. Testing has yet to be done on any large scale. One of the side effects was the way the mic inside picked up the sound of the swirls. It is jammed into the horn as far as it will go, touching the metal a full 360 degrees. It now seems to be acting much like a contact mic would. My only fear is that it may feedback easily at very low levels.

Some time after the Funnel Mic was finished I got the idea of building a similar piece, but this time placing a much smaller microphone at the other end of the horn in the hopes of creating a more tinny sound. Perhaps they could be used in conjunction with one another.

When I build it I will let you know.

Iner

The Return of the Alien Bell Monster

I am still very much on a percussive kick lately. I keep going through the spaceroom finding all these different metal bowls, cups, and bells that I have been collecting from my travels throughout Canada and the United States. I am trying to use them all up do to the fact that they are somewhat bulky and difficult to store. Real estate in the spaceroom is hard to come by on a good day, so I figured it best that I get these things out of the room and out of my head.

I built this instrument as part of an ongoing project I have been working

on with my good friends the Fembots. For those of you that don’t know, we have been working on an album now for quite

some time. Over this period of time I have learn many things about the construction of Junkstruments, and the convenience of transporting these instruments.

Some of the materials in this instrument include a kettle straight from our stove top, candle holders, metal lids, serving bowls, drink coasters, disk breaks, and of coarse a had to throw in a few salad bowls.

The Swirl Hi-Hat

This is one of my attempts at making an instrument that is road worthy. Something I can pack away in a box that can easily be situated safely into a touring van. Right now if you try and move any more then four instruments a time you’ll end up with cacophony of stings and fridge parts that sound slightly better than when I perform live.

The “Swirl” as I will call it from now on was made from a busted hi-hat stand. A ribbed metal vase, and six handmade aluminum swirls. On the top there is an aluminum ring that guides the swirls around the vase. Below that sits a cymbal I found at the dollar store. Not the greatest of sounds but it is more about the swirls in this one.

Basically the swirls run up and down the vase scraping along side its ribs and flicking off the tops and bottom to get more of the swirls chimes.

I am still up in the air about the sound it produces, sometimes it can be a bit harsh, and then sometimes I think harsh is good.

I guess I will have to wait till my next trip up north and get the word from the professionals.

The Electric Chicken Cooker Thumb Piano

Well it has been a long time since I posted new instruments. I have been very busy with a few other things lately so my poor instruments were put on hold. Here are a few new thumb pianos I made to get me back into the swing of things.

The Electric Thumb Piano was built for a new year, and a new mind set. Over the last few years I had started pumping out crazy instruments for shows, but started to get the feeling that some of there uniqueness was lost. At one point I was making two to three instruments daily. I had five shows book for one month, each needing about twenty instruments to fill the walls. I think that took away from them drastically. I was sick of seeing them, and I’m sure that all the folks who live in this neighborhood were sick of seeing them as well. The mass production has stopped. The Fauxbots have taken over as my art show pieces. It helps that they practically build themselves now. The instruments I can now spend as much time as needed on them. There are no deadlines to be kept, and now, more then ever there are no restrictions on what I want to build.

My plan is to start with a few that are simple but reliable instruments that can be used in a live setting without fear of it falling out of tune or snapping in half, or snapping in half and then falling out of tune.

As some of you may know I have been working on an album with a band called Fembots. We have been recording for about a year now and getting some great results. Over that year I really had the opportunity to see the instruments in action. This has helped refine what I was building, or rather Brian telling me it was crap helped refine what I was building. In the studio there is much room for error. Often I found myself banging away on an instrument for five to ten minutes only to watch Dave cut it down to about ten seconds and make it into a loop. I would ask Dave about this and all he would say is that I needed the practice. He reminds me of my piano teacher I had as a small boy. She was a most evil cow. The point is that in the studio little bits can be added here and there, things can be altered and fixed up, live on stage is another matter all together. As I say these new instruments have to be reliable and sound good. For the next few months I am going to build things around the album with the idea of touring in mind. I may rebuild old instruments that we used in recording, or I might just try to build new to get a sound we already have, this time without the aid of a computer and sound technician.

I am looking forward to what this year will bring.

Having said all that I can now finally get to the Electric Chicken Cooker Thumb Piano, and it’s extremely simple construction. Maybe after you build a certain amount of thumb pianos from junk the universe give you a little break and make it just a bit less frustrating. I think that was the case for this instrument. Thumb pianos have always given me a hard time. There are a great many thumb piano carcasses in the spaceroom right now as I speak. It is the mounting of the tines that always makes me snap. This time though I used a mount that I recovered from a junction box. It has threaded screws already in place and a pre-drilled hole you can use to attach it to what ever face plate you like. I have a thing for chicken cookers so I went with that. The tines are from a street sweeper that Dave had collected so many years ago. They are strong and flexible, but thin. For years I was using rake tines, but they are a bit too thick and everything always sounded a bit flat. The back end of the tines has been swirlafied which slightly changes the sound if you pluck it from behind. I might experiment with this further I think it warms the sound up a bit, but I don’t want to chance it on this piece.

Inside there is a simple contact mic, a volume knob and a three quarter inch jack. All of it is very simple in its construction, but extremely effective in its sound.

Iner

Tin Can Thumb Piano

The Tin Can Thumb Piano was inspired by a work room full of material I was given after my wife’s father passed away. These are materials that most people would consider to be of no use, outdated, or just down right garbage. Odd little bits of this and that, a mind boggling assortment of rusted nuts, bolts and screws that I can waste hours on sorting. Basically things that most people don’t seem to think have any value emotionally or financially. I love finding a machined piece of something completely foreign to me. It opens up an entire world of possibilities, and a new place for my mind to wander while I figure out where I am going to store all of this stuff before my wife kicks my ass.

I have always enjoyed placing my father’s things into my projects, and through him my grandfather’s things as well, it gives me a strong feeling of connection to my Dad, and an introduction to a man whose name I share, but know so little about. In this way my father is still a very big part of my life. Unfortunately I can now do this with Jen’s father’s things as well, and I am getting to know him in a completely new and wonderful way.

It is interesting to compare the pieces from both there lives. There are so many similarities between them in the things they held on to. Is this just products and mindsets from there times, or were they just similar in work and life.

There will be many things over the next few years that will have little pieces from there lives incorporated into mine. When that happens I will find a way to document what they added to the piece.

Before I forget and sign off, the instrument sounds great.

Cheers

Iner

A Saw Blade Thunmb Piano

This is made from dull reciprocating saw blades I took from Brains house. It has a deeper tone to it then any of my other thumb pianos, but I am not so crazy about the way this one looks. I am most defiantly in a metal stage right now. Who knows, those blades could be on a tin can in the near future.

The Electric Saw

Three strings and a Chiken Cooker

The Fat Body Fiddle

The Work Out Rubber Drum Bass

The Clock Bass

Some Kind of Wooden Clakity Clack Thing

The Cameron House Opening 2007

So last night was the big night for my show at the Cameron. A collection of mostly new instruments that looks great in such a wonderful venue. The Backstabbers were kind enough to play the opening, and you know when those folk are around things tend to get a little messy. The night was great and I am very thankful for all the folks that came out. I would also like to thank Jen for all the wonderful pictures she took. I better get on booking my show for next year before all the spots are gone.

Cheers

iner

Five Stringed Chicken Cooker

It has been a mighty slow summer as far as instruments are concerned.
I finally managed to get the Five Stringed Chicken Cooker finished yesterday.
The neck was from a busted up Ovation that some kind person left for me at my local pub. It was just slightly more bashed up after a few pints and a rock and roll ending.
The only reason it’s a five string is because one of the tuning pegs was busted and I didn’t feel replacing it. I’m just lazy like that.
The eye bolt on the end was put there for two reasons. The first is to raise the strings when I raise the bridge. The second is to add my blackberry that I never use. One of the neat side effects is that it can be used as a whammy bar if you are into that kind of stuff.
Most importantly it has a great tin banjo sound.
One of the best things I like is the bridge I used. It came from an old film projector base. It was used to raise the front end up or down. Now it can be use to raise or lower the action. I think I may need to try this on a new instrument, raising both the nut and the bridge to convert it into more of a slide instrument. The only problem I can see with that is the intonation being messed up. It may have to be re tuned each time, but that’s a story for another day.

Iner

Reesor

So this is a first for me.
I was asked if some of my instruments could be part of a play that was going on for this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival. At first I had no idea that any of the instruments I have built had any interest in the theater. Boy was I wrong.
The play was written by Erin Brandenburg and Lauren Taylor. I could go into the history of Reesor Canada but I would probably mess it up. Erin is the lead in the play and Lauren directs it. My instruments will be played by Andrew Penner of the Sunparlor Players, Dave McEathron (who’s album I played on) and Gord Bolan. Leah Bowen is the stage manager, and the costumes were made by Vanessa Wishart.
The play opens on July 4th 2007 – 10:30 pm at the Factory Studio Theater.
For more information check out the attached fliers, or go to each individual page.
If I have forgotten anything please forgive me as I have a plate in my head.

Iner

Sympathetic Slide Chicken Cooker in Open G

So now that I am back in the saddle I have decided to work on a few of the less successful of the instruments I have built. The Chicken Cooker in Green was one of them. I had it hanging in my local pup for years which really sucked every time I went in for a pint. All I could see was bad art and an even worse musical instrument. Finally after a good re-hanging I decided to bring it home and rip it apart, at worst I would have twelve tuning pegs for another instrument. Things went surprisingly well, even though the original construction was substandard at best.

Both the bridges are new as well as the string placement. I cleaned up the neck and restrung it only to be pleasantly surprised to find it holding its tune.

The instrument is tuned to an open G. Open tunings seem to be the thing for me this summer.

So that’s all I have, but hopefully a lot more to come in the near future.

Thanks

Iner

Fiddle Case Three

So it has been a while since I last updated this site. I have been busy recording music and building robots. I have started back with a few rebuilds and just basically trying to use up some stuff in the Spaceroom and once again find my experimental instrument building legs.

This is the third of my old fiddle case series. Thanks to Tony Allen for the case. You’re a good man Tony.

I used the neck from an old busted up electric guitar, unfortunately I removed the frets some time ago for some other long since forgotten instrument.
I tuned the instrument to an open D.
I think that’s all I’ve got.
Cheers

The Jane Bond Show

So even though I have not been building instruments lately I have still been having shows. This one was at The Jane Bond in Kitchener/Waterloo. It’s one of the coolest places you’ll find out that way, and I always enjoy my time there.

16 stringed slide zither

Percussive Droid 108

It seems like I haven’t been keeping this blog up as much as I should lately, but it would seem that little robots have taken over the spaceroom, and all my spare time. The one good thing is that as they continue to grow in numbers they end up using all the old unwanted materials that can’t seem to find there way into an instrument.

Percussive droid is a direct result of their influence on my state of mind.

Bleep Boop Bop

To see some of these Robots just click on anything that says Robot and a Robot will guide you to the other Robots and Robot. Robot. Robot.

Just for the record Percussive Droid 108 is the only one of the many Robots built over the past month that is actually trained to be beat on with a pair of sticks, any of the other Robots will just break. And that would be bad. I would cry.

Bleep Bop

Percussive Box Two

Scrap Horns and Other Hardware’s From the Spaceroom

This is another attempt at my ongoing struggle to build wind instruments. The past few have been a bit more successful, but are still very limited to what the can do. The body of this piece is from some weird instrument that has been kicking around the spaceroom for way to long. I think it was originally meant as a practice piece for the bagpipes, but honest to god I really haven’t got a clue. I bored out the holes to be considerably larger, before they were just little pin sized holes. I

added a metal lampshade to the end to give it more of a horn look, but the real treat came from the reed being mounted on an antenna. By extending or reducing the length of the antenna you can quite noticeably alter the pitch of the instrument.

I think I am now going to have to find a placement for the other hundred antennas I have been collecting in the spaceroom for far to long, unfortunately I am going to have to get my reeds somewhere else.

Olive Oil Tin Can Ukulele

I'm still looking for a name for this one

Maple Syrup Ukulele Two with real neck

Spring Loaded Ukulele

Again with the metal ukuleles, I just keep coming across so many different cool metal cans that I can’t stop myself. This one is much like the Maple Syrup Ukulele with a few slight alterations in design and function. After a few recording sessions and playing the instruments in a more percussive fashion it had been talked about that perhaps giving something a snare like. At first I had the idea of just running a few springs across some kind of metal container, and then I thought I would produced it from some of the already existing metal stringed instruments. I’m glad I decided to build something completely new. I gave me a chance to add the sink strainers I found at the Dollar Store, and I didn’t have to worry about messing with something that was already completed, not to mention I hate reworking old pieces.

All the springs on the side of the can when strummed together produce and E flat tone, so when stringing the instrument up I went with an open E minor tuning EBEG.

St. Michaels Metal Ukulele

I have had this tin can now for about twenty years. I have been moving it from place to place, and every single time it has just been full of junk. Don’t get me wrong I love junk, but sometimes even I think something is garbage. When I found it in the spaceroom it was full of blank keyboard keys. What was I thinking? Well now it has a purpose. Continuing on in my