Haunting Drone Instrument

Drones Drones & Vehicles Music
Haunting Drone Instrument
YouTube player

Tom Fox of VulpeInstruments has unveiled another one of his creations, which uses the action of a grand piano to bend the notes in a motor-controlled drone instrument. It’s called the Dronemachine MKII.

From Tom’s site:

This latest instrument is an evolution of The Dronemachine I made a few months back. It uses the outer core of an electric fan motor as a pickup, a cassette player motor drives a piece of string which causes the musical strings to vibrate. The wooden peg looking things are actually part of the action in a Grand Piano, when you press down on the end, they raise the washers and shorten the length of the wire. It’s a pretty simple concept but it’s taken me ages to figure out how to put it into action!

12 thoughts on “Haunting Drone Instrument

  1. chuck says:

    That is awesome! Off to work on my own version…

    1. Eric Freeman says:

      i’m telling you, send this link to Bear McCreary (composer, Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica) … maybe he can mix this instrument into one of his scores…

      1. vulpestruments says:

        Thank you for the name! I shall hunt him down on twitters and leave unsolicited messages saying he’d love it.

  2. GreatLich says:

    So, it is an electric hurdy-gurdy of sorts?

  3. DIY Drone Instrument /  Perfect Porridge says:

    […] [via MAKE] […]

  4. MAKE | Your Comments says:

    […] response to Haunting Drone Instrument, user Eric Freeman says: i’m telling you, send this link to Bear McCreary (composer, Walking […]

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

In addition to being an online editor for MAKE Magazine, Michael Colombo works in fabrication, electronics, sound design, music production and performance (Yes. All that.) In the past he has also been a childrens' educator and entertainer, and holds a Masters degree from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

View more articles by Michael Colombo

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK