Guthman Instrument Competition showcase the excellent & experimental

The first annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at Georgia Tech brought out some amazing work by sound makers. Jaime Oliver’s Silent Drum(seen above) took home the $5,000 first prize, but after viewing some of the competition, it’s plain to see the judges had their work cut out for them.

Eric Singer’s GuitarBot, uses automated moving frets and plectrums to form a very capable and programmable electric string machine –

Jan Perschy’s SGSX-H 750 uses the gears of an engine much like Hammond organ’s tone wheels, generating sound via a pickup for each gear –

Hye Ki Min’s Sorisu turns the game of Sudoku into a quest for melodic competition offset by the player’s incorrect numerical choices which generate harsh contrasting noise –

As a recent commenter pointed out, every entry to the competition is worthy of interest and discussion. Check out Wired’s gallery to read and hear more examples.