Music box plays solenoid beats

From the MAKE Flickr pool

Rotormind puts a new spin on a classic concept –

The Micro Rhythm Orchestra is an update on the venerable music box tradition. I made it from a wooden cigar box and head-park solenoids scavenged from old disk drives. The solenoids are controlled by a microprocessor. Instead of playing a conventional melody, the solenoids are sequenced to click in rhythmic patterns. If the whole business wasn’t quite such a dorkfest, the sound could almost be considered funky.

Do give a listen to the sound samples over on the project page – they’re quite awesome.