If synth rock was meant to go hand-in-hand with fantastic
steampunk universes (and we really can't see why it wasn't), instruments would look something like the thing you see here. This is the Parker Steam Synthesizer, a
steam-powered music
synth that runs on water and some coal. Designer Lorin Edwin Parker controls steam pressure with a ball valve which activates a dynamo. The dynamo is a magnet motor attached to a flywheel that creates an alternating magnetic field which is then turned into electricity by an inductive pickup. That pickup is finally plugged into an amp and you have some trippy electro from a device that could have been around years ago. He says it will run for about 20 minutes on one tank of water, which, in our estimation, is just long enough for Bjork to hear it and add to her band's already-insane inventory. By the way, the Read link includes a .mov file so you can see this thing in action.
[Via
MusicRadar]
posted Jul 18th 2008 2:04PM
where is the valve ?
All right. Which one of your jerks crashed the site... The link's down.
Or maybe...
"The Web Server is down..."
;)
I don't get it. It sounds horrid. Anyone could come up with all sorts of more suitable ways to make noise. I don't hear anything that sounds like 'synth rock'.
word.
Yes.
I wouldn't try to piss in his cereal normally, but "putting a pickup next to a generator" is not very awesome in my book.
Cool steam engine though.
Somebody should tell these guys about a little site called youtube. They could save a lot of bandwidth if they just uploaded their video there. 16MB video... crazy m f'ers.
So it's coal-burning. How "green" of them. :-P
A little bit of global warming to keep Bjork in business. We all win. And by 'win', I mean 'lose'.
Microsoft Portugal the best in the World
http://livebetas.net/2008/07/18/microsoft-portugal-em-pole-no-grupo-microsoft/
the dude in the video has a cool 'stache
Yay! 70 minutes and the site's already out of bandwidth!
That's a pretty cool contraption, i personally don't have the skills to make such a thing but cool nonetheless
Sounds like my tea kettle.
I'll have to pass, I only use music synthesizers that run on clean renewable energy sources such as my smugness.
Is that called an organ?
Cool contraption, but I want to know what kind of camera they used to shoot the video with That's a really clear freeze frame and good depth of field.
Doesn't something have to be able to play a melody or a rhythm to be considered a musical instrument? I respect the knowledge, skill, and effort that went into making this contraption, but a musical instrument it isn't.
BTW Engadget, it is theremin, not theramin.
My thoughts exactly.
By these standards, my rice-cooker is a steampunk flute. ...and i bet i could make it make more interesting noises too.
it's a TherEmin, named after the inventor, leon ThErEmin
I look at that picture, and I think "Vroom vroom!!"
Or should it be "Vreem vreem!!"
Wow, color me disappointed... Nice idea, but nothing I heard sounded impressive or theremin-ish (and I have a theremin).
lol wut? google video > youtube (yes, I know google owned both):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1667125979175320784
your interlacing is showing