Wired writes on the just finished Wintergatan Marble Machine (Javascript required) — hear and watch it in action on YouTube:
The Wintergartan Marble Machine, built by Swedish musician Martin Molin and filmed by Hannes Knutsson, is a hand-made music box that powers a kick drum, bass, vibraphone and other instruments using a hand crank and 2,000 marbles.
The machine has to be seen to be appreciated: with dozens of beautifully carved wooden parts, tracks, pulleys and funnels for collecting and rerouting spent marbles, it's a true work of art. And though marble machines as an art form of their own have a long and complex history, this might be one of the best.
...
The machine itself is -- as intended -- programmable. Its central wheel is a 32 bar loop, and the key of the song can be adjusted while playing -- in the published video, it starts in E minor and runs into C major for its second wheel. "In theory you could go on forever," Molin said.
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All About That Bass – Marble Machine X Keeps Growing:
If you play a string instrument and ever used a capo — the clamping little helper device to smack the pitch up — you may have found yourself wishing that you could use it on any arbitrary fret on each string. Sure, there are partial capos and the spider capo to select individual strings, but you're still limited to transpose along a single fret. Well, [Martin]'s Cyber Capos, a mechanical construct of four arms sliding along the neck, serve exactly that purpose, which allows him to free up his hands for other things while the marbles keep bouncing.
But you don't have to be a bass player, or any musician really, to appreciate [Martin]'s build videos. We praised his general attitude and hacker-like spirit already the first time we mentioned the Marble Machine, and just watching him getting excited about his work and the appreciation for people supporting and assisting in the project, while embracing his mistakes, is a genuine delight.
Cyber Bass - YouTube Video #1
Cyber Bass - YouTube Video #2
Previously:
(2016-03-02) Wintergatan - a Programmable Music Box With 2,000 Marbles
(Score: 5, Informative) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:24AM
I know there are going to be tons of "what is this doing on Soylent" and other such comments, and sometimes I agree with them, sometimes not, but for once I don't really care.
This machine is just plain fucking incredible. Kudos to submitter and the editor who approved the story. :)
The amount of effort it took to build is one thing, the imagination to convince of it is another, and both are mind blowing. I've seen CG vids of machines like this one, but this one is real and it works. When you stop to think about it, cogs, gears, wheels and belts are all humanity has had to work with for the greater portion of our history. Its good to know there are still people who can create devices like this,
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:41AM
Anyone know what that thing under the xylophone does? When he goes into manual mode, he continually turns that thing on the left, that does something under them.
(Score: 2) by dbe on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:54AM
Could be to attenuate/stop the vibration (like a piano pedal) or maybe to activate the ball transfer to the recycle bin?
If you look at the front of the machine you have stars that rotate in between the letters of the machine name, so if these stars are not turning, maybe the marbles would not get ejected to the recycle bin ?
-dbe
(Score: 1) by hopp on Thursday March 03 2016, @01:03AM
Looks like a vibrato to me.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by aristarchus on Thursday March 03 2016, @07:01AM
Looks like a vibrato to me.
That definitively answers that whole "what is this doing on SoylentNews" question, right there. Just saying. No Mighty Buzzard required.
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Thursday March 03 2016, @03:22AM
If you look carefully, as he is spinning it he is checking the slots above the xylophone for marbles, so it's loading the marbles in there from the queue. Spinning it back and forth slips one ball forward into the shoot/dropy-thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @05:56PM
It's a glockenspiel, not a xylophone, which would have wooden bars - from the greek "xylon", wood.
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:50AM
Yes, it is a fantastic feat of programming/design. But the use of softwood, particularly for the gears, makes be wince. Cannot see it surviving much use. Steel mills aren't that hard to get access to.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @03:33AM
We have previously discussed [soylentnews.org] English carpenter and clockmaker John Harrison. [wikipedia.org]
.
This story reminds me of then-PBS station KCET a couple of decades back.
In the wee hours, they played recordings of all sorts of artsy stuff from many eras.
They had a couple of things that were fantastical fictional machines, constructed only of binary bits.
You'd see all of its "parts" "moving" as it "made the music".
Wish I had a link to the outfit that did those, but I can't remember their name.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday March 03 2016, @04:25AM
I saw it too. Same station. It was "animusic". I left a link lower in this thread. A beautiful work, no?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @06:20AM
Exactly so.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday March 03 2016, @05:26AM
"like his previous clocks has a wooden movement of oak and lignum vitae."
Oak is not a softwood, it's definitely a hardwood. "Lignum vitae" aka ironwood is possibly the hardest wood in use.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @02:59PM
Good morning, I regret to inform you that you are using the incorrect font.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday March 03 2016, @09:51PM
Good evening, I want to inform you that I'm absolutely convinced that you don't regret that at all.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:15PM
You do realise that their is a difference between plywood and oak right?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @02:55PM
You do realize there's a difference between 'there' and 'their,' right?
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday March 03 2016, @07:53AM
There are automata with wooden gears that are over 400 years old and they still work. As long as its not beaten and bashed there is no reason to think this could not survive equally as long.
IMNSHO the biggest issue will probably be the bass. As a bass player I can tell you that the instrument WILL require adjustment over time as the necks are affected by changes in temp and humidity and the weight of the instrument itself (one of the reasons you should NEVER EVER leave a stringed instrument in a case and why mine are all hanging on the wall) and the angle that bass guitar is built into the thing? Really not gonna be good for the neck over time and it looks like it will be a nightmare to try to get the neck out of there for fret work and adjustment.
Why he didn't just take a fretless base fingerboard and mount it to a solid block is beyond me but it appears he just scavenged an acoustic bass neck and mounted it to his rig somehow, I bet that is gonna be a ring tail bitch to keep straight or do any fretwork on.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 03 2016, @11:36AM
Why he didn't just take a fretless base fingerboard and mount it to a solid block is beyond me but it appears he just scavenged an acoustic bass neck and mounted it to his rig somehow, I bet that is gonna be a ring tail bitch to keep straight or do any fretwork on.
Well, given the quality of the other parts, particularly the gears, this thing likely isn't destined for a long run anyway. It's a great concept demo and it'll probably hold up for a number of concerts, which I gather is all he wants out of it. If someone actually did turn this into a serious machine for musicians, they could upgrade the gear parts to better quality wood or whatnot and better design and quality of the various instruments.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @06:04PM
The serious musician would just use an Orchestrion. And that musician would be Pat Metheny.
youtube.com/watch?v=9VymAn8QJNQ
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:23PM
Those Automata were not make using plywood gears. Which is why I specifically went out of my way to say softwood, instead of just all wood. If he had used a high quality oak or iron wood, sure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @01:32PM
It looks like "baltic birch" plywood to me. This is a very high quality material, made from birch (hardwood) veneer. The moving parts should last a long time unless (as someone else noted) the surface is overstressed.
Not sure where it is made now, but when I worked in a wood shop in the 1970s there was the "real stuff" from Scandinavia and the somewhat cheaper product from Russia. The Russian sheets often had small voids where the veneer layers weren't matched up perfectly. This page has a good description, matches my experience closely,
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/blog/tips-tricks/your-ultimate-guide-to-baltic-birch-plywood-why-its-better-when-to-use-it/ [woodworkerssource.com]
If the inventor wanted to go into production, I think many parts could be water-jet (or laser) cut which is quite a precise process.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @07:03PM
Even with high quality birch, that thing needs constant humidity, or it will literally pull itself to pieces. If it remains in situ in a concert hall or museum with a well-regulated environment, it will be fine. Otherwise, it's a bit of a folly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @08:11PM
I made some vacuum forming tooling from baltic birch plywood in the mid-1980s (30 years old). One of these tools is about 14" (350mm) across and about 1.5 inches (40mm) at thickest point. It's been used to produce about a thousand parts, cycling up and down in temperature each time. In between production runs, it has been stored in a poorly heated warehouse, without summer air conditioning (so, hot/cold & dry/moist). It's still fine, all set to make another thousand parts if the need arises.
I've also seen Scandinavian furniture from the 1950s made of baltic birch, it's all good (unless abused). If there are screws, they might need occasional tightening to accommodate repeated shrink/expand cycles.
Harrison's clocks aren't the only wooden items that last...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @11:16PM
Same A/C as above - did you really think that plywood in the video was that high quality? The way it was creaking and moving under the strain? Every wobble wears down every joint.
(Score: 2) by cmn32480 on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:58AM
Thanks PinkyGigglebrain. It's nice to know when we get a crap shoot right. I'll admit, I was skeptical about it because the article came from Wired. Then I watched the YouTube video and thought it was too cool NOT to show.
"It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear" - Norm Peterson
(Score: 1) by Eristone on Thursday March 03 2016, @01:06AM
I second Giggle's comment. Damn that was cool.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday March 03 2016, @02:54AM
The story behind why Wired.
I initially stumbled on it on YouTube (after "link ricocheting I-don't-know-from-where" a number of times). Then, in my laziness - 'twas 1:30AM - I googled the news for the story and picked the one - of 3 at that time - which echoed my feelings the best.
Turned out that Wired was also the first to speak with the designer/builder/musician and break the story.
(Didn't take more that 3 minutes after pushing the SN submit button to drop asleep)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by cmn32480 on Thursday March 03 2016, @03:45AM
This was a really great find. My kids and wife even thought it was cool.
"It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear" - Norm Peterson
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday March 03 2016, @04:37AM
I'll throw my sentiments in, too... this was one of the best finds of the week. I thoroughly enjoyed the YouTube link, and played several others he made.
Incredible piece of art. Musically functional kinetic art.
It doesn't get any better than that.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Vanderhoth on Thursday March 03 2016, @12:05PM
I agree with others, this is exactly the type of thing I like reading about over my morning coffee. It was super interesting to me on several levels. I'm a bit of a woodworker (furniture mostly), love the programming concept for it, complex machine and a great sound to boot. It's the type of thing I'd like to get my hands on to take a part and see how complex it really is, or figure out if I could build my own. Which I doubt. I have the skills and tools, but time is a major limiting factor.
Kudos
"Now we know", "And knowing is half the battle". -G.I. Joooooe
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @01:05AM
What do you mean. This is just what SN needs. Cool stuff is the reason we share everything in life. Fire was cool, wheels, electricity, etc. Sharing is what SN is about. People is a magazine. So from now on we'll call SN, "Sharing News!"
Down with people! Up with Tech! Sideways with COOL!!!
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Thursday March 03 2016, @11:29AM
Fire was hot
FTFY.
(Score: 2) by goodie on Thursday March 03 2016, @02:09AM
I didn't have the sound on but the video itself is pretty amazing. Can't wait to hear that thing. I love the woodwork and the way this is built. Amazing story, we need more like this on SN!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Thursday March 03 2016, @02:42AM
This machine totally belongs here. Aside from that, this site is News for Nerds. Doesn't mean it has to be tech and science only, but things that other nerds may want to discuss. That's why we get a lot of politics floating through. I agree there are occasionally articles that make me WTF, but this is not one of them.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 03 2016, @06:00AM
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 03 2016, @10:04AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @05:49PM
Kinda agree, but the tech here is no more impressive than this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWTzdrh2DJ4 [youtube.com] , which is relatively ancient. This one is also a victim of being a bit over-designed - there's no need for a catching scoop for each individual bar in the glockenspiel, as all the balls return the same route, so it's unneccessarily complicated - I wonder if some of the dropped balls were because of that.
Which means it's a good story for a nerd - I'm trying to improve on the design!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 03 2016, @01:58AM
Pipedream [youtube.com].
(Score: 2) by scruffybeard on Thursday March 03 2016, @06:25PM
I too immediately thought of Animusic. They used to play these videos on my local PBS station as filler between shows.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday March 11 2016, @07:44AM
Animusic's Pipe Dream... a real one... [youku.com]
( If you have scripting disabled, it may take 30 seconds or so before the video starts... )
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday March 03 2016, @03:19AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Thursday March 03 2016, @03:44AM
Animusic. Volume 1. [youtube.com]
One of about 10 *purchased* DVD's I actually PAID for.
I liked it that much.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Thursday March 03 2016, @08:26AM
Very awesome! Modded up!
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Drake_Edgewater on Thursday March 03 2016, @11:15AM
This brings me back memories [youtube.com]!