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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.
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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.
(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]
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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.