Awesome Musical Instruments

From the makers of the Seaboard comes a modular and newbie-friendly MIDI controller. Blocks’ main unit is the Lightpad, a pressure-sensitive block. You can connect multiple Lightpads together or with the optional control Blocks. Works with iOS and desktop DAWs.

Luthier Linda Manzer shows off one of the most amazing stringed instruments we’ve ever seen – a multi-necked guitar with a whopping 52 strings that she built for musician Henrik Andersen, based roughly on a hilarious cartoon he provided. Hear Henrik play it at 3:06.

Weapons expert Vitaly Kryuchin heads up the Russian Federation of Practical Shooting. While on the firing range, he came up with this very special musical instrument called the Metallophon, which is played with bullets and extraordinary aim.

The latest creation from the Wes Anderson of makers, Love Hulten. The Voxarray 61 is a tribute to synthesizers from the ’70s. It has a clamshell construction, with the top lid housing a variety of analog and digital modules that can be connected using patch cords.

Inventor and musician Jeremy Bell demonstrates the latest version of his musical instrument, a DIY rig that lets him scratch sounds from old magnetic cassette tapes, offering a cool alternative to playing on turntables.

When we saw the title of Kuma Films‘ latest video we thought we’d be watching some kids playing Chopsticks on a piano, but instead, we got to hear some truly wonderful music by Sami Elu, made with a cool stringed instrument that’s played with chopsticks as the hammers.

Musician Pete O’Connell shows off an unusual contraption, which automatically strums the strings on his guitar for him. While flaps on the spinning wheel hit the strings on his guitar, he can focus on fretting and adding a beat with his kick drum. Plus it doesn’t just work with a guitar.

A simplified version of Mogees Pro for a wider audience and educational use. Mogees Play works with three musical apps that help you turn everyday objects into instruments while learning about musical concepts.

RHCP’s bass man teamed up with Fender to reproduce his beloved ’61 Shell Pink Jazz Bass, a very special instrument he received from a fan. The guitar has a road-worn shell with a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, vintage style Jazz Bass pickups and a neck plate with art by Flea.

Fender now has an online customizing shop. Start with a Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass or Jazz Bass body then mix and match pickups, fingerboards, body colors, pickguards and more to suit your needs and taste.

The theremin is one of the strangest musical instruments of all time. SciShow takes us inside the process that lets you play this retrofantastic electronic instrument without ever touching it. It’s all about using your body as part of a giant capacitor.

Instrument maker and musician Leonard Solomon shows off another one of his unusual contraptions. The Oomphalapompatronium uses a crank, belts, bladders, bottles, and PVC pipe to create something that sounds like a pipe organ with frog in its throat.

Jack White’s Third Man Records and Loog Guitars created this kit for kids and kids at heart. The diminutive 3-string electric guitar kit provides the satisfaction of having built your own instrument before you start playing it. We dig the pickguard, made from a vinyl record.

Inside the back of Yamaha’s innovative acoustic guitars is an actuator that vibrates against the guitar’s body in response to the strings. This gives you built-in chorus and reverb effects that you can adjust with the built-in control knobs. Runs on two AA batteries.

Musician and inventor Martin Molin explains the complex mechanisms behind his genius musical contraption, the Wintergatan. Beyond the marble machine, there are drums made from coasters, a snare that uses basmati rice, among other crazy bits. Part two here.

This truly amazing musical instrument was created by Swedish musician Martin Molin (aka Wintergatan). It uses an incredibly complicated mechanism to produce notes and rhythms using human input and the sound of 2,000 falling metal marbles. (Thanks Paul!)

Watch musician Rob Scallon shred some tunes on an ordinary garden shovel that’s been converted into a one-string guitar. Given its rudimentary design, it plays surprisingly well. Keep an eye out on How to Make Stuff on 3/3/16 for DIY instructions.

Back in 2012, percussion group ЭТНОБИТ (Ethnobeat) transformed the sheets of ice on Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal into a wondrous natural musical instrument. The recording engineer for this clip deserves just as much praise as the musicians.

For their series Cardboard Chaos, the guys from Signal Snowboards teamed up with Ernest Packaging and the Fender Custom Shop to create a Stratocaster with a body made from layered cardboard. The end result is completely playable, and more durable than you’d think.

Musician and sculptor Andy Thurlow has created not just one or two, but dozens of unique musical instruments, each of which makes strange and unusual sounds. He says he built them because he was tired of everything else sounding the same.

The ACPAD gives guitar players the ability to control MIDI or DAW-based devices without taking their hands off their instrument. The slimline controller sticks onto guitars, adding pressure-sensitive pads and sliders which let you trigger sounds, record loops, and more.

A portable MIDI controller-only version of the touch- and pressure-sensitive Seaboard Grand piano. The Seaboard Rise has 25 keys, connects via USB or Bluetooth and has an internal battery. It also comes with Roli’s Equator software synth.

Located at Macy’s Center City in Philadelphia, the Wanamaker Organ is the world’s largest musical instrument. It took two years to install all of its parts throughout the building. Since then nearly 20,000 parts have been added to it.