Category: Instruments
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The Zhaltar at Makers Day
The Zhaltar won for Best Thing That Makes Sound on Makers Day at the Hillsdale Public Library!
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Introducing the Zhaltar
I started designing this new instrument at the beginning of 2022 and finally have a playable prototype. The name Zhaltar comes from the Slovak name for a psaltery. It’s played by plucking the strings, and it’s fully chromatic, with a range just over 5 octaves (C2 to C#7). The zhaltar is a solid-body instrument and…
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The iPhonarium 2022
This is what the iPhonarium has evolved into. This whole rig is be 100% battery-powered, so I can make noise anywhere. Top to bottom: Vox DA-5 amp iPhonarium case with 4-channel mixer, battery pack and MIDI hardware Keith McMillen K-Board (connects to 4S) Akai EWI 4000s wind synth (I use it only as a MIDI…
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The iPhonarium
A new instrument I’ve developed over a year, the iPhonarium includes 4 interlinked iPhones, mini-keyboard controllers, a wind controller interface and an audio mixer, all in a small wooden box I can carry under my arm. This photo shows an early version, when it only had 1 keyboard: In effect, I’m running 4 tiny computers…