So, what happened to all those kickstarter music instruments?

June 13, 2022 klangularLeave a comment

Kickstarter created a huge buzz when it was launched. Twice, we wrote articles on kickstarter projects

Let’s see what happened to all these projects five years later. Please leave a comment if you have more updates, or thoughts on what makes a project successful.

Here we go…

Artiphon
Over one million dollars raised. Artiphon captures the essence of guitar, piano and even violin through a combination of a slick hardware interface and a smartphone. Gorgeous woodworking and years of iterative design gave birth to an instant classic.

2022: The kickstater launched a sucessful music instrument company with a line of multiple instruments. These items are still for sale.

Visiting the World Class Organ Makers

May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 klangularLeave a comment

CB Fisk in Gloucestor, MA recently finished two church organs. Everytime they finish a new opus, they invite the public to share in their masterwork, before the pieces get dismantled and shipped to churches around the world.

Here are some takeaways from a recent visit:

Have You Ever Jammed with Animals?

May 11, 2017May 11, 2017 klangularLeave a comment

Yes folks – there is an Animal Music Symposium happening. Does that make you laugh or cry? Its going down in June in Austria, based on the following premise:

The Animal Music Symposium intends to approach the various aspects of musical animal-machine interaction from an interdisciplinary perspective. Internationally renowned experts from the fields of animal cognition, computer science, contemporary arts and cultural studies will discuss the musical capabilities of animals and present the latest scientific, cultural and ethical findings in this field. This symposium and the related exhibition at Salzamt are part of the ongoing artistic-research project metamusic initiated by alien productions, which is dedicated to the design of musical instruments for grey parrots, a species known for its outstanding cognitive and communicative abilities.

Its possible to meow at cats and bark at dogs to illicit a response and have a conversation. Some animals speak in songs, such as birds and whales. Maybe you’ll make the next Keyboard cat . When was the last time you were able to play a song together with the animals or improvise some new sounds? Most of the time, they are just trying to get us to shut up.
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Open D Tuning! You bastards!

January 21, 2017 klangularLeave a comment

This kickass video reminds us that all we need is little bit more open D tuning.
Passion makes ideas stick. Energy flows from high to low? Somebody cranking out insane amounts of energy (up to 11), sticks with the people around him.

About a month before this video came out, my music teacher showed my open D tuning. Suddenly, the guitar had a whole new personality, and within a few minutes new jams were coming out. I’m stealing his line –

“Sometimes you need somebody to show you new waypoints in the vast ocean of musical possibilities. ”

Its fun. Do it. Tune to Open D.

Foamcore / Foamboard Mandolin

October 23, 2016 klangular1 Comment

Rapid prototyping methods are the new wave of engineering. As manufacturing new test design move toward lasercutting and 3d-printing, I’ve been looking into one materials. Foamboard makes a great sounding board, and nobody seems to work with it So, I put together a quick foamboard mandolin based on the Saga Mandolin kit.

Here is the first prototype: