Singing Sands Studio

24/10/2020

Lake Michigan is roaring tonight!
Select the stream 'GARY-GMO DUNES1' located in the USA directly below Lake Michigan on the Locusonus map:

http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/

Thanks to stéphane cousot for site programming, to Creacast streaming server (gilles misslin) and to all the participants to the project for offering time, machine and involvement into the set-up and the maintenance of the open-mikes. if you wish to participate, or if you're having problems reading...

07/12/2019

A new Hyve Synth being finished in the workshop. It features a custom printed case and multi-turn potentiometers that enable precise tuning of the note frequencies. Very expressive, quite portable and a polyphony of more notes than one has fingers!

07/12/2019

A new electro-acoustic instrument being built, the "Chime Klang".

07/12/2019

New and used studio gear is also being offered for sale. This a a brand new Synthesis Technology E370 quad wavetable oscillator, in the original packaging, including an SD card for presets and samples. Synth Tech provides a lifetime warranty on all of their products.

07/12/2019

Electronics is also part of the maker aesthetic here. Here is a brand new build of Rob Hordijk's "Benjolin", in Eurorack format. This build is an improvement on the original design, including power protection diodes, 2164 chip latchup-protection diode and optimal filter dynamic range tuning.

07/12/2019

Here is another electro-acoustic instrument, the "Harmonic String". It is a monochord made from reclaimed urban wood, with a custom pickup and a third bridge. The idea of a third bridge was explored by Glenn Branca, Hans Reichel and others. The idea is that when one plays between the third bridge and the nut, that any tones that are harmonics of the main part of the string are reflected across that bridge and are amplified by the pickup.

Of course, one can also play the main string as well in a 'normal' manner, but the secondary part of the string along with the movable third bridge provides for some very nice tones.

07/12/2019

From time to time, I come across some vintage mics and pickups. Here is an Astatic crystal mic that has been restored by the addition of a new cord and plug. Nothing else has been changed to preserve its uniqueness. The capsule is from the 1940s and is highly prized by harp (harmonica) players. It comes in a nice wooden box to protect it.

07/12/2019

You can listen to examples of these transducers (and many more!) on this program from framework radio -->
http://www.frameworkradio.net/2011/04/326-2011-04-24/

Enjoy!

this edition of framework:afield, the 4th in a series produced by members of the world listening project, has been produced in the u.s. by greg o’drobinak, and is entitled worlds unheard. for…

07/12/2019

Another unique transducer is the Geophone. Geophones were originally designed to detect earthquakes, but they are also used to explore for oil and gas, where they are deployed in large arrays to pick up the signals over an area that is excited by "thumpers" or explosive charges.

Geophones are constructed by suspending a coil of wire on springs around a strong magnet. any vibration in the vertical plane causes the coil of wire to move up and down, thus creating a varying current (A.C.) in the coil. This current can be amplified to produce sound that is the result of that vibration.

As a result, Geophones are very sensitive pickups for vibration and can be thought of as a "poor person's accelerometer" when used for sound-vibration pickup. They do not need special preamps or power to operate, just the normal mic input on a field recorder (or mixer board). In fact, they work especially well into balanced mic preamps with XLR connectors due to their low impedance. No phantom power is required.

Geophones do not have a very high frequency response since they are electromechanical transducers, but their tone is mellow and they respond to vibrations of only a few Hz. Good for a great many purposes.

07/12/2019

One of the more 'applied' activities here at the Studio is the design and construction of unique transducers and pickups for recording sounds not normally heard. One example is the "E-M Wands", which are used in conjunction with a field recorder to pick up electromagnetic emanations from many kinds of powered sources.

These can be neon lights, the El, ATM machines, industrial machinery, computers and really anything that works by electricity and has E-M radiation in the audio range. It is fascinating to hunt for these sounds and even more so to listen to them.

07/12/2019

There have been a number of smaller Bell Rod instruments made during the last three years. Here is one that is currently for sale. It comes with two sets of rods, bronze and copper plated iron. Each type of rod produces a unique pitch and timbre. Many musicians from Chicago have these Bell Rods, including Lou Mallozzi and Elbio Berilari. They sound delightful!