Beardyman Demonstrates His Gear At TED

Posted by & filed under Orphaned Babble.

Beardyman recently demonstrated his technique at TED and provided a modicum of insight into the gear he utilizes. If you can get past the fact that this is basically an advertisement for DMG Audio and Beardyman the performance is at least entertaining.

Personally, I always enjoy learning about the process other musicians use to produce their music. As much as I love the product, the production is equally entertaining. I guess this is yet another post to file under “inspiration.”

[ted id=1804 width=450 height=253]

Watch at ted.com

Metal On Metal

Posted by & filed under Sound Design.

Various metal objects arranged on a tableInspired by my research into horror movie sound fx and DIY instruments I decided to gather up an assortment of metal objects and start recording.

Scrounging around the house I had no trouble quickly locating several candidates for my ‘metal session’ \m/ (ascii devil horns are optional).

The metal sound makers would be a soup can, beer can, metal ruler, knife, and two pot lids of different size. I also fashioned a homemade violin bow but to compare it to the real thing would be an insult.

The homemade bow was made using a metal yardstick, masking tape, and heavy cotton thread/twine like that which you might use to tie up a turkey before roasting. Tying a string to two ends of of some sort of stick so that there is a bow in the stick is so basic I won’t bother explaining how I did that.

With everything prepared I began recording and discovered some truly horrific sounds: the squeals and screeching of tortured metal.

The pieces of thin beer can aluminum dragging across stainless steel pot lids proved to be a notable combination.  Sadly, the bow was a little disappointing but I believe my choice in thread and lack of rosin was to blame.

All in all my Metal On Metal experiment was a success. I will likely be revisiting this again in the future so don’t be surprised if you see a Metal On Metal II.

SndBnk_Metal-On-Metal_Sampler

The samples have been consolidated in a .ZIP file for your use. There are 72 recordings in two folders (straight & percussive) in .WAV format recorded at 44.1KHz/16bit.

Download Sound Bank – Metal On Metal [.zip]

DIY Music Instruments

Posted by & filed under Sound Design.

After yesterday’s post Making Horror Movie Sound FX I began wondering were I could acquire a violin bow and and possibly a cymbal for super cheap. Before I discovered cheap bows on Amazon.com I looked around for some DIY articles.

Most of the homemade violin bow articles I found were of the artisanal variety involving expensive wood, specialty tools and most importantly, skill. Then I stumbled on the Awful Horsehair Bow at Moonmilk.com.

Clever as it is to use such cheap materials, I’d end up spending about the same on the wood, hardware, etc. as I would purchasing a cheap bow on Amazon.com.

Quibbles aside, Moonmilk is a virtual warehouse of DIY din makers. Its purveyor Ranjit Bhatnagar has been constructing instruments of questionable construction and unique timbre since at least 1993.

There is no question that making your own instrument is a great way to acquire some wholly unique sounds. If a little inspiration is required a quick dig through Moonmilk should get the gears turning.