Anyone any idea what instrument this is?
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXEnX...eature=related

The thing he starts playing about 2:25 - there's a close up around 4 minutes.

Any help gratefully received.

Perhaps the "Harry Bertoia-esque specially-made resonating sculptures"

Ha. That's a fair answer, but you'd imagine that someone must produce them, seeing as they're fairly uniform and look to be not quite one-of-a-kind things.

Waterphone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterphone

or nail violin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_violin

Amazing. Thanks loads for that. I'm going to surmise that it's not a waterphone - the resonance is slightly different than that, but the nail violin looks spot on.

if you are looking to replicate a similar sound glice, rosin up a violin/cello bow and slighty rosin the edge of a ride symbol and bow the edge, obviously the better the symbol the better the tone you will get. it gives a similar tone to those things but not quite as resonant.

I like the look of this 'array nail violin', Wesley can hammers it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBeyKi9dEKc

Thanks for that - I've been doing that years, but it's always good to hear that other people know about it. It's something that Eddie Prévost does a lot in earlier AMM, who you should probably check out if you don't know them already.


That makes me think that it probably is a waterphone I'm thinking of. Does he play other instruments then? Good work that man.

Right then, time to get out the GCSE metalwork books out.

I don't know if Wezzer's plays anything else, but the instrument in question looks to be a waterphone. haha you plan to make one? I can somehow imagine you playing a waterphone, no offence.

I probably won't make one, but I have an old sink that I'm going to add to my junk percussion battery, along with my very special secret instrument that's being prototyped at the moment.

I like how, if I say it like that, it seems slightly less like I do fuck all with these ideas.