Strange or unique gear?

[Peterson]

Anyone know of any particularly strange, funny, unique, or precarious equipment used in any noise or related works they are into? I'm not talking about typical circuit bending devices, contact mics, or DIY oscillators. What I want to know about are the almost laughably different "instruments" or objects used to make sound, I.E. Defektro's giant fan or Boyd Rice's fan guitar(...bad examples, hah). Preexisting items also, I've heard of some really out-there products. Recently I got some really tiny "handheld" synthesizers by Korg and some toy company, both of which sound fuckin' great with the right amplification and whatever effects/etc. One of them, the "Stylophone" is pretty stupid, but when amplified and distorted it has a mechanical, robotic gated sound I can't achieve with many other things. What are the weird or stupid things you've used that ended up working well for you??

[Andrew McIntosh]

I've always admired the instrument Dead Boomers use, a long piece of metal like a girder, looking like something from a construction site, with guitar strings stretched over it, then wired through effects. It's hit, plucked, struck and attacked to make a variety of sounds.

[P-K]

although they went arts-fartsy, Einsturzende Neubauten was really strong at this...

[moozz]

Solmania uses (used?) self-made guitars like this one:

[P-K]

Pan Sonic ?

Sensorband?

or Bastard Noise's tube synth, Merzbow's junk guitar, Bad Sector's sensory systems,

[Andrew McIntosh]

What's that thing Yasutoshi Yoshida is playing on the third page of the booklet that comes with the Government Alpha box on PicaDisk? It looks like he's playing it like a guitar but it's two long metal tubes wrapped together with what looks like electrical chord.

I also now recall seeing an unidentified Japanese Noise maker playing a fluro light tube through an effects pedal at a well-attended swanky gig in the city. Flicking it on and off rhythmically created some interesting sounds.

[martialgodmask]

What's that thing Yasutoshi Yoshida is playing on the third page of the booklet that comes with the Government Alpha box on PicaDisk? It looks like he's playing it like a guitar but it's two long metal tubes wrapped together with what looks like electrical chord.

If I'm thinking of the right picture, doesn't it have a big spring down the middle? I assumed it was just a contact mic'd spring guitar of sorts, I've considered attempting to construct something similar. Of course, I could be referencing the wrong picture or at least my memory of it could be way off the mark!

[P-K]

I also now recall seeing an unidentified Japanese Noise maker playing a fluro light tube through an effects pedal at a well-attended swanky gig in the city.

sounds like Aube to me ......

[Andrew McIntosh]

That's him. He was on with a host of other performers and I didn't get any names, so thanks to Silvum for that reference.

If I'm thinking of the right picture, doesn't it have a big spring down the middle? I assumed it was just a contact mic'd spring guitar of sorts, I've considered attempting to construct something similar. Of course, I could be referencing the wrong picture or at least my memory of it could be way off the mark!

Appears to be two long metal poles wrapped tightly at both ends but kept separate, doesn't appear to be anything actually between them. Mr Yoshida is playing it almost like a rock guitar and there's a long, wound up lead coming from the top of the instrument, presumably to an output.

[post-morten]

I'd like to suggest (now defunkt) Noise-Maker's Fifes out of Belgium. They made some seriously otherworldly instruments (or "sound sculptures") from wood, recycled metal, and other source materials. Often these constructions would have strings attached that were either plucked or treated with a bow. Despite the name they'd nothing to do with "noise", rather they ventured into the realms of drone exploration along the lines of some Organum, Maeror Tri, or zoviet*france. I consider myself lucky to have been in attendance at one of their performances, which was one of the most incredible shows I've ever been to. Here's just one instrument example, more to be found at their homepage:

[FreakAnimalFinland]

It reminds me of Mr. Natural. He has the string instrument build out of obscure looking branch of wood with couple of heavy strings attached. It looks more like sculpture. With just couple contact mics and loop/delay pedals, he scrapes majority if not all of his sound.

[tisbor]

ZGA/Nick Sudnick from Russia also built weird junk instruments if i remember well?

[Jaakko V.]

Umpio's junkstruments.

[bitewerksMTB]

Piss Horn had a couple of really cool spring instruments; one was a metal inverted cross with a spring then another on a 2x4 that had a metal plate at the end for scraping against other stuff. May have had 2 different sized springs on it. I used it on the collab with Bloomer. I have a 2xspring instrument he made for me & a metal tray-thing with a spring stretched across it. Just drilled holes on either side & secured the spring with a couple of zipties. Nothing fancy but works. Bloomer definitely has a high level of skill building electronic/spring/noise gear. Too bad he dropped out/stopped.

[andy vomit]

i once saw david linton give an extremely interesting performance, not at all unlike this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z82P0Ge-tw

at the performance i saw, he didn't have any gear that generated sound-- it was all based on light and objects.  he had a camera on his table with all sorts of strobes, colored lights, candles, oddly shaped glass objects, a small screen for video feedback, etc. .. he "filmed" all of these things in different configurations, showing the visual outcome on a projector.  he ran the audio out of the camera through tons of filters and effects, thus creating the sound.  i'm sure the configuration of his setup was much more involved than i'm making it out to be, but that was the gist of it..