Instrument Overview

My instrument is called "The Megaphonator" and is based on the concept of
changing a well known sound by amplifying a Piezzo mic recording a basic speaker
signal. The signal is taken from an Ipod and is played on two low quality
speaker systems (varying in timbre), and a Piezzo mic is moved around these to
produce feedback, distortion, or other effects in a purely analogue fashion. One
of the speaker systems is made out of two stereo channels and allows the Piezzo
to be placed in a way that lets it pick up equal ammounts from the left and
right channels, which cuases a feedback effect that seems to rise through the
harmonic spectrum. The resulting sound is played through the Daphon amp we got
given. The circuit for this transition is encased in a black box and makes use
or bread boarding. Through the process of manually moving the Piezzo around the
mic, or just touching it very softly, a Victorian Synth feedback effect can be
observed (made more obvious when we add rice or other small particles to the
speakers) and the outer casing works not only to protect the fragile components,
but is also cleverly built to allow maximum flexibility in the arrangement of
the two speakers, the Piezzo and the amp. The outer casing, in addition to bread
boarding and the Victorian Synth concept, makes use of a third concept we got
taught.

Note: the most interesting sounds on my instrument are usually at a level that
is too soft to hear in the heart of the improvisation sessions, due to the high
output of some of the other instruments, which is why I tend to turn it up and
sacrifice some variety for amplitude in such situations.

It was very fun creating and improvising with the instrument, and I learned a lot about electronics from it. It also taught me how to improvise as part of a group, as I usually work as a solo artist.


Here are some photos:


http://www.box.net/shared/ch5ai0btti

http://www.box.net/shared/kqeimf8p9f

http://www.box.net/shared/erfrapm4q1