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Drum Buddy
The Drum Buddy, invented by New Orleans Ninth Ward one-man band Quintron, is a light-activated oscillating drum machine which operates on the principles of an optical sound theremin. An electronic instrument developed in the Spellcaster Lodge QElectronics laboratory, only 44 units hand-assembled by Quintron exist. Its four voices – Space, Snare, Bass and Kick, are triggered by activating a photoelectric cell either intermittently or with an on/off DIP switch in combination with exposure to light. The Drum Buddy is outfitted with a light fixture on a periscopic pipe fixed to its base. The fixture's bulb can be controlled by means of a dimmer switch. The bulb hangs above a rotating platen upon which a number 10 can (the large size common to coffee, canned vegetables and some sauces) prepared with holes and non-reflective paint is placed. As the can rotates, its holes pass the Drum Buddy's photoelectric cells, firing drum-like tones and theremin or Moog synthesizer-like chirps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintron + Drum Buddy
Quintron (real name Robert Rolston; born c. 1967 in Germany) is an American musician and leader of the eponymous one-man-band, "Quintron". He is a nightclub organist and inventor, who has patented a number of his own inventions and often performs at his own private club, the Spellcaster Lodge in New Orleans. He frequently performs with his wife, musician and puppeteer Panacea Pussycat (also known as Miss Pussycat), co-founder of the 9th Ward's defunct Pussycat Caverns. Music Quintron is a multi-instrumental one-man-band. During performances, Quintron utilizes a custom-made Hammond organ/Fender Rhodes synthesizer combo which he has had outfitted to resemble the body of a car, complete with working headlights and a Louisiana license plate which reads "Quintron". Quintron is often accompanied by The Drum Buddy, a rotating, light-activated analog synthesizer, one of many which he has created and manufactured himself. Quintron is regularly accompanied by his wife Miss Pussycat, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nueva Orleans) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 according to the 2020 U.S. census, it is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, most populous city in Louisiana and the twelfth-most populous city in the southeastern United States. Serving as a List of ports in the United States, major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast region of the United States. New Orleans is world-renowned for its Music of New Orleans, distinctive music, Louisiana Creole cuisine, Creole cuisine, New Orleans English, uniq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninth Ward
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bounded by the Mississippi River. On the western or "upriver" side, the Ninth Ward is bounded by (going from the River north to Lake Pontchartrain) Franklin Avenue, then Almonaster Avenue, then People's Avenue. From the north end of People's Avenue the boundary continues on a straight line north to Lake Pontchartrain; this line is the boundary between the Ninth and the city's Eighth Ward. The Lake forms the north and northeastern end of the ward. St. Bernard Parish is the boundary to the southeast, Lake Borgne farther southeast and east, and the end of Orleans Parish to the east at the Rigolets. While there is substantial overlap, the 9th Ward should not be confused with city planning designation of the ninth planning district of New Orleans. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Sound
Optical sound is a means of storing sound recordings on transparent film. Originally developed for military purposes, the technology first saw widespread use in the 1920s as a sound-on-film format for motion pictures. Optical sound eventually superseded all other sound film technologies until the advent of digital sound became the standard in cinema projection booths. Optical sound has also been used for multitrack recording and for creating effects in some musical synthesizers. 1914-1921: Naval and military use Building on the principle first demonstrated by the Photophone of Alexander Graham Bell in 1880, optical sound was developed by several inventors with an interest in wireless communication through transmission of light, primarily for ship-to-ship use. The idea was that sound pulses could be converted into light pulses, beamed out from one ship and picked up by another, where the light pulses would then be reconverted into sound. A pioneer in this technology was Ame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscillating
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current. Oscillations can be used in physics to approximate complex interactions, such as those between atoms. Oscillations occur not only in mechanical systems but also in dynamic systems in virtually every area of science: for example the beating of the human heart (for circulation), business cycles in economics, predator–prey population cycles in ecology, geothermal geysers in geology, vibration of strings in guitar and other string instruments, periodic firing of nerve cells in the brain, and the periodic swelling of Cepheid variable stars in astronomy. The term ''vibration'' is precisely used to describe a mechanical oscillation. Oscillation, especially rapid oscillation, may be an undesirable phenomenon in proce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antenna (radio), antennas which sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillation, oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (Loudness, volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplifier, amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The sound of the instrument is often associated with wikt:eerie, eerie situations. The theremin has been used in movie soundtracks such as Miklós Rózsa's ''Spellbound (1945 film), Spellbound'' and ''The Lost Weekend (film), The Lost Weekend'', Bernard Herrmann's ''The Day the Earth Stood Still (soundtrack), The Day the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoelectric Cell
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.Solar Cells chemistryexplained.com It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as , , or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DIP Switch
A DIP switch is a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard dual in-line package (DIP). The term may refer to each individual switch, or to the unit as a whole. This type of switch is designed to be used on a printed circuit board along with other electronic components and is commonly used to customize the behavior of an electronic device for specific situations. DIP switches are an alternative to jumper blocks. Their main advantages are that they are quicker to change and there are no parts to lose. History US patent 3,621,157 is the earliest known DIP switch patent. The patent discloses a rotary style DIP switch invented by Pierre P. Schwab. Schwab's patent application was filed on June 1, 1970, and the patent was granted on November 16, 1971. The DIP switch with sliding levers was granted US patent 4012608 in 1976. It was applied for 1974 and was used in 1977 in an ATARI Flipper game. Types The slide, rocker, and piano types, which a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimmer Switch
A dimmer is a device connected to a light fixture and used to lower the brightness of the lighting, light. By changing the voltage waveform applied to the lamp, it is possible to lower the luminous intensity, intensity of the light output. Although variable-voltage devices are used for various purposes, the term ''dimmer'' is generally reserved for those intended to lighting control system, control light output from resistive incandescent light, incandescent, halogen lamp, halogen, and (more recently) compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LED lamp, LEDs). More specialized equipment is needed to dim fluorescent lamp, fluorescent, mercury-vapor lamp, mercury-vapor, solid-state lighting, solid-state, and other arc lamp, arc lighting. Dimmers range in size from small units the size of domestic light switches to high-power units used in large theatrical or architectural lighting design, architectural lighting installations. Small domestic dimmers are generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moog Synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer, and is credited with creating the analog synthesizer as it is known today. The Moog synthesizer consists of separate modules which create and shape sounds, which are connected via patch cords. Modules include voltage-controlled oscillators, amplifiers, filters, envelope generators, noise generators, ring modulators, triggers, and mixers. The synthesizer can be played using controllers including keyboards, joysticks, pedals, and ribbon controllers, or controlled with sequencers. Its oscillators can produce waveforms of different timbres, which can be modulated and filtered to shape their sounds (subtractive synthesis). By 1963, Robert Moog had been designing and selling theremins for several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (instrument)
A bass ( /beɪs/) musical instrument produces tones in the low-pitched range C4- C2. Basses belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles. Since producing low pitches usually requires a long air column or string, the string and wind bass instruments are usually the largest instruments in their families or instrument classes. As seen in the musical instrument classification article, categorizing instruments can be difficult. For example, some instruments fall into more than one category. The cello is considered a tenor instrument in some orchestral settings, but in a string quartet it is the bass instrument. Examples grouped by general form and playing technique include: * Plucked string instruments, primary bass guitar and to a lesser extent acoustic bass guitar and even less often, folk instruments like contrabass guitar, guitarrón mexicano, tololoche, bass banjo or bass balalaika, instruments shaped, constructed and held (or worn) like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
