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The Amazing Wheelharp!

This is a Wheelharp:

Despite looking positively Victorian, The Wheelharp is a a new keyboard controlled instrument with 61 strings (a full chromatic scale) which are bowed with actual bows! The Wheelharp also allows for different bowing intensities as well as having fully fitted damper and electric pick-up systems!

So how exactly does it work?

When the player presses any key (or keys) on The Wheelharp, the action moves the selected key (or keys) respective string(s) toward a rotating wheel with a rosined edge, thereby bowing the string(s).

With the right pedal, the player controls the speed of a motor that turns the wheel, which varies the bowing speed of the wheel against the string and thus changes the dynamic effect. For instance, the wheel speed and the key depth can both be used to create swells and decrescendos. The action for each note can easily be removed as necessary for maintenance or string replacement.

The left pedal controls a full damper system that extends across the strings. An electromagnetic pickup floats above the strings and a piezoelectric pickup is mounted to the soundboard, allowing for the player to fully control the amplified timbre of The Wheelharp.

Here is a demonstration video of The Wheelharp in action:

The Wheelharp has been developed by Antiquity Music and manufacturing is expected to begin in June 2013.

How much will it cost?

Pricing (Linear Model or Radial Model):
* 5-octave range: $11,900
* 4-octave range: $10,900
* 3-octave range: $9,900

It’s already been described as a “Steampunk version of an orchestral sound library” which in other words means that if you want one, you’d better get one before either Tom Waits or The Flaming Lips buy the lot of them up and connect them together and end the entire World!

For much more information on The Wheelharp, including its history and musical demos, please visit the Antiquity Music site which is right HERE.

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* Stop Motion Animation …On A Vinyl Record!
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Published in:

on February 6, 2013 at 3:56 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Antiquity Music, Chromatic Scale, Music., Musical Instruments, Musical Technology, Steampunk, Steampunk Instruments, Stringed Instruments, Synthesizers, Synths, The Amazing Wheelharp!, The Flaming Lips, The Future Of Music, The Wheelharp, Tom Waits, Weird & Wonderful Instruments

Glasgow’s George Square Is OUR Rectangle!

The six new shortlisted designs for the revamp of Glasgow’s George Square have been unveiled and I’m almost speechless at how terrible and charmless they all are. ALL of them.

Luckily, I’m not completely speechless and I’d just like to take this opportunity to say this:

George Square Is OUR Rectangle! Leave those Victorian statues EXACTLY where they are!

The moving of Glasgow’s many Victorian statues like gigantic chess pieces is nothing new and it’s not that I or the many other people who live close to the square are against change. As a matter of fact, everybody I’ve personally spoken to is all for a revitalisation of George Square but, and listen carefully, as a PUBLIC and VERY GREEN space!

The statues that surround George Square have been discreetly moved over the years more than once but c’mon! They look so settled where they stand today. And everybody knows it except for the people in charge who very shortly are about to completely ruin George Square as we have come to know it.

Let’s take a look at the six new shortlisted designs for the Square and as always, click on the images to enlarge them.

Design One:

Design Two:

Design Three:

Design Four:

Design Five:

Design Six:

Design Six is apparently the current “most popular” design with Glaswegians. The best of a bad bunch I’d say.

I’m not very good expressing myself when I’m angry without using extreme profanities so here are some photos of how George Square has looked in the past…

1878:

1880:

1929:

1975:

Fireworks Night 2012:

…and here are two panoramic shots of how George Square currently looks today…

Don’t tell me what you think.
Write to Glasgow City Council and/or a decent Glasgow Newspaper you trust.
So not The Daily Record.

Keep right up to date with everything by visiting: Restore George Square.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Future Glasgow
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Al Cook’s Marketing & Poster Improvement Service.

On October 6th, 2012, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra are giving a free concert at The City Halls, Candleriggs, Glasgow.

It’s called: “Hear And Now: Saariaho – Adriana Songs” and here’s a wee bit about it from the SSO’s website:

“Marking Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s 60th birthday, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra presents the UK Premiere of her song cycle, Adriana Songs. Derived from music written for her operatic heroine, the songs confront the personal horrors of war through haunting music of barely contained violence and great imagination.”

Here is the promotional flyer for the concert: