I want to come up with a comprehensive list of 20th century musicians who built/designed/invented their own instruments and also composed/performed/recorded with them. Could also be engineers who recorded music.
For instance, Les Paul built his own guitar, wound his own pickups, pioneered the practice of multi-tracking and was a celebrated performer in his own right.
Jazz composer Raymond Scott recorded electronic music in his home studio with electronic instruments of his own making. Kraftwerk did something similar over a decade later.
Preceding any of those are Maurice Martenot and Leon Theremin who toured the US giving performances.
Almost forgot Bebe and Louise Barron who scored the film Forbidden Planet.
For instance, Les Paul built his own guitar, wound his own pickups, pioneered the practice of multi-tracking and was a celebrated performer in his own right.
Jazz composer Raymond Scott recorded electronic music in his home studio with electronic instruments of his own making. Kraftwerk did something similar over a decade later.
Preceding any of those are Maurice Martenot and Leon Theremin who toured the US giving performances.
Almost forgot Bebe and Louise Barron who scored the film Forbidden Planet.
Brian May built his signature guitar with a little help from his father.
Best regards!
Best regards!
He wrote the intro to “How to Build an Electric Guitar” by Melvin Hiscock which was gifted to me in 2001. I’m refinishing an electric bass guitar at the moment and have plans to build an Esquire clone down the road..
Two more for the list:
Joe Meek ran a British recording studio out of his flat that produced a number of hits in the 60s, he also cobbled together his own effects and recorded his own rather experimental LPs.
Orville “Red” Rhodes was a lap steel guitar player and session musician in the Los Angeles, CA region for a few decades. He also serviced and repaired guitars and amps out of his repair shop. He is credited with creating the first “effects box” when he built a transistorized fuzz unit for his friend Billy Strange to record with in 1960 or ‘61. He subsequently gave one out to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures and is rumored to have developed the commercial version of it as the Jordan Boss Tone which was used on the hit “Spirit in the Sky”. The Boss Tone is still a favorite of lap steel players to this day.
Joe Meek ran a British recording studio out of his flat that produced a number of hits in the 60s, he also cobbled together his own effects and recorded his own rather experimental LPs.
Orville “Red” Rhodes was a lap steel guitar player and session musician in the Los Angeles, CA region for a few decades. He also serviced and repaired guitars and amps out of his repair shop. He is credited with creating the first “effects box” when he built a transistorized fuzz unit for his friend Billy Strange to record with in 1960 or ‘61. He subsequently gave one out to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures and is rumored to have developed the commercial version of it as the Jordan Boss Tone which was used on the hit “Spirit in the Sky”. The Boss Tone is still a favorite of lap steel players to this day.
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And of course Tom Scholz of Boston, inventor of the "Rockman" distortion box that allegedly sounded like a Marshall guitar amp at full volume. There's a lot of articles and interviews with him online (he was still working as an engineer at Polaroid when Boston songs started getting airplay), he must have done a lot more electronic design in addition to the Rockman.
I’d have to dig up the band’s name, but a hifi-buddy (the one who first described push-push to me in the early 80s, has a folk band and they all made their own instruments, some quite unique.
A really good group.
dave
A really good group.
dave
Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) customized the tremolo on his guitars to create the band’s signature sound. Not inventing a new instrument, but creating a style and sound that required both musical and technological innovation.
Eugene Chadbourne (solo, and also in Shockabilly) made an electric rake!
Please apologise for laconic previous post.
All bands and artists i stated built their own analog modular synthesizer at one time or another: at their 'begining' for Kraftwerk or Pan Sonic, latter for Cevin Key when he dived deeply into modular synth since half 90's. Since then he built a number of modules from diy community ( Scott Stites's Klee sequencer) and his own design from something like 10years ago iirc).
All bands and artists i stated built their own analog modular synthesizer at one time or another: at their 'begining' for Kraftwerk or Pan Sonic, latter for Cevin Key when he dived deeply into modular synth since half 90's. Since then he built a number of modules from diy community ( Scott Stites's Klee sequencer) and his own design from something like 10years ago iirc).
Monolake.
Band pionneered techno dub style mid 90's in Berlin ( with other bands like Porter Ricks, Substance, Vladislav Delay, Hallucinator, Fluxion,...). From their ( epic) live acts one of the founding member decided to develop a new software to makes things easier.
Gherard Behles decided to name this software Live.
Band pionneered techno dub style mid 90's in Berlin ( with other bands like Porter Ricks, Substance, Vladislav Delay, Hallucinator, Fluxion,...). From their ( epic) live acts one of the founding member decided to develop a new software to makes things easier.
Gherard Behles decided to name this software Live.
The best Bassist EVER - JACO PASTORIUS is credited for building the first fretless Bass...even tho his method kinda interesting - removed frets of his Fender Jazz Bass with a butterknife...
Nice! I saw a friend play it about that time in Pittsburgh. He's a musician into all sorts of sounds, when Eugene offered it to the audience, a chant was struck up for him to play it.
Einsturzende Neubauten.
They 'invented' and played a number of instruments throughout their carreer. At their 'peak' ( to me ) they recorded this where they display some of their 'inventions'.
Beware, not for the faint hearted, it hurts.
They 'invented' and played a number of instruments throughout their carreer. At their 'peak' ( to me ) they recorded this where they display some of their 'inventions'.
Beware, not for the faint hearted, it hurts.
Oskar Sala, invented the 'mixturtrautonium' circa 1930. He played it for some movies, and ironicaly the most known of this movie doesn't have music in it!
A.Hitchcock's 'The Birds' in 1962. ( of course it is used for birds sounds).
A.Hitchcock's 'The Birds' in 1962. ( of course it is used for birds sounds).
Just out of curiosity: Are there any homebrewn instruments to be heard in Telstar by the Tornadoes which Meek produced? What's the lead instrument?
Best regards!