Water surface as a cheap music controller

[kareti41191]

try to speak in to the water container. and observer if u can re-generate the voice ! if u can that would be very useful . great work. 

[Omnist]

Ever try letting the wind play it?

[armyofmeisbliss]

pretty amazing.

[vaspers]

this IS music and I'd like to use it in a composition

[CAG044]

You are quite inventive.

[subclonk]

The un-mistakeable sound of max msp :P

[stemcellfilms]

you're so fuckin brilliant.

[tommarques]

agree!

[mcinanni]

Thats not music, thats potential.

[kowali]

its beautiful!

[NotNotOminous]

This is beautiful, and looks so easy to put together. Once you've converted the disturbances to MIDI messages you could use it for anything.

[Slickjoker16]

this is what i was hope'ing whoulden be the nintendo wii remote LOL

[MandrakeSauvignon]

That is so freaking cool! You're like Brian Eno and Mr. Wizard combined!

[MACHINEIRON]

This is good. Nice music and very simple to builid. I see how it is built now. Thanks for showing us the great vid.

[jjsof]

cool idea, but it sounds terrible!!

[RayDrummer]

that's not music.... that's cute sounds!

[cileklipuf]

that's really orginal- thats the thing i was looking for so many time.. can you please tell how did u make that shit! i have to play some:)

[tecla21]

q pelotudez

pero eta muy bueno :)

[hellothisismeth]

awesome

[2youth]

can u play Hotel California? jk, very cool, my comp arts teacher is a Max-head, hes gonna freak on this

[agreatguy6]

OMFG!!! THAT IS SOOOOOO KOOL!!!

[onikuwagata]

Good sir, you may have just rendered Aphex Twin obsolete.

[ilmlin]

Please post the schematic. I want one for my studio. I am wanting to do video soundtrack and even movie sound effects and music. This is coooool! Kind of compliment to the antenae thing (I don't recallit's name). Beach Boys used one on the song Good Vibrations. I played around with one in the early 70's. Thanks for ythis post, you get 5 Stars!

[swarm69]

i profer the 5 lazer one ..

[littlescale]

Yeah, this one came much earlier... it is simply one step in the process.

[singtralala]

that is badass

[xxxdeathivyxxx]

oh snap thats so awsome... man... i love science and u r my hero man...

[robbieskye]

i need one of these! can you build one on commission? you're making some really great stuff here.

[littlescale]

Hi there, I can build you one on commision if interested. Please contact me privately if interested.

[abortretryfail]

I wonder what would happen if the blue man group get a hold of this?

[jould]

this is better than the featured 5 laser one. interesting concept

[vincentchanhwahsin]

fUNNY THING.I TRIED TO MAKE ONE AND IT DIDN'T WORK.i WONDER WHAT IS THE``SECRET RECIPE''HUH?

[TheCheezWizz]

"intelligence".

[teabagtime]

Did you use MaxMSP for this? If not, what software? This could be a fun idea for my third year interactive sound design project.

[littlescale]

Yeah, I used Max/MSP for this. It's jus that it is so easy to use, eh!

[serfox1]

I want it kept the way it is. DOn't want any computers involved, no VST shit or that

[littlescale]

A computer is already involved. But, I would like to perhaps pursue a non-computer (standalone) version. That would be nice.

[etruiz16]

h4x

[goodcabinet]

Someone out there should give this guy a grant to persue this cool tech. It reminds me of the early use of the Theramin developed by another inventive mind in the fifties. Origonal stuff people! Very fun and exciting.

[tigerfox]

try making Jean Michelle Jarrs Lazer piano.... THAT would definately be impressive. Go google it.

[zwetyw49vbm23]

Are there any audible frequencies in the raw signal?

[zwetyw49vbm23]

Are there any audible frequencies in the raw signal?

[cybercab]

I believe the raw signal would be a basic electrical signal which is not sound. So really none of it is sound. It could be converted to sound, which is why these oscillations occurs. So if you look at it that way then it's all sound.

[littlescale]

There are really no audible frequencies in the raw signal. Sometime one can hear a LF pop or crackle. Besides this, there is also some noise present that has had to be filtered out.

[Waffles91]

Watch it. Dont want to spill that cup of water on you rlaptop. Haha. But hella cool.

[davebawx]

how do you make that?

I'd be interested in making one of my own if it's reasonably simple.

[cybercab]

You must have more free time than I :)

[littlescale]

You do not have one or one and a half hours of free time? You must be a very busy person! :)

[cybercab]

Umm, nope. No time for light based frequency modulation. But just enough time to return here and write silly comments.

[AugustWeed]

People always say that when someone chooses to do something creative and/or inventive with their free time. We should all be fortunate enough to have time for anything other that being a corporate slave.

[idogis1]

what kind of sensor did you use for that. I see a world of posibilities for this. I wonder what else you could use this for. Maby some sort of device that surves the purpos of a turn table to mix songs.

[littlescale]

The sensor is simply a solar panel connected to the audio input on the computer.

[mixedmeteor]

This will make an interesting controller for future developments of VSTi's.  Very similar to an optical theremin.

[1NeverKnows]

So...The laser is being refracted by the ripples of the water, and it hits the solar panel and relay's it to the computer as sound?

[littlescale]

Yep.

[AdioIndy]

wooow thats crazy

[theoldfester]

makes me so horny and want to fuck u

[gravyizgud]

awsome

[xxxdeathivyxxx]

so the laser pointes senses the vibrations and amplitudes and transforms it into sound?

[badbobbyhughes]

I believe the moving water changes the refraction of the light, which is focused on some photocells. The photocells then produce varying currents

[littlescale]

The changes in the lasers position on the solar panel are used to modulate an audio signal with. In this case, a sinewave.

[f1nalfantasy]

no, the solar panel the laser is hitting is hooked up to the speakers (or the computer).

[soulnibbler]

Solar cells are made of silicon. We can 'dope' silicon with other atoms to give silicon certain electrical properties. Doing some magic that I can't describe in <500 words, we can make diodes.  When you shine the lazer on the diode, you generate electron-hole pairs in the silicon which can be gathered, and thus create a voltage which is mesured by the computer.

[soulnibbler]

When the lazer changes possitions, another region of the cell is generating EHPs. Since the change was so abrupt, the other EHPs where the light was moments before still has a net charge, thus a greater voltage is measured.

[RustyGonzo]

Oh my god, that's so awesome.

I can't wait until you perfect it.

[CheeseyFilms]

I wonder what it would sound like if you pee in it...

[xtramental99]

musical toilets?

[mikesterling]

use beer..it farts

[hernanvillegas]

pajeros

[diogomor]

Cool...

[wideopenshutter]

That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

[thecreativeone]

Yeahhh, check out the iBook! 8-)

[JackalJayzer]

you should blow some bubbles in it with a straw or boil a pot of water on the stove and see what happens

where can I find some schematics on how to make my own?

[RustyGonzo]

Heh, those ideas would be so awesome. Imagine boiling water with some flange and distortion. Mmmm~

[olliekl]

this is just class, nice work dude!

[lvsprelude]

i think the sound is from the reflectoin of the red laser or led light or whatever its called after it goes through the water, there is a light on the left side and a senser at the right side

[jan3019]

yah your right..

[gabrielcrimson]

any chance of a blue print. or step by step guide.

[soulnibbler]

Get a solar cell from radio shack

get a miniplug audio jack from radio shack

get a lazer from radio shack

get water from bathroom at radio shack?

solder solar cell and audio jack together logically

plug into computer.

write simply buffer and muxer script (see this guys website).

shine lazer on and play with sound w00.

[gabrielcrimson]

kinda like rubbing speaker wires over a battery except a lot safer and it sounds better too.

[robotluvr]

That is beautiful.

[inachu]

Not for music but this could be used for pressure devices in a clear gel pack or somethign to that effect to alert that some object is moving or has been moved

[correodeadolfo]

Yep, me too...

[AlexElric]

What is that mean?

[annabethj]

stick a straw in there, dude.

[Leopat]

That´s genius. You shold be working with Pink Floyd. Congratulations on that work. Artistic and scientific at once.

[MRuizUnger]

please i need to know how to make this. Is there any information on how i could make my own?

[4castle4]

what gave you the idea for that?

[littlescale]

I wanted to be able to touch sound, I suppose. Or something.