Weird Instrument of the Week: MIDI Hurdy Gurdy!

It’s rare to find a marriage of the Reagan and Byzantine dynasties, but here we have it. It’s from under a skeptically-raised eyebrow that we might first view this MIDI hurdy-gurdy, AKA “Digital Cranksaphone.” One might first think that it has all the practicality of a mortar-and-pestle retrofitted with an aftermarket FireWire port.

"Ye Gods, thine rackmount sound module isn't receiving my SysEx messages. Wouldst thou kindly adjust thine MIDI filter configuration?"

Closer inspection reveals this isn’t the case; the MIDI integration is really very thorough. 8 switches on the body of the instrument allow for the toggling of various MIDI pickups across the instrument, allowing multiple configurations of drone and primary strings to be routed to different synth patches or effects. There’s even a special sensor that converts the buzz of the trompette into MIDI information, which can then be routed to a unique device on its own channel.

Curiously, I had a hard time finding audio examples of this Electrowheelachord. Seems an elusive beast.

More info can be found here.