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I built a a thing that makes noise that is in the shape of a diddley bow

Posted by Marshall Novak on September 1, 2011 at 8:30pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

I hesitate to call my build an actual musical instrument.  It's more like a electric noise maker.  I'm not a guitarist, or a musician of any sort.  But I decided to see what I could come up with anyway.  

 

I don't have a lot of tools at my disposal, and I didn't feel like dropping money on any, so I used what I had on hand, a cheap little electric drill which is more like a screwdriver, a hammer, and a hacksaw.  Here are the parts used:

 

Axe handle - $15

Altoids tin -   $1.50

Guitar strings - $8.00

Eye bolts -    $3

Picture hanger - $3

Machine tuner - $2

Audio Jack - $3

Piezo element - free from an old smoke detector

Wiring - free, I "borrowed" some speaker wire from my stereo

 

So the grand total was probably around $40 once you add in tax.  So, here are some pictures and a short clip of what it sounds like.

 

pics

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/albums/my-first-build-14

 

Noise  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn-kNgxWGgA 

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Replies

  • Henry Strat-o-varius Lowman September 2, 2011 at 10:18pm
    Kinda had me thinking of Captain Beefheart. I love the ingenuity that you showed in this build, as Roadkill nicely explained. Don't stop now, cuz you're on a roll!!
  • Marshall Novak September 2, 2011 at 9:40pm
    The string does lay right on the altoid's tin and because of how the fits inside, it is a bit higher on one side.  

    Rafal Sulejman said:

    If it quacks like a duck.... Nice work.

    BTW: I see no bridge and your "nut" is slightly wider than usual - is the string lying flat on both sides? Or is the inner edge of the altoids tin really higher than the outer one?

  • David Beasley September 2, 2011 at 6:39pm
    Looks better than my diddley bow! (mine looks like a crucifix) As Thomas Smith said "If you had fun building it then that all that matters, right?" he's right in saying that, I had fun making mine with little to nothing ( one thin plank of wood, two blocks of wood one slightly longer than the other, 9 nails all different sizes, a tiny bit of fret wire left over from my CBG and a guitar sting) the note of the string depends on what angle the bridge it at, but it's a heap of fun to play and was to build!
  • Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw September 2, 2011 at 8:27am
    Ah. You were so busy being self deprecating that you omitted this vital information. You see. You are a musician after all.

    Marshall Novak said:
    A friend of mine let me borrow some effect pedels. I forgot to mention that.
  • Marshall Novak September 2, 2011 at 5:34am
    A friend of mine let me borrow some effect pedels. I forgot to mention that.
  • Seaman Jay September 2, 2011 at 3:22am

    If it quacks like a duck.... Nice work.

    BTW: I see no bridge and your "nut" is slightly wider than usual - is the string lying flat on both sides? Or is the inner edge of the altoids tin really higher than the outer one?

  • Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw September 1, 2011 at 10:16pm

    You are the embodiment of the early bluesmen. You made do with what you had or could afford and you made music. Their spirit lives on.

    I'm interested though. In the second half of your sound clip there are two notes played at once, yet the instrument (for that's what it is) only has one string. How did you do it?

  • Thomas Smith September 1, 2011 at 8:41pm
    If you had fun building it then that all that matters, right?
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