Drum Buddy

Posted by David Pescovitz, January 2, 2008 9:46 AM |
The Drum Buddy is a curious new musical instrument. It's an analog drum machine that's controlled by adjusting the light that's emitted from the center can and detected by the photocells in the colored tubes. The original 44 that were hand-built sold out for $999 each but apparently a mass production deal may be in the works. From the site:
Images Drum-Buddy2-1 Electrical energy, when closely examined, is in fact more similar in its complexity to a plant or an animal form than it is to the mechanical devices or computer machines with which it is usually associated. It is not necessarily more complex, but equally microcosmically complex. There exists a set of operating rules so small and elusive that we cannot observer their exact patterns, but only the results of their behavior.

This organic behavior of electricity is made most apparent by the newly patented Quintronics DRUM BUDDY instrument simply because the basis for its entire sound and playability is a delicate interaction between photo sensitive resistors and 5 specially designed oscillators.
Link (Thanks, Vann Hall and Tom Howard!)
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Discussion

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#1 posted by Brett Burton , January 2, 2008 10:09 AM

I'm not sure if this really qualifies as new. I saw Quintron demonstrate it about 6 years ago. I guess it's a new instrument compared to say, a violin.

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#2 posted by demidan , January 2, 2008 10:23 AM

Brett is correct on that, back in 1994 Quitron's band then Math played at my apartment in Grand Rapids MI, he used one there. Quintron is a Drumming mad man, awesome! When I moved to New Orleans in 1995 there was a VHS for sale at a local shop that showed you how to make one, should have bought one then,,,

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#3 posted by theophrastus , January 2, 2008 10:28 AM

for the sake of public discloser i think the brand of tomato juice from which "the center can" is made need be explicitly stated. del-monte or V8?! it could make all the difference in the fundamental psychoacoustics

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#4 posted by the specialist , January 2, 2008 10:31 AM

Oh you simply MUST see Mr.Quintron and Miss Pussy Kat (?) live in concert. You will not be the same afterwards! And his dressing down of "technology" is wonderful! the "can" is a REAL coffee can!

And if you grok the "electricity = organic" then the next $999 you have to spare MUST be committed to the purchase of a Drum Buddy. (good for stimulating Mr.Quintron's economy)

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#5 posted by Warren Camishen , January 2, 2008 10:35 AM

hv n f ths - t's clld wtr htr

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#6 posted by the specialist , January 2, 2008 10:45 AM

Don't forget the high end audio connection cable$!!

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#7 posted by Einar Ask , January 2, 2008 11:03 AM

In the nineties I built what I thought was called a "Dream Machine" (but I can't find any suitable links on Google). It was a sonotube I painted black and decorated with random holes. You put it on a thrift shop record turntable, put a light down the middle and then have a "disco ball" effect in a room. (That part would be a good weekend "Make" project.)

I put photo resistors around the outside and hooked that to a custom Midi instrument kit from Pavo, then sent the Midi-out to a synth. It was great. Too delicate to gig with, but fun.

Does anybody know if these are delicate?

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#8 posted by jimjambonx , January 2, 2008 11:39 AM

Mr. Quintron made an entertaining infomercial around the Drum Buddy many years ago. The program features a performance from the late Ernie K-Doe.

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#9 posted by lucid , January 2, 2008 1:13 PM

As with (almost) all electronic instruments Raymond Scott was doing this in the 1950's.

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#10 posted by fuzzferatu , January 2, 2008 1:14 PM

::Does anybody know if these are delicate?::

Only a bit. As far as I know, the funk band of which I am a member, The Golden Greats, is the only other act that uses a Drum Buddy live, courtesy of the remarkable Danny Norton. We take GREAT CARE with it, but partly just because the wooden casing is gorgeous and doesn't appreciate scrapes and dings. I have been spoiling to make a flight case for it for a while.

Our newish website is going up; meanwhile, you can access it at http://www.stevelibbey.com/goldengreats/. There is plenty of Drum Buddy-spiced instrumental funk music and some live footage to satisfy your curiosity about the instrument. I must say, it is a blast to play with! Folks always run up to the stage to see what the glowing box is doing.

- steve

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#11 posted by hoffman , January 2, 2008 6:07 PM

Here's another old (and ugly) but related project I did back in the day:

http://a.parsons.edu/~hoffman/misc/funkdisk/

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#14 posted by Attaboy , January 3, 2008 8:59 AM

All hail the Drum Buddy!
Back in 2001 Chicken John commissioned me to do a poster for Quintron and the Drum Buddy:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2162485033&size=o

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#15 posted by Agit , January 3, 2008 2:31 PM

@#11 It's Vinyl, not Vynil

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