What the hell is This??

**Rickenbacker** · 04-08-2013

2.jpgMusical instrument??mystery.jpg

**GuitarGeek** · 04-08-2013

If it's a musical instrument, it looks to be a percussion instrument, where one plays the instrument with these sort of ping-pong paddle type mallets (you can see one of them in the photo on the left. Blue Man Group use those a lot. You haven't lived until you've heard their covers of White Rabbit and I Feel Love that feature the instrument.

The melody on the first part of the track, before the guitars come in is being played on such an instrument. Don't know what it's called though.

**Rickenbacker** · 04-09-2013

Alright, based on you mentioning Blue Man Group, I'm thinking they're a wooden variation of Joia tubes.

**trurl** · 04-09-2013

That, or an umbrella stand.

**Progbear** · 04-09-2013

Bah! BMG blatantly stole the whole “PVC percussion” shtick from Uakti:

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison

N.P.:“The Beltway Bandits”-Frank Zappa/Jazz From Hell

**soundsweird** · 04-09-2013

Ditto, Mike!!!!!! I love Uakti, and never liked BMG just because of that obvious ripoff.

**PeterG** · 04-09-2013

Thanks Mike, never heard of Uakti before, love it. But tell me, is air pumped up through those tubes to assist with creating the sound?

**R. Totale III** · 04-09-2013

It's a candle mold

http://www.google.com/images?q=antiq...g&ved=0CDAQsAQ

**Scott Bails** · 04-09-2013

Originally Posted by soundsweird

Ditto, Mike!!!!!! I love Uakti, and never liked BMG just because of that obvious ripoff.

Guess you don't like any electric guitarists either, since they ripped off Les Paul.

**Trane** · 04-09-2013

Holly shit!!! It's been decades since I've listened to Uakti
(to be honest, I'd almost forgotten they even existed)

Thanks Mike!!!

**GuitarGeek** · 04-09-2013

Originally Posted by soundsweird

Ditto, Mike!!!!!! I love Uakti, and never liked BMG just because of that obvious ripoff.

That's like saying Eddie Van Halen obviously ripped off all the guitarists who were doing two handed tapping before him, or that he ripped off Jimi Hendrix by doing whammy bar dive bombs, etc.

There's a concept known as mutual discovery, where two or more people create the same thing, without being aware of what the other(s) are doing. For instance, there's all the guitarists who developed tapping techniques (everyone from Ace Frehley to Frank Zappa) prior to the ascendance of VH.

Another example would be Don Buchla and Robert Moog, both of whom were working on what we now call the modular synthesizer (well, Don Buchla doesn't call his instruments that, but everyone else does) in the mid 60's, each without any knowledge of what the other was doing (at least initially anyway).

As far as Blue Man Group, there's more to them using home made musical instruments. There's a great element of satire and humor. You should see the Rock Complex DVD. That was the most fun I had at a concert, other than Spinal Tap, and maybe that Daevid Allen concert I went to where he had the audience form a circle and chant while he played glissando guitar and then danced with us for the final encore.