The Optron is a visually fascinating musical creation from the mind of Chet Udell.
The Optron is part lightsaber and part electric guitar. A mind-bending combo of movement, light and electronic sounds.
The below video features a performance of Photosynthesis, played by the instrument’s creator. Udell’s creation was inspired by Japanese artist Atsuhiro Ito, who created the first Optron in 1998.
Udell’s instrument has evolved considerably from the original which contains 144 discretely controlled RGB LEDs, all underneath the unassuming shell of a standard fluorescent light.
The instrument can sense position and pressure on it’s neck, which makes it feels more familiar to those used to playing guitars. It also responds to motion and tilting in space. When coupled with visualisation software, the instrument’s sounds can be manipulated by waving hands over it like a theremin.
Best of all (if you have some skills with microprocessors), you can make your own with some tips from Udell himself.
Find out more about the Optron here.
Via Synthopia.
Related Posts
Check Out a Full List of the Gear Daft Punk Used to Record Homework Despite quickly shooting to world fame in the late '90s after releasing their iconic debut album Homework, Daft Punk have spent their careers shrouded in mystery. Of course their […]
Sono Elements Launches the SolinStrings Soft Synth Sono Elements has announced the release of the SolinStrings virtual instrument. The soft synth emulates the immortal character of the ARP Solina String Ensemble Synthesizer.
The […]
Project Studio Essentials Part II: The Audio Interface Of all the pieces of gear that needs to be acquired for a functional project studio, the microphone - covered in the first article of this series - is perhaps the most straightforward. […]
Build Your Own Reverb with the Hyperspace Plugin Usually when you add reverb to a mix, it's easy to feel locked into a few trusted archetypes - spring tanks, plates and concert halls. Hyperspace is a plugin that transcends those […]
Watch an Incredibly Authentic Tribute to the Pet Shop Boys Rarely does a cover version of a song pay such close attention to the tonal signature of the original. This is exactly the case however, when Analogue Solutions recreated the Pet Shop […]
Arca Creates the Bootup Music for Mega Sg Gaming Console Arca, the Venezuelan electronic artist and producer who's worked with Bjork, Frank Ocean and Kanye West among others, has created the startup music for Mega Sg gaming […]
