The magnetic tape found in audio cassettes can be fun to play with. This installation, called Signal to Noise, relocates the heads from cassette players to the tips of your fingers in the form of a glove. An accompanying wall has vertical strips of tape which you run your fingertips along in order to play back the stored audio. Get the speed right and you can make out what’s on the tapes. Move back and forth and you’ll be scratching like the worst of DJs.
If this were teamed up with a Melloman it would make for quite a performance. See and hear this curious device after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abd_2dVdkvI]
[Thanks Ollie]
will try
great project, makes me think of Nam June Paik
The Sonic Manipulator (sort-of) has a portable version of this called The Rap Rod
“Signal to Noise” is a great name for a project like this. Somewhat interesting project, ingenious name. Props to them for that.
I thought that was a laminated wood table at first look. Lol.
Anyways, this is an awesome use of an old medium to make something new and exciting. Kudos guys!
It seems they are having trouble keeping a finger on one tape at a time. If there were some way to line up multiple identical tapes next to each other, this could serve as a physical sampler. That would be pretty interesting to see on stage.
be nice if i could borrow your id card for a moment…how about yer visa?
Is it just me or does this sound like those ghosts behind the castle in Super 64 Mario?
Neat, but if you want somthing really cool combine with a home made “Glass Harmonica” and you’ll have somthing!
This is a Glass Harmonica.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPfoFZYso8&feature=related
@Dub I assume you’ve seen him in person? He’s recently been hanging around Cambridge, awesome stuff.
yay no more tape players just give me an electric screwdriver and i would like to see what a vhs tape sounds like, and a floppy disk with sound saved in an analog format?
They need an easter egg hunt game – essentially a word find done on this device. The word should be “poop.” And the game should be “Find the poop” Why? 2 reasons. 1.) Nothing is more satisfying than doing something completely childish on a project you just finished and 2.) because this is the only civil way to play find the poop… duh.
Nothing really new though…
…Nam June Paik, 1963
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/random-access/images/2/
why isn’t this being done with video?
@asdf, I have met him, at The British Inventions Show, last year.
He(/It?) is a superb showman(bot?)!