Making music with motors!

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  • Опубліковано 8 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 190

  • @richsackett3423
    @richsackett3423 Рік тому +349

    An elegant demonstration of how a Hammond organ works.

    • @DavidHilowitzMusic
      @DavidHilowitzMusic  Рік тому +83

      tonewheels!

    • @LightBranches
      @LightBranches Рік тому +21

      Look at Gamechanger Audio’s Motor Synth, for another interpretation of this idea.

    • @frankcallo6630
      @frankcallo6630 Рік тому +2

      I thought something along the same lines. It should be possible to make some sort of "organ" like this. Brillant.

  • @charleslambert3368
    @charleslambert3368 Рік тому +182

    I think you've reinvented the tonewheel. This is kind of how a hammond organ works. There are lots of wheels all driven by a single motor with different numbers of slots cut into them. Each wheel has a pickup next to it which will generate a tone with a frequency equal to the number of slots x the numer of times the wheel goes around per second. So the high C wheel will have twice as many slots as the middle C wheel. Pressing a key closes a switch which connects the relevant pickup to the amplifier

    • @PeterJnicol
      @PeterJnicol Рік тому +2

      Came here to say this too.

    • @pickyyeeter
      @pickyyeeter Рік тому +8

      I had no idea how a tonewheel organ worked until I read this comment. While watching the video, that exact design was the next logical step my brain came up with.
      I thought I was onto something, but I'm about a century too late to invent it. 😆

    • @PeterJnicol
      @PeterJnicol Рік тому +4

      @@pickyyeeter Nah, this is awesome. Still lots to be found out about this. Keep going!

    • @viemooxd8418
      @viemooxd8418 Рік тому +1

      Expanding on that, one can think about the optical tonewheel organ. It has several transparent discs that each correspond to an octave, with each note engraved as opaque notches within a certain distance of the center of the disc to determine the pitch.

  • @actuallythepie
    @actuallythepie Рік тому +87

    there are so many small details in your videos like the guitar string you play being the tonic of the background music, and synching everything audibly and visually, that really show the passion you have for these videos and i really enjoy them. thanks for bringing us with you on these amazing experiments of yours :D

  • @matthewanderson2464
    @matthewanderson2464 Рік тому +6

    I was in a band in high school, one of those spontaneously formed bands that breaks up after their first show. My other guitarist discovered he could get some wild sounds holding a cordless drill near the pickup. He used it to play a "solo" in one of our songs. About halfway through the solo the guitar started to not work so well. So yeah, magnets are a quick way to destroy a pickup.

  • @yayyo3226
    @yayyo3226 Рік тому +3

    Wow, that flower shape sounded right out of an FM synthesizer

  • @samuelgonzalez2147
    @samuelgonzalez2147 11 місяців тому +3

    Man, I don't know how to put into words how beautiful you explain things and how enlightening it's to watch it.

  • @skult3025
    @skult3025 3 місяці тому

    This video just popped up in my feed, probably because of a less serious project I worked on last week.
    I took two vibration motors from a PlayStation controller and connected them to my DC power supply, allowing me to control the voltage and, in turn, the speed of the motors, which affected the pitch. I also built a contact microphone, positioning it between and close to the motors, then ran it through a phaser and distortion pedal.
    The result was a really cool saw-like sound. It got me thinking about building a synth where each key triggers a vibration motor, with a specific voltage preset for each key to produce the perfect pitch.
    Really nice video and greeat edit.

  • @evanpincus2203
    @evanpincus2203 Рік тому +5

    Back in high school I wound my own guitar pickup and used it to try to pick up the sound of an electric drill - I still use that sample as a pad sound all the dang time, a simply gorgeous sound!

  • @ashtmslf2315
    @ashtmslf2315 Рік тому +29

    Honestly If I'm going to buy this I might just wait until it's back to $30 Just to support you and venustheory for the great content you both make

  • @VenusTheory
    @VenusTheory Рік тому +13

    Is this the part where I make a joke about being a *fan* of the sounds?

  • @DArnez-c5n
    @DArnez-c5n Рік тому +1

    this sounds so warm and intimate

  • @abraxasjinx5207
    @abraxasjinx5207 Рік тому +1

    Fun fact: remote controls will create tones and clicks when pointed at a plugged in guitar pickup.

  • @yuriwongmusic
    @yuriwongmusic Рік тому +1

    Brilliantly done! Love the sounds that came out of this experiment.

  • @RemitheDreamfox
    @RemitheDreamfox Рік тому +11

    God I love all your videos. Crafting handy man stuff mixed in with super informative music stuff works so well. Absolutely incredible :3

  • @HANGINGOUTWITHAUDIOPHILES
    @HANGINGOUTWITHAUDIOPHILES Рік тому +21

    This is the stuff! I love it when you hit the fun, creative, cheap and educational Just a great cross section and the tones are ace :) I used to like putting a pickup on a long wire and scanning the strings of a piano. It’s a great way to get the chords to animate and it’s so cheap! Your channel is the calming place and btw you seem like a super fun dad !

  • @andrew6889-p5c
    @andrew6889-p5c Рік тому

    This is a fantastic video. The organ-like sounds you make are beautiful, even before extra processing. These videos are beautiful. Pure art. Thank you.

  • @JamesnLollify
    @JamesnLollify Рік тому +2

    The flower shape sounds like the Sega CD intro

  • @wutzerface77
    @wutzerface77 Рік тому +2

    this is the sort of absolutely fantastic UA-cam content that has been keeping me alive!

  • @bendixmax
    @bendixmax Рік тому +1

    Built an box with an guitar pickup, kalimba keys and metal springs a few weeks ago and run it through guitar effectpedals! Great video, thank you so much 😊

  • @alexdavidson2327
    @alexdavidson2327 Рік тому

    I love your videos. Elegant from beginning to end. Approaches sound with a refreshing curiosoty.

  • @SquizbarDeAlienOfficial
    @SquizbarDeAlienOfficial Рік тому

    How have I never seen your channel??? I clicked on this video thinking it was a Ben Jordan vid. Brilliant video. Keep em coming!

  • @alexeybright
    @alexeybright 9 місяців тому

    This is one of the coolest sounds. I first found them in Decent Sampler and used 2 of them right away.

  • @crtzmo
    @crtzmo Рік тому

    Very well done! Creative and very motivating. Thank you, David!

  • @peterjones4732
    @peterjones4732 8 місяців тому

    That was the perfect UA-cam sales pitch! and a beautiful product ... downloading now .... Thank you both!

  • @davidnollmusic363
    @davidnollmusic363 Рік тому +1

    I love your videos and instruments! Thanks so much!

  • @andreasflaten8159
    @andreasflaten8159 Рік тому

    Really creative. Love how your ideas flow through your videos and how you visualize everything. Much love! ❤

  • @GrootsieTheDog
    @GrootsieTheDog Рік тому

    Just purchased a Maschine+ and looking to do some auto sampling so...i went searching the internet for free samples and discovered the Decent sampler. Found Motor Labs free pack - It really is a thing of beauty! I downloaded the free VHS and a few other freebies by Venus. After all the free stuff I feel Im robbibg you guys so I will be purchasesing the ehire Motor Labs. A great tool for creating my fav kind of patch -- pads :) Thanks you!

  • @BERGEMANNC
    @BERGEMANNC Рік тому +9

    This is absolutely fantastic. Thank you for continually inspiring content.

    • @BERGEMANNC
      @BERGEMANNC Рік тому +2

      PS: I learned an incredible amount from your videos.

  • @pongtrometer
    @pongtrometer 10 місяців тому

    This instrument is literally alive with textures and new tones from just the slightest movement of any of the parameters, great job guys.👾

  • @kerensita
    @kerensita Рік тому

    The work you do is important and so appreciated.Thank You For Sharing🤩🧡

  • @Rixus90
    @Rixus90 11 місяців тому

    I swear to god that each of the sound you sampled, sound like a synth from the Fez soundtrack!
    This video is so darn good, thank you for your content!
    Much love from Italy ❤

  • @idfkwhattoputhere1
    @idfkwhattoputhere1 Рік тому

    i love your channel so much especially watching take apart and refurbish or figure out these amazing things and me not really being that teck savvy it both breaks my brain and makes me feel like im somehow learning something

  • @discopas2826
    @discopas2826 Рік тому

    If ever a Nobel Prize is announced for "combination of musicality, science and love of the unusual", you should be the first to get it. (BTW great work of Venus Theory to take your creation to the next level!)

  • @absinthetic
    @absinthetic Рік тому

    I tried this with my electric and an electric coffee foamer/stirrer, and got the same effect. Very cool!

  • @KINZOisHERE
    @KINZOisHERE Рік тому

    You are such an inspiration for many of us, I wish you many years of reward through creativity!

  • @Jeronimo365
    @Jeronimo365 Рік тому

    Such a lovely collection of sounds and what a fun journey finding them. Well done. 🙏😎

  • @DolemiteSammich
    @DolemiteSammich Рік тому

    I love this channel so much! Every video is so informative and such a joy

  • @doctorauxiliary
    @doctorauxiliary Рік тому +2

    this is lovely stuff.
    thank you, david.
    thanks, cameron.

  • @drewmorris349
    @drewmorris349 Рік тому +2

    I love your videos. I would have never expected the awesome sounds you made with this, or any other random thing you sample. Your videos regularly make me want to get into my studio and make some music or at least record some sounds!

  • @justin_704
    @justin_704 Рік тому

    the flower sound is amazing...

  • @thomasquinn93
    @thomasquinn93 Рік тому +1

    This is basically how a Hammond organ works :) rotating serrated disks next to magnetic pickups 😊

  • @3xAudio
    @3xAudio Рік тому +1

    Great stuff. I used to do a lot of experimenting with contact mics or also broken records and record players on unusual objects. This is inspiring to get back experimenting in the real world.

  • @ytsm
    @ytsm Рік тому +9

    I don't produce any sort of music (don't have the talent haha) but I love watching these videos. They have a real Blue Peter (Brit kids show) on Xanax vibe, I wish that demo song was available, too! It's absolutely gorgeous!!

    • @ytsm
      @ytsm Рік тому

      I only remember Shep and Goldie. Shep was a legend, but Goldie could be considered boring, I guess?@@artisans8521

    • @PeteJohnson1471
      @PeteJohnson1471 Рік тому

      @@artisans8521 Just had a flashback of the 1980 Annual cover 🙂

  • @frederica223
    @frederica223 Рік тому

    "let's add some reverb" every time he says this i get SO excited

  • @michaelpaul5615
    @michaelpaul5615 9 місяців тому

    I was thinking about doing this, but not this in depth. Glad this was in my feed.

  • @peterelfman
    @peterelfman Рік тому +1

    Making me want to go out and sample everything in my house. Great video!!!!

  • @wolfunplugged
    @wolfunplugged Рік тому +2

    this sounds very inspiring... very organic analogue waveforms! somehow I had to think of a novachord. as I child I used to play with such motors and I did construct my own vehicles. so this library is probably a must for me!

    • @wolfunplugged
      @wolfunplugged Рік тому

      ps: library bought! very inspiring sounds, love it!

  • @BlackAera
    @BlackAera Рік тому +22

    When you mentioned Cameron I hoped he would turn this into a Decent Sampler instrument and what do you know, he fucking did. This community is amazing.

  • @Jaredkfjones
    @Jaredkfjones Рік тому

    Fascinating video!

  • @MidtownSkyport
    @MidtownSkyport Рік тому +1

    yeah, holding things above guitar pickups is a source of loads of experimental fun. I used to use a dictaphone to send sounds, like speech samples, through my pedal board. Great for getting textures live

  • @einmoise
    @einmoise Рік тому

    Fantastic sample library.

  • @nutandhakal5289
    @nutandhakal5289 Рік тому

    Sounds so much retro! wow! . Great content!

  • @NicStage
    @NicStage Рік тому

    What a fun way to make tones! Like others said, it's sort of the principle of a tone-wheel organ at the core. But the wire creations are sort of like an "analog" wavetable.

  • @loveaimusix
    @loveaimusix Рік тому +1

    That's how the alien communicates

  • @luke_woodruff
    @luke_woodruff Рік тому

    Amazing, as always. Thank you for UA-cam's best content.

  • @kasatka4797
    @kasatka4797 Рік тому

    Very inspiring experiment..love it! 🙏🏼

  • @kerry-ch2zi
    @kerry-ch2zi Рік тому

    I love this! Can't help but wonder how precise ratios between the wires breaking the field instead of random bending could be used to fine tune the overtones. Contrasting the vibrational output visually with figures from a Chladni plate might lead to finding spin patterns in the magnetic field that our brains could translate as a synchronous medium between between aural and visual stimulus.
    Thus complex composite waveforms might be transmitted audiovisually that could synchronize pitch and color into a single spectrum of cross referential frequencies. Synesthetic triggers?
    What if you spin some mesh patterns of Penrose tiles across the pickup, or a Serpenski space filling curve? What sounds will a Nautilus shell make? What does a cycle of Mandelbrot sound like?
    What if you made a kaleidoscope using metal bits shaped in the Platonic solids and rotated it over a really sensitive pickup?
    I can't help but think the motor itself and its sound, vibration and field must be insulated to get the really fine results of the patterns themselves.

  • @tommykruesofficial
    @tommykruesofficial Рік тому +1

    I wonder how using active pick ups or some of the fishmans would effect the entire thing. This was really cool and inspiring thanks David

  • @bimagv
    @bimagv Рік тому

    This is masterpiece... very open up my mind

  • @orbismworldbuilding8428
    @orbismworldbuilding8428 8 місяців тому +1

    5:27 sounds so nice, reminds me of minecraft sound track

  • @Spiderman-ks5zn
    @Spiderman-ks5zn Рік тому

    The modulation sounds so cool

  • @gabrielhacecosas
    @gabrielhacecosas Рік тому +1

    I think you have invented the Hammond Organ. It has a series of wheels with teeth that spin, and guitar pickups.

  • @jrettetsohyt1
    @jrettetsohyt1 Рік тому

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing! Please try putting different materials that would cause frictional disturbance on the wires just before or as they pass the pick up. Then try using rods of various diameters, materials and at various distances, with which the wires would collide. Then do the same but use a rubber band instead of wires and attach a magnet and even two magnets.

  • @strudelkopf
    @strudelkopf Рік тому +1

    I think the motor introduces a slight pitch shift in the sample because it spins a bit irregular - makes it sound like a beautiful analog synth lol

    • @gutterg0d
      @gutterg0d Рік тому +1

      It's a mechanical oscillator, what could possibly be more analog? :)

  • @johncook6731
    @johncook6731 Рік тому

    This is so beautiful! Reminds me of boards of Canada

  • @ThevenimX
    @ThevenimX Рік тому +1

    We need to pitch down nature. A lot of stuff is in the ultrasonic range. Imagine the hidden gems from plants and birds and others

  • @atlev
    @atlev Рік тому +2

    Look Mum No Computer made an insane fidget spinner guitar using this same theory

  • @flywittzbeats4008
    @flywittzbeats4008 Рік тому

    This is absolutely unreal….. than you so much for this idea!!

  • @inthefade
    @inthefade Рік тому +2

    This is something I've been wanting to do for years. But I want to add an Arduino or something into the mix so that you can play the pitch of the motor and hear it accelerate for a monosynth portamento sound.

    • @DavidHilowitzMusic
      @DavidHilowitzMusic  Рік тому

      You totally should! The biggest challenge would probably be finding a motor you could control precisely

    • @jaywalker512
      @jaywalker512 Рік тому

      ​@@DavidHilowitzMusicThankfully you can do that with the Arduino. Measure the frequency and adjust current on the fly

    • @gutterg0d
      @gutterg0d Рік тому

      A step motor should do it (same as is used for scanners and 3D printers). More precise means more predictable so it might make the end result less interesting though.

  • @Hykje
    @Hykje Рік тому +1

    There is a Synthesizer that uses electric motors to create the sound it's called Motor Synth MKII -it uses eight electric motors as oscillators.

  • @Veptis
    @Veptis 6 місяців тому

    There is a whole branch of scien communication where you turn any kind of signal into audible sounds. Its called sonification. It leads to headlines like "this is how the sun sounds" or "listen to these two black holes merging", "hear your brain thinking" etc.
    Maybe thats a psth to explore? Especially since signals in different dimensions and modalities. And can be combined in newr infinite ways.. there being a lot of audio potential. Looking forward to sour earthquake video - maybe you already covered this.

  • @Tequilasaur
    @Tequilasaur Рік тому +1

    1:58
    David: it sounds really terrible
    Me: wow, what a nice dark ambient drone

  • @MattPerrin
    @MattPerrin Рік тому +1

    Perfect timing! I've got an old wheeled Arduino robot collecting dust that I was hoping to repurpose into something similar using piezos. Never thought of a guitar pickup. 😁

  • @lofidarkambient
    @lofidarkambient Рік тому

    Amazing sounds from something so 'simple" Like in many ways, having the idea is the first step to some amazing stuff. In this case amazing sounds... Love your channel, it is so creative and offers so many ideas. Thank you for this, David... And what Cameron did, also amazing. I'll be experimenting with this stuff too. Just ordered an electric guitar pickup 😃

  • @eleanorgiovanni
    @eleanorgiovanni Рік тому

    Amazing! sounds so beatiful

  • @matthiasbreitenbach4831
    @matthiasbreitenbach4831 Рік тому

    You r fantastic. Amazing. Thanks a lot.

  • @JH-lo9ut
    @JH-lo9ut Рік тому

    Motor synths are becoming a thing now because of new technology in electric motors.
    Those quad copters (drones) have tiny induction motors that spins super fast and are super responsive to changes in voltage. This way, you can build a CV-controlled motor oscillator that will work in real-time as a traditional analog oscillator. (No need to sample the wave form)

  • @gazzar67
    @gazzar67 Рік тому +1

    The basic idea is like the motor synth, but I thought the wire-additions were a great idea. Unrelatedly, I remember being kind of obsessed with the sound of one particular one of my mum's saucepan lids when I was young and I wish I'd kept it.

  • @Typical.Anomaly
    @Typical.Anomaly Рік тому +3

    I've done this before with a cordless drill! If you get the right kind you can control the pitch pretty decently. I think it has to do with the PWM (pulse width modulation) of the motor for variable speeds. Check out the Ween song, "Pink Eye (On My Leg)" from "The Mollusk"- I'm pretty sure they do the same thing. Be warned though... it's probably the brownest sounding Ween track on that album.

    • @nuberiffic
      @nuberiffic Рік тому

      Jerk did it on the song "Just What You Need" too

  • @surrealchemist
    @surrealchemist Рік тому

    Fun idea. I have a Koma Field Kit that has a section to power a motor and you can CV control it.

  • @pablo_costas
    @pablo_costas Рік тому

    Your channel is so cool !!!

  • @B14k3
    @B14k3 Рік тому

    Your videos are incredible

  • @NoirEater
    @NoirEater Рік тому

    You did the thing! Been meaning to try this for a while I'm just terrible at getting around to ideas

  • @jrettetsohyt1
    @jrettetsohyt1 Рік тому

    also, I think we learn from Christian Henson that things that start out at a relatively high frequency make good bases when you slow them down. The I’m not sure if that’s necessary for the flat metal vibrator design below.

  • @GucciGuilty
    @GucciGuilty Рік тому

    You know it’s gonna be a good day when David uploads 🫡♥️

  • @jrettetsohyt1
    @jrettetsohyt1 Рік тому

    Another idea would be to use a flat piece of metal or even a spring and orient it so it’s edge will affect the pick up. Then attach some thing with geometrically radial spokes to the motor (or even something with a chaotic surface) And have it run against the flat metal to make it vibrate. I think this might be good for a cool bass. I would love to have a bass instrument that sounds like the fat wheels of Batman’s motorcycle in the dark Knight, maybe at the times when it turns or something, I forget.

  • @BirdYoumans
    @BirdYoumans Рік тому

    I think I liked the raw unprocessed sounds the best. Are they included in the set? The processed sounds are interesting as well.

  • @ForestGramps
    @ForestGramps Рік тому

    Oh man, I would have loved to hear what free-strings would have sounded like being whipped around!

  • @BrentBlueAllen
    @BrentBlueAllen Рік тому

    I'm guessing the magnetic oscillations for the first setup were from the motor itself actually rather than the magnet. I wonder if it would've made the same tone without the magnet or if the motor's oscillating field caused ripples in the otherwise rotationally-symmetric field of the magnet.

  • @menocorde
    @menocorde Рік тому

    I was hoping to see the casio keyboard somehow circuit bent and using the motor as source for some effect input. As is though, this was a very unexpected and nutritious video with wild sounds.

  • @dadasan
    @dadasan Рік тому +1

    I am using the free version, it is absolutely awesome. But don't know why, decent sampler is crashing again and again when I try to load this sample.

    • @DavidHilowitzMusic
      @DavidHilowitzMusic  Рік тому +1

      there’s a new version of DS that probably fixes the issue :)

  • @morgan0
    @morgan0 Рік тому

    if you were to spin the pickup with some offset (using two or four so it’s balanced, which would make a great stereo source), you could have shapes that are much further from centered and wouldn’t spin well, but you could also move it, tilt it, etc, or even have a 3d shape, which would give a huge range of timbres

  • @calebqueen5631
    @calebqueen5631 Рік тому

    You deserve a peace prize

  • @J19_vlogger74
    @J19_vlogger74 3 місяці тому

    3:50 Another thing is slowing sounds down instead of speeding them up. Like a slowed down firecracker with a bit of reverb can make decent explosion sounds in a pinch. At 6:24, an example of this is old digital church bell systems. The rods are not all that different than the rods you'd find in something like a grandfather or mantle clock. Here's a video of the mechanism of one of them: ua-cam.com/video/C3TnjL_nVz0/v-deo.html The sound is captured by pickups and sent to an amp. The amp sends the signal to loudspeaker horns like you'd find on a megaphone or some sirens. This is how they sound on the speakers outside: ua-cam.com/video/ogqr7R4TMko/v-deo.html Here's a bit of a direct recording of the sound. At 0:21, you can see the inner workings of it better: ua-cam.com/video/pNHqsSRXyTM/v-deo.html Another example would be old ice cream truck music boxes. ua-cam.com/video/gDm6BysJh_0/v-deo.html The concept is mostly the same as the church bell systems.

  • @kaitlyn__L
    @kaitlyn__L Рік тому

    I was thinking about digital additive synths when you discussed all the funky harmonics too! That’s really
    cool. I wonder if any musique concrète artists used this technique when making their “sample tapes” they’d mess with with their machines.

  • @khashayarmodaberi4958
    @khashayarmodaberi4958 Рік тому

    A few days ago I found that when you hit the HDD platter it is producing an interesting sound with long resonance. I'll be happy if you try and sample it, Thank you!🙏🏻😊

  • @PhillipRaymondGoodman
    @PhillipRaymondGoodman Рік тому

    I've been meaning to do something like this for some time, for some reason I though the DC motor itself would produce a tone if held close to the pickup, like drill and electric screw drivers do, but maybe it's too small.
    I've actually been making my own tone wheel Instruments using fidget spinners, which primarily make angry noisy, grinding sounds which I like but I was hoping for actual tones, maybe I'll try speeding them up

  • @GoatFelon
    @GoatFelon Рік тому

    This is awesome.

  • @deividas867
    @deividas867 Рік тому

    Hey! I believe you would be interested in hooking up a tiny solar element / solar panel to a pair of headphones or a recorder. Even LED lightbulbs, screens, neon signs and many other light sources have different sounds when light hits with the panel

  • @muralist_
    @muralist_ Рік тому

    Awesome! Seriously 😍😍