Instrument Building: Bells & Chimes

Steel Bells
Each custom built tongue bell, fashioned out of scrapped structural steel, has a unique overtone series ranging from almost sub-sonic pitches to timbers which sound almost like a vibraphone. Each bell is outfitted with a sensitive piezo element grounded to the body of the bell which turns into an electro-acoustic sound source. The bells can be played with mallets or bowed with horsehair.

Steel Chimes
Like the steel bells, the vibrations from these chimes fashioned from scrap steel are transmitted through custom piezo transducers and into custom software. The design of the chimes causes them to adopt a very complex vibrational pattern resulting in a wide range of rich overtones. The chimes can be played with mallets, bamboo sticks, or steel threaded rods.