Robot Slide Whistle Orchestrion

[@doxielain2231]

The servo noise makes a nice rhythm accompaniment

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Honestly it works so well with it, I had barely noticed them. 😂 Like I know they are there making noise but it just fits so I paid it no mind haha

[@dominicrichardson5546]

Sounds like a hiphop style record scratch sound effect lol

[@Alkatross]

Reminds me of the stepper orchestra

[@Thanks-Again]

lol quite the opposite I was coming to tell him he should do this with silent servos 😂

[@JamitinThereRepair]

​@@Thanks-Again I agree with the silent servos or at least mount them in back where we cannot hear them.

[@steveschritz1823]

“At the event, nobody seemed to care that it was out of tune. If anything, it just made it funnier.” Bingo … it’s the whimsical nature of a project like this that makes it pure gold!

[@Tamarocker88]

idk, as a musician it drives me nuts that they're out of tune. The project is still impressive, but the inaccuracy and clashing notes ruin it for me.

[@bricaaron3978]

@@Tamarocker88 Exactly, especially because I'm... _pretty certain_ that it's not impossible to calibrate such a system.

[@Persun_McPersonson]

@@Tamarocker88 The whole point is to be goofy though, it's not meant to be enjoyed like a normal piece of music. Do you maybe have absolute pitch, by the way?

[@Tamarocker88]

@@Persun_McPersonson If the whole point is to be goofy, why bother with making an accurate enough representation to recreate popular tunes? The point is to demonstrate proficiency and make something, not just to be goofy. The lack of tonal accuracy harms the piece. I don't have absolute pitch, but I'm a trained musician. The warbling out of tune sustained notes stick out like a sore thumb.

[@Persun_McPersonson]

@@Tamarocker88 Goofy ≠ incomprehensible. It's supposed to be goofy-sounding version of recognizable music, for which the goal is met regardless of whether or not the notes are perfectly in tune. Whether the lack of accuracy harms the piece is a matter of taste; I find the poor tuning and chaotic nature of it to be charming.

[@HoneySoakedSeagull]

You're a monster. You have 4. You could have perfectly done bohemium rhapsody on them and made each of them look like specific queen members. Awesome video none the less.

[@GoldenPickaxe]

Because MysteryGuitarMan already perfected this

[@Eluderatnight]

🎶I see the silouete of a man....🎶

[@cosmicraysshotsintothelight]

@@Eluderatnight Yes, but can he do The Fandango?

[@rogerwilco2]

Heheheheh.

[@geologyjoerocks]

Aww, let ‘em slide….

[@ed_halley]

Missed the opportunity to paint the tubes in spiral white and red paint, for a Barber Pole Quartet.

[@CaptainWizard3000]

THIS

[@fredericapanon207]

White washi tape in a helix

[@keleynal4424]

With slide whistles of different sizes to get some great harmonies and greater range.

[@chadmwest]

This is as great a crime as failing to name the Jet Ski the Boatercycle.

[@matteobessone5490]

Bow ties, they all need bow ties

[@ERKNEES2]

How dare you not add more googly eyes

[@phylliida]

Each slide whistle has two

[@Alex_Vir]

​@@phylliida haven't you read what the cat wrote?

[@Jelte_Dijkmans]

@@phylliidaWE NEED MORE

[@RoboKnight924]

@phylliida, there are also two on the left middle one

[@Eunakria]

the reading comprehension on this site is piss poor

[@Jett-n-gin]

I take a look at my enormous whistle and my troubles start a-meltin' away!

[@cartoonkeeper]

I see what you did there Naughty Boy

[@richfiles]

:D

[@CosmicRadioGuy]

lolol

[@Naro_Rivers]

I take a look at my enormous whistle And the happy times are coming to stay!

[@cilantrof190]

It's not size that matters...

[@wiggletonthewise2141]

This feels like something you would find in an old amusement museum made by someone in the 1940’s, like those old self playing pianos, well done!!

[@wiebel7569]

You got me at the "Increasingly desperate transistor arrangement."

[@alexportiiii6414]

A few years ago, I made a robot slide whistle emulator! 10:30

[@Wintergatan]

Absolutely top tier, as always from mitxela

[@botondszihalmi6947]

nice to see you here too

[@seditt5146]

I feel so bad for the people who had a booth around this one all day long. They had nightmares, I am sure! Clowns and circus tigers with googly eyes chasing them so they can sing them a song or die.

[@Jonathan.D]

I just attended my daughters 4th grade recorder recital. This is so much better! I was praying that at any moment they were going to play the brown note and we could all go home. Because the effects of the brown note is preferable to an hour of 4th graders playing the recorder.

[@policy8analyst]

​@@Jonathan.D THE notorious brown note? How did they miss it?

[@JustinKoenigSilica]

Thank you for your apologies before showing us this wonderful piece

[@rustybrooks]

It's always nice to know in advance if I'll be owed an apology by the end of a video

[@Bob_Adkins]

I was expecting more armonica and less calliope.

[@alantremonti1381]

I forgave him.

[@cyborgamish]

The more I listen to this, the more it sounds perfectly in tune

[@makers_lab]

Yes, but know that anything else you listen to from thereon will sound terrible :)

[@cyborgamish]

@@makers_lab The Detunear 2000

[@asdfasdfasdfasdfzzzz]

LMFAO why did this start happening when I read this comment

[@Validole]

That's called Stockholm Syndrome

[@makers_lab]

@@Validole It isn't; maybe Stockhausen Syndrome though :)

[@AB-Prince]

mr sand man on slide whistles, or any "barbershop quartet" type of music.

[@JetSimon]

Mr Sandman is in his original slide whistle video if you want to see it.

[@pinaz993]

Sand?

[@h3lldr0p]

Nonono. You want Enter Sandman from Metallica on slidewhistle!

[@Klabbity_Kloots]

I mean, the last song was a "barbershop quartet" type of music.

[@a97civic20]

Last one was DaVinci's notebook. Look it up if you haven't heard of them, you won't be disappointed!

[@warpeggioslab]

I'm currently researching air regulators for a street organ build. Have you seen the Apfelregal, or Bibelregal? They use a simple weighted bellows to maintain air pressure. Much like your leaky pumps, the two bellows generate MORE than enough wind, and the overpressure is simply exhausted silently, UNLESS enough pipes are speaking to consume all the bellows wind. @MichaelKrzyzaniak 's organ build mentions using a pressure sensor and control of the blowers, but I suspect that isn't the whole story.

[@nadiaplaysgames2550]

you can seet example but look at LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER organ playlist

[@Scrogan]

A pneumatic zener regulator. I’d rather see an adjustable constrictor than an adjustable leak, if just for efficiency’s sake. A pneumatic LDO, if you will.

[@warpeggioslab]

​@@Scrogan i'm only a couple weeks into my research but from what i can tell, organs usually have main regulators to provide pressure, along with spring loaded regulators near to the windchest to provide fast response to pneumatic hammer, which sounds like flutter when a large pipe or chord of pipes is closed suddenly. The resulting step-effect causes a wave in the ductwork if it's not dissipated by a regulator. The way that @mitxela did the valves over the aperture probably doesn't seal tightly enough to cause that issue.

[@Sixta16]

Just use bigger fan, so that the small volume flowing to 4 tiny whistles does not influence pressure as much.

[@theorganguy]

for God's sake, please only use proper bellow systems when building a street organ!

[@Ziraya0]

An air pressure capacitor, like in Look Mum No Computer's organ, would help with the blower consistency. If you can figure out how to miniaturize it. Just to cover it, the church organ has something akin to a bellows, a big box that inflates upward when the fan is on with accordion style walls, and then you put a big weight on it. The fan lifts the weight, and when pipes open they let out air, then if demand for air exceeds the fan's capacity the bellow will begin to deplete. Unless an arrangement is consistently blowing a large number of pipes, this over-demand period will be temporary. A bonus feature of this and all capacitors is that when implemented correctly they filter out higher frequency content in the supply. One way to miniaturize it may be to use balloons, these would be able to radiate fast spikes out of the air supply, and compensate for low supply

[@Ticktok_of_Oz]

Including the LMNC organ flow capacitor in this is a great idea. Could then get one larger blower to fill it rather than multiple as then the back pressure from the other whistles being off wouldn't affect the ones that are on. Could even put in electrically controlled valves to added 'velocity' to each whistel.

[@Hope_Boat]

Beethoven was deaf which makes him a great choice for playing something on this instrument.

[@tshackelton]

There are a ton of recalled CPAP machines around right now, and although you need an ESC, you should be able to get really precise flow rates. I'm using them on my 3d printers for part cooling, the flow rates are incredible for the cost.

[@abakedapplepie]

where would you go to purchase something like this?

[@jacobblotkamp2945]

Best April fool's day ever!

[@amyshaw893]

It kinda sounds like those organs you get at fairs that use punched cards for music, and now I want to see a punch card interface for this haha

[@fburton8]

Like some kind of Magic Roundabout, yeah!

[@RobertMilesAI]

I wonder if anyone makes a piano roll reader that just outputs midi. Easy modular old time music machines!

[@alfiegordon9013]

​@@RobertMilesAIeven if not, I can't imagine it'd be a huge project to slap one together Now I want to do it....

[@satibel]

@@alfiegordon9013 I did something similar in 2 projects, a midi organ, and a light sensor that uses a strip, you basically have a row of leds with either phototransistors or photoresistors. since we don't need analog, a pair of SGPT4057/SIR4056 will do the trick. for feeding, a pair of rubber paint rollers works well, and you can either repeat that on the other side, or just have a small slit that's barely larger than the card, with felt on both sides. you can use an ide cable to connect a 3 octave reader (36 notes, plus ground and power, and 1 pin is nc ) midi is very easy, just serial write on each change (note on/note off).

[@amyshaw893]

@@rustycherkas8229 no it's not, a calliope is metal and powered by steam, I mean a book organ

[@ame7165]

i don't know why, but i really like this project. it's fairly complicated, but executed cleanly, and the resulting music is too absurd to be bad. and honestly it's the best type of thing to show off at an expo. brilliant work!

[@jonasglue]

I want this playing at my funeral

[@jamesspinks716]

Me too, it’s the only way to get a tear.

[@StephenTack]

During the All Star demo, I was thinking, "this sure could use closed-loop pitch control...but you'd probably have to use a contact mic." Great minds... I'd be more optimistic regarding the chances of isolating pitch feedback. I'd love to see it attempted, even if you failed. Heck, a failure after an honest attempt would make great click bait. Keep up the good work!

[@SeraphimKnight]

I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get rickrolled by slidewhistle robots.

[@clownwreck]

This is very cool. I noticed that, during "All Star", the harmony whistles were drowning out the melody whistle. I wonder if there is a way to selectively dampen the sound of given whistles in cases like this.

[@official-obama]

the harmony whistles are all playing at the same time

[@flare2000x]

The build quality and overall neatness of the final product is just one of the very impressive features of this project. The little clips to hold on the back plate for instance, this extra attention to detail is great.

[@chupathingy5862]

Bob Moog was once interviewed shortly after debuting his synthesizer. The interviewer leaned forward and asked, "Mr. Moog, tell me: don't you feel guilty about what you've done?"

[@official-obama]

according to los angeles times, "Robert Moog, 71; His Synthesizer Brought New Sounds to Music": In “Moog,” a recent documentary by director Hans Fjellestad, an interviewer leans toward Moog and sternly asks, “Tell me, Mr. Moog, don’t you feel guilty about what you’ve done?”

[@camsy83]

It is very reminiscent of the turret orchestra at the end of Portal 2.

[@snoopsnet8150]

Those tiny joints are amazing. I can't believe they hold up 👍

[@multiplysixbynine]

What an enormous slide whistle project!

[@cabe_bedlam]

Honestly, the slight jank is absolutely part of its charm!

[@StereoTyp0]

Apologies are not enough. Great Job. edit: I recognize that barbershop tune, cheeky

[@josephwisniewski3673]

And now I'm picturing a servo-driven Theramin.

[@JyrkiPelaa]

I can already hear the soothing vintage scifi movie noises..

[@cosmicraysshotsintothelight]

Zombie hands get pretty stinky after they've been out for a while. Birds might start picking at them too...

[@rustedwrenchrestorationwor9779]

This is beautiful! I'm crying from laughter. I can just see the little flaps shaped like white glove cartoon hands. the googly eyes are necessary! I wonder what it would take to do this with kazoos? Probably just a tone generator and a fan... hmmmmmm.....

[@DaveBjornRapp]

The googly eyes really finish out the whole gestalt of it. Bravo!

[@WSWC_]

You built it so well.... Not seeing a ton of comments talking about the craftsmanship here but this is incredible. Everything looks nice, and nice to use.

[@jonrpearce]

On the occasional well intoned chord, it's quite lovely. A bellows setup like a pipe organ may well make the erratic motor pressure more workable. There is some charm in the wild intonation, and I enjoy the percussive record scratches of the servos. Top work, as ever!

[@onenaner]

jesus christ also "enormous wenis" is peak

[@skyrimking4098]

I’m surprised more people didn’t notice this

[@richfiles]

It was an enormously great tune @@skyrimking4098

[@CosmicRadioGuy]

@@skyrimking4098 I did, immediately. Big Bob and Tom fan.

[@scotth9828]

No need for blasphemy

[@skyrimking4098]

@@scotth9828no need for your opinion 🤭🤭🤭

[@cademcclure2147]

What an absolutely beautiful/horrendous thing. I love it

[@delphicdescant]

Man, I've been conditioned to expect something like this to sound way better than it looks. I have to congratulate you for shattering all my expectations today :P

[@benjaminmiddaugh2729]

I'm not quite sure how to interpret this (congratulations). Does it mean that this thing looks really good and the sound is at least decent or does it mean that this thing is ugly with correspondingly worse sound? I can see (and hear) cases for either.

[@TheMannus]

If you want your sound to be more tuneable, you could add a balloon or air chamber between your pump and the flute (This would give you some fluidic "capacitance"), thereby making the airflow more constant and easier to handle for the motors ;). Very cool project!

[@michaelsorensen7567]

Bag slide pipes.... I love it!

[@karl1ok]

What a glorious contraption! And such an excellent choice of Davinci's Notebook

[@thomaslisson5619]

I can imagene, how much knowlegde You needed for this project: music, MIDI, programming microcontrolers, crafting the mechanic etc. Wow!

[@Flying0Dismount]

This demands a Device Orchestra collab!

[@MPCmanNL]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@pileofstuff]

Or LookMumNoComputer.

[@thermostance1815]

​@@pileofstuffor both!

[@Benoit-Pierre]

👍🏻

[@chopper3lw]

This is wonderful. You win my best application of a microcontroller 2024 award.

[@shoofle]

I really appreciate the restraint and taste of not going for the low hanging fruit of never gonna give you up.

[@matthewkendrick8280]

You know what would play really nicely on this? The turret song at the end of portal 2. I believe it’s called Cara Mia or something

[@jerril42]

Well that was an overblown mess! I loved every minute of it. Thank you mixtela.

[@stop8738]

I was really enjoying the micro LED series but this is great! I love that you picked the Mii music of all things and how perfect this instrument goes with its sound. 😂🙌

[@scattergun]

Never thought I'd see googly eyed slide whistles harmonizing to Allstar

[@only1muppet]

Old carousel 🎠 music would work great for those. I love the googly eyes, they’re so fun

[@_PJW_]

'Tell Me You're A Man Without Telling Me You're A Man'. Brilliant Dudeism. With the copper fixtures it begs to be Steampunked. Please stain the wood darkbrown, and add stained glass fronts. Some low-voltage indirect illumination in yellow or green would be a nice touch too.

[@patchwrk]

OMG, I instantly recognized that last song and FELL ON THE FLOOR! 🤣🤣🤣

[@jonrau5988]

I'm a saw player and I love this thing. Marvelous!

[@nicholasamesbury]

Herbie Hancock"s 'Watermelon Man' 1973 is written for this device.

[@-lolus-]

the last one fits sooooo well, almost like they made it with intent to play it on this

[@Alro12343]

That's "enormous penis" it's a barbershop quartet song which is probably why. Only four tones in total.

[@danny_racho]

This is incredible and wholesome. Just the right mix of electronics and music enthusiast

[@chris22207]

I just spat my lunch out when I heard the first notes. This is amazing! I now need to clean the quonia out of my work keyboard and cuibal.

[@storbytronics]

AAA ITS HEREE!!! Thank you, Mitxela! I was hoping to see more from the slide whistles sooner or later!

[@puffthecatpuff8931]

Still Alive?

[@puffthecatpuff8931]

Perform "Still Alive"!

[@westlydurkee6230]

I guess

[@keleynal4424]

Immediately thought this before I clicked on it

[@77nizzova53]

I am!!¡!!

[@unazwetschge]

What about a setup with a soprano, alto, tenor and bass whistle?

[@unkobold]

And all Bach’s chorals as their repertoire ! 😊🥳

[@EllaPlaysSynths]

I'm a composer and a music technologist, and oh my god am I gonna have fun with that emulator. Thank you!

[@alan_wood]

Excellent, I can see a potential 'Text to Clanger' spin-off in the future.

[@phroug2]

I had this video on in the background and I yelled at my wife from across the room "Hey thats Davinci's Notebook!!"

[@salterclan]

About a minute in and my daughter said it sounded like ambulances driving by. 😂

[@graemedavidson499]

Now we know what a Clanger choir sounds like…

[@wade-potato6200]

I now really want to hear Mr sandman played on these

[@bytesabre]

I now really want to hear Enter Sandman played on these

[@jimandskittum]

KZbin algo wasn't going to rest until I watched this. I'm not mad. Good work and rock on, you're an Allstar.

[@nikchi]

compressed air and a regulator might get you a better and more consistent airflow. You could also size the compressor tank and flow rate to get a more silent back end.

[@Orangetronic]

doofing around on this was one of my favourite things @ EMFCamp last time around. 10/10 contraption

[@ShifterChaos]

I was not ready for the surprise DaVinci's Notebook drop at the end. Wow

[@tennesseered586]

What you need is a 'wind chest', a relatively large air box upon which each whistle is mounted and directly fed air. The air pressure inside the chest is kept constant by a weighted bellows. Each flute will therefore be fed the exact same air pressure as all the others. Air pressure in the chest will be automatically maintained by the weighted bellows. If the air chest is large enough and the supply fan has enough reserve capacity, the air pressure will not vary as each whistle opens and closes. That's the way organ builders in J.S.Bach's day did it. Air power was supplied by a rotating crew of choir boys working multiple large bellows in the basement. Hot, sweaty work.

[@KeritechElectronics]

Achievement unlocked: Loud and Not So Clear! Survive the whistle orchestrion dissonance while listening on headphones.

[@sandhollowneko]

Don't apologize for this glorious invention.

[@donerskine7935]

I guess we have reached Peak Civilisation when mankind has enough leisure time to come up with daft, pointless, wonderful, hilarious, fascinating creations like this.

[@SilvaDreams]

We've been at a peak for a while then because stuff like this has been made for centuries.

[@theelectronwrangler6416]

Man. I simultaneously love and hate this. It's like having four toddlers running around with slide whistles.

[@iquemedia]

this is one of the best things ever created

[@GriddlockCosplay]

The compilations are truly beautiful, kind of in the same way when you hear a kindergarten class playing recorders (or maybe I'm the only one who really appreciates it), when your baby is playing to the best of their ability. Not the best in terms of world class musician, but fully better than someone who has never tried. Bravo!!! (I want one!).

[@vioscene]

Man this reminds me of the portal 2 turrent songs. Nice!

[@R.K.994]

Was gonna say the same thing

[@raydunakin]

That's really cool, and the googly-eyes are a nice touch.

[@PatrickHoodDaniel]

No crimes here! Love the eyeballs! Damn shrinkflation! Are you controlling the half duplex UART for the servos from the chip or are you using a chip to help this out? Can't tell what that lone chip is doing on that perfboard. One would think there should be 10 slide whistles, one for each finger, but I guess an approximation could be worked out.

[@TinyMaths]

Watching this late into the night with lights down low; during the track after the intro, had to check behind me to be sure 'Chucky' wasn't in the room. Nice machine by the way; love how clean it looks; and the fact that it has a kind of 'twisted' organ grinder sound to it.

[@Bananeisafree]

The googley eyes really seal the deal

[@Heysupdan]

This is a work of art, perfection beautifully silly

[@AK-vx4dy]

For this i would be looking for pumps/fans from PCAP ( anti snorinng and hypoxia ) machines, they have good amount of constant presure and are very silent and flow parameters near what human produce, but i don't know how they are priced.

[@Metal-Possum]

This is most excellent. Works particularly with four-part barbershop type harmonies.

[@PTFVBVB]

Oh my god this is amazing! Honestly the servo sounds add to it

[@brometheus___]

Loved the Da Vinci's Notebook stuff at the end! great video.

[@themement3616]

Very peculiar choice for that last song... though it appears you gave the creator of the piece, but not its name...why is that?

[@timc333]

I approve of this for classical composition . Only suggestion I would make, and it would be lovely, place a spinning propeller on the top of the box for added visual appeal . Possibly a spinning propeller beanie cap with a servo under the cap to run the propeller .

[@eldonad]

I think what could really improve this design would be to add a kind of feedback loop between the tone of the whistle and the motors. You could probably use some kind of contact microphone to extract the current tone, find the period via a FFT algorithm, and then correct the tone by changing slightly the motor position. EDIT : You addressed that in the video already, sorry ! Yeah, isolating all the whistles might be challenging, but still I expect that you would be able to get weaker amplitudes for all the other whistles than the one the mic is attached to, and even is that's difficult, by knowing the spectral profile of your whistles (which I can't imagine changing very much with tone or air pressure) you could fit the spectrum with an error minimizer algorithm (gradient descent and the like) or even a neural network to get the base frequency of all the whistles still without too much difficulty I think

[@whatbee]

He addressed that in the video

[@eldonad]

@@whatbee Yeah, I posted that before finishing the video 😅

[@markderonde6226]

lol

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

That's hilarious I was just thinking the same thing (not with the process of how to do it though, just the thought of it needing some way to tune them a bit. It's extra hilarious because as I went to type this comment, I got right to the part that addressed this 😂😂

[@jonathangjertsen3450]

most patient mitxela commenter

[@catherinegoss6802]

You just have to arrange The Frogs' Chorus for this wonderfully genius instrument. Thank you so much for being you and being here! Brilliant! Xxx

[@robomatrix4582]

i love it. it has the same energy of the stuff from device orchestra and i love it.

[@NanoNymus9733]

ROFLOL you just made my day. I am lauging in tears. Very nice contraption, and that it is so dissonnant is actually very satisfying....

[@Murgoh]

Brings back the horrors of elementary school music lessons with a classroom of kids trying to play the same tune on their recorders. 😁

[@mrduncan2784]

This is phenomenally delightful!! Fantastic job sir!

[@TheBookDoctor]

I can think of no better piece with which to unleash this creation upon the world.

[@OliviaSNava]

To fix the tuning issues, you’ll probably want to add pickups to the whistles, and then have a program that can identify how far off from in tune they are, and then direct the servos to adjust closer to that value. A combination of what you’re doing now and that, should probably fix your tuning issues. It’s how musicians actually tune music. We play the note as close as we can initially, and then quickly change to a more correct note.

[@timothycross4815]

You, sir, are an absolute genius. Thank you for the laughs and the repeated chin scratching. Somehow saying, "Robot Slide Whistle," elicits emotions and excitement that I never knew existed. I want to build one.

[@kiwi3954]

so much fun to play about with at EMF. thanks for bringing it along!!

[@anonymousbosch9265]

Amazing talent, skill, and vision. Truly creative even if not musically super pleasant