My Glass Mandolin, no kidding

[JohnMandocaster]

Here is something I did a while back. I based the layout on the mandolin so I think it kinda fits the mandolin forum...kinda, sorta. I saw a guy play wineglasses at a Rennaissance festival one time. He tuned his glasses by adding water. Water also dampens the tone and prevents one from playing the instrument semi-upright. I chose glasses that just happened to be on key.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96403&d=1357526172

Here is the case

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96404&d=1357526177

[Londy]

OMG this is crazy cool. Do you have a sound clip?

[JohnMandocaster]

I KNEW someone would ask for a sound clip. I have a rough one but the file is huge and I don't have the right stuff to make one in a better format. It sounds a bit like an accordian that had a bell for a grandmother.

[JohnMandocaster]

Those photos are of the latest version. Originally, I mounted the glasses on rotating spindles driven by a pully system and a windshield wiper motor. The tone was continuous and you could play several glasses at once but it was a bear to transport and I found I preferred the glasses to be stationary and not rotate.

Here are a couple of photos of the earlier version.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96378&d=1357521369

And here is what was inside the case to drive the glasses

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96375&d=1357521309

[JohnMandocaster]

One more photo of my current setup. The notes are GDAE at the left and each row of glasses is laid out like fretting a mandolin string. The notes on the far right are flats of the leftmost note on the row above it.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96398&d=1357524091

[Jim Garber]

A friend of mine had a very similar set up to yours made in the 19th century in Baltimore. I think he sold it to a museum. Benjamin Franklin (http://www.glassarmonica.com/) actually invented what he called a glass armonica and Mozart wrote some pieces for it. I have a recording from (I think) the 1960s of a musician names Bruno Hoffman playing one of those.

More info on variants here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica).

Check out these videos:

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[JohnMandocaster]

I forget who/where but there is a company that will build you a nested bowl glass armonica similar to the one in the video you posted. My hat is off to Benjamin Franklin because he didn't have a handy hardware store to get parts and construction ideas.

[JohnMandocaster]

This guy has a bigger setup than mine. He and I shared some ideas and played a few duets...there are bookoos of wineglass videos on Youtube. Mine is only unique in its mandolin/violin layout, tuned without water, and my earlier version was powered.


http://vimeo.com/2073887

[Charles E.]

I have a sister inlaw that playes the type with the nesting bowl's, she actually studied under a master and made the bowl's herself. She told us that when she plays a lot it can wear her fingerprints almost off.

[JohnMandocaster]

Unfortunately I have not practiced enough to wear fingerprints off but there IS an art to getting your hands and finger tips "squeeky" clean. Even soft water can mess up the grippyness of your fingers on the glass.

Thanks folks for "chiming" in here on a topic that is a little "off-beat". Maybe there are other musical instruments folks have created or recognized that take advantage of the handy layout of the mandolin/violin.

[Andy Boden]

You could,of course, try tuning the glasses using a good Merlot instead of water ...... after a while you wouldn't care whether they were in tune or not (Hic !)