Drone

[sunny]

I'm going to make my own drone instrument soon (best laid plans..). Any ideas are welcome.

[olan]

I'm going to make my own drone instrument soon (best laid plans..). Any ideas are welcome.

Just use a recording of me waffling on about vinyl or some gig I went to a lifetime ago. That'll give you all the drone you'll ever need (and some to spare) and save your construction costs too.

[sunny]

Just use a recording of me waffling on about vinyl or some gig I went to a lifetime ago. That'll give you all the drone you'll ever need (and some to spare) and save your construction costs too. [/quote]

Be careful what you wish for, that idea appeals to me. I have a track of myself and friends talking rubbish in Morocco. The tune is aptly named 'Morocco'.

[simonkeeping]

I've had my eye on one of these: http://www.handmadeelectronicinstrument ... mal-drone/
Don't really need it but, well, you know...

[toomilk]

I've had my eye on one of these: http://www.handmadeelectronicinstrument ... mal-drone/
Don't really need it but, well, you know...

Funny enough, I just purchased this exact one. You can get some SERIOUS drones going with this, but 6 channels is too many. The best sounds I've gotten have been using about three of the channels, which makes this: http://www.handmadeelectronicinstrument ... mal-drone/ perfect. Of course, they came back in stock as soon as I bought the maximal one. haha.

I have two related issues with it: 1) It's very difficult to "tune" it, so using it in a band or group with other tonal instruments is nearly impossible, and 2) the nobs on it are EXTREMELY sensitive. I suppose this is by design - so you will always have the pitches slightly out of phase, but it makes it hard to replicate settings.

Other than that, it does produce some great tones and is built like a rock. Pair it with some distortion and a repeater pedal and you've got yourself a one-man Playing With Fire tribute act.

[simonkeeping]

Thanks for that Toomilk, That's really good to know. I've held off picking one up purely because the shipping from the US and import tax is ££££. Plus the exchange rate is awful right now.

I did think about getting it to use with the band so the tuning thing is an interesting point. I think If I did get one I would use it for fun, you know, book out a rehearsal studio get a huge drone going and make some horrendous noise for 3 hours.

Did you try and use it with your band or was it just too tricky trying to dial it in?

[toomilk]

I did think about getting it to use with the band so the tuning thing is an interesting point. I think If I did get one I would use it for fun, you know, book out a rehearsal studio get a huge drone going and make some horrendous noise for 3 hours.

Did you try and use it with your band or was it just too tricky trying to dial it in?

I had it plugged into our PA at a few practices. We're a pretty loud band, so to even start to notice it, it has to be cranked. I would hold out the root note to a song and frantically try to tune the drone to it, with mixed results. Granted, I play bass with a Turbo Rat pedal that never is turned off - not exactly known for its tuning qualities. If I were to use it with a band, it would have to be a new song written around it, but replicating the note would be difficult. Like I said, its nobs are extremely sensitive. Etching in a line for the correct note is NOT an option.

Farting around with it at home is really great though, especially if you run it through one of those little cigarette pack amps. Turn up the volume on the drone until you get a nice crunchy distortion and it sounds great. The audio equivalent to being on mushrooms.