cracklebox

While it only arrived this morning, I'm enamored with it. I brought it to work in my bike bag, and so far Steve has proven the master of low-end gurgling sounds. Moses is working on his pinky technique.

In short, the cracklebox is a portable noisemaker from STEIM. When you touch the metallic parts of the printed circuit board (including both the stems and paddle like parts), you complete the circuit. Each person's sound is different, and even the same person cannot recreate exactly the same sound.

My main sound is closest to that of a kids toy grenade launcher sound (minus the little granulated explosion at the end).

Having spent half of my lunch hour with the cracklebox, I find I can get a droning midrange tone using three or four fingers at the same time. Happily though, it didn't play along when I tried to steer the note toward a conventional, Western pitch. The echo of our nearly empty fourth floor added a lot to the sound.

Also, the first two one/one tapes are finished. If you read this and you're interested in one, let me know.