Musical instruments are very versatile. Each type of instrument has its own form, function, and way of operation, and everyone knows that each musical instrument generates its own range of unique sounds. Not only that, but each type of musical instrument has subtypes of its own, each working differently and producing different sounds. For instance, there are electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, and the list goes on; each is used for a different purpose and is incorporated into specific music genres.
While this is all general knowledge, not many people know that instruments can come in a bewildering variety of designs. We are not talking about the fact that each type of interest has its own design- this is just common sense; we are saying that the instruments that we have learned about as children don’t always look the same. If you are not catching on just yet, read this article to find out about interesting music instrument designs that you have to check out.
Unique Guitars
Steve Vai’s Ultra Zone guitar is one of the guitars that have grasped the attention of not only music enthusiasts but anyone else who saw it. Although the idea behind the guitar came to life when Steve Vai released his album The Ultra Zone in 1999, it wasn’t until the year 2012 that he finally started to use the guitar in his performances. The guitar was initially featured alongside an alien-life Steve Vai in an artwork accompanying the album. It then captured the eye of industry giants who insisted on turning the guitar into a real, playable one. The guitar is made up of a glass/carbon composite, a carbon fiber neck, and stainless steel frets. The neck has two EMG SA active single coils and an 85 active humbucker down in the middle position. The paint finish is in an alluring chameleon color.
“The Villainizer” is a punk-inspired, edgy guitar that is a creation of Rhodes Jackson V. The guitar is a limited edition, definitely one of its kind. The rugged guitar design is evocative of the old Wild West. The guitar has a retro feel to it, as it looks almost indented or broken. You can see pipes, gauges, gears, rust, and weld sticking out and visible everywhere on the guitar, though it works perfectly fine. You can’t imagine that this guitar would be played anywhere else but in metal or rock concerts.
Unusual Pianos
Pianos come in different styles. If you want to purchase one for your home, you would have to consider your home’s general style and color scheme. Would you be surprised that there is a piano that could match just about any home? A crystal piano, which is the product of a Japanese designer, could do just that! This masterpiece comes with transparent legs and a crystal bench with white cushions. Yoshiki, the X Japan drummer, and pianist, supposedly auctioned off his own.
Who doesn’t love the color blue? It’s an energizing color that’s deep hues are associated with royalty. It is deeply linked to power and all that is divine in several ancient cultures. Blue is the color of aristocracy and nobility, and now, there are Grand Pianos in various shades of Blue. Whether you are searching for the perfect shade of sky blue, cobalt, turquoise, or electric blue, you will surely find a luxury piano that will make you feel like royalty.
Intriguing Saxophones
Saxophones are large instruments. Although if you thought that you’ve seen it all, then you haven’t heard of the Contrabass Saxophone just yet. This saxophone is more than 6 feet tall. Yes, it is taller than the majority of the people that you know! The contrabass comes with a mouthpiece that’s about twice the size of the baritone saxophone, which is already pretty large, to begin with. As you must imagine, this saxophone is incredibly difficult today. It is also quite expensive and rare. However, the warm, yet full sound that it offers is a small price to pay for salvation.
Now that you know about this insanely large saxophone, it is only fair that you learn about one of the smallest saxophones out there. The Sopranissimo, which is also known as the ‘Soprillo’ saxophone, is only about a foot tall. It generates a surprisingly high sound in comparison to its size. To give you a better idea, the soprano saxophone, which is played by Kenny G, is one full octave lower than the sopranissimo.
There are many great instruments out there. While you may learn about new varieties every day, you may have never expected that the most popular instruments can also come in intriguing designs too. For that reason, we collected a list of some of the interesting designs that we thought you may enjoy checking out.