It's always a joy to sell to Children's museums and playgrounds. I love the fact that the instruments are explored and played to their full potential. I say with pride, that a few have even been worn out in the bigger children's museums. Below are some of the instruments I've made for either children's museum's or musical playgrounds. Most of them I tune pentatonicaly to concert pitch, but any tuning is possible. I can easily make instruments similar to those shown, but I also delight in custom instruments and new designs, so please share your ideas and wishes.
I'm happy to say that most of my steel instruments are made using old, recycled metals. They are likely to have blemishes of various sorts (ie.scratches, .pockmarks from rust, etc.). Standard finish (pictured) on the larger instruments is enamel paint. Powder coating is a pricier option that would give a more durable finish.
Jim Doble
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Made from spruce "2x4s". The Amadinda has a bright clear resonant sound. It's most fun to play and sounds fullest with 2-4 players. Their are no sour notes as the tuning is pentatonic. See "About Amadindas" for more background info. Finished spruce Amadinda 12 notes (6'x3', ).....$225
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Made from sustainably harvested African Mahogony, this will last a long time in just about any outdoor environment. I has a bright, resonant tone similar to the regular amadinda. The one pictured has attached mallets. One like this goes for $950 |
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Log Amadinda Made from well seasoned logs of your choice of hardwood.Still
a clear resonant tone, though not quite as sweet as the Amadinda
above. The visual impact and indestructible quality make up for
any loss of sound quality, however. The hardiest version is strung
with stainless steel cable and mounted from fixed posts. 8 note strung with Stainless cable - $600 |
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Babydinda Made from a mix of hardwoods for visual and tonal variety
and delight. 8 note Babydinda - $215 . Other sizes are available |
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Multidinda The keys are each made from a variety of materials for a variety of tonal and visual texture. This one has the following materials: purple heartwood, plastic wood ("trex"), poplar, ash, oak, aluminum, steel, bronze. The keys are around 1 1/2" wide. 8 Note Multidinda - $265 |
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This tongue drum was made to
be not only played, but also lied upon. This way, the vibrations
of the instrument travel directly through the body. Ideal for
use with the hearing impaired. This size is approximately 2'x2'x4' |
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Boltaphone Made from large hex-head bolts. The bolts average around 10" long. 8 note Boltaphone - $165 |
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Wrenchophone Made from old wrenches of various shapes and sizes.These have a sturdier and more resonate sounding mounting system than my regular Wrenchophones and can come in a variety of sizes. The wrenches are tuned to concert pitch to the bewilderment of most people and have a surprisingly bright, clear, and resonant tone. 8 note HD Wrenchophone - $175 |
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Chromatic Wrenchophone Shown is a 2 1/2 octave, chromatic version of the above; this
one with the addition of a couple of "snakes". 2 Octave - $455 |
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Heavy Duty and SHD Whale Drum Very popular heavy duty versions of my Whale Drum made from
old propane tanks. These have become so popular, and have evolved so many options, that they now have their own Whale Drum page 36" SHD Whale Drum (10 notes)- 1,100
HEAR A WHALE DRUM Dedicated Whale Drum page |
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Dragon Gong These stand about 5' high (but is hung) and can be played about anywhere. There are four to six tuned "tongues" on the front. There are eyes on the dragon, but they seem to have gotten lost in the background or the photo. |
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Aluminum Gong A fairly simple, but resonant gong. The "dimpled" center helps clarify the tone. Made from 3/16 -1/4" aluminum sheet. 36" Gong (pictured) - $295 |
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This was made for The Children's Museum of Maine. It's a bit of a mix of all kinds of tonal and visual experience. The tank is 30"w by 36"l. There are steel, brass, aluminum, stainless steel horizontal pipes; upright steel pipes; welded steel arcs;"floating" steel arcs; steel and aluminum flat bar; a set of steel bolts; two steel "tongues"; and two aluminum gongs for a wide variety of sounds. The steel is finished with paint, other metals have a lacquer finish. It could be Powder coated for better durability of finish. |
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Chimasaur 2 One similar to these would cost around $1900. ![]() |
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Chime Wall
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