If you hadn't noticed, we here at Reverb HQ tend to revel in the oddest, rarest, and most unique instruments and gear to find their way into our marketplace. A few weeks ago, we showcased some of the most peculiar guitars, while last week's post honed in on our favorite parts builds.
Today, we're expanding our purview to look at some of the most unique and peculiar musical instruments currently listed on the site. Some of these oddities are antiques, and others are brand new inventions. But no matter from where or when they come, they all offer truly unique ways to make music.
Hardanger 8–string Violin
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A traditional instrument of Norway, the Hardanger fiddle features four more strings than a standard violin for a total of eight. But unlike most double–stringed instruments, like mandolins and twelve–string guitars, the added strings of the Hardanger fiddle are strung below the main course to resonate along with the tones of the main course.
Apart from its unique musical qualities, this instrument is undeniably beautiful with truly stunning binding, inlays, wood carving, and other detail work.
Unatronics Wobbulator 8-bit Noisebox Theremin
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Handmade in Chicago, the Wobbulator is an 8–bit noisebox with several LFO oscillators that adjust pitch, volume, and phase. The result is a wide variety of crazy sounds, from car alarms to fuzzy televisions to classic theremins. For an even wider variety of sound, run it through effects pedals via the ¼” output jack or into an amp to make it loud.
A.F. Drum Co. Snom
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Make no mistake: A.F. Drum Co. out of Austin, TX is not about gimmicks, and their full line of snares and sets top the wishlists of many discerning percussionists. With their brass drums especially, A.F. brings a number fresh concepts to classic drum forms and construction techniques. Take the "Snom," for example. By adding snare wires and a throw to the bottom of any of their floor tom models, A.F. Drum brings a deep yet snappy new sound to their drums, like this complete mahogany kit.
Double Sided Guitar/Bass
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Guitar/bass combos in the form of a double–neck like the Gibson EBS–1275 are not especially uncommon. For over a year now, though, we've been seeing sales for these odd "Busuyi" guitars which place bass and guitar necks and pickups on opposite sides of a single body, like the heads and tails of coin. While they might not be the most well–built instruments on the site, they certainly offer an intriguing tool for the multi–instrumentalist on the go.
Di Zhao Contrabass Flute
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If you can think of a wind instrument, chances are that someone has attempted to make a contrabass version of it. Contrabass saxophones and clarinets are relatively rare, though they do show up in the repertoire periodically. Slightly rarer is the contrabass flute like this Di Zhao example. The range of the contrabass is similar to a standard flute but sits two octaves lower with some models capable of hitting a C two octaves below middle C.
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Suitcase Kick Drum
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Used mostly by lo–fi indie and folk musicians as well as traveling buskers, these suitcase bass drums are unique and portable. Inspired by one–man band Shakey Graves, this seller outfitted a suitcase just a bit larger than a briefcase with a 12” drum. The portable drum can be used as is for a smaller set or mic’d up for a crowd. Foot pedal sold separately.
Artiphon Instrument 1
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The Instrument 1 by Artiphone came about as the result of a group of Nashville musicians looking for a new way to play together. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Instrument 1 evolved into an instrument that can do just about anything. Plug it into your smartphone, tablet, or computer and pair it with the Artiphon companion app to program it. Fully ambidextrous, the Instrument 1 can be used in whatever position suits the instrument it’s functioning as, whether it’s violin, banjo, or piano. It’s also compatible with other music–making apps like GarageBand with its string–like interface working as a regular MIDI controller.
Megatar 12–string Touch Guitar
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Like the famous Chapman stick and the metalhead favorite Warr guitar, the Megatar by Mobius is meant to be tapped. It features a mammoth 11–piece through–neck made of a combination of walnut, padauk, and wenge with a 34” scale length. If you want to play it on your lap, you can attach a lap bar via the threaded mounts included on the back.
Jazzophone Double Bell Trumpet/Saxophone
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This listing for a double bell "Jazzophone" has been kicking around Reverb for a year now and keeps cropping up as one of the oddest instruments to ever grace our marketplace. The Jazzophone is one of many interesting instrument hybrids born around the German/Czech border in answer to the saxophone and other brass instrument shortages during the 1920s jazz craze. It’s essentially a trumpet in the shape of a sax, with two bells and some added intonation valves. The first bell mouth sounds like a standard trumpet, while the second is constructed as a jazz mute. While playing, you can switch to the jazz mute by turning a valve with your left hand.
Recovery Effects ExMic Telephone Microphone and Preamp
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This new–old stock telephone has been converted into a completely point–to–point hand–wired microphone/preamp combo ripe to serve the lo–fi performer. You can run the handset–turned–microphone directly into the phone’s base–turned–preamp for colorful vocals, or place it unconventionally for an eccentric room mic. Or for even more tone–shaping possibilities, run your instrument directly into the phone base preamp to see what you can come up with.
Weird Gear