Working within such an established field as audio electronics means that being original is tough, however, I am coming to terms with the idea that originality is not the purpose of any artistic venture, and it likely does not exist. I am just the latest in a long lineage of creatives who are manipulating voltages for musical means, and I should be working to enjoy and the create purposeful objects. Speaking to Gareth on this subject, he mentioned that having ideas that have ‘been done before’ are a good sign, and the creative should merely continue to work on the idea trusting that by extending beyond what others have done, a different outcome will be reached.

The conversation arose when I was talking about an idea for a speaker cabinet I had, containing numerous different cones of different sizes (and thus different frequency responses), with one (or two?) input(s) and volume controls for each cone. Using the natural filtering of the cones instead of an EQ might create some interesting tonalities, and the cabinet can then be stereo miced for recording.

As it turns out, a similar idea has already been put into motion: Luigi Rossolo’s Intonarumori were experimental noise-making devices that rely on the same principle of physical objects filtering the same sound in different ways. The below image is delightful, and encourages me to be more physical with my prototyping, making objects rather than just circuits

My idea is somehwat different in execution, despite being similar in principle, and neatly demonstrates the notion that to innovate, you must first copy.