Star Wars Fan Builds Working Millennium Falcon Guitar

Using an electric guitar and a vintage Millennium Falcon toy, Travis S. managed to build a unique instrument shaped like Han Solo’s starship.

Having built guitars with his father, in high-school, this was a relatively easy task for Travis S., but the idea of building something that has never been done before appealed to him. An avid Star Wars fan, with a sizable collection of memorabilia, he decided to combine his love for the sci-fi franchise with his passion for guitars. It only took him a month, working on weekends, to complete the guitar, but he says he could have completed in under a week.

Since this is an electric guitar, using a plastic toy as the body doesn’t affect the way it sounds, but the artist had to add a maple block from the start to the end of the ship, to keep it from breaking under the tension of the strings.  The back of the Millennium Falcon guitar has been fitted with blue LED lights, powered by their own batteries.

Despite its futuristic look, the guitar was designed to play, and I can only imagine the reaction of the public when someone brings this baby on stage. If you think this is cool, just wait until you here what Travis S has planned next : a Lord of the Rings themed bass guitar. I can’t wait!

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Playable Guitar Made with Popsicle Sticks

Actually making a playable guitar is hard enough, but making it using just popsicle sticks, some glues and basic house tools seems nearly impossible. Still, someone managed to do it.

Instructables user busupholstery managed to leave everyone speechless when he uploaded photos of the guitar he made, using posicle sticks. He bought 4,000 of them, worth $900, and ended up using 2,000 to create his DIY masterpiece. Using his own Gremlin parlor size guitar as a pattern, he spent 240 hours gluing and cutting popsicle sticks, until his unusual guitar was completed.

The most amazing thing about this man’s achievement is that he managed to build a popsicle stick guitar, somewhere in Costa Rica, basically using just a handsaw, some clothespins, rubber bands and glue. Let’s face it, most of us wouldn’t be able to make something like this with the latest power tools available.

And though it may not sound as good as the best guitars on the market, the popsicle stick guitar is playable. Before you even ask, it’s not for sale.

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The World’s Largest Violin Is Almost Complete

Twelve luthiers, from Markneukirchen, eastern Germany, are working around the clock, adding the final details to what could be the world’s largest violin.

Markneukirchen is already famous for the quality violins made there, but this extraordinary instrument will definitely get its name into the record books. The world’s largest violin will be 4.28 meters tall, 1.45 meters wide, and weigh over 100 kilograms. It’s an exceptional achievement, but there’s just one problem: who’s going to play this thing? Even Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man, will have a tough time handling this giant instrument, especially since he’s not a very talented violin player.

Photos by AFP via Xinhua

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Vienna Vegetable Orchestra – Playing with Food and Making Music

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra makes unique organic music, using instruments made from vegetables.

Pepper trumpets, leek violins, celery bongos, cucumberphones, pumpkin drums – these are just a handful of instruments used by the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra to entertain audiences everywhere, with their organic music. This one-of-a-kind music group was born when its current members were students. At first they started playing vegetable instruments, as a joke, but quickly realized they might be on to something, and took their work more seriously.

The dozen members of the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra carve their instruments themselves, using whatever vegetables are available, at the location of their performance. After 12 years of making vegetable music, the group has learned what type of vegetables sound better in every country, judging by a range of factors, such as temperature and water content.

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra needs 70 kilograms of fresh vegetables for every concert, and three hours to carve the instruments they use. But their music wouldn’t exist without modern technological equipment, like amplifiers or sophisticated microphones. Combined with the squeaking of cucumbers, crackling of cabbage leaves and banging of aubergines, they create a hypnotic type of music, described as something between techno music and whale songs.

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Mammy Rock – The Granny DJ

69-year-old Ruth Flowers is a living example that age shouldn’t get in the way of things you’re passionate about. Like Bette Calman, the Yoga super-granny, Ruth does extraordinary things, for her age.

Known as “Mammy Rock“, around the European club scene, Ruth Flowers is probably the oldest professional DJ in the world. The British granny wears bling-bling headphones, trendy clothes and sports an electrifying hear-do as she works the turntables in popular clubs, in France.

Mammy Rock’s career began when she was 65. Her grandson was celebrating his birthday in a London nightclub, and asked Ruth to join him and his friends. There were a few problems with the bouncers, who didn’t feel right letting a senior citizen inside such an establishment, but as soon as she stepped in, Mammy Rock was bewitched by the lively atmosphere that made her feel so much younger.

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Squidolin – The Future of Violins?

Squidolin is a state of the art electric violin that not only looks amazing, but teaches you how to play it like a professional.

Created by designer Carlos R. Mendez, Squidolin is an electric violin with a very futuristic design that can save you thousands of dollars in violin lessons. Instead of paying a master to teach how to play the violin, you just connect Squidolin to a TV set and it will take you through a series of lessons that will have you playing the violin like a professional, in no time.

Connected to an amplifier, Squidolin sounds just like any other quality electric violin.

via Carlos Mendez

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Russians Invent the Mobile Drum Set

It’s not exactly a music industry breakthrough, but it does show Russian music fans can be very resourceful when they need to.

I’ve seen quite a few ingenious motorcycle sidecars, but a full drum set? Sounds a bit silly, but if you’re looking to draw some attention to yourself, there’s no better way than banging on drums while a friend drives the bike through the city streets. Actually, this sounds like a good way to get noticed by record companies as well.

via English Russia

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The World’s Biggest Pipe Organ

Surprisingly enough, the world’s largest organ isn’t located in a cathedral or a church, but in the center of Macy’s Center City Store, in Philadelphia.

The Wanamaker Grand Court Pipe Organ is the largest playable pipe organ in the world. Its console alone weighs 2.5 tons and the entire installation weighs 287 tons. It was bought by John Wanamaker in 1909 and installed in his store, but, unsatisfied with its size, the owner built an organ factory in the store’s attic, in order to enlarge the Grand Court Pipe Organ.

The Wanamaker Pipe Organ was played in 1911 for the first time and has been entertaining Philadelphia shoppers 2 times a day, Monday to Saturday and even more often during winter holidays.

This giant organ has 28, 482 pipes. 6 manual keyboards, 42 foot pedals and is able to deliver incredible sound power. The organist, Peter Richard Conte has 729 color-coded buttons to choose from, just when he wants a different rank of pipes to be played.

Photos by REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES SOCIETY BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT)

via Drugoi

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Britney’s British Twin

Some people wish they were Britney Spears for just one day, but Lorna Bliss has spent almost ten years being Britney Spears and she says it’s not all that pretty.

Lorna started out as a Britney impersonator back in 2000 when some of her friends noticed the resemblance. She borrowed some money to dye her hair and buy outfits and started touring nightclubs for 100 pounds a night. After she got her degree she became a full time Britney Spears, trying to copy every detail in the pop idol’s life.

She didn’t marry a Kevin Federline lookalike or have two kids, but she did put on the extra weight, shaved her head and copied Britney’s attitude during her breakdown. She would snap at journalists and even chase them away with an umbrella, just like the pop-star.

Now Lorna is happy Britney Spears is back on the horse and she doesn’t have to look crazy and depressed all the time. She does however have to spend around 15,000 British pounds every month, just to maintain her looks.

There’s one question that puzzles me though…Did she walk around without underwear just like Britney?

via Daily Mail

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Full-Size LEGO Cello

LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya unveiled his latest masterpiece, a life-size LEGO Cello

Not much has been revealed about this amazing LEGO instrument. All we know is the cello is actually playable and sounds a lot different than a real cello. Check out the video at the bottom to see mister Sawaya building the LEGO cello brick by brick.

While not as big as the LEGO Japanese warship, this cello is a true work of art.

via Brick Artist

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