[sdiy] Photoelectric String

[Robotboy8 at aol.com]

I posted about this a long while back, before Ireally got my ideas together, 
but now I'm asking again and with someslightly different questions, as the 
design has changed a LOT.
I'm thinking of building a single-string... thing... for very lowtones. 
Something of a cross between an additive synthesizer, electricbass, and string 
bass. Allow me to explain further before you beginpelting rocks at me: it'll be a 
single string (any reccomendations onwhat to use? bass guitar strings? garage 
door cable? picture-hangingwire twisted around itself?) running the length of 
a piece of wood (4or 5 feet). Towards the bottom it'll have a set of three 
infrared LED'sabove and in line with the string. These can be turned on and 
offindependently. Beneath the string (and directly beneath the LED's) willbe a 
total of 3 photoresistors and 3 phototransistors (2 components perLED). These are 
varying a current being passed through them separatelyand then mixed together 
before running to the output. The 'volume' ofeach can be changed by knob. 
Phototransistors will output square waveswhile photoresistors will put out 
slightly more sine-ish waves, andnone of them will be quite in phase with one 
another, so it shouldn'tbe just a mushy square output.
Okay, so now for the questions.
1. Am i crazy/stupid for even wasting anyone's time asking this?
2. Any suggestions on what string type/length to use? (it'll be tuned/tunable 
but fretless).
3. Any general construction tips?
4. Any clue what the decay time will be like?
5. Anything I've forgotten?
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