[sdiy] cave organ

[rkmoore at memphis.edu]

Hi everyone,

Many of you have probably seem this before, but I felt it worthy of
mention.  Last weekend I got a chance to go see the stalacpipe organ in
Luray, Virginia, USA.  An organ console controls rubber mallets on
solenoids that strike stalactites whose resonant frequencies fall on
notes in the equal tempered scale.  For amplification they have bolts
mounted on the stalactites next to stationary electromagnetic pick-ups:
like a monstrous Rhodes piano!  The link below has a picture and sound
sample of the organ:

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om25450.html

The dripping noises in the recording were added for a "cave feel" I
guess.  There's not actually standing water in the room where the
stalacpipe organ is.

Richard Moore