Here is a selection of videos of the EnsembleBot. As the project is not even remotely finished, most of the videos are just intermediate tests and experiments. Many more videos will be recorded and uploaded when the project is nearing its completion.
Note: As you can see, the latest video is from mid-2017. Because all work is currently focused on building and completing the PipeMare project, there’s not much incentive to compose for and record the existing partial EnsembleBot. But as soon as PipeMare is completed, the videos will be plenty.
Rolling Thunder
2017-06-26:
A partial EnembleBot plays Henry Fillmore’s Rolling Thunder:
Bombasto March
2017-06-17:
This is a (not quite succesful) arrangement of Orion R. Farrar’s Bombasto March. However, it does indicate that the EnsembleBot is born to play circus music.
BWV 565 FugUE
2017-06-08:
First full scale test of the PipeDream61 pipe organ, though not yet properly tuned/voiced. The organ plays the fugue from Bach’s famous Toccata und Fuge in d-Moll (BWV 565).
Cantina Band
2016 (?):
This is an (audio only) early test of a partial EnembleBot. This is one of the only recordings of the now defunct PipeDream24 test organ in action.
JesuS bleibet meine Freude
2016-02-19:
The first musical test of the glockenspiel, playing Bach’s Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, BWV 147).
Daisy Bell
2015-10-01:
The very first musical test of the first EnsembleBot instrument, the tubular bells. This tune (Daisy Bell or A Bicycle Built for Two), was the demo piece of the first real speech synthesizer at Bell Labs in 1961, a performance that had an important echo in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. So we found it only fitting to make EnsmbleBot play this tune as its first sounds.
The Bombasto March indeed is some joyful circus music! The drum actually sounds better than on usual circus calliopes and similar instruments. But I’d say it’s still the weakest link. I’d test with bigger tom tom drums, perhaps with snares attached. It seems to be hard to create a good drum sound with mechanical drum sticks, without sounding like hitting a piece of plywood, like they usually do.
I absolutely agree. Our snare drum (actually an old tambourine) does actually have snares mounted on the backside of the skin, but it is indeed a poor imitation of a real snare drum. However, it’s small and cheap, and that counts for something 🙂