This special edition Morpheum uses antique German black glass buttons
as touch locators on three of the sample keys (like the jeweled buttons
on the bass course of an accordion). Dating from the original Bauhaus
and sought by collectors, these buttons are faceted and sparkle brilliantly
in the light when moved.
Reed collects such finishing elements for his best instruments. Within
this black glass collection each example is unique in facets, size,
and wear. All are fine pieces of a classic glass art.
The remaining instrument keys are natural shell, "mother of pearl",
often iridescent with color. At times, various antique shell buttons
are available. These might be dyed a nice color, of a particular natural
shell type (often stupendous!), or of unusual size or shape. Please
inquire.
Swelling from the distorted plastic of this Morpheum, like an organic
growth, is a fine glass animal eye. This eye serves as a pilot light
for volume peaks, flashing from within as the voices pulse.
Such eyes on the Ghazala inventions superbly embrace the wild creature
aspect inherent in the circuit bent instrument. The Morpheum, due to
its animal voices and the extremes these cries can be taken to via the
body contacts, is a great example of how these flashing eyes extend
Reed's alien music engines.
Reed always, in making special edition instruments, looks for vintage
knobs and other hardware to employ in the design. This stock varies,
but all special edition instruments will be fitted with unusual, high
quality finishing elements wherever possible.
Like the standard Morpheum, for a power indicator this special edition
instrument includes a blue LED shining through a numbered or lettered
vintage glass pilot lens.
Morpheums are finished in crackled fluorescent colors involving many
coats of paints & glosses, including a dusting of holographic powder
making the instrument shimmer with spectra in direct light. Control
titles are hand-inked.
More from Reed's EMI article on the Morpheum:
"Unlike other sample banks discussed in this series of articles in EMI,
the Morpheum relies heavily upon body-contacts for inter-flesh modulation
as well as the ability to layer its digital recordings.
"Has anyone recognized this instrument yet? The original device, like
some of the circuit-bent devices discussed earlier in previous articles,
was a children's toy, depicting an old-fashioned train. Its four wheels
(now under the four pearloid accordion keys visible in the photograph)
could be pressed for locomotive sounds. It carried eight animals (now
under the computer keys) which when pushed released their own voice
samples as well. The mechanical sounds consist of steam whistle, bell,
engine, and railroad track rhythm; the animals aboard are rooster, lion,
dog, cat, horse, goat, cow, and elephant.
"Circuit-bending adds to this instrument a set of four body-contacts,
two potentiometers, a sky blue pilot light, a speaker cut-out switch,
and RCA-type line output. Strap fasteners can be added to the upper
housing sides so that the unit can be worn as an accordion, left hand
on the four body-contacts, right hand on the keys.
"Most important of the circuit-bending
additions are the conductive flesh contacts. These are chrome drawer
pulls wired to sensitive traces on the circuit board. Each sample bank
(animal and machine) contains a pair of these metallic mushrooms which,
when bridged with the fingers, change the pitch of the sample in play.
However, volume and disintegration effects are possible by cross-touching
these separate pairs, bending between the banks as well as simply within
each. In this way, either mechanical or animal sounds can be themselves
modified or even blended into one another.
"Because slowing-down digital audio streams produces such fascinating
results, each sample bank now contains potentiometers (variable resistors)
dedicated to this function. These dials can be pre-set to create special
voices far outside the sample's usual personality. Doppler effects,
metallic notch filter effects, and many other single-voice modifications
are possible by these means. Of course, after these banks are initialized
in this manner, pitches and tones set, body contact changes as noted
before are additionally possible to further reshape and combine the
voices as electricity flows through the player's fingers, the musician
having become a very active section of the circuit, truly a living electronic
experimental musical instrument in the most literal sense."
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