Somewhat OT: Electronic kazoo!

[Tim Escobedo]

A few weeks ago on a couple different boards/lists, there was some alert about a cheap elelctric kazoo being offered by someone on ebay. Now, on a related note, I got a Sharper Image catalog yesterday, and along with the usual crap, they had a "electronic kazoo", a plastic toy somewhat resembling a small Casio digital horn. You hum into one end and it's supposed to sound like a sax or a clarinet, etc. out the speaker.

While toy quality, I'm surprised this concept hasn't really been picked up by the big manufacturers. In this day and age of DSP modelling magic, it's really quite possible to to make a kazoo that sounds like Hammond B3 or a minimoog or whatever you can imagine. Can literally be as "easy as humming".

I'm also curious how this would sound as a effect. Replace the mic with a input jack and play whatever.

[Nasse]

www.digital-ear.com

Yeah, this kind of stuff is around and maybe quality and tracking speed and playability is getting better and better. And music played by real people instead of cold sequencer is much nicer to listen at, in a long distance run it usually wins.

Quess one reason Casio midi horn was not so enormous success was that you had to learn play it like a real one. And cheapish sound modules were mostly sample playback ones, that sound boring after a while.  And sax programs pitch bend is not smooth, you can hear the steps...

But what about that electronic kazoo? Was there any ideas how it is made or sounds? My favorite rock band had a local hit some years back, they versioned quite a good cover of Johnny&Hurriganes "Red River Rock", and the singer just played kazoo instead of saxophone...but with good attitude.

[Nasse]

http://tallstick.com/eng/samples.htm

another link

I think you can find audio to midi programs even free, and as VST plugin, but dont know the quality.

[Hal]

okay, I got a better idea.  Use the electronic kazoo for a guitar effect;  a wah-wah, talkbox style!  Play harmoica with your guitar!

[doug deeper]

i invented this over a year ago....and now im being screwed!!!

geocities.com/midfielectronics

doug

[ExpAnonColin]

I talked to the guy selling them on ebay.  He says he's only going to be doing it for a little while.

Doug-interesting...

-Colin

[Marcos - Munky]

Any schematics?

[BillyJ]

I think Mike Beigel (spelling?) inventor of the Mutron had a bad trip with basicaly an electric kazoo many many years ago.

I think it also spelled the end of his Musictronics company.

I would be careful in thinking there is some market for that.


Doesn't anyone play the kazoo for the way the kazoo sounds?  :cry:

[Tim Escobedo]

I've been playing kazoo for decades... without a kazoo. I do this thing where I hum through the gap in my front teeth that sounds like a kazoo. Never really thought about why it sounds that way.

Here's the Sharper Image toy. Kinda neat, really, if it sounds halfway decent. However, I haven't heard it. Point is, it could basically be a simple modeller, similar to, say, a Boss SYB-3 which takes any input signal and changes it to a old school mono synth.

[Nasse]

Looks nice, and nice idea, too. If Roland, Yamaha, Korg, etc etc R&D people are lurking there I have same opinion as Tim, this kind of toy would be nice... and affordable price, please. Maybe with pitch-correction and quantzing even I could blow some evrgreen melody lines.

PS As a kid we used some baking paper from mothers drawer wrapped around a comb