Gaboon Vampire
A headless chest-worn 5-string electric viola, inspired by the design of the Mark Wood Violins Viper, with strandberg guitar tuners on the custom-designed tailpiece and locking hinges on the wings for additional adjustability.

Side story "Obnoxious noise" -- a quote by a member of the University of Delaware Music Department during my first installation of the Electroacoustic Monochord in the Music Building atrium. Like the "Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach" chapter: "Such a Horrid Clang." The second installation was in the State of Illinois at Chicago Building, newly built in 1985 by Helmut Jahn for New Music Chicago 1985. A couple years later, I installed a plywood Fresnel Zone Plate array in a resonant configuration. There was a screening of "Koyanisquaatsi" and afterward, I saw a man singing "Koyanisquaatsi" inside the piece. https://mathart.org/portfolio/SPD_Acoust_portfolio.html
Frequently Asked Questions
What inspired you to do this?
My son Nathaniel texted me: "Any interest in making a knockoff Mark Wood Viper? I want to make an amazing electric viola..."
(October 23, 2022)
(October 23, 2022)
How long did it take to make it?
5 months
How long have you been doing things like this?
I studied violin making in the library in the 1980s.
How much did this cost to do?
$1,000+
Have you done other things like this?
My "Undergraduate Thesis" project was a new electroacoustic musical instrument which was subsequently published in "Perspectives of New Music" (1981-1982) and U.S. Patent 4,248,120 (1981)
What did you wish you knew before you started this?
Viola parts are really rare, compared to Strad. standard, school-quality violin parts.
Viola parts, particularly 5-string violas, extended downward a fifth, are even more rare.
Mark Wood Vipers have extra-long strings, because of the angled tailpiece. Strandberg guitar tuners add to that.
Viola parts, particularly 5-string violas, extended downward a fifth, are even more rare.
Mark Wood Vipers have extra-long strings, because of the angled tailpiece. Strandberg guitar tuners add to that.
Are there plans available to make this? Do you sell this?
This is the first prototype. I am making "as built" drawings and CAD models for the next iteration. Https://gaboon-vampire.tumblr.com
What’s next?
There will eventually be a Gaboon Vampire 1.0. Nate is also interested in resurrecting the Electroacoustic Mono/Polychord project.
Resoures?
http://www.makingtheviolin.com https://strandbergguitars.com
https://www.woodviolins.com https://www.jwwinco.com
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/mathartspd
https://www.woodviolins.com https://www.jwwinco.com
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/mathartspd
Stewart Dickson
: Maker

Tourette's. I had cards printed "Art & Technology" in 1982. I got glazed looks from people I gave my cards to. My influences are the Billy Klüver/Robert Rauschenberg "Experiments in Art and Technology" (E.A.T) of 1962+. The best way to beat swords into plowshares is to subvert the tools of the Military-Industrial Complex into making Art.
Connect with Stewart Dickson
How I can help you:
I'd like to be able to offer instruments with my custom tailpiece design.
I'd like to be able to offer instruments with my custom tailpiece design.
How you can help me:
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