Bands (or artists) known for building their instruments

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Kraftwerk
Hans Reichel

(I don't know why but those were the first two that came to mind.)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 10 July 2006 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

Brian May
Les Paul

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 10 July 2006 13:37 (nineteen years ago)

Frank Sidebottom

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 10 July 2006 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

Harry Partch

― mark 0 (mark 0), Monday, 10 July 2006 13:50 (nineteen years ago)

Lou Harrison (at least for the gamelan work).

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 10 July 2006 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

Shellac/Steve Albini built their own amps

― Ben Dot (1977), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:10 (nineteen years ago)

Tom Scholz

― hank (hank s), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

Neptune, from Boston, plays (played?) home-made guitars.

― barefoot manthing (Garrett Martin), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:23 (nineteen years ago)

Silver Apples - the Simeon

― Robin Goad (rgoad), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

Einstürzende Neubauten

― The Vintner's Lipogram (OleM), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:26 (nineteen years ago)

Eddie Van Halen

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

Amps for Christ

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

Konono No. 1

― bernard snow (sixteen sergeants), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

I second Neptune & thoroughly recommend people check out their stuff

― brokenfuses (brokenfuses), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:37 (nineteen years ago)

Roland Kirk - Manzello, Stritch, etc.

Aphex Twin - Gearvos, Servos, Diodes, Erector sets, etc.

― christoff (christoff), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:38 (nineteen years ago)

Tom Ze

― that liz kid (that liz kid), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:49 (nineteen years ago)

That One Guy

This That One Guy, who plays a 6+ foot length of pipe fitted with strings and midi-triggers:
http://www.starcityscene.com/Images/T1G.jpg

― choinklate (nickalicious), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:51 (nineteen years ago)

Bo Diddley
Thomas Truax

― braveclub (braveclub), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:55 (nineteen years ago)

Michael Yonkers

― M@tt He1geson, Rendolent Ding-Dong (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:57 (nineteen years ago)

early Throbbing Gristle
Quintron

― Jack Battery-Pack (Jack Battery-Pack), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

Henry Threadgill and his hubcapaphone

― totph (Totph), Monday, 10 July 2006 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

I randomly saw a That 1 Guy show once, he's great.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:04 (nineteen years ago)

Laptop types that work with Max/MSP.

― sourdough (sourdough), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:16 (nineteen years ago)

richard johnston

― A Giant Mechanical Ant (The Giant Mechanical Ant), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:20 (nineteen years ago)

Harry Partch and Frank Sidebottom on the same thread, legitimately.

Yay!

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:20 (nineteen years ago)

Os Mutantes (Claudio, the eldest Dias brother, built their effects pedals.)

― mike powell (mike powell), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

NEPTUNE

― Machibuse '80 (ex machina), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

Eugene Chadbourne (electric rake)

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:35 (nineteen years ago)

Captured! By Robots

also, Marvin Suggs (and his Muppaphone)

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Monday, 10 July 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Many of which I COVET.

― John Justen, Bataan death march of dimes. (johnjusten), Monday, 10 July 2006 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

Nate, I've also seen Dr. Chad play electric toaster (with a butter knife).

― I will commence to drop a knowledge bomb. (Rock Hardy), Monday, 10 July 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

Kites / Christopher Forgues

― fuckfuckingfuckedfucker (fuckfuckingfuckedfucker), Monday, 10 July 2006 16:31 (nineteen years ago)

Sonic Youth

― Pop Ryan (Rebelwordsmith), Monday, 10 July 2006 16:32 (nineteen years ago)

Benny Andersson of ABBA. He may not have built it himself, but that grand piano-looking synth was still especially built for him.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:31 (nineteen years ago)

Nihilist Spasm Band

Googling for that I found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spasm_band

― todd (todd), Monday, 10 July 2006 19:45 (nineteen years ago)

Laurie Anderson

― fuckfuckingfuckedfucker (fuckfuckingfuckedfucker), Monday, 10 July 2006 20:03 (nineteen years ago)

Nautical Almanac (all the way)

― trees (treesessplode), Monday, 10 July 2006 20:33 (nineteen years ago)

Pierre Bastien
Cabo San Roque

― el buen vigia (elbuenvigia), Monday, 10 July 2006 21:28 (nineteen years ago)

Young Einstein

― christopherscottknudsen (christopherscottknudsen), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 03:33 (nineteen years ago)

Os Mutantes (Claudio, the eldest Dias brother, built their effects pedals.)

and wasn't there something involving an empty hershey's syrup can and some tubing?

― cate flamingo (cate flamingo), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 05:58 (nineteen years ago)

The early Psychedelic Stooges featured Iggy Stooge playing something he called the Jim-o-phone. I wish I could remember what the hell THAT was and how it worked...

And Bob Dylan fashioned his own harmonica holder! (From a coat-hanger or something.)

― Monty Von Byonga (Monty Von Byonga), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

The news that Dylan could bend a piece a wire a few times to hold a
harmonica has increased my respect for him dramaticly.

― shieldforyoureyes (shieldforyoureyes), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 08:00 (nineteen years ago)

"Hey mister bent coathanger man, play a song for me.."

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 08:10 (nineteen years ago)

HUGH DAVIES

― j fail (cenotaph), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 08:44 (nineteen years ago)

Spyro Gyra (specifically Scott Ambush, who'd be happy to sell you one of his lovely basses.)

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 08:56 (nineteen years ago)

Sonic Youth a bad choice because they do heavy modifications rather than start from scratch, and the list of artists who MOD their instruments is so large as to be uninteresting.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 08:58 (nineteen years ago)

Blue Man Group

― xgurggleglgllg (xgurggleglgllg), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 09:12 (nineteen years ago)

The early Psychedelic Stooges featured Iggy Stooge playing something he called the Jim-o-phone.

It wouldn't be that drumkit he made out of oil drums, would it?

― LC (Damian), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

Delia Gonzales and Gavin Russom.

They build their own synths from scratch for recording, and also to install in their art installations.

http://www.wifi-art.com/?p=952

― greypejooze (Ryanssssss), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 09:47 (nineteen years ago)

Brian Dewan.

― Wub-Fur Internet Radio (wubfur), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

Split Lip Rayfield (gas tank bass)
Junior Brown (guit-steel)
And this dude.

― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

The news that Dylan could bend a piece a wire a few times to hold a
harmonica has increased my respect for him dramaticly.
-- shieldforyoureyes

Let's you and me arm-wrestle!

― M. Agony Von Bontee (M. Agony Von Bontee), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

¿Robert Moog?

― el buen vigia (elbuenvigia), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 01:44 (nineteen years ago)

Tom Waits

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 01:52 (nineteen years ago)

Leon Theremin.
Francisco (Cosmic Beam Experience - a 15 or 20 I-beam strung with wire and played very loud).
Bobby Brown (Santa Barbara based hippie type mentioned on ILM before).

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 06:51 (nineteen years ago)

Moog decidedly NOT a musician. Theremin was more of an inventor than a musician, and preferred to leave the playing to others (like Clara Rockmore).

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 07:04 (nineteen years ago)

les luthiers

― UFO Hawaii (UFO Hawaii), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 10:27 (nineteen years ago)

John Olson from Wolf Eyes seems to have a variety of home-cured devices at this disposal, including that one string bass thing he uses a lot. Also when I had the great pleasure of seeing Anla Courtis from Reynols in duet with Culver on Sunday, he had a very small 2 string guitar which made a very good noise.

― myopic_void (myopic_void), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 10:40 (nineteen years ago)

Brian May - he built himself out of an old fireplace

― Dadaismus (Are we in love like I think we be?) (Dada), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 10:45 (nineteen years ago)

I thought he was human like you and I!

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 11:08 (nineteen years ago)

Mummenschanz

― fongoloid sangfroid (sanskrit), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 11:19 (nineteen years ago)

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