The Daxophone and It’s Singing Alphabet of Forked Tongues

Rarely does an instrument’s form match up with it’s sound as perfectly and whimsically as the daxophone’s. Invented by Hans Reichel of Germany, the daxophone is a friction idiophone who’s vibrating mechanism is an oddly but tactically shaped wooden tongue which is attached to a block of wood. The vibrations travel from the vibrating blade to the block where a contact microphone amplifies the sound. The whole concept is similar to plucking a ruler half-way off a table.

Almost 10 years after the first daxophone-only album, Hans Reicher has release another playful and delightful album entitled Lower Lurum.

The daxophone’s sound can vary widely depending on the tongue used and the method of vibration (e.g. bowed, blowed, boinged, bent, bonked). Different shaped tongues can be used to produce different styles and effects.

Playing the Daxophone With A Violin Bow

Build Your Own

Detailed information and instructions on how to build your own daxophone are available on Hans Reichel’s website, daxo.de.

Microphones Inside of the Daxophone Block

Slide the anchor point to change the pitch.

The Daxoph.ttf Typeface

Among being a musical instrument inventor, Hans is also a typeset designer. Naturally, he created a typeset of daxophone tongues to deliver his musical instruments in lexical form, the fruit of which can be seen below and downloaded here for your own typography use on your computer: Daxoph.ttf

Typography from Daxoph.ttf

More of the Daxophone

Illustration: How the Daxophone Works

There's a tool for that...

Enter the workshop.