This is going to be the coolest thing you see and hear all day! The Yaybahar is an electric-free, totally acoustic instrument designed by Görkem Şen. The vibrations from the strings are transmitted via the coiled springs to the frame drums.
These vibrations are turned into sound by the membranes which echo back and forth on the coiled springs. This results in an unique listening experience with a hypnotic surround sound.
What you hear in this performance is captured in realtime without any additional effects and with no post audio processing. Harmonics in particular sound absolutely amazing, and when Sen begins plucking the strings at around 3:45 in the video, the echos sound incredible, beginning to emulate a police siren as they course up and down the springs.
He’s recorded it using two digital Zoom H4N recorders, and the effect is even more evocative in a set of headphones. This is definitely the most mystical sounding instrument I have ever heard.
He spent 5 years developing and building this wonderful creation. Here is what he came up with:
