The Video Game Music Box

[Schmeman]

When I'm really bored I browse the internet like most people, and when I come across things like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgcdEk3LWzM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or this..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYvc0uuR ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and especially this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kERei1Kl ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I get really excited, maybe because I'm a huge nerd or because I'm a music major or maybe both BUT what makes me sad is that they are so expensive that I can never hope to own one.

I've been trying to do some research in a way to make my own music box but I have been unsuccessful in finding anything besides this from think geek

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/8f7f/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

which is not really what I'm looking for.
Does anyone have any tips or can anyone send me in the right direction for a project like this? I think that despite being a really hard project it could be really fun and rewarding. Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated.

[XCVG]

No suggestions, sorry, but those music boxes are really cool! Pretty much useless, but really cool.

[Dr. Killjoy]

Maybe this site will help you out:
http://www.unity303.com/musicbox/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems like a long and complicated process, but well worth the effort.

Good luck.

[HotDog-Cart]

The one on thinkgeek seems great. (And Im not saying that just because I write reviews for them.).

They seem to be what your looking for but less "sexy", and manual winding/playing, instead of auto winding/playing.

I'd say, suck it up. Go with the manual winding one from thinkgeek, build a nice box/case for it, and stick the winder handle out the side of the box and CRANK AWAY! (Cranking the winder handle thats located outside the box you make, will make music!)

I should do this. Could be a cheap project.

[Dr. Killjoy]

He's actually inspired me to do this project myself. I went ahead and bought the one they had on thinkgeek a couple days ago.

My plan is to replace the crank handle with a motor (a variable speed one, for tempo adjustment). I'll post stuff if it all turns out well.

[Schmeman]

It's not really a matter of sucking it up because of "quality" or whatever. Making clocks and music boxes has been an ongoing interest of mine for a while. To me the mechanics of it is what sparks my interest. (and when i combine it with my passion of videogames *aka i'm a fanboy* its even cooler). It's too bad that it's a dying art


and killjoy, any idea of what tune you'll be picking? I look forward to see what you create

EDIT: I decided to whip out my thinkgeek music box kit I got a while ago and make a quick song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAQWqZdukno" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And there it is , the thing is actually really really cool and easy to use.

[HotDog-Cart]

I'm gonna get one. You guys know the jack in the box music? (Da do da do da do da do do, da do da do da do doooo, etc)

I'm gonna get a sped up version of that, so its sound silly like I'm cranking a jack in the box fast.

[Dr. Killjoy]

and killjoy, any idea of what tune you'll be picking? I look forward to see what you create

Well, since it's a paper fed music box, I can create multiple tunes to be used with it. I think for the first one, though, I'm gonna go with the intro to Megaman 3 (it's one of my alltime favorite VG tunes ).