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T H O N G A P H O N E

Sound samples: a bassline (56k) , a melody (284 k)

This is the most elaborate thing I've put together so far.  It's a "thongaphone", though that's a very Australian name (for friends overseas: thongs = beach slippers/flip flops).  If you're interested in building this and want to check out other websites, I'd suggest googling for "pcv instruments and flip flops" 

... ie.  a thongaphone.

It's a blues scale, starting on B flat (two octaves below middle C) and
goes up to E (below middle C).

You can find the pipe lengths here.

I chose to use 90 degree bends which are pricier but the overall instrument looks better, imho.  I bought 21 metres of 80 mm pvc pipe which costs $150 AUS.  The bends cost about $150 too... One thing to note though: using 90 mm pipes (or whatever the common diameter is in your region of the world) would have drastically reduced the price.  I'm not an expert on acoustics and physics, but I think the larger diameter correlates to a larger sound.

The paint-job was done with el-cheapo spray paint from Kmart, each cannister costs about $2.50.  I used 8 cannisters.  The look  was inspired by the thongaphone on the Herbie Hancock "Live at the Blue Note" DVD which features a thongaphone, but after a while, I just started doing my own thing.

The thongs were $2.50 from Jervis Bay.