a Melbourne string instrument played by sound
Melbourne-based creator Michael Lillis has developed the Resonator, a unique string instrument that uses audio signals to trigger sympathetic resonance. The device is designed for ambient production and film scoring, offering both studio and portable versions.
Why it matters
This represents an innovation in musical instrument design, blending traditional acoustic principles with modern audio technology.
Built by hand in Melbourne, the Resonator is a new string instrument created by Michael Lillis. Made to be played by sound rather than fingers, it uses an audio signal to excite the strings through a driver bridge that works like a loudspeaker, so any string tuned in harmony with that signal begins to vibrate on its own, the same sympathetic resonance that gives a sitar or tanpura its shimmer, with custom pickups sending the resulting sound back out.
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