Blaster Beam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Blaster Beam is a concept electronic musical instrument consisting of a 15 to 18 foot long metal beam strung with numerous tensed wires under which are mounted electric guitar pickups which can be moved to alter the sound produced. The instrument is played by striking or plucking the strings with fingers, sticks, pipes or even large objects such as artillery shell casings. The instrument produces a very distinctive bass tone, the sound of which is often described as 'dark' or 'sinister'.
The creation of American child actor turned musician, Craig Huxley, it was brought to 'fame' in the soundtrack for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) in which composer Jerry Goldsmith used the instrument to create the signature V'ger sound.
The instrument has since been used to create dark unnatural sounds in other movie soundtracks including the film Meteor which was also released in 1979 in which it was used during shots of the giant looming meteorite as it approached Earth. It has also been used by new age artists including Kitaro and Craig Huxley himself.
Some more unexpected attention came in the early nineties when several women attending a music concert in New York's Central Park claimed to have been sexually stimulated by the sound created by a Blaster Beam being used in the performance. This prompted Australian radio station 2SER-FM to conduct an experiment in which they played a continuous loop of a Blaster Beam performance and asked their female listeners to report any stimulation they experienced. On this occasion none of the show's listeners reported any arousal whatsoever.
